bonus dessert post! crazy-easy chocolate tofu pudding

yes, i said it. dessert, tofu - same sentence. don't cringe. this tip is so quick i can't even call it an entire post so i'm throwing it in there as a bonus for this week - what can i say? i'm a giver. after you've made your pasta for dinner, take 3 minutes (literally, that's as long as this takes) and made this healthy treat to satisfy your sweet tooth.

ingredients:
-12.3oz firm silken tofu (remember, we discussed this - it's different than regular {not silken} tofu. get it at most grocery stores and whole foods, i usually find it in the produce or "asian" section)
-1/2cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-8tsp sugar (~1/6cup - i find this to be a good ratio, though i don't like my chocolate sickeningly sweet)
-1/4tsp vanilla extract

what to do:
1.put all ingredients in you food processor or blender (if using a blender i'd recommend getting soft silken tofu as opposed to firm, though i like the firm one - keep your comments to yourself - because it's a thicker, mousse/pudding consistency, the soft tofu comes out a little runnier)
2.blend until silky smooth - give it a minute, you'll see when it's completely smooth
3.measure it because i didn't. scoop 1/4 the amount for now, refrigerate the rest, eat as chocolate cravings deem necessary.

hints:
-i find the cocoa powder masks any "weird tofu" taste you might not like, so i recommend sticking with that flavor, but otherwise, play with the extracts! i like almond extract instead of vanilla, i bet coconut would be yummy, i've also used mint, maybe even orange...go wild, you maniac.

-though this is still a sweet treat (so don't eat the whole thing at once) it's pretty good for you - low in fat and contains heart-healthy soy protein. you can find buy low-fat/fat-free puddings, but at ~$2 per container of this tofu, this is more bang for your buck and those puddings usually have creepy stuff like aspartame and...things i can't pronounce in them.

-if you want to amp this dessert up to full-fledged snack status, when blending it, add a scoop of chocolate flavored soy-protein powder to it. keep in mind, when you do this it'll be sweeter so back of the sugar a little. the calories/sugar will increase, but the protein and vitamin/mineral profile will too - so in this case i tell myself it's ok to make a mini parfait out of it by adding 1/4cup of my favorite cereal (kashi go lean crunch)

nutritional facts: i didn't measure exactly how much this yields...i'd estimate around 2 cups, whatever it is, we are saying it's 4 servings. info per 1/4 recipe:
calories: 123
fat: 4.3g
saturated fat: 0.3g
trans fat: 0
cholesterol: 0
sodium: 30mg
carbohydrates: 14.1g
fiber: 2.1g
sugar: 9.1g
protein: 7.8g
vitamin A: 0
vitaminC: 0
calcium: 3%
iron: 9%