Mini Oatmeal Banana Muffins

I am currently obsessed with breakfast cookies. I love oatmeal and I love cookies, so mixing up some oats with other great ingredients then shaping them into cookie form is a winner in my book!

I am pretty much a fan of any food that is mini and portable so I decided to get some ideas from a few breakfast cookie recipes that I had on hand and tweak them to make my own mini muffins! They came out great! They are not only cute & delicious, but are really simple to make and pretty versatile because you can use any flavor oatmeal and whatever add-ins you want. Here is what I came up with:

2 large ripe bananas
2 packs of BetterOats, Blueberry Muffin Flavored Oatmeal (Use whatever flavor you like!)
1 egg
Brown sugar (to sprinkle on top of each muffin)

Mash bananas in a bowl. Add the oatmeal and egg and mix until well combined (I did this in a medium bowl with a spoon.. no need to dirty your mixer). Spoon mixture into mini muffin pan then sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, cool slightly and enjoy!

This recipe made 22 mini muffins.
1 muffin = 0 PPV
2 muffins = 1 PPV
3 muffins = 1 PPV
4 muffins = 2 PPV
5 muffins = 2 PPV

*PPV means Points Plus Value

Striped Delight

I had never heard of Striped Delight until I met met husband. It is his favorite dessert and he requests it every birthday. This year was no different, so Steve got his delicious treat :) I made the Striped Delight using all regular, full fat ingredients so I am warning you that it is not very point friendly. However, in the past, I have made it using low-fat ingredients. Both taste delicious! I am not a huge pudding fan but when I tried this dessert my taste-buds sang! The buttery graham cracker crust and the layer of cream cheese with sugar and cool whip is my favorite. All the ingredients really come together in this dish to make it taste great!

Striped Delight
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs (I used one sleeve *9 graham crackers* put in the food processor)
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. melted butter
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip (I always get the big 16oz tub & use half for the cream cheese layer & half for the topping)
2 pkgs. (4 serving size) Jello brand chocolate instant pudding (This time I used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate pudding & now I can never go back! It was amazing!)
3 1/2 c. cold milk
Sprinkle with nuts, sprinkles, any topping you want (I always shave chocolate on top of mine)

*Combine crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and melted butter. Press firmly into bottom of 13x9 inch pan. You can let the crust chill for a couple of minutes or if you want a firmer crust, bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes then cool. This was the first time that I actually baked the crust and it made all the difference! I would definitely recommend baking it first! 

Beat cream cheese with sugar and 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. Fold in half the whipped topping. Spread over crust. Prepare pudding as directed on package using 3 1/2 cups milk. Pour over cream cheese layer. Chill overnight. Spread remaining whipped topping over pudding and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

*One time I actually used crushed up Oreos in place of the graham cracker crumbs for the crust. Steve said it was too sweet for him but that was MY favorite way to eat this! You can also make it using your favorite flavor of pudding, it doesn't have to be chocolate.

Happy Birthday Babe!!

Flourless Peanut Butter Treats

I have a huge sweet tooth and it has definitely rubbed off on my husband. We love sweets but we try to be healthy about it so I am always on the hunt for dessert/snack recipes that have minimal amounts of sugar or are sweetened naturally. I stumbled upon this blog and felt like I hit the jackpot with these two recipes! Not only did I find two delicious recipes, but both are made with peanut butter... and we are big fans are peanut butter in this house!

The first one I made was called Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Muffins. These were delicious! I used chunky peanut butter because I like crunch in my food, but you could use smooth & add other things in like fruit or jam. These make a great snack and are 5 Points Plus each.

The second recipe I made was called Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies. These got rave reviews from my family! My husband loved them and my father-in-law (who can be a picky eater when it comes to sugary treats) could not get enough! The combination of peanut butter, honey, and dark chocolate chips was just right. I would suggest using your favorite peanut butter and your favorite honey (not the cheap stuff) because both tastes are pretty strong on this recipe. These are high in points due to all of the peanut butter but still a great treat! If you cut the blondies into 20 pieces they will be 5 Points Plus a piece.

Detoxinista has some other great recipes that I can not wait to try!

Ground Chicken & Chickpea Curry Stew

Over the weekend, I usually plan dinner for the entire week. This past weekend I was lazy and come Monday night I was at a loss. I found this great recipe online for a curry stew and it just so happened to be super simple, low in points and delicious! It just might be my husband's new favorite dish! I had almost everything on hand but I substituted a couple of ingredients & added a little of my own. Here is the link to the recipe:
Ground Chicken and Chickpea Curry Stew with Yogurt 

Here are the changes I made:
1. I omitted the oil
2. I used only 1 pound of ground chicken
3. I did not have much onion on hand so I used the little bit I had left & diced up a large red pepper instead
4. I used diced tomatoes with jalapenos because that is all I had in the house (warning: the jalapenos made this dish extremely spicy! If you like heat, I would suggest using the tomatoes with the jalapenos, if not, then just use the plain diced tomatoes & add your own hot sauce to taste at the end)
5. I did not have Greek yogurt on hand so I just used plain fat-free yogurt
6. I omitted the cilantro
7. I added minced garlic & a sprinkle of garlic & onion powder. I also served the stew over brown rice.

With my alterations, this recipe made 6 and a half cups of stew coming in at only 5 Points Plus per cup! I put it over 2/3 cup of brown rice for and additional 4 Points Plus. In total, my dinner was 9 Points Plus of spicy deliciousness! This meal will definitely be a weeknight staple in our home from now on!

Healthy & Delicious Italian Dinner

Since I have been on spring break I have had more time on my hands, which for me, means more time to cook & bake! Wednesday night I steered away my usual one pot wonders and made dinner that actually had 3 different components to it. It's one of my favorite meals because I love fresh, healthy, Italian food. It's also pretty simple to make and tastes delicious! Here is what you will need:

Chicken:
Boneless, skinless chicken breast (as many ounces as you want to eat that night) (I had a 3oz piece)
Garlic, minced
Basil, chopped
Tomato, sliced
Mozzarella, shredded (or as I call it, "mootz") (I used a Weight Watchers 1pt cheese stick for mine)
Salt & pepper
*Instructions: Take your raw chicken breast & sprinkle it on both sides with salt, pepper, & garlic powder, then cook on a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Since I am a Weight Watchers member, after my chicken was cooked, I took it off the pan & weighed it to make sure I had 3oz (3 PointsPlus value). After weighing the chicken, return to pan & top with garlic, basil, tomato, & mozzerella. Cover pan until the mootz is melted & everything is heated through.

Green Beans:
Green beans (I used fresh)
Grape tomatoes, cut in half
Garlic, minced (as much as you like)
Olive Oil (1 tsp)
Salt & pepper, to taste
*Instructions: In a large pot, place your green beans with enough water to cover them & bring to a boil. Let them cook until they are as soft as you like them. Drain water. Add grape tomatoes, garlic, salt & pepper and olive oil. Toss to coat. Cover pot & leave it on the burner for a couple of minutes until everything is heated through.

Farro:
Farro (1 cup dry)
Mushrooms, chopped
Best Life Buttery Spread (1 Tbsp)
Parmesan (2 Tbsp)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, to taste
*Instructions: Prepare farro according to package. Add in chopped mushrooms, butter, Parmesan, & spices.  Mix until butter is melted & all ingredients are well blended.

My whole meal was 9 Points Plus value. I had:
3oz chicken & 1 cheese stick: 4 Points Plus
Half of the green bean tomato mixture: 1 Points Plus
Farro (1/2 cup prepared): 4 Points Plus

*Some of my own recipes do not have exact measurements on certain ingredients because I usually just make things up as I go along & cook to taste. If there is anything I can clarify for you, please let me know! :)

Flourless Breakfast Oatmeal Cookies

If you like oatmeal cookies, you will like this recipe! You will also love me for posting a cookie recipe that comes out to only 1 Points Plus each (this PP value includes the optional 1/2 cup of raisins)! The cookies are called, Flourless Breakfast Oatmeal Cookies. This is not my own so please click the above link to get the full recipe.

Now, I say 1 Points Plus per cookie depending on how you use Weight Watchers e-tools. Weight Watchers has something called Recipe Builder, where you enter in all of your ingredients & the serving size & it calculates the Points Plus value for you. Some foods on WW have a 0 Points Plus value when you eat them alone (for example: bananas). However, when you enter them into Recipe Builder as part of a recipe, it takes everything into account & will assign the banana a Points Plus value (because it is part of a recipe now & not just a single entity). I spoke to my Weight Watchers leader about this once before & she said it is at my own discretion whether I want to count points for a zero point food or not. I chose not to & I still lose weight. So in this recipe, the reason these cookies come out to 1 Points Plus each is because I did not count the bananas, applesauce, almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Also, I used 3 very large bananas, so I actually made 24 cookies rather than 12. Whether your choose to count the zero point food or not, these cookies are a yummy, healthy, low-point treat! Oh, and they make the house smell delicious!

*Note: These cookies do not have your average cookie texture. They are dense & heavy & pretty much have the consistency of baked oatmeal in cookie form. These would be great for breakfast!

UPDATE: I made another batch of these cookies except this time I left out the nutmeg (because I am just not a big fan), added a little extra cinnamon, as well as 1/8 cup of maple syrup. These were DELICIOUS! I enjoyed this batch much better than the first one...my husband did too because they are almost gone! 

Wheat Germ is my new Chia

When I first learned about Chia seeds & the benefits of them, I sprinkled them on everything! I still do. Well, this weekend I was visiting my family in NJ & my dad bought lots of healthy ingredients to make some high fiber muffins. One of the things he bought was toasted wheat germ. I had never bought or used wheat germ in anything until this weekend. Now, I am mixing it with everything! Two tablespoons is only 1 Points Plus & packed with a lot of nutrients. I mixed it with my yogurt & oatmeal today (along with my Chia seeds!) and it was delicious & filling. Here is a link to an article on Dr.Oz's website talking about the benefits of Wheat Germ: Why You Need Wheat Germ