If you want to try a healthier chocolate, check out Gnosis Chocolate (gnosis is the Greek word for knowledge).

Gnosis celebrates “the origins of cacao, the well-being of our society, and Earth’s natural majesty.” This specialty line:

The bars are available plain or flavored with popular herbs and spices (chili, coconut-almond, hazelnut, mint, sea salt) as well as nutrient-dense superfoods (cashew-fig, cinnamon-goji, pomegranate-açaí).

Some bars have holistic and ayurvedic ingredients rarely found in chocolate: camomile essential oil, chaste berry, dong quai, evening primrose oil, goldenberry, Inca berry, hemp seed, mulberry, yumberry, schizandra berry, shatvari, Sunwarrior Protein Powder (vegan) and valerian.

In addition to chocolate bars, Gnossis makes truffles, hot chocolate and trail mix.

The products are certified kosher, organic and vegan and are free of soy, gluten, and dairy. The bars are wrapped in PCW* recycled, biodegradable packaging printed with vegetable inks.

Gnosis was founded by Vanessa Barg, a board certified holistic health counselor, who began making chocolate in 2006 as gifts for her clients. In her search for raw, unadulterated cacao, she studied the beans, working on cacao farms and processing beans from the pod. She personally visits the sources and works with growers to assure bean quality and working conditions and to support the growth of organic farming.

Learn more and shop online at GnosisChocolate.com.

*Post consumer waste.

Zucchini “canoes” substitute for pizza crusts. Photo courtesy Lucero Olive Oil.

The late, lamented Goldberg’s Pizza in Manhattan offered a diet pizza by heaping the toppings into an aluminum pie plate instead of onto a carb-laden crust.

All of the vegetable toppings (bell peppers, broccoli, eggplant, mushrooms, onions—whatever you like) were added to the pie plate, covered with sauce and cheese and baked in the oven.

It was a way for dieters (of whom proprietor Larry Goldberg was one) to enjoy the flavors of pizza without the empty carbs.

Zucchini pizza is a modern take on the idea. In this recipe from Lucero Olive Oil, halves of zucchini serve as the base for the cheese, tomatoes and other toppings.

Zucchini pizza is not only more nutritious; it’s a way to get family members to eat more vegetables, more often.

ZUCCHINI CANOES, A PIZZA ALTERNATIVE

Ingredients:

 
Preparation

1. CUT. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Trim as necessary so they fit into a glass baking dish.

2. SCOOP. Using a teaspoon, grapefruit spoon or melon baller, scoop out the center core where the seeds are to create a shallow trench. Do not scoop all the way to the bottom. (You can save the zucchini you’ve scooped out and add it to scrambled eggs.)

3. COMBINE. Combine the crushed garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper/chili flakes. Brush the surface of the zucchini with mixture.

4. BAKE. Halve the grape tomatoes and arrange them inside the trench with the optional pepperoni. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes.

5. ADD. Remove the zucchini from the oven and place diced mozzarella in the trench between the tomatoes.

6. BROIL. Place the baking dish under the broiler until golden and bubbling.

7. GARNISH. Remove and drizzle the zucchini lightly with basil olive oil. Top with fresh basil and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.
 
Find gourmet pizza recipes—with the crust.

They’ve scored a hit with their first product, all-natural biscotti slices. Conventional biscotti have been whittled down to thin rectangles, approximately 1″ x 1-1/2″. Their sweetened modestly (great for those who don’t like sugary cookies), and each little cookie has just 10 calories.

Now at coffee break or for dessert, you can have several super-crunchy pieces without blowing the calorie budget. BettaSnax also go well with cheese and can be served as a crunchy side with soup or salad. The resealable bag is easy to tote around.

The ingredients are very clean: flour, egg whites, cane sugar, almonds and vanilla extract. There’s no added fat, no cholesterol, no preservatives, no artificial flavors.

You can buy a case, twelve four-ounce bags, four portions per bag, on Amazon. If you have some every day, that’s a six-week supply—more if you have only three cookies instead of the one-ounce portion size of nine.

But you’ll probably find yourself saring them with friends.

For more information, visit BettaSnax.com.

Find more of our favorite diet cookies.

[1] If you want your mashed potatoes laden with butter, cream and sour cream, here’s a recipe from Williams Sonoma (photo © Williams Sonoma.

[2] Fat-free Greek yogurt replaces the butter and sour cream (photo © FAGE Greek Yogurt).

But you can make an alternative version with nonfat versions of Greek yogurt, labne (kefir cheese) and/or sour cream.
 
> The different types of potatoes. There are thousands, worldwide; but there are dozens of varieties you can find in the U.S.

Preparation

1. SKINS ON. Place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water; water should cover the potatoes by 2 inches. Why keep the skins on the potatoes? Because in addition to the nutrition they contain, potatoes boiled whole in their skins absorb less water and produce lighter, fluffier mashed potatoes.

2. BOIL. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork (about 15 minutes). Drain.

3. MASH. Mash the potatoes (we use a potato ricer or a food mill, over a bowl). Depending on the size of your ricer/food mill, you may have to process the potatoes in batches.

4. STIR. Add the yogurt/labneh/sour cream and stir until smooth. If the mixture is too thick for your preference, add some nonfat milk until you reach the desired consistency. You can stir the herbs into the potatoes or sprinkle them on top as a garnish.
 

The life-size baked race car was created by the Ace of Cakes, Duff Goldman, for a NASCAR promotion at Hendrick Motorsports in Charlotte, North Carolina. NASCAR star Kasey Kahne unveiled his new No.5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet alongside the life-size replica baked by Goldman and his team at Baltimore’s Charm City Cakes.

The cake car took five full-time Charm City Cakes designers and decorators more than two weeks of engineering, fabrication, carving and decoration.

The cake was fully equipped with actual spinning wheels and smoke (from a fog machine). More than 80 company logos were reproduced using layered gum paste—a painstaking task. Goldman calls it his “best cake ever.” The price was not revealed (but we’d sure love to know!).

Bring a fork: This car’s a cake. Photo courtesy Time Warner Cable.

The area used to hold New York City’s meat packers, where beef, lamb and pork sides were broken down into retail and foodservice cuts. Today, the old red brick buildings have been turned into very chic and trendy shops and restaurants—gleaming expanses of glass windows brighteni up the old buildings and reflect the old cobblestone streets.

Use your toys as serving pieces. Photo courtesy TOY Restaurant | New York City.

The Hotel Gansevoort is a new edifice, with amenities that include 360° panoramic views of New York City, sunsets over the Hudson River and an Exhale mind/body spa.

But our favorite amenities are Toy restaurant and the expansive (for New York) outdoor dining spaces that wrap around the north and west sides of the hotel.
TOY is a “multi-sensory, stimulating fantasy playground, designed to thrill and entertain.” The cavernous space is dramatic day or night.

The Oyster Bar, a smaller room next door to the main restaurant, is our pet spot: Oysters are one of our passions. We dined outdoors on a balmy October night, enjoying Kumamotos, Pacific and Virginica oysters so fresh, they needed no garnish (the different types of oysters).

But in TOY restaurant, we had our own racing car, this one filled with ice and Champagne.

While you can’t recreate the Duff Goldman cake at home, you certainly can repurpose toys, as they do at TOY:

Pack cars and wagons with ice and Champagne bottles, white wine, soft drinks or beer. Serve sushi or other nibbles on large toy sailboats. Look at your other toys and decide how to incorporate them into your party.

If that old Radio Flyer needs a coat of paint, consider a color that matches your decor (or keep it Nostalgic Red).

Many oysters later from The Oyster Bar, sushi from TOY and three glass of Prosecco on the terrace, we felt as if we’d had a mini vacation. Let someone else enjoy the Exhale Mind and Body Spa. We’re headed back to TOY and The Oyster Bar.