Chocolate/oat anything makes me hot and bothered…and a certain oat-based pancake I found at a NJ IHOP still gives me salivating dreams. Of course, anything by that chain is naughty as hell…but the concept doesn’t have to be!

My favorite healthy-eating website, Hungry-Girl.com, posted a fluffy flapjack recipe (complete with chocolatey innards and puffy whipped cream!) that will kick a chocolate craving to the curb before noon — and without costing you crazy amounts of calories and fat. Batter up!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup regular oats (not instant)
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Original Egg Beaters)
2 tbsp. whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp. fat-free vanilla yogurt
2 tsp. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda)
dash salt
4 sprays I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Spray
2 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-wip
Optional: sugar-free pancake syrup

Directions:
In a small bowl, place all ingredients EXCEPT for the chocolate chips, butter spray, Reddi-wip and optional syrup. Add 2 tbsp. of water, and stir until thoroughly mixed. Then, fold in the chocolate chips. Bring a pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Evenly pour half of the batter into the center of the pan to form 1 pancake. Once the pancake begins to look solid (after about 1 1/2 minutes), gently flip. Cook for an additional 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, or until both sides are lightly browned and the inside is cooked through. Plate and spray evenly with 2 spritzes of the butter spray. Repeat with the rest of the batter and butter spray to make your second pancake. If you like, drizzle with a little sugar-free syrup. Then, top with the Reddi-wip and enjoy! MAKES 1 SERVING

Serving Size: 2 pancakes with butter and whipped topping (entire recipe)
Calories: 241
Fat: 4.5g
Sodium: 425mg
Carbs: 37g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 10g
Protein: 13g

POINTS® value 4*

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The puppies and I like to watch Animal Planet late at night when we are unwinding pre-bed, and our new favorite show is, undoubtedly, Meerkat Manor. (In fact, Max gave me quite the argument last night when I tried to turn it off.)

And can you blame him? Look how cute they are!

Every year or two, I find a new animal I think is the cutest ever (after puppies) to oooh and awww at from afar. I proclaim 2008 to be…the Meerkat year!

Every few weeks, I pop in with the latest and greatest picks for your beauty wardrobe. It’s a fun project that I hope to do for years to come – but I’m mindful that there’s more to beauty than our faces!

The key to keeping our hair at its sexiest is using the best products to fit its needs. My hair, like me, is pretty darn needy – and here are some great new hair products I found that seem to fit the bill!

Bumble and bumble Color Support for Cool Blondes

I love even the name of this product. I am, I hope, a cool blonde in several ways. However, in this instance, cool blonde means keeping naturally white, silver and platinum blondes’ color clean and pure; by using violet pigments to counteract yellowing. It totally works. Even the most natural among us experience seasonal hair dullness – and this seems to be a god-sent rescue!

Ojon Freshen-Up Two Piece Set

QVC.com has a special Ojon duo available that is ideal for us girls on the go. It’s designed to prep and reinvigorate your hairstyle when you’re in a hurry via the Revitalizing Mist, which conditions and detangles the hair, and Rub-Out, a dry cleanser spray that instantly refreshes hair without water, erasing excess oil and product buildup. As a girl who has many a time ducked into Sephora for a quick spritz of the other major dry shampoo on the shelves, let me tell you, this one really works – and is a life-saver for those last-minute dates when you don’t have time to run home and wash your hair.

T3 Pro Mini Pink Flat Iron with Paddle Brush

No, I did not simply choose this because it’s pink!!! As my straightening is beginning to grow out, I have that telltale half-inch of frizz at my roots. This iron I found at QVC.com is saving me like none of the (OK, half-dozen) irons I’ve owned before. It has tourmaline-infused ceramic plates that heat up quickly and glide through hair, whether you want to straighten some frizz, or curl some ends (I’ve done both!) and the results last all day – except of of course for the certain trip into the rain 10 minutes later. Plus, it’s small and super compact to pack – which means it’s coming with me to South Beach next week!

More soon. There’s pretty much nothing I love more than playing with my hair…

Oh, the webs we weave…

I’ve been living a lie for weeks. Example:

Nearest and dearest joins me for dinner to celebrate my first week in my new apartment. I make a steaming bowl of pasta and veggies, covering it in my special blend of sauce.

Seconds and thirds are had, complimenting me on my never-before-realized culinary talents.

I graciously accept said compliments. (Of course.)

What I possibly neglected to mention…

is that Bertolli had come to my rescue, and I’ve been pretty much impersonating a cook since.

OK, that’s not true. I DID boil my own pasta and sautéed all my fresh veggies. But the sauce? Well. They were all pouches of Bertolli Premium pasta sauces - which I pretty much tore out of the pouch and poured atop my steaming mushrooms. And took complete credit for. The sauces take 90 seconds to microwave (or a few minutes on the stove to simmer) and come in great flavors like crushed tomato and basil, champignon and portobello mushrooms, and sun-ripened tomatoes and olives.

Sad thing is that now that the cat is out of the bag, I might have to actually start making the sauce myself. Or, hope that someone is kind enough to send me some more

In some sort of bizarre cosmic joke, apparently I can only digest chocolate.

I’m staying at my parents’ house this weekend, pet-sitting their flock of four-legged creatures. Perhaps it’s the heat or general fatigue, but mid-morning a terrible fit of overheated headachey nausea overtook me. No food is appetizing or wants to go down…except…it seems…chocolate. As in brownies.

So, apparently I have the get-fat-virus. Is anyone else familiar with it? It’s the one where grilled chicken and veggies makes you feel sick but a chunk of fudgilicious baked globs of sugar doesn’t.

Sigh. I think I will *walk* home tomorrow.

Free sample of Aveda’s NEW Green Science™ Lifting Serum: (US only; 18+) (This is also a aweepstakes; Rules)

Free Sub to Cycle World, Car & Driver or Women’s Day: (Not positive if these will come because of the message at the top of the page, but I figure it doesn’t hurt to try)

Free Whey Protein Milkshakes samples: (You’ll receive vanilla and chocolate)

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Last week, I received a press release about a new treatment offered at Kimara Ahnert, an elegant spa and makeup studio located on the Upper East Side of New York City.

A Hungarian facial known as “The Eminence,” it’s supposed to be a treat to the senses that brings together organically grown ingredients with an old world knowledge of herbs and fruits. (Interestingly, an incredibly similar description was presented to me the first time I tried Mole sauce at a Mexican restaurant. That did not go so well.)

Supposedly, if you add “The Paprika Treatment” (now that label sounds like a form of torture, to be quite honest - I’d consider calling it something a bit more dainty), the natural ingredients are incredibly potent, and in the end you will have a long-lasting clear, glowing complexion, eradicating your current skin problems.

I won’t lie. I was intrigued. And a little frightened…but, that made it even *more* intriguing. (This is a personality trait that, truthfully, has guided me in many of my endeavors!)

As I get great joy out of freaking my mom out with the bevy of bizarre beauty treatments I try on a weekly basis, I called her and told her I was going for a Hungarian facial, which would climax with an application of Paprika to my skin.

“What? Are you crazy? Don’t do that! You can’t put paprika on your face! You’ll be as red as a lobster! Promise me you won’t do it!”

She went on … and on… and on. Interestingly enough, I imagined that she herself, at that moment, was somewhat lobster-colored.

Of course, I did not listen to her. (This is a woman who warned me I would go blind if I had my lashes tinted, clearly she over reacts!) I made my appointment, and got ready for my aesthetic trip to Hungary.

Sadly, I was soon to find out the winner of this debate would never be realized.

I walked into my beautiful treatment room, and Natalya, my facialist, set to examine my skin. She noticed how fair I was, and informed me we had a problem.

“Dear, I will not do the paprika treatment on you. It is too powerful! You will look like a lobster!”

Instead, she told me we would try the Oxygen facial, a treatment that is designed to detoxify, purify and nourish the skin using a highly concentrated molecular Oxygen Blast. (How sci-fi cool is that???) It’s deep-penetrating (as I imagine paprika, is, too!) but in a gentle and hydrating way, and the oxygen stimulates the rejuvenation, healing and detoxification of cells.

So, that is what we did (complete with an eyelash tint while I was letting the masque settle in), and it was true-to-advertised-promise - my skin was indeed aglow, baby soft, and, yes, not lobster-colored. Most importantly, though, it provided me with a solid hour of deep relaxation to accompany said dewy skin - both welcome assets when your next stop is a loud, drunken Rolling Stone magazine party.

Still, I can’t help but be curious about that paprika - and the power it clearly harnesses. A force so great it is apparently too potent and intense for my skin to handle. (This must be like when Superman feared what sex with Lois Lane would do to her…but look how THAT turned out!)

Personally, I think my skin - like Lois Lane’s prowess - is being underestimated. But whatever. Oxygen rocks anyway.

Someone has to try this paprika thing though and tell me how it is. Just be sure not to tell my mother.

Hot off the presses (OK, actually fresh from my web cam), pix of my just-completed hair cut!

It’s actually not a big change at all, but so much healthier-looking than it appeared just a few hours ago. I went to my new best friend Jiwon at Oscar Bond Salon (she did my Japanese Straightening last month, and the results were the most successful yet) for a quick trim and summer style consult.

OK, it wasn’t nearly that intense. We actually just chatted about brownies and earrings while Jiwon cleaned up my ends and added a few layers. My hair is naturally pretty fine, so Jiwon taught me how to use what nature (well, somewhat) dealt me to make it have a bit more move and body. And thus, I’ve updated my spring bob with a summer one!

When she speaks, I listen - not only are we now in a monogamous hair relationship (me going to ANYONE two times in a row is a huge sign of commitment), but she is a master of her craft. She has worked for various SoHo hair salons before landing at Oscar Bond - which is just about the most relaxed, fun place I’ve been coiffed yet. (They even have a bunch of Macs set up in the lobby for you to check your email as you wait.) Even cooler, Jiwon has worked with a ton of celebrity stylists and on fun projects including the Sarah Jessica Parker clothing line look book - making me yet another degree closer to living and breathing Carrie Bradshaw. Sigh. (That was a happy sigh.)

You must go visit her immediately: www.oscarbondsalon.com/Jiwon.html - and please tell her Aly sent you!

Alert:

I am going to South Beach in…two weeks! I hope I can get my butt into my new bikini by then…

PS: My trip is part of a Volkswagen blowout birthday bash…I suppose I should tell them I hardly remember how to drive…