HG's Chilly Chocolate Mudslide

If you're craving a sinfully delicious chocolate treat after a long day at work, how about trying Hungry Girl's version of a Mississippi Mudslide. Less fat, less calories, but all of the deliciousness that you would expect from this dessert.

HG's Chilly Chocolate Mudslide

Serving Size: 1 mudslide (entire recipe)
Calories: 156
Fat: 0.5g
Sodium: 177mg
Carbs: 10g
Fiber: 1.25g
Sugars: 6g
Protein: 3g

PointsPlus® value 5*

HG Alternative: For a non-alcoholic version, just omit the vodka and add another 1 1/2 oz. (3 tbsp.) soymilk. TADA! Your virgin sipper will have just 66 calories and a PointsPlus® value of 2*. YAY!

Straight from the pages of Hungry Girl Happy Hour, a chocolate cocktail with a serious KICK... YEE-HAAA! Get ready for sippable bliss...

Ingredients:
One 25-calorie packet hot cocoa mix (like Swiss Miss Diet or Nestlé Fat Free)
2 no-calorie sweetener packets (like Splenda or Truvia)
2 oz. (1/4 cup) light vanilla soymilk
1 1/2 oz. (3 tbsp.) vodka
1/2 oz. (1 tbsp.) sugar-free calorie-free vanilla-flavored syrup (like the kind by Torani)
1 tsp. light chocolate syrup
1 cup crushed ice or 5 to 8 ice cubes
Optional topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:
Combine cocoa mix with sweetener in a glass. Add 2 oz. (1/4 cup) hot water and stir to dissolve. Add soymilk and 1 oz. (2 tbsp.) cold water. Stir and transfer to a blender.

Add all other ingredients except optional topping to the blender, and blend at high speed until thoroughly mixed.

Pour and, if you like, top with a squirt of Fat Free Reddi-wip. Enjoy!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Creamy Cold Tomato Soup

I am sure you all can tell; I'm a huge fan of Lynn's Kitchen Adventures...here is yet another great soup recipe from her collection. Try this healthy and refreshing Creamy Cold Tomato Soup.

Hungry Girl's Turkey-rific Taco Bean Dip

Usually, dips are a waste of fat and calories and creamy goodness. I was pleasantly surprised when I found this dip recipe from Hungry Girl. It's a bean dip with ground turkey in it. With the ground turkey, this already fiber-full dip gets more lean protein added.


Turkey-rific Taco Bean Dip

PER SERVING (1/12th of recipe, about 1/2 cup): 131 calories, 2.5g fat, 453mg sodium, 16g carbs, 4g fiber, 2.5g sugars, 11g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*

Get ready for some SERIOUS dunking -- this bean dip means business, people!

Ingredients:
10 oz. raw lean ground turkey
1 1/2 tsp. taco seasoning
2 cups diced plum tomatoes (about 4 tomatoes)
1 cup diced onion (about 1/2 large onion)
Two 16-oz. cans fat-free refried beans
Two 4-oz. cans diced green chiles
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican-blend cheese
Serving suggestions: low-fat baked tortilla chips, sliced bell peppers

Directions:
Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add turkey and sprinkle with taco seasoning. Cook and finely crumble until turkey is fully cooked, about 6 minutes. Drain any excess liquid and transfer turkey to the crock pot.

Evenly top turkey with tomatoes, onion, beans, and chiles.

Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours or on low for 7 - 8 hours.

Turn off crock pot and remove lid. Add cheese and stir well.

Serve with your guilt-free dippers of choice and enjoy!

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Hot Fudge Ice Cream Sandwiches from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

Here is a very simple and delicious dessert from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. Make your own hot fudge ice cream sandwiches...to make this recipe healthier, make your cookies from scratch or buy the 100 calorie ready to bake cookies from Nestle or Pillsbury. You can also use frozen yogurt or sugar free ice cream for the filling. Here is the recipe! Enjoy!

Success Isn't Always Being Rich

Today, we all think that if we just had more money, we'd be happier and all of our problems would go away. While more money would cover the bills, rent, mortgage, and shopping trips, money cannot change the essence of our relationships and the hard work that it takes to make our dreams into a reality. Money can definitely take stress out of many areas in our lives and make things easier, but it does not mean success and it does not mean happiness.

I think that instead of only striving for success in business, we should strive for success in having a full, happy, and unique life. Money cannot buy either of those successes, but many people tend to forget the latter one. When asked where people want to see themselves in 10 years, they usually say married and successful in business. A lot of people forget about being happy with their life; they don't realize that being successful in their business might mean risking a lot of things that make you happy. People also forget that following their passions could make them successful but may not make them a lot of money.

I'm not saying don't try to be successful in business, I'm saying find the balance where you can be happy and do all of the things that you want to do. We have become a society obsessed with money and being rich, forgetting that the riches in life often are worth far more than the fortune we set out to earn at work. Try to find your passions in life; if you can't make them a career, be sure to keep them close to you in every way you can. Don't lose sight of yourself in trying to find a career; money isn't everything. As long as you work hard and put passion in to everything you do, you will be successful.

HG's Happy Birthday Cake Shake

Milkshakes are way too thick and way too sugary for me, so it's pretty easy for me to stay away from them when dessert comes around. When I saw that Hungry Girl had redone the shake, I got excited to try it. It looks delicious and like something that I would really love to try. Check out this recipe for a sweet shake that won't overload you with sugar and calories.

HG's Happy Birthday Cake Shake

Serving Size: 1 shake (entire recipe)
Calories: 215
Fat: 5.5g
Sodium: 395mg
Carbs: 36g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 20g
Protein: 4.5g

PointsPlus® value 6*

We're warning you now -- exposure to our Happy Birthday Cake Shake recipe may induce squeals of joy, a need to blend something, and the insatiable desire for a cake-inspired milkshake. Go for it!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. Cool Whip Free, thawed
1/4 tsp. hot cocoa mix from a 25-calorie packet (like Swiss Miss Diet or Nestlé Fat Free)
1 tbsp. sugar-free French vanilla powdered creamer (like the kind by Coffee-mate)
1/2 cup light vanilla soymilk
1 tbsp. Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Vanilla Instant pudding mix
1/4 cup fat-free vanilla ice cream
1 1/2 cups crushed ice or 8 - 12 ice cubes
1 tbsp. rainbow sprinkles, or more for optional topping

Directions:
To make the chocolatey topping, in a small bowl, combine Cool Whip with cocoa mix. Stir until completely mixed. Cover and refrigerate.

In a tall glass, combine powdered creamer with 2 tbsp. hot water and stir to dissolve. Add soymilk and pudding mix. Stir until mostly dissolved. Transfer contents of the glass to a blender.

Add ice cream and ice to the blender. Blend at high speed until thoroughly mixed. If needed, remove blender from the base, stir mixture, and blend again.

Pour into the tall glass. Gently stir in the sprinkles.

If you want to get fancy with your chocolatey topping, spoon it into one of the bottom corners of a plastic bag; snip off the tip of that corner to create a small hole, and pipe the topping through the hole into a swirl over your shake. Or keep things simple and just spoon on the topping! If you like, top with a few extra sprinkles. Enjoy!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Dedication takes a lifetime, but dreams only last for a night.

This quote is from All Time Low's song, Stay Awake. We all have dreams about what we're going to do and who we're going to be as we grow up. We have this wonderful picture in our head that includes our dream career, love life, success, family, but just dreaming and thinking about these things are not enough. In order to get the life we want and become who we want to be, we have to dedicate ourselves to working hard to get there. We cannot expect things just to happen out of thin air...that one day I'll just wake up and be skinny, or I'll wake up with a boyfriend. No, that's not going to happen. I have to work out and eat healthily to lose weight. I have to put myself out there, date some douche bags, and find the man of my dreams. If we really want these fabulous lives that we deserve, we have to put our heart and soul and all into everything we do. One day, we'll get those things that we want, but we will never get them if we don't dedicate ourselves to making those dreams become a reality.