Indulging a little (on the spot recipe)

So I have a confession: I am currently OBSESSED with hot chocolate. I can't help myself. On the cruise, I must have had at least 2 cups a day. It was so good. Coming home, I found the cravings still torturing me. My only thought was, "okay, now that I'm off the cruise and getting back on my healthy track, how can I indulge on creamy, delicious hot chocolate without undoing all my gym work and healthy eating?"

Well I think I found a way to have my chocolate and "draaaaaaank" it too. :) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTK0kFXJjd0 -- for the reference lol)

I went out and bought "diet" hot cocoa, which we can all agree tastes as unsatisfying as it sounds. Each packet, though, is only 20 calories and contains no aspartame (I bought Nestle Fat Free Hot Cocoa, so if you're looking at other brands, check the ingredients list to make sure there's no aspartame listed). It does have sucralose, which isn't the best thing for you, but its not nearly as bad as aspartame and it doesn't give me migraines so for now, I'm deeming it okay in moderation.

So, this diet cocoa is great for being 20 calories, but the taste factor is pretty poor. By itself one cup of this stuff tastes a little like someone dropped a little chocolate syrup into hot water. yum...

So I fixed it up a little with stuff I already had in my fridge and managed to keep the drink under 50 calories. I call this success! Here's what I did:

1 packet of Fat Free Cocoa
3/4 cup of hot water
1/4 cup of vanilla flavored soy or almond milk (Although I'm sure chocolate flavor would be even better, the vanilla gave it a really nice sweet creamyness)
2 packets Stevia

Once I added all the liquid and stirred it all up, it still was not sweet enough for me, so I added in two packets of my favorite 0-calorie sweetener: Stevia. The result: BRILLIANCE!

It tastes like a full bodied, full flavor cup of hot cocoa and its under 50 calories a cup! I'm in heaven. Now if I can find a way to stop myself from having 5 cups a day I'll be set! lol

Low calorie treats are great, but they stop being low calorie and start hurting your health when you overindulge on them. Remember, think of these things as a treat and have just one or two a day to give yourself one of those "mmmmm" moments and you won't undo your efforts at all. Diets and eating habits can be hard to maintain in the face of cravings, but its important to FIT these treats in. The best way I've found to do this is to find or make healthier versions of my favorite junk foods like this one.

Want more ideas or recipes? Have a recipe to share? COMMENT!!! :)