Amazing Chocolate Biscotti!

I love chocolate, and there’s nothing wrong with indulging in some now and then.  I prefer having a small portion of the real thing, than larger portions of artificially sweetened “light” chocolaty foods.  The key to making this work is your portion size!

It’s a good idea to keep a limited amount of sweet treats at home; otherwise you may be tempted by all of them on any given day.  So have one or two choices for when your sweet tooth kicks in.

I recently tried Trader Joe’s mini chocolate hazelnut biscotti and they were absolutely incredible: slightly soft with a rich chocolaty taste and an abundance of crunchy hazelnuts.

The ingredient list proves to be short and natural: enriched flour, cane sugar, eggs, butter, hazelnuts, dutch cocoa, chocolate chips, baking powder, and natural vanilla flavor.

Sounds like a recipe list I would use to bake myself.  This is the reason it’s so satisfying!

3 mini biscotti provide: 140 calories, 6 grams fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat, 19 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 2 grams protein.

Even though these are really small, I was usually able to limit my portion size to two at a time.  This serving size was perfect and left my sweet tooth satisfied!

Do you have a favorite sweet treat?

Trader Joe’s Blueberry Muesli

I love finding and testing new products.  Trader Joes is one place that I always leave with various new products to try!  I only wish it was a bit more convenient to where I lived and less busy — how is the line always wrapped around the store?!

Well, this past Monday I decided to brave the crowds and head to Trader Joes.  One of the new products I left with and was very excited to try was their Blueberry Muesli.  After my European trip I’ve been craving some yummy muesli, and was thrilled to find this one.

The first thing I do when I see a new product is read the nutrition facts label & the ingredients.  I was pleased to see that the first three ingredients were: whole rolled barley flakes, whole rolled rye flakes, blueberry flavored pieces.  Furthermore, for a cereal with dried fruit (blueberries, raisins, currants, and apples), the sugar count of 10 grams was very reasonable.  Remember – on a nutrition label you can’t decipher between natural sugars and added sugar.  Additionally the cereal has 5 grams of filling fiber and 4 grams of protein.

I could not wait to try out my new cereal for breakfast.

Verdict: Absolutely delicious!  I would definitely buy this again.

My cereal bowl included:

• 1/2 cup trader joe’s blueberry muesli
• 3/4 cup silk light vanilla soymilk
• 1/3 large banana
• 1 TB almond slivers
• 1 tsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp chia seeds

The combination of fiber (oats, dried fruit, bananas and seeds) with protein (milk & almonds) and fat (almonds & seeds), kept me full for about 4 hours.  Successful breakfast in my opinion!

Nutrition Facts: 360 calories, 9 grams fat, 64 grams carbohydrate, 10 grams fiber, and 12 grams protein.

Nutrition Tidbit: Muesli

• Muesli is a combination of rolled oats, dried fruit and sometimes nuts.
• Some muesli has added sugar, others do not.  Make sure to read the label.
• Keep in mind 4 grams sugar = 1 tsp, but as I mentioned earlier, there is no way to decipher between added sugar and natural sugar (found in the dried fruit).  Compare a few brands and look for ones with lower sugar contents.
• Muesli can be caloricly dense, especially if there are a lot of nuts, read the label and portion appropriately.
• Make sure to add some sort of protein for staying power!  Yogurt or milk both work great with muesli.