10 calories per serving--guiltless decadence!

As part of being a blogger for Foodbuzz  Tastemaker program, I received a large package of  Ghirardelli’s new “Intense Dark” line of chocolate. Now, if you know me well you know I do not like chocolate very much at all. Dark chocolate is the epitome of chocolate. They even included a bar of chocolate that was 86% cacao. What? This is not bakers chocolate either?! Gross–I accept the challenge!!

Wow--now if only I liked chocolate!

I have plenty of eggs at home–no thanks to the chickens! I also had some new instant espresso I had just gotten that I wanted to try.  So–adding all those ingredients together along with once serving size of Ghirardelli’s “Sea Salt Soiree”   I came up with a great idea for a treat! Sometimes we all need a little treat, intense with flavor, to stave off any cravings we are worried about succumbing to, right?  Like that “night-cap” we look for before we settle in for the night or those pesky afternoon grazing urges we get. These cookies are so perfect for this, at only 10 calories a pop–(yeah 10 calories!!) . You will so enjoy the depth of this 72% dark chocolate with the savory pairing of the sea salt and the sweetness of the roasted almonds in a chewy bite sized cookie!

Dark Chocolate Espresso Meringue Bites
2 egg whites at room temperature
1 serving size dark chocolate (3 squares)
3 pinches cream of tartar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 rounded teaspoon instant espresso
1 teaspoon cinnamon

See that one stubborn piece? I ate it.

Preheat oven to 215 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. ( I used miniature cupcake papers) Take your squares of the “Sea Salt Sioree” and added them to my coffee grinder. (the chocolate works best if you freeze it for a few hours first) Grind it all finely–you want it to fold it into the egg whites and let it blend fully instead of leaving chocolate chunks in the bite sized morsels.

Looks good enough to eat already!

Add egg whites to mixer and beat on high until soft peaks form then add the 3 pinches of cream of tartar.  Continue beating adding in the espresso and sugar slowly as the egg whites thicken. Stay of whipping the whites until they  are shiny and hold very stiff peaks.

I see sea salt.

Add the finely ground chocolate to the egg whites and gently fold in–you are not mixing it with any sort of effort here. Don’t go crazy thinking about all the chocolate and ruin the fluffy egg whites. I know how crazy you people can get about chocolates. Remain calm until you may eat them.

My makeshift decorator bag and zero skills.

Once the chocolate has been fully incorporated into the you can add the meringue to a large plastic freezer bag with the tip cut out. I used a frosting tip thinking I had some sort of mad skill with decorating with egg whites–turns out I posses no such skill.

40 servings equals 400 calories

Once each cup is filled and you have used all the meringue you can place the cookies on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. back for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Once they are firm to the touch you can turn off the oven and open the door and allow the cookies to sit in there for about an hour longer.

Once the cookies have fully cooled sprinkle with cinnamon and store in an airtight container in the freezer.

The cookies actually improved in texture and in taste after storing in the freezer for a few days. the texture is divine, really. It is firm like a meringue cookie when you first put it in your mouth but soon it softens into a caramel like texture as the rich flavors of the cookie grab your taste buds and give them a firm slap. So–these are time-consuming because they do take a while to bake–however, these are perfect to keep in your freezer when you may be looking for a snack, a treat–just that “something” that you keep wandering into the kitchen looking for. This is healthy eaters MUST HAVE!

On evening I decided I would “google” some weight loss transformations and just read up on things a bit. Do you KNOW how many there are? I saw links to every diet idea there could be. I saw articles for success with pictures of what seemed like miracles to plastic surgery.

I also saw those people; those certain individuals who one day woke up and said ” I will not be held prisoner by this weight any longer” and they changed themselves completely. They went from being depressed, tired and lonely individuals to super hero’s. They had web sites that would light a fire under most people. How did they do it? How did they manage to lose 50, 80 and some even more than 100 pounds? What is the secret they have that millions around the world ache for yet are failing to reach? Did they find a magic bullet; some sort of subliminal trigger that others can’t grasp?

We flip on the TV and 2 out of 5 commercials are for a new weight loss program; pill, procedure, drink, injection etc. It is a multi-billion dollar industry. Science is constantly looking for a gene to blame; a cure for obesity as if it were cancer or some other deadly occurrence to the body. Obesity does kill, but it is a preventable killer in which the cure lies in “eating right and working out” So, again, why are people missing this? Why are other people finding it? Science and western society want an easy answer; clapping their hands or snapping their fingers and POOF a thin lean body. I am glad it is not that easy; now anyway.

Once a person reaches a point of deciding to do something, well, the world is theirs to have. Once they wrap their mind around a concept of weight loss, choose a wellness program to follow etc they do find it IS EASY. Want me to reword that? OK!

For the average person, let’s presume you are an average person…..it is easy to walk. Little thought goes into walking, right? You want to get to a certain point so you get up and walk there. You do not have to say ok, left leg first, ok good, now the right leg and so forth. It wasn’t always this way; we had to learn to walk. Sure, I know we do not remember the determination we had around 1 year of age, but it was there. How about talking, learning to read, algebra? (ok I am still working on the Algebra one) driving, cooking, writing etc.  You can see where I am going right? Everything thing we learned to do in our life took determination, practice and learning from mistakes in order to master a skill. This is all it takes. It takes a want or a desire to really and truly be fit and healthy.

If you are not making steps to be thin and be healthy then you just do not want to be thin and healthy bad enough. You can say you have a genetic make up which makes it harder, an illness which makes it to difficult etc but all it takes is a want which is bigger than those things. Google it, I dare you. You will see so many people over come so many physical odds and illness, finding their own way to fitness.

It won’t be over night, it will be trial and error discovering what works best for your body for weight loss.

It will be a journey of discovery and adventure.

It will teach you more about yourself than you already knew.

There is a super hero inside of you, there really is.

All you have to do is let it out.

You ready?

100 calories is what you see here

This is a picture of the Stuffed Baby Taters we have in our book, Squeaky Gourmet. Looks a lot tastier to me than the traditional “100 calorie” snacks you can find on the market shelves.

Check out our book for more amazing REAL FOOD recipes!

We arrived close to the closing time so our choices were limited. However we were greeted by the owner and his mother as soon as we walked in. So, first note is that Buzz’s Bakery is a family run establishment and that alone is an endearing quality for a bakery to have, don’t you think? It was like walking into a friend’s home when his mother had just finished making something homemade and wonderful–like a hug! The bakery is small and clean and everything is right there for you to see. I talked for a while with the owner, Steve, about food ideals ,ingredients, and healthy choices etc. It was like meeting a fellow foodie who had the same REAL FOOD focus. He explained he uses real butter, real sugars and also mentioned the movie Food Inc. He agrees with the rest of the real food community that people should view this movie and grasp the meaning behind it. HELLO STEVE!

After I talked for far too long (remember they were about to close when we arrived? OOPS!) we decided to make our choices. I wanted to try everything soups, pastas, breads, rolls–but we choose a few baked treats to begin with.

Inside Out Whoopie Pie, Brownie, Almond Cherry Scone

There were a lot of things to choose from and the prices were what you would expect from a normal whole food bakery–not from a specialty one–meaning great prices! They also had a few non gluten free food items for that person in your family who is not limited–and they make sure to out source for those so that there is no chance of contamination to the foods they prepare.

We selected the White Chocolate Almond Cherry Scone, the traditional brownie, and the inside out whoopie pie. The brownie in this picture I cut to fit in the shot–they give you a large piece. It was chocolaty and the texture was rich and doughy and exactly what a brownie your mom made you should be like. Perfect!

Biddy helped me set up the pastries for the picture--she adjusted the whoopie pie for me!

The whoopie pie was another win, very rich in texture and flavor–filling your mouth up with sugar and calories and delight. In fact I believe milk was invented just for these whoopie pies–do not tell the cows or their feelings may be hurt. Now, with these two items I want to also add–this is real food and your body knows real food. When I was talking with Steve we were commenting on how you do not have to over eat treats and that eating rich luxurious foods in a normal quantity is fine–we are living beings who hate to be deprived so indulging with a healthy conscious is good for the soul! So–when you eat these foods with the real ingredients you are sated and enjoy the portion they give you. It just tastes so much better than store bought artificially flavored junk that you do not feel like you are missing out on anything!

OK, the last item we tried–that scone! WOW! It was like a baking soda biscuit that your grandmother made in the summer time that she slathered whipped cream and strawberries over. The texture was so perfect, the right balance of salt and butter and almond—the cherries in it were a wonderful addition. I loved these–I want this recipe! If you started every Sunday morning off with a scone like this, there would be no need for church! What a great little cake this was!

We were thrilled with the samples we came away with and we will be heading back to try out the breads and pizza crusts. If you are in the area of North Hampton be sure to stop in–you will be thrilled!

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