This is a true story of how one little sugar-free caramel pudding cup became a very big deal in my life.

I’ll try to be brief.

Basically, I was in Wal-Mart and I saw some sugar-free caramel pudding cups. Having never seen them before, I was excited. Brought them home, tasted then and…ennnhhh. They were o.k. But they needed some jazzing up. I find that happens a lot with store-bought food, which is why I will always be a staunch defender of the “play with your food” philosophy. I know we can’t always make everything from scratch, but if a food from the store isn’t to your liking, change it!

In thinking what to do with the pudding cups, I recalled the deliciousness of salted caramel protein cocoa. Could I make something reminiscent of that? And off my mind went!

I like these because they hit my taste buds in all the right ways. There’s the sweetness, a bit of salt, a lot of creamy. It’s just yummy. And quick. And easy. Which are the three requirements I have these days for consuming things. I can’t deal with complicated dessert. I just can’t! So if you are like me and want a deeply satisfying, super-easy sweet treat? Give these a try!

Nik’s Salty Caramel Dessert (aka “100 calories of hot damn!”)

Ingredients

• 1 sugar-free caramel pudding cup (or 4 oz. prepared sugar free caramel pudding)
• A dash of cinnamon
• A “splick” of salt (in this case you can decide what a splick is. To me it’s usually 1/8 tsp but keep in mind salt doesn’t dissolve in cold things so you will both taste and FEEL the salt…that was good for me but use your own best judgement)
• 2 tbsp fat-free whipped topping
• 1 tsp sugar-free caramel sauce (i.e. Smuckers), for drizzling
• Optional: a few banana slices and another dash of cinnamon for garnish

Directions

Empty the contents of your pudding cup into your favorite dessert dish. Mix in salt and cinnamon.

Top with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

NOSH!

This makes for a very satisfying snack at the end of a long day. Altogether, mine comes to about 100 calories and it is worth every last “scrape the dessert bowl with your index finger” taste.