Hey all,

I am in week two now. : ) I get very cold here at work and don't drink my diet Hot Chocolate thinking that I cannot have it...CAN I? Also, what about low sodium beef or chicken broth..the cube kind you put in hot water to dissolve? Would that be okay to warm me up as well?

Thank you!

You can certainly have hot cocoa made with skim milk. Put a spoonful of cocoa powder, any flavorings you want in there (vanilla, cinnamon, mint extract), some splenda, add a splash of water and mix all up. Then add skim milk and microwave.

If the cubes are just broth without thickeners or other ingredients, they are okay. The main thing is to learn to read ingredients and what things to watch out for - sweeteners, starches, thickeners.

There are lots of great flavors of tea too. I love chai tea in the wintertime. Or black tea with a splash of sugar free gingerbread or caramel syrup and a splash of skim milk. Very yummy.

The question about hot chocolate was answered in the hot chocolate thread you posted.

The cube kind of "broth" is very high in sodium - even the low sodium kind. They usually contain MSG as well, which will almost certainly make you retain water.

Is it possible for you to make a vegetable and broth soup at home - you don't have to use homemade broth. There are plenty of canned varieties that are good. You can package the soup in portable containers to bring to work. That way, you aren't just eating empty calories with just a cup of broth but getting your veggies in as well. During the winter, I usually make at least one pot of soup per week - one of them is always a vegetable soup (I use whatever I have in the fridge, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, asparagus, beans, etc.)

Come and join the other Phase I Chicks on the Phase I thread.