Light 'n' Easy Chocolate Pudding

Some times, we just gotta-have-chocolate-now, hello skimpy suppers and late-night chocolate attacks. Homemade pudding to the rescue! This recipe makes a small batch, just two cups, that's perfect for one or two. It calls for just five pantry ingredients (like cocoa powder for rich chocolate flavor and cornstarch for thickening). Best of all, it's sweet and ever-so-satisfying but still won't ruin your diet. No wonder, people really do love this pudding!

Healthy Dessert Made from Scratch in Just Ten Minutes. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Easy DIY. No Eggs, No Cream. Low Fat. Vegetarian. (Looking for a vegan plant-based chocolate pudding? Try Easy-Easy Chocolate Coconut Pudding!) Naturally Gluten Free. Rave Reviews!

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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 Made Both Lists!
• Best Recipes of 2005
• Kitchen Parade’s Best-Ever “Most Useful” Recipes, just one recipe 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.

A simple chocolate pudding, oh how it 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 we're 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!

What's In Light 'n' Easy Chocolate Pudding? Pantry Ingredients!

In all my recipes and most well-written recipes, every ingredient serves a purpose. Each one matters. Each one contributes to the overall dish. It's not that an ingredient can't be substituted by something else but when choosing the substitute, it's important to understand why the original ingredient was present in the first place.

• Sugar, for sweetness but also structure.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, for non-fat natural chocolate flavor. Note that unsweetened cocoa powder is different from the packets of cocoa mix you might have for making hot cocoa; those packets include both sugar and milk powder. For unsweetened cocoa powder, I'm partial to a Hershey's brand called "Special Dark" which is super chocolate-y. It's easier to find than it once was, Hershey's now even sells "Special Dark" chocolate chips, too.
• Cornstarch, for thickening the pudding.
• Skim milk for virtually non-fat low-cal pudding. If you keep 1% or 2% or even whole milk on hand, these work too. The pudding will taste slightly richer and add up to more calories but really, this is about as low-cal as dessert gets, even with whole milk. Can you substitute a non-dairy milk? Probably, I know people do. That said, I'm forever marked by a bad batch of pudding that used almond milk, just not good.
• Vanilla, just a small splash, for flavoring. Can you use bourbon or a liqueur that's buried somewhere in a cupboard? Sure!

Here's What's NOT In This Pudding

Sometimes, what's left out of a recipe is just as important as what's put in. That's definitely the case here.

• No Cool Whip or other processed ingredients.
• No butter, no cream or other rich high-calorie additions.
• No eggs, that makes this recipe especially useful for people with egg allergies. It also means the recipe doesn't need that pesky procedure to "temper" the eggs to avoid lumpy pudding.
• No whole chocolate, no chocolate chips. Here, the chocolate flavor comes from the unsweetened cocoa powder.

Bookmark! PIN! Share!

How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If chocolate pudding makes your heart beat a little faster, go ahead, save and share! I'd be honored ...

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LIGHT ‘N’ EASY CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 25 minutes
Makes about 1 cup (easily 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, really seek out and squash pesky little clumps of sugar, cocoa powder or cornstarch. Slowly whisk in the milk, a splash at a time at first, whisking-whisking to reveal and then squelch any remaining bits.

Cook until thick over medium heat, stirring continuously (that means all the time, no interruptions!) with a whisk or wooden spoon, especially as the mixture gets hot. Once the mixture thickens, remove the pot from the heat and stir for another minute or two, then 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. The longer I make pudding, the more I rely on a metal balloon whisk in a stainless steel pan. If you've ever had trouble with lumpy pudding, make the switch, it makes all the difference.

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 & myWW green 6 & blue 6 & purple 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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Craving Chocolate?

more
~ chocolate recipes ~

• THE RECIPE Gourmet Chocolate Mocha Cookies Deeply, darkly chocolate-y.
• ANOTHER TAKE Chocolate Shortbread Cookies A simple chocolate cookie, tender and crisp, barely sweet.

• THE RECIPE Easy-Easy Chocolate Coconut Pudding Just five ingredients and ten minutes to pudding.
• ANOTHER TAKE Light 'n' Easy Chocolate Pudding Sweet and satisfying but won't ruin your diet.

• THE RECIPE Easy-Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake Dark, moist and chocolate-y, even two or three days after baking. Fun sprinkles?!
• ANOTHER TAKE Chocolate Cinnamon Whipped Cream Cake Moist layers plus a fabulous whipped cream (chocolate, people!) frosting!

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

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~ 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. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. 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, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, 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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