Celebrate Mom for Mother's Day This Weekend...Featuring Too-Good-to-Be-Lowfat Chocolate Icebox Dessert AND SmartBuyGlasses.com #celebratemom #chocolate #dessert

Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday. During this time of quarantine and being "together apart," I know many of you can't be with your Mom to celebrate in person this year. I'm fortunate to be quarantining with my parents in Houston, so I'll be celebrating in person with Mom, where dessert will definitely be on the menu! She totally loves my no-bake Too-Good-to-Be-Lowfat Chocolate Eclair Icebox Dessert. It tastes like a decadent eclair pastry, but's it's easy to make with ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. I use lowfat and sugar-free ingredients to make this dessert less of a calorie bomb -- but no one will ever guess! This dessert takes some advance planning, because it needs to rest in the fridge at least 4 hours so the graham crackers can soften. Preparing ahead means all you have to do on Mother's Day is slice and serve...score! 

Not able to physically be with your Mom to celebrate Mother's Day this year? After the recipe, I'm sharing a perfect gift suggestion that you can order from your home and have delivered right to her doorstep. You may be separated from Mom in person for now...but you can still let her know how much you love and appreciate her thanks to modern technology!

Too-Good-to-Be-Lowfat Chocolate Eclair Dessert

adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients (makes 9 servings):

• 1.5 cups skim milk
• 1 four-serving package sugar free white chocolate pudding mix
• 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste OR pure vanilla extract
• 4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• Half an 8-ounce container lowfat whipped topping
• 27 reduced-fat honey graham crackers

For the chocolate ganache:

• 1 tbs. reduced-fat butter
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 tbs. honey
• 1.5-ounce chocolate bar [NOTE: I used a Hershey's milk chocolate bar]
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1.5 cups dark cocoa powder [NOTE: I used Hershey's Special Dark]

Directions:
Step 1: Add the skim milk, pudding mix, vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract, and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Blend with a mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed and whip until the mixture is thoroughly combined and thickened. Fold in the whipped topping to make a creamy filling.

Step 2: To assemble, layer one third of the graham crackers in the bottom of an 8x8 pan sprayed with non-stick spray. You may have to break a few crackers into smaller pieces to completely cover the bottom. Top the crackers with half of the filling. Use a spatula to carefully and evenly spread the mixture over the graham crackers. Top with another layer of graham crackers, the remaining half of the fillng, and a final layer of graham crackers.

Step 3: Make the chocolate ganache. Add the butter, skim milk, honey, and chocolate pieces to a bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals for 2-3 minutes, until the chocolate has melted. Whisk to combine, then add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Continue whisking until the ingredients are incorporated and you have a glossy, thick ganache -- be sure that the ganache is pourable! Pour the ganache on top of the top layer of graham crackers and evenly spread.

Step 4: Tent the baking dish with foil and refrigerate tat least 4 hours -- but overnight is best. To serve, cut the dessert straight from the fridge with a sharp serrated knife. I had a bit of trouble getting pretty, neat squares like the ones in magazines. The main thing is that it tastes fantastic!

This dessert is a total homerun! The filling is so fluffy and creamy that you'd never guess it has less fat and sugar. The graham crackers absorb a lot of the moisture, making them soft...and the filling becomes thicker. The ganache? It's truly decadent! Using dark cocoa powder amps up the chocolate flavor in the ganache and saves fat! This dessert definitely gets my Mom's seal of approval -- how about your Mom?

As I mentioned at the start of this post, Mother's Day is going to be different for a lot of us this year. However, you can brighten Mom's day remotely by purchasing her a new pair of glasses to help her work remotely...or impress on her next Zoom call! With extra screen time being the norm during self isolation, you can even add blue light protection on the lenses of her glasses. Check out the SmartBuyGlasses free Lens Scanner app. You can easily find her lens prescription by scanning her current pair of glasses. Then, Mom can use the SmartBuyGlasses virtual try-on tool to choose a new pair of glasses that suit her style and face shape. Check out the large selection of styles available at SmartBuyGlasses.com. You're sure to find a great gift for Mom this Mother's Day!

Disclosure: I was compensated by SmartBuyGlasses.com to provide the sales link in this feature.