It's great to be back! Thanks to Coaches Mindy and Jacquline for filling in the last two weeks. Now I find myself with a TON of awesome recipes that I'm bursting at the seams to share!

When I first started blogging here, I was unfamiliar with the set-up and what was first visible to you. I'm going to start changing up my blog titles to reflect what is covered in the blog so you can better find old recipes! Hope this helps - I know it's been a pain for me to try to help others locate recipes on former blogs. So on to this week!

Anyone out there love dessert? Anybody? If you’ve met me, you know I do – especially anything chocolate! Need some MD-Friendly options to take to Easter gatherings? I’m always looking for the best dessert recipes to treat myself with and I have not one but TWO to share with you this week! First, just before Spring Break, I put together a oat-based chocolate chip cookie using unsweetened bakers’ chocolate, and Coach Jacquline went berserk and Facebooked about it, leading to many NGPTers begging for the recipe so here it is, on my next opportunity to blog it.  The second, is a simple treat that I think could easily be tweaked to make extra special for Easter!

Before I give you the goods, please read my usual disclaimer: All desserts should be consumed in moderation, even if they are “friendly”. While some of the baking ingredients are “freebies”, some do have calories and we want to be careful with how much artificial sweetener we eat. With that being said, check it out:

Flourless Chocolate-Chip Cookies http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/30/flourless-chocolate-chip-cookies/

• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp baking soda – not powder, that’s different!
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3-4 T Splenda  
• 2 T Splenda brown sugar – on bootcamp or being strict, use extra Splenda here
• ¼ c unsweetened choc chips or I used 1 square of unsweetened bakers’ chocolate, chopped
• 1 T melted coconut or grapeseed oil
• 2 T almond milk
• ½ tsp vanilla

Blend first 5 ingredients together in a food processor/blender. Mix with other ingredients, form into cookie shapes (requires a little pressure to hold together), and place on a greased cookie sheet. (Recipe said for softer cookies, chill in fridge 30 min prior to baking, but I've made these with and without this step and don't notice a big difference.) Cook 8-10 minutes at 375 F on a sprayed or parchment-paper-lined sheet. Cool 10+ min before removing from sheet. This makes 3 carb servings (~3 small cookies/each...easiest if you try to make cookies in a multiple of 3).

Here’s a fun, cheap gift idea: mix the first 5 ingredients above and put into a Mason jar, top with chocolate chips/chunks, and add a note to add wet ingredients to the jar ingredients and how to bake. Decorate and give!

Next, I tested this recipe on Adam, his wife, and some of Team NGPT. I think it got their seal of approval:

Low-fat Light As Air Meringues http://www.food.com/recipe/lowfat-light-as-air-peppermint-mernigues-453822

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar 
• 2/3 cup Splenda
• Flavored extract, to taste, or food coloring

Place egg whites in a mixing bowl and let sit for 1 hour – is this REALLY necessary? I don’t know, but I did it just in case! Grease a cookie sheet and set aside.  Add vanilla and cream of tartar to whites. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add Splenda 1 Tbsp at a time. Beat in extract or coloring into beaten egg whites until stiff peaks form. Drop from a rounded teaspoon 1½ inches apart. Bake at 325 for 10 min. Cool and then store in an airtight container.  I tried peppermint and almond extracts in mine (I divided the whites in half before adding the flavorings separately) – made about 28 total pieces. The almond was a bit more subtle – careful with mint extract! My Easter idea is to divide your beaten mixture into 3-4 small bowls and fold in a TINY bit of food coloring - maybe use a toothpick! I haven’t tried this before and unless they sell pastel-colored drops specifically, the colors may be too dark, but I thought it was a cool idea and may very well try it myself this weekend! Also later found a recipe that added unsweetened cocoa powder if you'd like chocolate meringues, who wouldn't?! Note: I did NOT follow directions and put the meringues in an airtight container. The 1-2 I sampled initially were as you’d expect – crispy and light. Those I served to the Team were sticky and denser but everyone still seemed to love them. I was hoping a quick visit in the oven would lighten them back up, but no one wanted to wait that long to gobble them up and thought they were just fine as sticky little candies. Sharing these with several people or just have 3-4 at a time makes them pretty negligible as 2 egg whites are 1/2 a protein serving on L0-3 and 1 protein serving on L4. 

I hope you all have a happy Easter weekend whether you celebrate or not. Enjoy these recipes this weekend or whenever you're ready for a treat. If you come up with great ideas to flavor or color the meringues, please share on FB! Until April, feast on holidays, feast on average days, and as always...FEAST ON!!!

~Coach Lauren