Roni’s Weight Watchen Page(s) - Take 2 (the rebuild)

I love getting an unexpected day off work.  Of course, I spent it experimenting in the kitchen!

The holidays are coming and I thought a simple pumpkin spice muffin would be nice.  My first take at it was pretty darn good! I think I may try other spice combinations (they need a bit more) but as for texture, size and nutritional info, I couldn’t be happier! 

• 2 cups (240 g) of Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 & ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp (21 g) honey
• 1 tbsp (20 g) molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• ½ cup (4 oz) water
• 1 can (15 oz) canned pumpkin
• Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Double sift all the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.

Whisk the egg, egg white, honey, molasses, and water in a large bowl.  Mix in the pumpkin.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just mixed (you don’t see anymore dry ingredients).  Don’t over mix!

Spread the muffin batter evenly into 2 6-muffin pans sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake for approximately 18 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins, nutritionally, I’m calculating about 100 calories, 1 g of fat and 3 g of fiber for each!

By the way, I sprinkled the whole batch with about 1/2 tsp of powdered sugar just to make them prettier. It only adds about 5 calories for the whole batch.

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, DessertIdeas

This is one of my most requested ideas and of course, I lost it in the crash. Thanks to Barbara who emailed me her copy a few weeks back.

• 1 box carrot cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Supermoist Cake Mix, Carrot)
• 15 oz can pumpkin
• 2 egg whites
• 5-6 baby carrots grated
• dash of cinnamon
• non-stick spray

Mix all together and pour equal amounts into 2 bread pans sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

I count each loaf at 22 points, cut one loaf into 11 slices for 2 points each.

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, DessertIdeas

I’ve been experimenting with a Banana Nut recipe for awhile.  Everything I read says you should mix whole wheat flour with “all purpose”, but I like the challenge of seeing if I can make tasty 100% whole wheat treats.  Well, these finally came out good enough to share. Don’t get me wrong the “bad” batches were pretty good too! The toddler is my ultimate taste tester and any time I can get him to eat a whole grain sugar free treat, I know it’s time to post.   ;~)

• 1 and ¼ cups (150 grams) of whole wheat flour (I weighed it)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 large overripe banana
• ½ cup plain non-fat yogurt
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp molasses
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/8 cup (15 grams) of almonds (I used raw)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Put the almonds in a plastic bag and beat with a rolling pin to chop them up. Set aside.

Mix and double sift the whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside

In a medium bowl mash the banana with a fork.  Add the egg whites, yogurt, honey, molasses and applesauce.  Whisk until well blended and a bit “frothy”.

Mix the sifted flour with the banana egg mixture until just incorporated.  Don’t over mix!

Spray a 6 muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Evenly distribute the batter in the muffin tin.  Sprinkle crushed almonds on top. Bake for 18 minutes. 

Mine didn’t rise as much as I would have liked.  I’m not sure why but they came out tasty just the same!  Plus each one is only about 170 calories, 2 g of fat and 4 g of fiber.  If you skip the almond topping, you are looking at only 150 calories, .5 g of fat and 4 g of fiber!

Update:I made a double batch and they came out just as good! If not better in my opinion. As you can see the toddler LOVES them!

Another Update:I made them again. This time only 1/2 tsp's of the baking soda and powder and I measured out the salt. They rose up perfectly!! I have a new picture too but I don't have post right now. (recipe has been updated)

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, SnackIdeas

Well, really they are waffle shaped pancakes but SHHHhhhh the kids will never know.

Last weekend I went to target and saw a waffle iron on sale for 8 bucks. I never had a waffle iron and waffles were not a big staple at my house growing up but I figured why not. It’s something new and fun.

So I took my Whole Grain Pancake recipe and gave it a whirl in the iron. They came out delicious! However, a waffle is supposed to be crunchier then pancakes, right? These did not come out crunchy. They were really like waffle shaped pancakes (well duh, I used pancake mix in the waffle iron). ;~)

I froze the leftovers so maybe when I toast them they will be more waffle like. In the meantime, if you are looking to change up your breakfast now you know the pancake recipe works well in the waffle iron too!

The recipe as is made 7 waffles (as pictured) each approximately 100 calories, 1 g of fat, and 3 g of fiber.

Labels: BreakfastIdeas

All right so I’m showing my North East PA roots with this one. My mom gave me the idea when I told her I had a zucchini the size of a baseball bat.

When I was a kid hitting the church bazaars, potato pancakes where always a favorite. Shredded potatoes a bit of onion and batter, deep-fried. Nothing like a heart attack on a plate drenched in oil and smothered in salt.

Ahhh the good old days. ;~)

• About 1 and 1/3 cup grated zucchini (I used the large side of my cheese grader and about 1/3 of the baseball sized zucchini)
• ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
• 2 egg whites
• About ¼ of a large sweet onion diced small
• Salt and Pepper
• Non-stick cooking spray

First we need to remove some moisture from the zucchini. I laid down a few paper towels, spread out the grated zucchini and pressed down with a few more towels. Like a paper towel and zucchini sandwich. It took 2-3 times but I was pretty successful.

Wisk the flour and egg whites together for form the batter.

Add the zucchini and onion. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.

Heat a non-stick frying pan or griddle over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Form the zucchini batter into patties. Depending on how successful you were removing the water you may have a very moist batter. That’s ok, form it in a patty and plop it in the griddle and press it down a bit, it will hold once it starts to cook. Before you flip generously sprinkle with salt (and pepper if you like) Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until cake becomes a nice brown, flip sprinkle a bit more salt and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.

This was my first shot at it and they came out delish. I will be experimenting with water removal techniques for the shredded zucchini and I may add a bit more onion but over all I’m super happy with the way they came out. Even the toddler had a few bites!

The best part is the WHOLE recipe is only about 240 calories, 2 g of fat and 9 g of fiber. I made 4 larger cakes (1 is missing from the picture – I ate it. ;~)

Next Day Update:I made them again today, this time after I grated the zucchini I seasoned it with a bit of salt to help draw out the water. Then I put it in the Potato Ricer I got for my birthday. Squished with just enough pressure to get the water out. It worked like a charm! I knew that ricer would come in handy. ;~)

Another Update:I've been making them a lot recently and discovered the extra moisture is not that big of a deal. They still hold together nicely. I just do one run through the papertowels and that's it.

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, DinnerIdeas

The first breakfast after my week long beach splurge needed to be a good one. I'm a big believer in bulking up breakfast and making a little seem like a lot. Making it look pretty is just another bonus!

• 8 oz of light fat free flavored yogurt (I used Breyers Fat Free -strawberry banana)
• 1/2 cup of bran flakes (I used Kellogs Bran Flakes)
• Fresh berries (I used blueberries and raspberries)

Layer the ingredients in a tall glass starting with a bit of yogurt, then cereal. I then alternated blueberries and raspberries that I picked up from a farmstand stop on the way home from the beach.

As for nutritional information, I'm estimating it at about 250 calories, 2 g and 6 g of fiber. I counted it as 4 points.

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, SnackIdeas

This is what happens when you have too many blueberries. I was in a mood to experiment and will probably dabble with these again but there were good enough to share. I know that doesn’t sound too appetizing but they are so low in points you may want to experiment yourself! Plus no fat and no sugar!

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ baking soda
• 2 egg whites
• 1 ½ cup of skim milk
• 2 tbsp applesauce
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1 tbsp honey
• 4 cups of bran flakes (I used Kellogs Bran Flakes)
• 1 ½ cup blueberries
• Non stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

Beat or wisk the egg whites, milk, applesauce, molasses and honey. Add the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until moistened. It will be a bit lumpy. Add the bran flakes and blueberries. It will seem like too much at first, but keep mixing until all the cereal is moist.

Now I experimented with regular size and mini miffin. The mini’s came out much better, the large where a but chewy. Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray and spoon the mixture in. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Batter should make about 48 mini muffins. I’m estimating each mini muffin at about 25 calories, 0g fat and 1 g of fiber.

Labels: BreakfastIdeas

Ok so this isn’t really a new recipe, just an excuse to take a picture of my breakfast. ;~) I’m loving the food photo stuff just a little too much. Can you tell?

I bought 2 lbs of blueberries at BJ’s and they are just so darn good and pretty. I LOVE blueberry season!

I made my Whole Grain Pancakes as posted and just added blueberries to the batter at the end. That’s it!

They really came out awesome! Plus you are only looking at about 3 points there. What a great breakfast for three points!

A little fat free whiped topping might be a good addition. No butter needed!

Enjoy!

Labels: BreakfastIdeas

My third idea with Vitalicious VitaMixes! First, there was Surprise Chocolate Cherry Muffins, then Chocolate Raspberry Brownies now we have Berry VitaMuffin Cake! Let me first warn you that it really isn’t a “cake” per say, it’s a large muffin shaped like a cake. I only say that because I don’t want you to be disappointed. If you like BlueBran VitaMuffin you will like this. I thought it would make a nice addition to a summer brunch, maybe even for 4th of July?

• 1 package of BlueBran VitaMix (Blueberry Bran Muffin Mix)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• About ¾ cup fat free whipped topping
• About 4-5 large strawberries cleaned and cut up
• About ½ cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the VitaMix, egg whites and water according to package. Pour batter into a non-stick 8 inch square cake pan (you may want to spray with non-stick cooking spray to guarantee no sticking). Bake for about 30-35 minutes. The center should be firm to the touch and the edges may just start getting slightly browner.

Let the cake cool completely. Top with whipped topping and create stripes with the berries.

The whipped toping and berries only add about 20 calories a serving. The cake mix makes 12 servings so with the additional toppings we are looking at about 120 calories, no fat and 6 g of fiber! Not too shabby!

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, DessertIdeas

I just can’t leave a good thing alone. My first version of Whole Grain Pancakes was delish but I knew I could do better! I replaced the oil and splenda with “healthier” alternatives. The came out just as good and this time I actually got 12 cakes!

I love making these and freezing the leftovers. During the week, I throw one in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds. It’s a great quick breakfast! The toddler absolutely loves dipping his in applesauce. I prefer berries. ;~)

• ½ cup quick oats
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ¾ whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tbsp honey

In a medium bowl combine oatmeal, milk and lemon juice.  Let sit while mixing the dry ingredients (at least 2 minutes).

In a small bowl combine all the dry ingredients, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda.

Beat or wisk the egg, vanilla, applesauce and honey into the milk/oatmeal mixture.  It will be very liquidly.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix with a spoon until combined.

Pour batter in a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat to make pancakes. Cook about 1-2 minutes a side, small bubbles will form but not as many as traditional pancakes. I just peaked underneath for a light brown color, then flipped.

Should make about 10-12 cakes! Each cake is about 65 calories, 1 g of fat and 1 g of fiber.

Labels: BreakfastIdeas

Originally Posted on June 14th, 2007 9:49 pm

I made these for the toddler’s 2nd birthday.  They came out better then I expected, moist, yummy and HUGE! Well, huge compared to the normal low point cupcakes I’m used to.  ;~)

I used sprinkles to decorate some instead of frosting.  This way I save points but they still look festive!

• Chocolate Fudge cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Supermoist Cake Mix, Chocolate Fudge, 18.25)
• 1-15oz can of pumpkin
• 2/3 cup of water
• Sprinkles (optional)
• Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Beat the cake mix, pumpkin and water for about 2-3 minutes.  The batter will seem light and airy.

Spray 2 6-cup muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop the batter into the muffin pan and top with sprinkles.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.

I made 12 large cupcakes, just about 4 points a piece.  You could make 24 smaller ones for 2 points if you want but I was into the size this time.

Update: We had them this morning for breakfast and I finally figured out what they taste like! If you ever had a devil dog, they taste just like the chocolate cake part of that!

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, DessertIdeas, SnackIdeas

Originally Posted on June 9th, 2007 2:45 pm

This is my first attempt to modify corn muffins.  I didn’t want to vary the recipe too much from the mix as I was unsure how they would come out.  Now that I tried, I may replace the whole egg with just egg whites and see if water would work instead of the milk.  The pumpkin worked like a charm! I’ll post updates when I try them again. Oh! Did I say they were YUMMY!

• 7.5 ounce whole Grain Cornbread mix (I used Hodgson Mill Whole Grain Cornbread And Muffin Mix)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup canned pumpkin
• ½ cup skim milk
• Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl mix all ingredients together with a spatula. Spoon into a 24-cup mini muffin pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for about 12 minutes, muffins will be firm to the touch.

With the mix I used I’m estimating 2 mini muffins at just over a point.  I think.  I was having a hard time calculating.  If anyone has any insight please comment.  I’m just happy they are whole grain, super YUMMY and the toddler liked them!

Upadate: I froze the letovers. Popped two in the microwave for 20 seconds and they came out perfect!

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, DinnerIdeas, SnackIdeas

Posted on May 16th, 2007 9:06 am

Have you noticed? I’ve been on a cherry kick recently! Oh Well, I wanted something new for breakfast and came up with this idea. It was surprisingly filling.

• Light cherry yogurt (I use a generic brand 2 points for 8 oz)
• Fresh cherries halved and de-pitted ( I used about ½ cup)
• 1/8 -1/4 cup of All bran or Fiber one to sprinkle on top

Combine all ingredients and enjoy!

The cereal and cherries separately are 0 points but adding them both I would count this as 3 total. Not bad for a quick breakfast with no cooking involved!  ;~) 

Labels: BreakfastIdeas, SnackIdeas

I've updated the recipe! Check out Roni’s Whole Grain Pancakes _v02 here and my Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes!

Originally Posted on May 4th, 2007 10:52 am

I’ve been experimenting with different pancakes recipes for awhile.  I think I FINALLY got it!! They fluffed up, had a hint of spice and were moist.  The toddler LOVED them, he’s walking around the house with one right now eating it like a cookie!

They aren’t sweet, then again pancakes shouldn’t be, should they?  I loved them with a bit of blueberry preserves and berries on the side.

• ½ cup quick oats
• 1 cup 1% milk (I’m sure skim would work but tis is what I had)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ¾ whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp splenda
• 1tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp canola oil

In a medium bowl combine oatmeal, milk and lemon juice.  Let sit while mixing the dry ingredients (at least 2 minutes).

In a small bowl combine all the dry ingredients, whole wheat flour, splenda, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda.

Beat the egg, vanilla and oil into the milk/oatmeal mixture.  It will be very liquidly.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix with a spoon until combined.

Pour batter in a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat to make pancakes. Cook about 1-2 minutes a side, small bubbles will form but not as many in traditional pancakes. I just peaked underneath for a light brown color, then flipped.

I made 7 “cakes” (as my son calls them) but next time I would go a little smaller and make 8-10.

UPDATE: They are great leftover. Keep them in the fridge or freezer and pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds! Oh and also good with applesauce!

Labels: BreakfastIdeas

Originally Posted on December 2nd, 2006 8:02 pm

• 1 package of Quaker Oatmeal Weight Control Cinnamon
• Dash of extra cinnamon to taste
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce or a single serve container

I pour the package content in a coffee mug and add about 1/2 cup of boiling water so that the oatmeal comes out thick. Stir and let sit a minute. Then add the applesauce and stir.

I swear it taste like I smooshed up an apple pie! It’s 4 points for a nice warm healthy breakfast.

UPDATE: I found a few generic sugar free cinnamon flavored oatmeals. They work just as good and some are less point then the quaker.

Labels: BreakfastIdeas