Two Tasty Fall Treats: Skinny Hot Cocoa and Pumpkin Pudding

This weekend was a cold one in Orlando!  Any excuse for me to bust out my boots makes me a happy girl.  Saturday night was a chilly 45 degrees, which really put me in the mood for a warm, delicious treat.  I really wanted hot chocolate, and I just happened to have a box from last winter waiting patiently in my pantry.  I did a quick check of the Nutrition Facts, and I was kind of surprised that one tiny packet had about 100 calories and 3 grams of fat.  Not that this is a high-calorie drink by any means, but I try to save all my calories for eating real food .

After some long stares into my almost-bare pantry, I spotted a tub of Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa hiding in the corner.  I grabbed my favorite mug and started to whip up a skinny version of my favorite hot drink.

Skinny Hot Cocoa

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

1 cup Almond milk

2 tablespoons Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

3 packets Splenda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a mug, pour the cocoa, Splenda, and cinnamon and stir together.

Hot Almond Milk

In a separate mug, heat the Almond milk in the microwave until hot.

When the milk is hot, pour about half of it over the cocoa-Splenda-cinnamon mixture.  Stir with a spoon until well dissolved.  Pour the rest of the milk in, stir, add the vanilla extract, stir again, and drink up!

Treat #2

After my hot cocoa discovery, I was pretty much ready to fry up a turkey and invite the family over for early Thanksgiving!  It seems like when the holidays are just around the corner, I can’t help but crave some kind of pumpkin-flavored food at least once a day.  I love Pumpkin Spice Lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin seeds- you name it!

The other day I was in the spice aisle at the grocery store and spotted a tiny jar of Pumpkin Pie Spice.  Who knew they could capture that delicious scent and put it in a spice shaker?!  I threw it in the cart, along with a can of pumpkin, even though I had no idea what I was going to make with the two ingredients (I am a cook, after all, not a baker!) After some brainstorming when I got home, I came up with a creamy, low-calorie, 3-ingredient dessert!

 

 

Pumpkin Pudding

Looks like baby food, Tastes like Fall =)

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

1 individual cup of Jell-O Sugar Free Dulce de Leche Pudding (you could use Vanilla flavor instead)

2 spoonfuls of canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice

Directions:

In a bowl, scoop out the pudding from the individual cup and add to the bowl.

Pumpkin + Pudding

Spoon the pumpkin into the bowl and mix together.

Add the Pumpkin Pie Spice and mix again.  Serve with an additional sprinkle of the spice.