Lightened-Up Mocha Almond Fudge Parfaits & A Giveaway!

So I’m trying to be better with eating well.

I understand a lot of my recipes aren’t necessarily the healthiest (hello, I can go a little crazy with my recipes!), but ultimately, my personal belief is that everything food-wise should be enjoyed in moderation.

However, I also know there are some people (like myself and uh, some of my family members) who have a hard time with self-control and would rather just avoid the temptation completely than trust themselves with a big batch of cookies. I get it! Sometimes, I can’t even trust myself to just have one or keep my portions in check (I’m looking at your after-lunch and after-dinner and after-dessert desserts).

So I try to make some healthy alternatives for people who would rather go cupcake crazy with lighter recipes they can feel less guilty over. It also makes me happy since I love being as crazy as I can around virtually guilt-free fare.

After SlimKicker contacted me about doing a giveaway, I looked around on their site and became inspired. SlimKicker is a calorie counter that allows you to track your diet and fitness goals into a level-up game with points, challenges and rewards. It’s easy to level-up by tracking your healthy eating habits or exercises, or completing challenges, like quitting soda for a week. They even have a recipe section that caters to diets like Weight Watchers and Medifast.

So really, it’s full of awesome stuff to love. And even better, they’re generously giving away this awesome Heart Rate Monitor Watch so you can track your progress any time of day.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment with a fun or unique suggestion for a fitness or diet challenge. What would you like to do? Eliminate sugar? Run a mile a day? Do jumping jacks during commercial breaks of Pretty Little Liars?

SlimKicker will choose a winner on 7/14/12 and notify the winner shortly thereafter. This giveaway is limited to US residents only.

So. Parfaits.

I love brownies but sometimes find it hard to portion them out. Parfaits are a great solution! Just crumble them up, layer them between light mocha cream, toasted almond slivers and whipped cream, and you have a light and yummy treat for hot summer nights or days when your chocolate craving is through the roof.

Like, uh, everyday.

For these, I used Trader Joe’s Guilt-Free Reduced Fat Brownie Mix which uses non-fat vanilla yogurt to create the soft, fudgy brownies. You can certainly use whatever brownie mix you have on hand; I just happened to have a box of this and thought it’d be perfect!

Lightened-Up Mocha Almond Fudge Parfaits

About 6 low-fat brownies, cooked and cooled (about 1-2″ square-size)
1 cup low-fat mocha yogurt
1 tub fat-free Cool Whip, thawed
1 cup toasted almond slivers
Mini chocolate chips, optional

1. In a medium bowl, gently fold one cup of the Cool Whip into the mocha yogurt until combined. Set aside.
2. Among two mason jars (I used a larger size), crumble one brownie at the bottom of each jar. Top with a heaping Tablespoon or two of the mocha cream, followed by a sprinkling of toasted almonds and a dollop of Cool Whip.
3. Repeat layers 2 times. Top with remaining Cool Whip and mini chips, if desired.
4. Eat immediately, or cover tightly with the lid and store in the fridge for 1-2 days.