Guilt-free Chocolate Delights
The single most craved food here on Calorie Count is Chocolate. We love the flavor and the melting texture but we hate the extra calories and fat it can add. There's good news about chocolate, as mentioned in the following About.com article: Chocolate as a Health Food. Dark chocolate contains flavenol which acts as an antioxidant to protect the body from free radicals. It can lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The taste stimulates endorphins, producing feelings of pleasure while the presence of serotonin helps us to relax.
Chocolate comes from cacao beans, the fruit of the tropical tree Theobroma cacao. After long processing, cocoa butter and chocolate liquor are produced. From these the familiar cocoa powder and chocolate bars are made. Cocoa butter is also used in cosmetics. Dark chocolate with 65% or higher content of pure cocoa contains the most of these health benefits. How sweet it is depends on the maker and on your taste buds.
We have a dilemma. How can we enjoy the dark chocolate we love and avoid the excess calories? One way to enjoy chocolate is to eat just small amounts occasionally. The high calorie content means we can't afford to overindulge, but a little chocolate in moderation can satisfy. One way to achieve this is to divide your chocolate into 100 calorie portions, wrap them separately and freeze. Thaw only one piece and enjoy it completely. Cocoa powder itself is not high in fat and contains no sugar. It's very bitter and needs to be sweetened to be palateable, but there are ways to use it in delicious treats.
An individual mug of hot chocolate is easy to make. We suggest using a 2 cup glass measuring cup to do this in the microwave, since the cocoa gets very hot and will boil over. Put 1/4 cup of water into your 2 cup measure. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of pure cocoa powder and sweeten with either sugar or artificial sweetener. Microwave on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the power of your microwave, until it boils and foams up. Remove from the microwave and heat 3/4 cup of milk in a large mug. Add the hot cocoa syrup to the warm milk, and you have a low calorie, very satisfying cup of hot chocolate. Experiment with amounts until you find the quantity of cocoa and sugar that pleases you.
We turn to Calorie Count members and the many creative recipes they have entered into the Recipe Analyzer. We hope you will enjoy making chocolate treats.
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies: Made with yogurt, less fat and with egg substitute, these cookies are 79 calories each.
- Chocolate Walnut Biscotti: Twice baked, crisp and perfect with coffee.
- Cocoa Muffins: Sweetened with fructose, you may substitute the sweetener of your choice.
Comments
Hi my name is James and I am addicted to chocolate. I admit I am powerless over chocolate and my life had become unmanageable ....12 step program for chocoholics? The reason I got so fat was founded in Pennsylvania in 1876 by Milton Snavely Hershey. He is the original drug dealer of my addiction. LOL. But oh so yummy!
Here are the other recipes featured in the Newsletter
Flourless, Chocolate Truffle CakeWith intense, chocolate flavor this cake is surprisingly fat free. Chocolate chips provide richness and egg whites make it light... continue reading
Mousse Au Chocolat
Although it's not low in calories or fat, how could we omit this genuine French favorite?... continue reading
Vegan Cocoa Cupcakes
If you have concerns with dairy or eggs, this, chocolatey sweet, is so delicious no one will ever know it's vegan! Watch them disappear... continue reading
I don't crave chocolate as much now as I did in my 20's and 30's, but when I want chocolate and can't afford the calories, I make a mug of Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets hot chocolate-it's only 25 calories for a 6 oz serving and it has enough calcium in it to count as a serving of dairy. The only problem is stirring all the lumps out of it--if you don't get them all blended in it can be like swallowing snot. I use a special whisk.
Trader Joe's has a wonderful dark chocolate bar that is only 100 calories. They come in a box with 5 (or maybe 6) bars. I usually have one a day as my treat.
I buy a bag of Hershey Treasures with almonds and have one piece every day after dinner. It satisfies my need for chocolate.
I am also a big fan of hot chocolate and use cocoa, artificial sweetener and 1% milk. I also add a sprinkle of cinnamon which gives it an extra good flavor. With colder weather getting here, I usually have a cup every night.
Original Post by: grandmajean56I buy a bag of Hershey Treasures with almonds and have one piece every day after dinner. It satisfies my need for chocolate.
I am also a big fan of hot chocolate and use cocoa, artificial sweetener and 1% milk. I also add a sprinkle of cinnamon which gives it an extra good flavor. With colder weather getting here, I usually have a cup every night.
I really admire your self control; unfortunately while I can sometimes be trusted with an open bag of treats, I am not consistent and have learned the hard way that I'm better off not keeping stuff like that around. When I fall off the wagon, I hit the ground hard!
Thanks for all the information and suggestions. I will check out Trader Joe's dark chocolate.
...oooh I am so addicted I started my own chocolate company, called jadorechocolat.com It just went live. My site is made up of top quality chocolate, little sugar, just pure chocolat! I have found with top quality choc you dont continue to crave; many are lubed up with extra oils, wax, sugar. I make great truffle cakes, chocolate jam too!
Cheryn
Original Post by: kbella24I <3 dark chocolate. I can't even eat the milk chocolate stuff anymore. I have become a chocolate snob. I buy bars of really high quality 70% dark chocolate from a specialty store and eat them one square at a time (about 10 grams). That is enough to satisfy me...and it is a great treat!
Me too I do exactly the same and I find if I am tempted by 'ordinary' chocolate it just tastes fatty to me and I don't bither with it after the first mouthful.
kbella24 has the right idea. My husband and I do the same thing by eating 1 square at a time fo 70+% cocoa bars. We also keep them in the freezer so the satisfy the "crunch" desire too, plus they take longer to melt in your mouth. If we have a Hershey bar in the freezer (left over from Smores) we will just eat the whole thing without thinking about it. The higher cocoa content bars are much richer.
I too am using the 12 steps to help me deal with my addition to chocolate. Its not a matter of just eating one little piece at a time. If I eat one little piece I can't stop. The only way to not pig out on chocolate is not to eat the first piece.
I love Cadbury Milk Chocolate, ghiradelli, Gertrude Hawk's chocolate covered caramel apples with peanuts sprinkled on them. And a little goes a long way.
In reference to cinnamon added to hot choc. Add cinnamon to as much as possible as it helps to regulate your blood sugar!
Enjoy your weekend, everyone!
Getting ready to go for a 3-mile walk to burn off the chocolates!
I used to think I hated chocolate. (really! the horror!)
Turns out it was milk chocolate I couldn't stand. Once I got my hands on good dark chocolate, I've been keeping a stash in the freezer ever since. One square with a cup of tea is the best.
Original Post by: bunnybaneI used to think I hated chocolate. (really! the horror!)
Turns out it was milk chocolate I couldn't stand. Once I got my hands on good dark chocolate, I've been keeping a stash in the freezer ever since. One square with a cup of tea is the best.
I eat my sqaure with coffee but I must warn you 'chocolate' addicts out there that once you start eating 'real' chocolate you will go off the other stuff.
In fact I think you are all really addicted to sugar not chocolate because you simply cannot eat more than two squares of good quality chocolate. (I mean anythign with 65% plus cocoa content)
chocolate chip pancakes! it is easy to make it low calorie if you add your own chips and change measurements abit....you can even buy mini chocolate chips from marketday.com and there is only 130 calories for 6 mini pancakes.....pretty good I think....
Avoiding chocolate was the first thing that i did when i decided to cut down weight. It was only later that i realized that, most of the chocolates available in my country were in fact milk chocolates & not real chocolates.
Staffs of a restaurant called " Chocolate room" did a good job of educating me on chocolate. I also stumbled upon this article on chocolates.
Since then, i have become very choosy about chocolate, I go for dark chocolate with at least 60% & above chocolate, use cocoa butter & and do not use dutching method ( as heat kills most antioxidants present in chocolate). now, i enjoy dark, cold pressed chocolates without any guilt.
Original Post by: roslOriginal Post by: bunnybaneI used to think I hated chocolate. (really! the horror!)
Turns out it was milk chocolate I couldn't stand. Once I got my hands on good dark chocolate, I've been keeping a stash in the freezer ever since. One square with a cup of tea is the best.
I eat my sqaure with coffee but I must warn you 'chocolate' addicts out there that once you start eating 'real' chocolate you will go off the other stuff.
In fact I think you are all really addicted to sugar not chocolate because you simply cannot eat more than two squares of good quality chocolate. (I mean anythign with 65% plus cocoa content)
'Warn' them?! Dark bittersweet chocolate is sooooo much tastier than the fatted-up, too-sweet-and-creamy milk chocolate crap that all of the big name candy companies use nowadays. It's my life!!
And I can say with fair certainty that sugar is not my addiction - CHOCOLATE is. I try to avoid added sugar as much as possible and only buy chocolate with a really high cocoa content. A teaspoon of pure organic unsweeted cocoa powder mixed with plain Greek yogurt is my ambrosia.
Well, that and chocolate covered coffee beans. ;)
<3
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), I am "allergic" to anything with sugar in it! A day or two after eating candy, or cookies, or chocolate, my tongue develops "lie bumps" - little tastebuds on my tongue get inflamed, almost like a little pimple, and they HURT! It first happened eating homemade fudge one Christmas and ever since, if I eat too much of anything with sugar in it, these little bumps (one, two, or three) come up and torment me for at least two to three days! Artificial sweetners don't affect me, so I often make a cup of hot cocoa using backing chocolate and sweetened with artificial sweetner. At the grocery store, standing in the checkout line, I am so tempted to grab a Reece's peanut butter cup, or an Almond Joy but then I think of the painful bumps on my tongue and I pass those up!
I guess I am also a "chocolate snop" LOL! I am the same way with coffee though. It is one of the few little things I indulge myself with !
...have you tried Bittersweet? there is Extra Bittersweet too. Very very dark, delish.
Try melting it in hot milk, a dash of cayenne and a bit of your favorite sweetener if you cant take the sugar.
I dont like the milk choc at all. Most US choc and some imports are mostly MC. The darker the better in my world!
ALL chocolate is good chocolate hehe...but yes i know dark has many health benefits...when i was younger my mom used to wrap either a fresh piece of pita bread or a fresh piece of french loaf around dark chocolate pieces and make us a chocolate sandwich..i still crave them from time to time..sounds funny chocolate sandwiches..but NUTELLA is the same idea only dark chocolate is much better...try it! youll be surprised how delicious it is
My fave 100 cal. chocolate treat is Slim a Bear Fudge Ice Cream Bars. They are big & thick, and if I lick and don't bite, they last up to 10 minutes. That's 10 long minutes of pure chocolate bliss.
I've heard lots of similar conversations to this, I even took part in several. I read the book below and now I understand that either eating chocolate etc. and being fat, or not eating chocolate and being thin is a choice that I have. It introduced me to a common sense approach to dieting, and now I take personal responsibility for what I put into my body, and therefore how much I weigh. Easy.
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Only Fat People Skip Breakfast: The Refreshingly Different Diet Book by Lee Janogly
I will check out the book by Lee Janogly you suggested. I appreciate all of the comments from eveyone about chocolate. I too hate milk chocolate and much prefer the very dark semi sweet chocolate but even this will trigger my cravings for chocolate. It's not the sugar. I can take or leave other sugary foods with no problem. Sooo I make the choice to be chocolate free. I've got 4 weeks without it and finally my craving has eased. At the grocery store yesterday I just avoided the aisles that displayed it. One day at a time.
My recipe for hot cocoa is somewhat similar to the one posted in the article above, but it's a lot easier to make.
http://caloriecount.about.com/rjsayers-special-hot-cocoa-rec ipe-r214906
It's even helped me to lose weight. Imagine that!
i quite like the extra fat it adds ;) being too low on fat is bad your skin suffers! i love chocolate, from milk to 85% dark. whites ok but its not got enough chocolate in for my usual tastings. i eat so much chocolate but i love it and thats fine. ive given it up before but life wasnt right very unsocialable. chocolate is good good good :P
The side effects of allergy medications keep some people from using them. Natural remedies can be a great alternative, but some are more effective than others.
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I <3 dark chocolate. I can't even eat the milk chocolate stuff anymore. I have become a chocolate snob. I buy bars of really high quality 70% dark chocolate from a specialty store and eat them one square at a time (about 10 grams). That is enough to satisfy me...and it is a great treat!