A Sweet Tooth Confession and Mint Chocolate Chip Yogurt

Okay.  I admit it.  I have a HUGE sweet tooth.  Lately, it’s been a little (okay a lot) out of control.

Maybe it’s the crummy weather (where is the sun?), maybe it is the fact that I have been working a lot, maybe it is because Jacob is out of town until July 15th with little cell phone service, or maybe it’s the ridiculous amount of apartment and job searching I’ve been doing without a whole lot of luck.  Maybe it is all of the above.  Whatever it is, it needs to stop.

So that’s that: today is the day it will stop.  I will NOT give in to my urge to stop at Starbucks on my way home from the store for a grande mocha frappuccino with whipped cream.  I will NOT eat a million cookies at work, just because my supervisor brought them in.  Instead I WILL make better choices.

Recently, Megan, over at My Road to the RD made a milkshake to satisfy her sweet tooth without all the guilt.  This got me thinking about the kinds of healthier desserts I enjoy.

In my post about thin crust pizza dough, I mentioned that I had purchased a chocolate peppermint herb plant.  I love peppermint!  I like it as tea, in a  mojito , and especially with chocolate.  This specific plant, which is actually called chocolate peppermint, smells and taste like chocolate peppermints!  You can’t get much better than that! Chocolate peppermint make an excellent addition to one of my favorite guiltless desserts

Mint Chocolate Yogurt

1 container Fage 0% Greek Yogurt

1 serving Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips (about 16 chips)

1 Tbsp chopped chocolate mint

Sprinkle the chocolate chips and mint over the yogurt in a bowl, and dig in!

Nutritional Benefits

Protein! Fage 0% greek yogurt is loaded in the stuff…20 grams!

Calcium! The yogurt provides 25% of your daily value of calcium, important for your bones!

Flavanols and Antioxidants! Dark chocolate has recently entered the health conversation for it’s heart health benefits, check out this article from the Cleveland Clinic for more information.

Probiotics! Another hot topic in nutrition, probiotics are “good bacteria”.  If you are taking an antibiotic, consider consuming probiotics daily! See this article from the National Institutes of Health for more information.

Nutrition Comparison to Similar Products

This recipe has: 200 calories, 15 grams of sugar, 6 grams fat, 21 grams protein.  (includes the yogurt and chocolate)

*The following nutrition facts are on a per single serving container basis (because who eats less or more than that?).  The actual serving size may vary between brands

Fage 0% Greek Yogurt: 120 calories, 9 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fat, 20 grams protein.

Yoplait Thick and Creamy, Strawberry: 190 calories, 28 grams of sugar, 3.5 grams of fat, 7 grams protein.

Yoplait Greek, Plain: 100 calories, 9 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fat, 14 grams protein.

Oikos Chocolate Pure Pleasure on the Bottom, Greek: 110 calories, 16 grams of sugar, 0 grams fat, 10 grams protein.