Nice to meet you too. A friend to do it with - that is great.
Sounds like you are doing just fine there.
About your questions
Chocolate - (the number one reason I put on weight
) is cocoa which is a nut and we can add nuts on rung three on OWL (after induction - on going weight loss) Some people feel that a tiny bit of unsweetened cocoa on some whipped cream is OK on induction. I am not one of them
For me personally it was important to "liberate" myself from chocolate - it has (still has to some extent) a lot of power over me. I am now trying to gain power over it.
Vegetables do not gain carbs when you cook them. Sometimes it may look like that because the volume cooks down - but one cooked zucchini has the same carbs as an uncooked one. (Thank god - I really love my sauteed vegetables
)
The splenda syrups are OK - maybe. You can only have three servings of sweetener a day. And some people will stall with sweeteners so you have to feel it out.
I hope that helps some.