chocolate

Three Fruit Smoothie

February 12, 2016 By Diane Boyd

One minute is all it takes to make this Three Fruit Smoothie with CocoaVia® Cran-Raspberry supplement packs for your daily dose of cocoa flavanols.

Disclosure: I was asked to participate in the CocoaVia® #HeartMonth campaign as a member of Healthy Aperture Blogger Network. I received samples of CocoaVia® product mentioned in this post and I was compensated for my time.

Call me a preservationist. Call me high maintenance. The upkeep of my body is a priority, but I DON’T mean in a primping kinda way. (I’m the gal who six out of seven days, opts for a ponytail over a self imposed blow-out.) While waxing, polishing and shellacking would probably help make me look more like I have it together, I tend to work things from the inside out. So I invest my time in eating right and exercising daily.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I love muscles. In my post on 10 Reasons Why You Should Care About Muscle Maintenance, I explain it’s not just about being bigger and stronger. More than any other single factor, muscle loss is responsible for the frailty and diminished vitality we associate with old age. But did you know your heart is also a muscle? Yep, and I ‘m just as passionate about preserving my ticker, as I am in preserving my biceps! February is the perfect month to talk about matters of the heart, so today I want to encourage you to give yours little extra TLC everyday with CocoaVia® cocoa extract supplement.

It ‘s well documented in the scientific literature that the benefits of chocolate come from the cocoa flavanols. The published research shows that beginning about 200 mg, cocoa flavanols can begin to have a positive effects on the vasculuar system. Here’s what you need to know: CocoaVia® cocoa extract supplement delivers the highest concentration of cocoa flavanols (375 mg of cocoa flavanols per serving of CocoaVia® supplement) which are scientifically proven to promote a healthy heart by supporting healthy blood flow.†

The cocoa flavanols in CocoaVia® are backed by two decades of scientific research that suggests these powerful plant-derived nutrients from cocoa beans may play a valuable role in cardiovascular health.

If you’re asking, ‘Why not just eat chocolate?’, you’re asking a good question! Chocolate is a fabulous treat, but it’s not a reliable way to get sufficient quantities of cocoa flavanols. Traditional cocoa processing, which includes drying, fermenting and roasting of beans, destroys many of the flavanols naturally present in the cocoa bean. CocoaVia® supplement isolates the “good stuff” in chocolate in a convenient, versatile form, without all the calories and fat.

It’s a cinch to integrate CocoaVia® products into your healthy lifestyle. Packaged as convenient powdered ‘stick’ packs makes it simple to add one to your favorite beverages or foods everyday. They come in three delicious flavors: Unsweetened Dark Chocolate, Sweetened Dark Chocolate, and Cran-Raspberry. I’m crazy about the dark chocolate flavors mixed with milk or smoothies (like my Banana Cream Pie Smoothie). They’re also good with hot or chilled coffee, oatmeal, and yogurt. Cran-Raspberry mixes well with water, smoothies, yogurt, and iced tea. After my run today, I made this crisp refreshing recovery drink by mixing the Cran- Raspberry CocoaVia® with skim milk and orange juice and serving over ice… It provides fluid, electrolytes, carbohydrates for glycogen replacement, protein for muscle building and repair, and of course, cocoa flavanols to support healthy blood flow.†

Evidence strongly suggests, your health (and ability reduce age related decline) depends on the combination of your genes and your lifestyle. Join me in adding CocoaVia® to your daily routine! To learn more, be sure to check out the website www.cocoavia.com<rel=”nofollow”/a> and find more delicious recipes using CocoaVia® Brand here .

† This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This produce is not intended to diagnose, treat , cure or prevent any disease.

Three Fruit Smoothie

One minute is all it takes to make this Three Fruit Smoothie with CocoaVia® Cran-Raspberry supplement packs for your daily dose of cocoa flavanols.

Author: Diane Boyd
Yield: 1 serving 1x

Ingredients

Scale

ice cubes
1 packet of CocoaVia® Cran-Raspberry supplement
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup orange juice

Instructions

1. Fill a drinking glass with ice. Set aside.

2. In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, combine milk, orange juice and CocoaVia® supplement packet. Stir the drink to blend. Pour over ice and drink immediately.

No Bake Chocolate Mousse

February 12, 2015 By Diane Boyd

I thought long and hard about a Valentine’s Day dessert recipe to tout to the twenty something gal who’s smart and savvy, but has little time to spend in the kitchen. The ease of this chocolate treat made me curious; it is soooo easy to prepare even kids can make it. I’m not talking You, twenty something gals, I’m talking first and second graders, here! I watched them at a local Williams-Somona. It was a promotion for Jennifer Tyler Lee’s book The 52 New Foods Challenge. And so, that’s how the story begins, of this Valentine’s Day chocolate recipe…

Although appealing to me, I must be honest with you, I didn’t score any brownie points with ‘the man’. He would have been happier with.. ahem… Bobby Flay’s version (which btw takes over one hour and fifteen minutes to prepare). While cleaning up, He (aka the man) challenged me, “Are you altering the recipe for some minor nutritional improvements?”

So here’s how it break downs, Honey:

Bobby Flay’s Dark Chocolate Mousse recipe per serving : 450 calories, 33 g fat, 21 g sat’d fat, 97 mg cholesterol, 234 mg sodium, 17 g sugar, 2 g fiber.

Made according to my recipe (posted below) per serving: 227 calories, 14 g fat, 4 g sat’d fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 25 mg sodium, 15 g sugar, 7 g fiber

Clearly this one was not so minor. That said, if you know your man loves to get jacked up on sugar and prefers milk chocolate to dark chocolate DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS RECIPE. It will fail. Save it instead for a girls night in. But, if he’s from California, you may proceed.

For the interest of anyone who may be reading, and asking me (along with members of my family whose names I will withhold), the obvious question: Why do you continue to use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate or avocado instead of heavy cream, if you know, no one you’re cooking for will appreciate it (except yourself)? These are some of the internal conflicts a blogger often faces and legitimately described by Regan Jones R.D. in her post How My Blog was Ruining Dinnertime. (If you’re interested in this topic and you haven’t read this, you should.) I have those same blogging issues. And yes, sometimes my family accuses me of.. gasp.. cooking for the blog. So do I believe I should have made the dessert Bobby Flay’s way? No. For whatever it’s worth, I try to follow a give and take. Sometimes making the family favorites, other times pushing the envelope. I do find that getting individuals to expand their palates is not an overnight process. (Twenty years ago my husband would not touch yogurt with a ten foot pole, now he reminds me when we’re out.) Yes, I said twenty years!!! Don’t give up! I do think it’s important to continue to expose individuals to healthier choices, mixed in with familiar foods. It’s not perfect, but I’m not trying to be perfect at what I do, just good at it: wife, mother, blogger, and dietitian.

Let me know how you try to introduce new foods to your family? or do you prefer to just play it safe?

No Bake Chocolate Mousse

A lighter version of chocolate mousse that’s plant based and vegetarian.

Author: Diane Boyd
Yield: 2 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 avocado
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
3/4 ounce dark chocolate, melted
1 pitted date
1/4 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons sweetened whipped cream
handful of pomegranate seeds for garnish

Instructions

1. Add avocado, cocoa powder, date, skim milk and vanilla to blender or food processor.

2. Process until smooth.

3. Melt dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl or in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add melted chocolate to mixture in blender and blend again until creamy and smooth.

4. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or up to 24 hours. Serve with whipped topping. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Nutrition

Calories: 227
Sugar: 15 grams
Sodium: 25 mg
Fat: 14 grams
Saturated Fat: 4 grams
Fiber: 7 grams

Frozen Chocolate Raisin Pie

December 8, 2014 By Diane Boyd

Disclosure: By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board and I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

Winding down after a long day often means curling up with a good book. Last month I was reading this book. Perhaps the 1934 edition of Hershey’s Cookbook wasn’t what you expected? (Yes, I am weird like that; reading a cookbook like a novel. ) Apparently my husband was reading too, because he asked me to make the chocolate raisin pie on page 44. Then the Recipe Redux surprised us with another member opportunity: a holiday recipe contest sponsored by California Raisins. The challenge is to enhance the holidays with delicious foods that fit the category extra nutrition and less indulgence. Looks like the 1934 Hershey’s Chocolate Raisin Pie is in for a revision!

Say hello to the 21st Century Chocolate Raisin Pie that debut in my house this Thanksgiving, as a test pie.

Of the eleven ingredients in the original recipe, I eliminated 6, including the added sugar and unbaked pie shell. Both the chocolate and the natural sweetness of the raisins, make this just sweet enough. The pie gets a contemporary new twist with the addition of silken tofu, a versatile lean protein. I think it’s the perfect ingredient for this creamy dessert because it acts as a sponge and takes on the flavors you pair it with, so you can taste the heros of this dessert: chocolate and naturally sweet California Raisins.

Join me in a healthier, less indulgent approach to the holidays by adding this sun dried fruit to a myriad of foods from desserts to savory main dishes. The ingredient list says it all: Raisins. The nutrition label tells this good story: zero fat, no cholesterol, and no added sugar. Plus raisins offer 9% of your daily fiber and potassium, and 6% of your iron. California raisins will steal the culinary spotlight with added nutrition and natural sweetness. Please visit the links at the bottom of this post for delicious and festive ways to include California raisins in your holiday spread.

Frozen Chocolate Raisin Pie

A modern version of Hershey’s original Chocolate Raisin Pie.

Author: Diane Boyd
Yield: 12 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

for the crust

chocolate wafer cookies (3 cups crumbled )
4 Tablespoons melted butter

for the filling

2 cups California raisins
2 cups water
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
24.6 ounces extra firm silken tofu, drained of water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon good quality salt such as Himalayan crystal salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

for the crust

1. Process chocolate cookie wafers in a blender or food processor until sandy textured.

2. Add melted butter and stir. Once combined, take out 4 tablespoons and reserve for topping.

3. Press remaining crumb mixture into bottom of one 9 1/2 inch pie plate (avoiding sides) or two smaller pie tins. Set aside.

for the filling

1. Place raisins in a small saucepan. Add enough water to cover. Heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain raisins and set aside.

2. Add chocolate to a small saucepan and melt over low heat.

3. Add tofu, raisins, melted chocolate, vanilla, salt and cinnamon to a blender and process until smooth. Pour mixture on top of crust. Use remaining cookie crumbs to garnish top. Freeze for 2 hours, then serve. If in the freezer longer than 2 hours, allow to thaw slightly before serving. Serves 12

Three Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients

Instructions

No Bake Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition

Frozen Chocolate Raisin Pie

Ingredients

Instructions

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