Low-Calorie Chocolate Custard

low-glycemic, low-fat alternative to traditional chocolate custard

This recipe makes about two 1-cup servings of chocolate custard. This recipe is not vegan, and is not suitable for vegetarians (unless you are a lacto-ovo veg). It is not for the lactose intolerant or those who are sensitive to artificial sweeteners (bad me, I know).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Dannon Light & Fit, fat-free, vanilla yoghurt (110 calories per cup serving)
2 tbsp dark cocoa powder (or natural if you prefer)
1 packet of Knox unflavoured gelatine, dissolved in boiling water
1/4 cup of Egg Beaters (cholesterol-free, fat-free egg product)
1 tsp Vanilla Butter-Nut flavouring extract (alcohol-free delivers no bitter taste)
6 packets of Truvia (not to be confused with Stevia in the Raw packets - this will help sweeten the unsweetened ingredients, i.e.; the cocoa powder and flavouring extract)

Dissolve the gelatine with 1 cup of boiling water in a mixing bowl or large glass measuring cup. Once the gelatine is thoroughly dissolved, add the egg and stir well. Put into microwave oven for 1 minute, watching carefully to avoid boil-over. Remove from microwave oven and stir thoroughly. Mixture should be hot and the egg should be well heated but not lumpy. Add flavouring extract, sweetener, yoghurt and cocoa powder and beat with a whisk until smooth. Pour into a three-cup sized plastic or glass bowl, cover, put in refrigerator and allow to set for about three hours, or until congealed. Makes about two 1-cup servings at 75 calories each.

The entire recipe has enough protein to be eaten by one person as the main course of a meal alongside an all- vegetable salad. This custard is not too high in protein, yet contains just the right amount to balance out the carbohydrates. It is low-fat and would make the perfect lunch for the person with a desk job who wants to have their dessert and eat it too. So, when the dessert cart arrives and the rest of your colleagues are sitting down to fat-laden cakes and ice-cream, you can have your chocolate custard and not feel deprived, feel as though you are cheating and yet know that you're NOT CHEATING AT ALL. This custard is actually good for your metabolism when eaten with an all-vegetable salad! It will leave you feeling satisfied, cured of your sweet-tooth and/or craving for CHOCOLATE IN LARGE AMOUNTS, is very low in fat and calories for the amount it gives you to eat (and believe me, it's A LOT of volume for one person). Best of all, you will have the willpower to turn down the less healthy desserts and know that this one is actually part of your meal!

(Hey, I should write an entire book entitled How to Make Your Dessert Your Main Course and Still Lose Weight...)

The breakdown of the entire recipe is as follows:

Fat: 1 g.
Protein: 11.5 g.
Carbohydrate: 24 g.

Total calories: 151