Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Doesn't sound like healthy food, does it? This is an amazingly decadent treat, that is totally allowed, whether you're doing Weight Watchers, Flat Belly Diet, or whatever. They take some time, but they're not too complicated (I'd never made these Italian cookies before, but I've seen Giada do it on Food Network!). Dunk these in some skim milk or some flavored steamed milk. Mmm. Diet? This can't be a diet.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup raw almonds, chopped
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I substituted half whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar (I substituted half Splenda)
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place almonds on a baking sheet; bake until light brown, about 6-8 minutes. Let cool. Line 2 large baking sheets with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Adjust the oven racks to divide the oven into thirds.
  
  
• In a food processor, combine 2 tablespoons of almonds, flour, 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Process until nuts are finely ground; transfer dry ingredients to a large bowl. In the same food processor (no need to clean), combine sugar, eggs, egg whites and vanilla until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add to dry ingredients (dough will be very thick). Stir in remaining almonds and chocolate chips.
  
  
• Shape one-fourth of the batter (about 3/4 cup) into a long rope, about 14 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide, on one side of the baking sheet; repeat with remaining batter, making 2 ropes on each baking sheet, with space in between. Bake, reversing baking sheets once, until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pans. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
  
  
• Place logs on a cutting board. Cut with a serrated knife on diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices, making 80 biscotti. Place slices cut sides up on baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake until cut side feels dry to the touch, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe makes 40 servings of 2 biscotti each.
Nutritional info: per serving: 75 cal, 3 g fat, 1 g fiber, 2 g prot (POINTS value: 2)

***My biscotti came out a little bigger, so I only got 30 servings, but because I cut the sugar in half, mine came out to about 80 calories per serving. Dessert's back on the menu!

Results!

After completing my Four-Day Anti-Bloat diet, I weighed and measured myself this morning. Here are the results:

Before:
Weight: 164.5 lbs
Waist: 34 inches

After:
Weight: 162 lbs
Waist: 33 inches

In just four days I lost 2.5 pounds and an inch off my waist!  I also lost a 1/2 inch off my "belly" and 3/4 inch off my hips.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but for only four days, I'm impressed.  (I also measured my body fat, which is 33.5%. Ouch.) I stuck to the diet, which had me eating 1200 calories a day, no added salt, no gassy/bulky veggies, and a lower amount of carbs.

I think I'm going to stick to a similar diet until I lose all the weight, keeping my calorie and salt intake low.  I will add the raw bulky veggies back into my diet for more variety though.  I've added countdown tickers to my blog (I'm lame, I know), to motivate me to lose all the weight I can before the cruise!

Flat belly, here I come!

I've been incorporating some of the Flat Belly Diet's concepts into my eating habits, but now it's time to get serious.  I'm going on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera on April 25th, and I need to get ready for a bathing suit.  Today is the first of four days of the serious belly-flattening diet in the book.  The four meals each day are simple, and supposedly I'll see the inches fall off, not only because I'm cutting calories but also because the diet includes foods to minimize bloating.  Here's how I measured up this morning:
Weight: 164.5 lbs
Waist: 34 inches
The good new is: my waist measurement (smallest part of my belly) is below the danger line of 35 inches.  The bad news: my belly/pooch/gut/whatever you want to call it, is almost as big as my hip measurement.  Yuck.  That's what I need to get rid of.  So, come Tuesday morning, I'm hoping to see some serious improvement!