This pudding has all the great components found in those calorie packed, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate: chocolate, coconut, caramel, nuts, and did I say CHOCOLATE...
Shelly's No Sugar Added "Valentine Box of Chocolates" Pudding
1 1/2 cups Cold Milk (2% or above not Soy, Almond or Coconut it won't set up)
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Syrup (any flavor: Sugar Free Caramel, S'mores, Salted Caramel, Belgian Cookie all would be delicious)
1 small box Sugar Free Chocolate Jello Pudding Mix, dry
1/4 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, toasted
2 Tablespoons Sliced Almonds, toasted
Optional: a Tablespoon or so extra toasted Coconut and Nuts for the top ('cause it looks purty)
Toast coconut in the oven or toaster oven till golden (watch it carefully, I've burned many a batch of coconut, it happens quick) and set it aside to cool. Toss the almonds in a dry pan for a few minutes till then slightly change color and you smell them. Set aside to cool. I use a Blender Bottle Shaker to mix up the pudding powder, syrup and milk. Shake about 2 minutes or so till it thickens. Pour into a bowl. Add cooled toasted coconut and nuts. Mix till well combined. Refrigerate till set about 15 minutes.
If berries are more your style... This is super light and airy. If you remember Jello 1-2-3 from the 80's it's similar to that.
Shelly's Triple Berry Fluff Stuff
1 cup Boiling Water
1 box (4-serving size - the small one) Sugar Free Black Cherry Jello Mix
3 1/2 oz. (half a small container) Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Black Cherry)
1 1/2 cups Cherries, (fresh or frozen defrosted)
Pour boiling water slowly over jello mix. Stir till dissolved. Set aside. Mix yogurt & syrup together till well combined (FYI you can add a scoop of protein powder at this point into the yogurt if you want to beef up the protein content even more) and add to Jello mixture. Beat with an electric mixer till well combined. I use this gadget. Place in fridge for 1 hour. Remove from fridge and beat again for 5 minutes till fluffy. Fold in fruit. Put back in fridge and allow to set fully (about 2 hours.) You can use any fruit (fresh, frozen defrosted or canned drained), any Jello flavor, any Torani Syrup flavor.
I topped it with Homemade No Sugar Added Strawberry Whipped Cream and Fresh Raspberries.
Shelly's Homemade No Sugar Added Berry Whipped Cream
1 cup Whipping Cream
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Strawberry (or Raspberry, or Black Cherry) Torani Syrup
Whisk till well combined. Fill whipping cream to the fill line of the whipper. Screw on the top. Insert the CO2 cartridge till it empties, unscrew that. Put the nozzle on, shake a few times and squirt away. It makes a ton, store it in the fridge for up to 10 days just give it another few shakes before squirting. Soooo good. Any Torani Syrup flavor works great.
and of course my ultimate favorite standby my Strawberry Cannoli.
More Valentine's Day Recipes and Ideas
Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you spend it with those you love. If you are single like me and want to spread some love tomorrow here's a few ideas.