Week 13: Let Them Eat Cake!

We are 2/3 the way through the learning experience of lifestyle change: 12 weeks of class, 8 weeks of intentional movement, 12 weeks of documenting our intake. We have sorted cupboards, taken to writing notes to ourselves when dining out, and in general lost weight, become more flexible, and gained confidence in our new direction.

(A fun fact: for all the people in the cohort, those who have written down every morsel of intake, they have achieved a median weight loss of 10 pounds; for those who have opted out of the food diary, a mere 1.5 pounds.)

In the next 1/3 of our time in class, we are focusing our efforts on life "from here on out". How will we stay motivated? What will be our challenges? Where will we seek support and information?

The question for me is, how will I continue to find creative and flavorful ways to feed my family? This is particularly challenging on the dessert side of life: we really enjoy a sweet treat and we adore the flavor of chocolate!

I have tried many "diet" desserts in life. Many have failed the palatability test, save for whole fruit sorbets. I discovered an online site CookEatShare and decided to give a double chocolate cake recipe a try. I LOVE it! It is chocolate beyond chocolate, moist and beautiful! I share it here with a few of my "tweaks". If prepared in a 9 X 13 pan, cut into 12 pieces for 3-5 GRAMS of fat per serving, depending on how low of a "light" margarine you can find.

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Using nonstick spray, grease the pan, then flour with cocoa powder.

3. Combine dry ingredients:
-1 1/2 cup sugar
-1 3/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
-3/4 cocoa powder
-1 1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder

4. Add to the dry ingredients, one at a time and mix for 2 minutes:
-3 eggs (they called for 4 egg whites, but we raise our own eggs and I had no plans for the yolks, otherwise)
-1 cup skim milk
-1/2 cup applesauce, no sugar
-2tsp vanilla

5. Add one cup boiling water and mix thoroughly.

6. Pour into pan and bake 45-60 minutes (their recipe said 35-40, but I still had soup), or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool completely.

7. For the frosting cream together:
-4 TBSP light margarine (I used Brummel and Brown with yogurt)
-2 TBSP plain nonfat yogurt
-Mix together 1/2 cup cocoa and 2 cups powdered sugar and then add slowly to the creamed butter and yogurt ( I use a mixer, so this is easy).
-Add 3 TBSP skim milk and 2 tsp vanilla until reaching desired consistency.

Frost happily. Enjoy the fact that you can have your cake and eat it too with a glass of ice cold fat free soy, milk, coconut, or other choice of "wash it down goodness". Share abundantly! Serves 12.