Did you think you would escape sweet treats after the holidays?! Well not for long…
Valentine’s Day is only a month away which means an abundance of baked goods and chocolate treats readily available. According to About.com at least 36 million boxes of heart shaped boxes will be sold for Valentines Day. Each piece of chocolates has approximately 60-100 calories, which is a lot of extra calories!
One possible option to avoid deprivation during the “holiday of romance” is make your own delicious sweet treats. Homemade recipes allow for tweaking of ingredients and substitutions with lower calorie and fat options.
Recently on Pinterest I have spotted numerous lower calorie recipes for brownies prepared with soda, so I thought it was time to try one out. The first recipe I made was a complete disaster. If you like a pudding consistency for your brownies I have the perfect recipe for you! After a few ingredient changes I produced the perfect lower calorie brownie made with soda. The soda replaced ALL of the fat (oil) that is typically used when baking brownies. This substitution saves approximately 50 calories per serving.
Another trick to cure a sweet tooth and minimize calories from sweets is to eat fruit in combination with a sweet treat. Fruit offers a sweet taste for fewer calories. Strawberries dipped in chocolate were used for this recipe, however if you want an even lower calorie treat skip the chocolate. The chocolate adds approximately 50 additional calories per serving.
A major selling point for this recipes is the short amount of time it takes to prepare and the limited number of ingredients. Once the brownie is cooked and cooled, using a cookie cutter, you can cut out your favorite shapes. A perfect activity for all ages.
What is not to love about these cute and low calorie treats?!
Enjoy!
360FN