A member shared a great new recipe at my Weight Watchers Meeting. It’s called 3-2-1 Cake. It’s so simple and super low in points. I couldn’t wait to come home and try it. And get this, it actually tastes good.
Ingredients:
1 Box Angel Food Cake Mix
1 Box of Your favorite Cake mix
Water
Crème Brule Ceramic Cup or Coffee Mug
Steps:
1) Add both boxes of cake mix in a zip lock bag. Mix together well.
2) Add 3 tablespoons of cake mix to the cup/bowl
3) Stir in 2 tablespoons of water and mix well
4) Microwave for 1 minute
5) Top with whip cream or cake icing or fruit
Makes 33 servings, Weight Watcher Points Plus = 3
* It’s called 3 2 1 Cake because you use 3 tablespoons of mix, 2 tablespoons of water and 1 minute in the microwave. I learned the “hard” way that sometimes one minute might actually be too long. The first mini cake I made was so hard and crunchy that I had to cut it with a knife. I realized it was over cooked. It finally turned out just right after the 3rd time around with about 40 seconds.
I went to lunch with an old co-worker friend. We ended up going to the Bamboo Bistro, a fantastic Chinese Buffet downtown. I made healthy choices for breakfast that morning. I had an english muffin with a 1 Point Weight Watcher Cheese wedge and a Lactose Free Yogurt. I had all kinds of stuff at the lunch buffet, fried rice, general Tso’s chicken, fish and crab rangoon. For dessert I had a few pieces of honey crisp pineapple. I knew I had blown my points for the day. I made up my mind right then that I was having stir-fried veggies for dinner and told my friend I was doing so as confirmation.
Once I got home, I was tired and figured I could just grab some fast food and relax. Luckily, I talked myself out of that foolishness. I felt kinda bad about eating so much at lunch, so I decided to go to the gym as “punishment.” Then I read somewhere that working out should not feel like punishment, and you should do activities you enjoy. I turned on my new favorite toy the Xbox Kinect
. Sweat is sweat, whether it’s elliptical sweat or doing sexy dances to Rihanna
in my living room sweat. I had fun doing the 20 minute Dance Central fitness routine. After my mini workout session, I was so against veggies for dinner I actually ate nothing. I sat in my own silent protest to such a “horrible” dinner. Then around 10 o’clock my stubbornness started to wane because I was hungry. I went in the kitchen and chopped up some fresh zucchini and squash. I put them in olive oil and sautéed them with pre-chopped frozen green peppers. It was such an easy dish to prepare. I seasoned them with a veggie seasoning I got from the spice store at the market.
After they cooked down some, I added some frozen chopped spinach. It started to smell really good. When it was ready, I topped it off with a little bit of shredded mozzarella cheese. I can put cheese on just about everything but ice cream. And…guess what? My 4 point dinner was delicious! I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t feel like punishment at all. There was no meat, no side dish with carbs, and I was satisfied. I even went back for guilt-free seconds!
Halloween here in the States is a fun spooky holiday surrounded by sweet treats. But, for those of us trying to lose or maintain our weight, it can be a very tricky day to handle. So, I did a little research and came up with 7 ways to tackle the candy obsession and stay on track… I even threw in a few kid-friend ideas.
1) Instead of candy, pack snack sized portions of animal crackers, 100 calorie packs, raisins, trail mix, sugar free hot cocoa or apple cider.
2) After carving the pumpkin, save the seeds and roast them in oven. Or as my super-efficient mother did when I was a child. Cook them on a plate in the microwave.
3) Make Orange or Black Jello. Decorate it with Plastic spiders or cut out spooky shapes.
4) Healthy Caramel Apples - Click the link for a recipe to Trim some of the calories
5) Banana Ghost Pops - Using Bananas, coconut and Orange Juice
6) Apple Bites - These are too cute! - Just quarter and core an apple, cut a wedge from the skin side of each quarter, then press slivered almonds in place for teeth. Tip: If you’re not going to serve them right away, baste the apples with orange juice to keep them from browning.
7) Easy Cheese Fingers – Ingredients – Mozzarella string cheese, Green bell pepper, Cream cheese
Instructions:
1) Wearing plastic gloves or sandwich bags over your hands to keep the cheese as smudge-free as possible, use a paring knife (parents only) to cut each string in half and then carve a shallow area for a fingernail just below the rounded end of each half.
2) Mark the joint right below the nail as well as the knuckle joint by carving out tiny horizontal wedges of cheese, as pictured.
3) For the fingernails, slice a green bell pepper into 3/8-inch-wide strips. Set the strips skin side down on your work surface and trim the pulp so that it’s about half as thick. Then cut the strips into ragged-topped nail shapes and stick them in place at the ends of the fingers with dabs of cream cheese.
It seems that you guys liked my post about the Zucchini Fries. I often try to prepare new foods, so I wanted to share my Spinach Smoothie recipe. It’s green, delicious and nutritious! Don’t be afraid to try it.
Ingredients: You Need a Blender
A Handful of Fresh Spinach Leaves
6 oz Yogurt OR a Cup of Vanilla Almond Milk
Banana (Optional)
Blueberries (Optional)
Strawberries (Optional)
100% Maple Syrup (Optional Sweetener)
and Ice
First, Blend the Spinach with the milk. This will prevent chunks of leaves in your smoothie. Then add ice and any remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Some people say “you can’t taste the spinach.” That’s not totally true, it has a very mild flavor that’s easily over-powered by the fruit flavors. I found this smoothie to be refreshing and filling.
You can also add strawberries, but I heard it turns it brown. I liked the vibrant green color, so I stuck the strawberry on the side. This smoothie is quick and easy, and can be tweaked so many ways. If you use frozen fruit, then you don’t need the ice cubes.
In the smoothie pictured, I used spinach, vanilla almond milk and ice, garnished with a fresh strawberry. I did not use the syrup or yogurt because the Vanilla almond milk is very sweet.
Create your own Smoothie with your favorite fruit and let me know how it turns out!
At my Weight Watcher’s meeting last week, my leader encouraged us to try new vegetables and prepare our old veggies in a different way. She suggested that we try Jicama. I had some jicama when I went to Mexico back in April. I’m not really a fan of it. It tastes sort of like a cross between an apple and a potato. So, I opted to try the Zucchini Fries. I’m glad I did, they were delicious! However, I must admit that “fries” is a bit of a stretch. A better name would be “Oven-Fried Zucchini.”
Here’s the Weight Watcher receipe for Zucchini Fries:
4 Servings (8 Fries); 3 WW Points Plus
4 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp table salt (I added garlic powder and pepper too)
3/4 cup(s) dried bread crumbs, (panko-variety suggested) (I used regular Italian bread crumbs)
2 medium zucchini, about 7-inches each, cut into 4 chunks, then each chunk halved
2 large egg white(s), whipped until frothy (almost soft peaks)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, flour and salt. Place bread crumbs in another small bowl.
- Dredge a zucchini fry in flour mixture and then dip into egg whites; dredge in bread crumbs. Place coated zucchini on prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients; liberally coat with cooking spray.
- Roast, turning once, until desired crispness, about 12 minutes. Yields about 8 fries per serving.
Notes
- Clearly I cut the zucchini wrong. I saw great pics of the proper way to cut it Here. (But mine still tasted great!)
- Dip in Pizza Sauce or Light Ranch (But don’t forget to count the extra points!)
- Use this technique with any summer squash or eggplant. It also works great with thick-cut onion rings or even green tomatoes. For extra crispy fries, increase the oven temperature to 500ºF and knock 2 minutes off the cooking time (Mine are dark, because I wanted them crispier)
