Light 'n' Easy Chocolate Pudding

A Quick & Low-Calorie Recipe for Chocolate Pudding

Some times, we just gotta-have-chocolate-now but don't want to suffer the consequences. This quick low-calorie chocolate pudding recipe calls for just five pantry ingredients. It's sweet and satisfying but won't ruin your diet.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

COMPLIMENTS!

• "... we loved it! Very chocolate-y and delicious ..." ~Nupur
• "This pudding is excellent ..." ~Anonymous
• "... so good—creamy and chocolate-y. ... My son loved it!" ~Donna
• ".. use almond milk and splenda ... still soooo yummy!!!!!!!" ~Meaghan
• "... great pudding!" ~ Libby
• "HOLY SMOKES! This is FANTASTIC!" ~ Jessica
• "I can't make pudding to save my life, but I made this just fine thanks to your "new cook" tips." ~Kahana

BEST RECIPES!

• Light 'n' Easy Chocolate Pudding Was 2005's Single "Most Useful Recipe"!
• Kitchen Parade’s Best-Ever “Most Useful” Recipes, just one per year since 2002

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Having Our Cake and Eating It Too

Like every modern weight-conscious woman, I want it all. It’s our 21st century version of both having and eating our cake.

Yes, I want to feel and look slim. Yes, I want to feel and be healthy. And I want ALL this – and still enjoy wine with supper and dessert after!

To achieve satisfying weight and health objectives, however, most nights we must, at best, choose between wine and dessert or, at worst, sacrifice both.

LIGHT ‘N’ EASY CHOCOLATE PUDDING helps. More than once, when supper’s seemed a little skimpy, I whip up a batch and within a few minutes, feel indulged and satisfied but know I’m eating virtuously.

The trick is the fat-free but flavorful cocoa powder. Like low-fat buttermilk and egg whites, cocoa powder is an ingredient to seek out in recipes if you, a thoroughly modern woman, or man, watch your weight.

With a winner like this for every day, it’s an easy decision, then, to occasionally splurge on some cream- and egg-rich chocolate mousse.

Or yes, please pass the cake.

About "Alanna-Sizing"

Since starting to write Kitchen Parade in 2002, I've made a concerted effort to make over recipes to make them more healthful.

My friends call it "Alanna-sizing". This is how I do it, you can do it at home, too.

• First I create reasonable portion sizes (yes, they're smaller than has become "normal")
• Then remove unnecessary fat and sugar
• Increase low- or no-calorie ingredients that add bulk and flavor.

It's that simple. And there's no sacrifice because it just tastes so good.

This chocolate pudding is a perfect example. It's not a rich chocolate mousse to serve at a fancy dinner party. (Ha! That said, people lap up every single bite when I do fancy up the pudding a bit to serve for friends and family, often with a little diced banana and a little half & half, sometimes a drizzle of Homemade Chocolate Sauce In-a-Flash. Sooo good!)

But it is one to make every week, fast, simple and satisfying.

I hope you love it!

LIGHT ‘N’ EASY CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 25 minutes
Makes 2 servings (may be doubled or tripled)

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir together the sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch in a medium saucepan until thoroughly mixed. Slowly whisk in the milk.

Cook until thick over medium heat, stirring regularly with a whisk or wooden spoon, especially as the mixture gets hot when it's best to stir continuously. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour into two small dishes and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to continue the thickening process.

ALANNA's TIPS This makes a soft pudding that could also substitute for chocolate sauce. For a richer version, substitute whole milk, at 152 calories, still a healthful dessert.

TIPS for NEW COOKS If you add the milk all at once, the pudding will turn out lumpy. Instead, “slowly whisk in the milk” is kitchen code for the technique used to mix dry and liquid ingredients without lumps. It’s simple to master. First, make sure the dry ingredients are completely mixed. Here, that means that no lumps, even tiny ones, of sugar, cocoa or cornstarch remain. Work out any last remaining pesky ones with the back of a spoon pressed against the saucepan. Next, pour the milk into a liquid measuring cup, that is, one with a spout for easy pouring. Pour a tablespoon or two of milk into the cocoa mixture and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. Repeat tablespoon by tablespoon until the combined mixture is more liquid than dry, then add the remaining milk.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving: 121 Calories; 1g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 2mg Cholesterol; 128mg Sodium; 25g Carb; 2g Fiber; 19g Sugar; 5g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 2 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 6 & Freestyle 6 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 3/4 a serving (4g protein). This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" with reductions in sugar, fat and portion size.

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More Recipes for Light Desserts

(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)

~ more low-calorie recipes ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~

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Craving Chocolate?

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~ more chocolate recipes ~

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ cocoa powder ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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