So right now I am doing a health challenge with a few of my friends and neighbors where we have each put $20 into a pot and we keep track of our points every day and the person with the most points at the end of five weeks takes the pot. We have 18 people doing this challenge so it is a pretty big pot. However, 7 of us still have perfect points so the prize money won't be quite as big as I was hoping if it gets divided up seven ways. But you know what? I absolutely don't mind! To me, it is awesome that all of us are making strides towards being more healthy and that would be really cool if that many people followed these guidelines perfectly for the five weeks we are doing this challenge. Anyway, the way we get all of our points for the day include eating FIVE servings of veggies every day, drinking at least 64 ounces of water, not eating after 8:00 pm, working out for 30 minutes every day, and I will share the last rule in just a moment. Now, already, just two weeks in I am feeling really great and one guy has taken his blood pressure from 142/94 to 124/85 after just one week! Isn't that so cool? This is evidence to me yet again that eating tons of vegetables and exercising can do absolute wonders for your body. I could talk on this subject all day, but that is not what this article is going to be about (drumroll…..)

The final rule of our challenge is not…eating….sweets….AT ALL!! L I knew this would be the hardest thing for me and it definitely is because of my dang sweet tooth! I cannot wait until March 2^nd when I can finally have my favorite sweet treat. It gets me thinking and dreaming about what I want to eat that day…cookies? Cake? Ice Cream? Goodness, the possibilities are endless! So I would like to share some of my ultimate favorite desserts ever and I would LOVE for you to share some of yours in the comments below. I would love for this to be a way to get to know you guys! You can learn a lot about someone knowing what their favorite sweet guilty pleasure is.

Ok, my ultimate Holy Grail favorite dessert of all time would have to be the Dulce de Leche cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Oh my goodness! I have told my husband time and time again that if I could have one last bite before I die, this would be my last bite. It is extremely rich and honestly, you only need to eat a couple bites to get your fix, but it is seriously divine!

I never thought I was a cake person until I ordered the Great Wall of China cake at PF Chang's restaurant. Their menu describes it as "six rich layers of frosted chocolate cake topped with semi-sweet chocolate chips, served with fresh berries and raspberry sauce." Seriously to die for. You have not had chocolate cake until you have had this chocolate cake!

Ice cream is my normal go-to, favorite dessert. I absolutely love making my own ice cream, but when I buy store-bought, I gotta go with the experts: Mr. Ben and Mr. Jerry. My husband and I enjoy buying a couple different Ben and Jerry's and sharing them as we watch TV together. The one that has had my heart lately is Pistachio, Pistachio. Pistachio flavored ice cream with lightly roasted pistachios. It might sound kind of weird, it did to me, but it is quite scrumptious!

And finally, my very favorite dessert to make at home is one my sweet husband made for me for my birthday this past year. My favorite meal is lasagna so he took it one step further and made me lasagna AND chocolate lasagna! It is so delightful with an oreo crust layer on the bottom, then a cream cheese/whipped cream layer, a chocolate pudding layer, then topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with mini chocolate chips. It is so easy and delicious, you will love it!

Of course I love pretty much every dessert like cookies, brownies, etc. but I thought I would name a few of my decadent, ultimate favorites and would love to hear yours as well! Here is the recipe for the chocolate lasagna.

Chocolate Lasagna

Ingredients
1 package Oreos (36 cookies)
6 Tablespoons melted butter
8 ounces softened cream cheese
¼ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
12 ounces Cool Whip, divided
2 - 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding
3¼ cups cold milk
1 and ½ cups mini chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Pulse Oreos in the food processor until it turns into crumbs.
2. Stir in the butter and press into a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex or baking dish.
3. Chill a few minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a mixer, beat cream cheese fluffy.
5. Add the 2 T. milk & sugar.
6. Add 1 and ¼ cups Cool Whip.
7. Spread this mixture over the chilled crust.
8. In another bowl, whisk chocolate puddings with the 3 and ¼ cups milk until it thickens.
9. Spread this over the cream cheese layer.
10. Chill 5 minutes.
11. Spread the rest of the Cool Whip on the top and sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips.
12. Chill several hours or overnight before cutting!

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