Another easy non-bake chocolate dessert recipe

In my quest to look for low-fat and sort of healthy chocolate dessert (which is very far and few in between, if you ask me!), I found quite a few relatively easy and healthy way of creating our own healthy desserts…well, at least as healthy as it could possibly be.

Here is one of them:

Ingredients

Low-fat Creamy Chocolate Dessert

A cup of low-fat Ricotta cheese

A tablespoon of dark cocoa powder

Two tablespoons of chocolate sauce

A dash of vanilla essence

Instructions:

Just mix all the ingredients together until it is well combined. You can sprinkle some chocolate shavings on the dessert before serving.

It tastes almost like the real chocolate ice cream if served cold. I particularly liked this recipe as it is very easy and can be whipped up within minutes. No hassle and no cooking required!

Chocolate Diet 3

This is a continuation of my previous chocolate diet entry (chocolate diet 2). Here is the meal plan and exercise regime for Day 3.

Day 3

Morning:

Exercise – 10 minutes light stretching, 30 minutes brisk walk / treadmill

Breakfast

A banana

Two slices of wholemeal toast with less than a teaspoon of margerine

A glass of chocolate milk (low-fat milk with a teaspoon of chocolate sauce)

A glass of water

Morning tea break

Two Hershey kisses

A glass of low-fat, low-sugar, chocolate-flavored weight-control protein shake (you can get this at any pharmacy/ health store)

A glass of water

Lunch

A glass of water

Chicken salad with low-fat Italian dressing on the side

Celery and carrot sticks

Afternoon tea break

One Snickers bar

A glass of water

Evening

Two sets of sit-ups, two sets of crunches, two sets of side bends, 20 minutes on exercise bike (medium speed) – one set is 8 reps.

Drink as much water as you can manage

A chocolate-flavored low fat, low carbo energy bar

Dinner

A bowl of nutritious vegetable and chicken broth

(Recipe for broth: Place a pot of water to boil and add chicken meat, chopped carrots, green peas, chopped onions, tomatoes, celery and cabbage. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until the meat is cooked. Add pepper and salt to taste. Can also add fresh mixed herbs for extra flavor.)

Two scoops of light chocolate ice cream

5 – 10 minutes of slow and light stretching before bed.

I will be posting Days 4 and 5 soon. Look out for it. Meanwhile, for those who have just stumbled upon this entry for the first time, this chocolate diet meal and exercise plan offers no guarantee of weight loss but offers a great solution to enjoying your daily chocolate without having to worry about gaining weight from it. I formulated it based on my own experience so you can give it a try and feel free to tell me all about your experience trying it out.

Craving Chocolate Ice Cream

As a die-hard chocoholic, I think it would be wrong of me to miss out writing about chocolate ice cream. Yep, I do not only thrive on chocolates but also all other chocolate-flavored food especially ice cream, cakes and cookies. So, in this post, I would like to talk about chocolate ice cream and how to choose a really great one.

There are a lot of different types of ice cream out there from expensive designer ice cream to cheap, supermarket bought ice cream. We have the normal ice cream, the light (or low fat) ice cream, the premium ice cream, gelato, sorbet, frozen yogurt and home made ice cream.

Now, lets talk about expensive designer ice cream and premium ice cream. These are often the best type of ice cream in terms of consistency, flavor and taste. Often, these are very rich and absolutely heavenly but also very fattening so avoid gulping down a whole quart of this kind of ice cream if you are on a diet. Of course, there are also the low-fat types of premium ice cream. Just do remember, it only stated there low-fat and not zero-fat and definitely not zero sugar. Do remember it is the sugar that makes us fat, not only the fat content.

So, what type of premium ice cream do I like? I simply love Haagen Daaz. There is no doubt about it. When it comes to flavors, it has a variety of different chocolate flavors. They have plain chocolate, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate chocolate chip, chocolate peanut butter, cookies and cream, mayan chocolate, mocha chip, triple chocolate, vanilla chocolate chip, vanilla fudge brownie and white chocolate raspberry truffle. And its light ice cream range has these flavours: chocolate fudge brownie and cherry fudge truffle. They even have a chocolate flavored sorbet.  My favorite is the chocolate peanut butter, a combination of rich chocolate combined with creamy nutty peanut butter.

Another premium ice cream brand I simply love is the Cold Stone Creamery.  This ice cream place is not just any ice cream parlor where they serve up ice cream topped with cherries and cream. No, they take it to a whole different level where they mix and prepare each order using two spades on a frozen granite stone. If you have not tried their ice cream, you should definitely give it a try.  They have a whole range of ice cream and various garnishes such as nuts, chocolate sprinkles, Snickers, chocolate chips and fruits for your to choose. Let’s say you choose dark chocolate ice cream, peanut butter ice cream, chocolate chips, roasted almonds and Oreo cookies. They will use the spades to mix these ingredients, kinda like stir-frying except that it is on a frozen granite stone and not a frying pan. Then only they will serve it with all the ingredients wonderfully combined for a unique, lip-smacking taste! If you prefer to try their own specialty creations instead of choosing your own flavors, you could always try their signature creations. The one I particularly love is Chocolate Devotion (what else?) which contain chocolate ice cream, fudge, brownie and chocolate chips. I also love the Peanut Butter Cup Perfection which contains chocolate ice cream, peanut butter, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and fudge. What else can I say but pure perfection!!!

All this talk about ice cream has made me hungry. Since there isn’t any Cold Stone Creamery nearby, I guess I will just have to make do with the tiny little amount of leftover Haagen Daaz ice cream in the freezer.

Chocolate Diet 2

So, you have been indulging in loads of chocolate recently and suddenly found that all your clothes had shrunk. Including the ones you bought a week ago! So, what do you do? A professional dietitian will tell you to dump any leftover chocolate in your house along with other sinfully fattening foods such as chips, candies, sweets, cakes, ice creams, etc. She will probably put you on a strict, low-calorie, low-fat, low-sugar, tasteless food diet which leaves you craving for more of those sinful stuff.

To a chocoholic, like me, dumping the rest of the sinful food is easy but when it comes to chocolate and chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream, I just could not bring myself to it. It is like throwing out my BFF (that’s Best Friend Forever). It is like throwing out my lifeline. It is like throwing out the reasons for living…I am sure you get the picture.

So, what do I do when the scales are moving the wrong side of the spectrum? It is sadly true that I go on a diet too but nothing as restrictive and as boring as a normal diet. I go on my very own ‘custom-made to suit myself’ chocolate diet. And I combine that with exercise and an active lifestyle to get the pounds moving. Or simply to keep the pounds away.

The meal plan of my chocolate diet was mentioned in my first chocolate diet post and to keep from getting bored, I have since changed some of it and incorporated an easy exercise regime to burn off some of the unwanted calories. Here is my very own customized meal plan and fitness regime.

Disclaimer: This blog author shall not be held responsible for any additional addiction to chocolate or addiction to exercise (if ever that is possible!) as a result of this meal plan and exercise regime. These are merely her very own custom-made plans based on personal experience and readers are advised to follow it at their own peril! No weight loss is guaranteed but I absolutely guarantee that no chocolate will be left out!

Day 1

Morning:

A brisk 25 minute to 40 minutes walk / jog

Breakfast: Chocolate and banana shake (refer to this post for recipe), a glass of water

Morning tea break: One serving of fruits, a glass (or two )of water

Lunch: Wholemeal cheese and tomatoes sandwich (Recipe: Place cheese on bread, add chopped tomatoes and you have your sandwich!), a glass (or two) of water, small bowl of mixed salad.

Tea break: One bar of chocolate wafer, a glass (or two) of water, 5 roasted plain almonds and if still hungry, a banana.

Evening:

Hit the gym for a bout of 20 minutes to 40 minutes of resistance training. Do two sets of each exercise. This can be two sets of sit-ups, two-sets of lower body exercise and two sets of upper body exercise.

Replenish body moisture by drinking loads of water after gym.

After workout snack: A tall glass of fruity freeze (Recipe: Throw in green apples, peeled oranges, carrots and ice into a blender and blend it all together. If too sour, use ripe red apples instead).

Dinner:

Starter: Big plate of mixed salad, dressings on the side

Entree: Grilled / poached salmon / cod topped with mushroom or lemon sauce and served with stir-fried vegetables.

(Recipe for stir-fried vegetables: Cut broccoli into bite-size. Slice carrots thinly. Chop some garlic. In a pan, heat a spoon of olive oil. Stir-fry the garlic till fragrant and then add the carrots. Stir for a while and add the broccoli. Add soya sauce or salt to taste. Once the broccoli turn a bright green, it is cooked.)

Dessert: Two scoops of low-fat chocolate ice cream topped with a spoon of chocolate sauce and some roasted almond flakes.

At least another two glasses of water.

Day 2

Morning:

30 minutes to 1 hour of power yoga and floor exercises.

Breakfast:

Fruits, milk with chocolate sauce, a bowl of full grain muesli, a glass (or two) of water

Morning tea break: two glasses of water, 3 pc wholewheat crackers, 5 dark chocolate-covered almonds

Lunch: a glass (or two) of water, wholemeal egg sandwich, celery and carrot sticks

Afternoon tea break: 5 dark chocolate-covered raisins, a glass (or two) of water, one serving of fruits

Evening:

Pre-workout snack: a banana (preferably an hour before workout)

Workout: Go for a 30 minute jog or power walk. No cheating. Really sweat it out. Drink a glass (or more) of water.

Dinner :

Starter: Mixed salad, dressings on the side.

Entree: Roast chicken breast in brown sauce served with baked asparagus, carrots and tomatoes.

Dessert: A bar of 75g chocolate bar or four truffles.

Do remember to drink lots of water throughout as it is really good in cleansing your system. Do note that most of the meals do not have simple carbohydrates (except for the chocolates!), this is so that you can indulge in some chocolate at least twice a day!

I will come up with Days 3 to 5 soon. Just keep a lookout for future postings.

Make your own easy non-bake chocolate cake

After all the previous posts on diets and health, I think this time I will post a recipe which I read somewhere and modified to suit my taste. This recipe is for those who absolutely loved chocolates of all types. No chocolate haters allowed!

It is quite easy and does not require baking or any complicated stuff. You can even get your children to help out!

Ingredients

20 bars of chocolate-coated wafers, crushed

Chocolate sauce

A packet of 200g chocolate-covered peanuts (crushed) / raisins

250g dark cooking chocolate

250g chocolate bar (of any type, can be milk/ dark/ plain/ with nuts/ with raisins), chopped

Tub of rich chocolate ice cream

Instructions

1. Place half of the crushed wafers on the bottom of a pan. Crush it further and try to make it even.

2. Pour in the crushed nuts / raisins and again try to level the mixture.

3. Dribble some chocolate sauce over the mixture depending on your taste.

4. Add the chopped chocolate bar and level it out.

5.  In a heatproof pan, place the cooking chocolate over a boiling pan of water and melt it. Stir occasionally until it is melted through. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

6. Scoop out 3 – 4 ice cream and smoothen it over the chocolate wafers, nuts, raisins and bar mixture. Add more ice cream if you prefer.

7. Top up the ice cream with the crushed wafers.

8. Pour the slightly cooled melted chocolate over the mixture. Make sure you have everything covered and let it seep into the whole mixture.

9. Place in the fridge for it to set.

10. Once it is set, you are ready to serve the non-bake, crunchy, nutty and rich chocolate cake! If you are worried it may be too sweet, use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate for most of the ingredients.

This will satisfy all of your chocolate cravings in a jiffy! If you use dark chocolate (especially those with less sugar content), it will taste absolutely wonderful. However, if you are a milk chocolate type, the result will also be wonderful but be warned, it will definitely be very sweet! So, brace yourselves for that.

What are you waiting for? Go get started on it and tell me how it turned out! Do feel free to add or reduce the ingredients in accordance to your taste. There is no strict ruling to follow the recipe ingredients exactly. After all, this is a non-bake recipe using ready made chocolates so nothing will go wrong! It won’t be burnt or turn out flat or anything. It will still taste like chocolate.

Is chocolate healthy?

According to countless research, the ultimate decision is still a ‘Yes, but…’ and there is a string of conditions attached to discuss the health benefits of chocolate which remained quite unconfirmed.

Sure, there has been loads of research, studies and tests which revealed that dark chocolate may be beneficial to health and could possibly lower cholesterol level, has antioxidant capacities, reduces blood pressure and boosts brain function. So, are these claims true? Just like any chocoholic, I sure wish they are!

Wishful wishing aside, I did some research and here are what the various research, studies and tests claimed that dark chocolate does to the average human.

1. Dark chocolate contains lost of flavonoids which are known as flavonols. These can be found in cacao seeds (the raw form of chocolate before all that processing…). It is not any man-made chemical but is a natural compound that works as an antioxidant which prevent damage to the body’s cells and tissues. Do note that only dark chocolate seemed to have more of this compound as the process of making milk chocolate may have removed most of the flavonols.

2. Dark chocolate has cholesterol…but before you drop that chocolate bar in horror, it contains good cholesterol- inducing compounds. To put it simply, it contain a few other compounds which fights off bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise good cholesterol levels (HDL). The chocolate and cocoa butter contain palmitic acid, stearic acid and oleic acid. Stearic acid is a neutral fat and oleic acid is a mono-unsaturated fat which can also be found in olive oil. Remember the craze of consuming olive oil for health? Well, replace it with chocolate. If olive oil can lower cholesterol, so can cocoa and dark chocolate!

3. The next time you feel your pressure going up, reach for that bar of dark chocolate and it may just help you lower your pressure. And I meant that literally. The miraculous flavonols I mentioned above do help in regulating blood flow and blood pressure so eating chocolate not only relaxes you but literally lower your blood pressure.

4. After lowering your pressure, the hard-working flavonols also worked to prevent blood clots and acts like a low-dose aspirin to help your blood flow. This will reduce heart attack and stroke risks.

5. So, what is it that you are eating when you bite into that bar of chocolate? Plenty of nutrients, that’s what! Milk chocolate contains the recommended daily values of protein, riboflavin, calcium and iron. If it is a chocolate bar with almonds, peanuts or any other nut, there will be more nutrients.

 

6. Is chocolate an aphrodisiac? Scientifically, it may be true because chocolate contains serotonin, especially phenethylamine, which can act as a mild sexual stimulant. However, no studies or tests can conclusively prove that. But we all know chocolates as gifts (especially on first dates and birthdays) do work sometimes, especially if the girl absolutely loves chocolate!

7. Oh happy days are here when you have a cupboard full of chocolates. This is more true than you know it because the carbohydrates (quick, those who have sworn off carbohydrates, close your eyes, you didn’t read this sentence!) in chocolate raise serotonin levels in the brain which releases a chemical called endorphins which gives you that dizzy happy feeling. I can personally attest to how happy chocolate has made me!

So, there you are, seven health benefits of chocolate. Of course, there are also research, studies and tests stating that chocolate could also be bad for health but I will not dwell on that for now. It is not something a chocoholic, who eats chocolate everyday, would want to know!

The only bad thing I would admit about chocolate is that over-consumption will lead to extra pounds, extra inches and eventually obesity.This is due to the high sugar content (albeit carbohydrates) in most chocolates so unless you exercise self-control and portion-control or negate the effects by exercising more, please do not over-consume chocolates! There is such a thing as too much of a good thing!

Chocolate diet

This is a continuance of my previous post on chocolate and losing weight. I decided to write further on the chocolate diet since there are so many chocolate lovers out there who just could not do without chocolate so a diet is often very torturous with visions of mouth watering sweet scrumptious chocolates playing before your eyes…

Okay, so I am not going to present the chocolate diet per se but it is my very own formulated meal plan which incorporated chocolate with a sensible eating plan. Beware, I am not a qualified nutritionist nor am I a diet specialist. I am only one of those who have tried every fad diet there is out there and suddenly wake up one day to realize that fad diets just make me fat! Ever since then fad diets are avoided like a box of moldy, tasteless chocolate and I am now adhering to my very own diet plan which worked very well…till recently, that is. My fall from the sensible dieting plan is due to over indulgence but I digress. Let’s get to the chocolate diet.

Disclaimer: This diet should only be tried at your own risk and this blog author shall not be responsible for any chocolate addiction or additional pounds or ineffectiveness of the diet in losing weight or failure in the maintenance of current weight. Readers shall read this with a pinch of cocoa powder and not take it too seriously. However, they are most welcomed to try it out!

Breakfast

A glass of thick healthy chocolate shake

Recipe for healthy chocolate shake:

8oz sugar-free soya milk

2tbsp dark cocoa powder

2tbsp chocolate sauce (Hershey’s should be great!)

3tbsp oat bran

Half a medium size banana (optional)

Ice

Blend the ingredients and you will get a thick healthy shake which is nutritious, chocolatey and not too sweet. If you can’t stand soya milk, you can replace it with non-fat milk but it won’t be as healthy.

A glass of water

Morning break:

Fruits with chocolate sauce dip (however, do not overdo the chocolate sauce. Use only a little for taste, don’t smother the fruits with it!)

A glass of water

Lunch:

Grilled Chicken Sandwich (grilled chicken breast on wholemeal bread)

Mixed salad

A glass of water

Tea break:

5 almonds / groundnuts

5 chocolate covered nuts / raisins

A glass of water

Dinner:

A glass of water

Mixed salad

Baked cod / salmon steak in lemon sauce

Recipe for baked fish: Marinate the fish with some salt, pepper, garlic and mixed fresh herbs. Cook lemon juice with fish stock, a little honey and cornstarch for thickening. Wrap the fish in foil and bake for about 20 minutes or till cook through. Pour the sauce over fish and serve. Add ground black pepper if needed.

Dessert: A bar of 50g dark chocolate

Just remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

You can alternate the chicken sandwich for smoked turkey sandwich, tuna sandwich or turkey ham sandwich while dinner could be grilled chicken breast, baked dory or even tofu (if you even like that stuff). No red meat and no white bread or potatoes. Stick to green vegetables, white meat, wholegrain and legumes. This way it will give you the leeway to indulge in chocolate three times a day!

Again, no guarantee that you will lose weight or even maintain your weight with this plan.

Chocolate and Losing Weight

As I have mentioned, creating a chocolate website and maintaining a chocolate blog is putting extra inches on my waist and butt, let’s not even get into the extra pounds and the upgrade in dress size. So, it is with much interest that I actively seek out the fad diet called ‘chocolate diet’ but it was not exactly what I was looking for.

The diet do contain chocolate which is supposed to act as a vitamin replacement due to its health benefits of preventing high blood pressure and heart disease. However, the meals are not all chocolate. It is the usual diet stuff of wholemeal pasta, healthy fruits and vegetables and lots of water. The only difference is that you get to eat some chocolate in the diet.

There is another fad chocolate diet which requires dieters to consume healthy food throughout but they take chocolate powder shakes as healthy snacks in between meals and also some chocolate diet pills which supposedly boost metabolism.

I am not sure if either of these diets do work but if the meals are all healthy low-fat, low-calorie, low-sugar and low-carb foods and only a small portion of chocolate is allowed, then I guess it could work. That is if you don’t go overboard on the chocolate allowance!

Besides that, I came across a really interesting chocolate product (ChocoLeans) which supposedly promotes weight-loss by suppressing your appetite. Again, I have not tried it so your guess is as good as mine on whether it really works or not. They have the sugar free and organic dark chocolate variety too. In case you are wondering why I am promoting this product, I am not getting any commission from this. I just thought I would share it with whoever dropped by here. So, if any of you out there who has tried it, feel free to comment here about your experience trying it!

So, am I still putting on weight due to my chocolate forays? Well, let’s just say I am padding up for now but I will definitely lose it with the right exercise and diet plan…if ever I get around to it! ;-D

Chocolate shopping

I have been such a die-hard chocoholic for so many years, my husband has gotten used to my frequent trips to the mall for my chocolate fix, that is, until recently. I love chocolates and I do chocolate reviews but I am by no means a chocolate snob, as in, I do not turn my nose up over cheap chocolates or standard supermarket quality chocolate.

However, recently, just for the sake of my chocolate website, I started bypassing the waxy, sweet, cheap chocolates and went for imported, Swiss and Belgium chocolates. My hubby of course was taken aback. My chocolate stock is now with percentages and of ‘fine’ quality and not in the least cheap!

So, how do I search out these chocolates? Other than dropping by the chocolate-specialty shops (which is very rare where I come from), I get it from large grocery stores. Often these stores are well stocked and they have a section especially for imported, expensive and fine chocolates (at least at where I come from, which is a tiny Asian country out of nowhere). Then I look through the selection. I look out for ‘Made in Sweden’ or ‘Manufactured in Belgium’ which is often printed in small tiny prints before buying.

The types that I buy often are dark chocolate, white chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate and chocolate covered nuts and raisins. The chocolates are in a variety of forms from bars to truffles to even wafers. Now, I have loads of chocolates to taste and review and though I constantly snack on chocolates, I am deferring the expensive ones. Just tearing the wrappers makes me cringe. I just do not want to eat it and then, that’s it. I won’t have it anymore. You know, the classic ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too’ dilemma.

I will be working up my courage to really bite into one of it soon as I really need to add new pages to my website real soon. To those who have been visiting the site or have visited the site or are planning to visit the site, please be patient. I am working on the chocolate recipes now and hopefully I can put it in within the next few days.

See you then.

Chocolate Percentage

There is nothing I love more than shopping for chocolates whenever we go to the grocery store. It is like being transported into pure chocolate heaven, especially if it is a particularly well-stocked grocery store with an aisle of wonderfully heavenly scrumptious, saliva-inducing chocolates. You know what I mean…row after row of absolutely delicious chocolates of all brands, types and percentage.

Yep, you read right. Percentage. It seems like it is a new fad or something that chocolates now comes with numbers proudly emblazoned over its front. You will see 75% or 90% or 99%. So, what are these percentages for? Well, there is no great mystery to it. The reason for it is to clearly state out the percentage of cocoa contained in the bar of chocolate.

Due to recent research over how healthy chocolate could be especially the ones with higher cocoa content,  I guess many manufacturers are finding it more profitable to tell consumers how much cocoa is contained within their products. I can’t conclusively say that the ones with 99% cocoa are healthier or better (since I am not a scientist or doctor) but I sure can comment on the taste!

The ones with about 90% cocoa content are often more bitter (and we all know how I can’t stand bitter stuff) and richer in the sense that you get a thicker cocoa taste which leaves a sort of buttery after taste on your tongue after consumption. I sometimes eat these together with hot cocoa and marshmallows…to take away the after-taste and also the bitterness.

Those in the 60% and 90% range are pretty much like regular dark chocolate except that for 60% it is sweeter and as the percentage increases, the sweetness reduces and bitterness increases. If you are a dark chocolate type of person (like me!), you will have no qualms picking these up but do try the range of different percentages until you get the ones that you really like.

Happy shopping and let’s go lose ourselves in the wonderful aisle full of chocolates….