Cranberry Nut Bread

This time I had a bag of cranberries I needed to use up before they got 'funky'. This was a nice, easy recipe to make.....and I got to use my chopper 'thingy' that I forgot I had!  If you like cranberries, I would suggest making this!

CRANBERRY NUT BREAD

Makes 2 Loaves

1 Loaf = 16 Slices

1 Slice = 2 PointsPlus™

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups Splenda granulated
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup sugar-free maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
2 egg whites OR 6 TBSP liquid egg whites
1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
2 cups fresh (or frozen) cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray the bottoms ONLY of 2 8x4” loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, Splenda, baking powder, salt, ginger and baking soda until well blended.

In a medium bowl, stir together milk, maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla, egg substitute and egg whites until well blended. Stir into the flour mixture until well mixed.

Fold in cranberries and pecans. Spoon evenly into loaf pans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake 55 – 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans. Loosen the sides of the bread from the pans and remove breads to cooling racks. Cool @1 hour. Refrigerate.

To toast pecans: Heat oven to 350º. Spread pecans on a shallow pan. Bake uncovered 6 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light brown.

MY SPIN: The next time I make this.....and there will be a next time.....I'm going to use walnuts instead of pecans because I like them better. OR not use nuts at all which would make a slice 1 PointsPlus™.

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!! *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

Later!

Loving Life(time)!
Jan

Pumpkin Mousse

This is another really easy recipe. I got this from my cousin, Dela. She got it from a WW person. And I'm passing it along to you! If you like pumpkin, you'll like this recipe. In the picture at the bottom, you'll see only 7 serving dishes......I HAD to try one right away. It was good, but after refrigerating these for a few hours, it was even better!

PUMPKIN MOUSSE

Makes 8 Servings

1 Serving = 2 PointsPlus™

1 (1.5 oz.) package sugar free/fat free vanilla (or butterscotch) instant pudding mix

3 cups cold fat free milk
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 (8 oz.) container fat free whipped topping

In a large bowl, mix together the pudding mix and milk; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.

Fold the pumpkin and whipped topping in with the pudding mix.

Divide into 8 serving dishes and refigerate @2 hours before serving.

MY SPIN: I used the vanilla instant pudding mix because I thought the butterscotch would 'take away' from the pumpkin flavor. This can be served 'as is' or with a dollop of fat free whipped topping.

 

 

 

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!! *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

Later!

Loving Life(time)!

Jan

Banana Cupcakes

This has to be the EASIEST recipe I've made in a long, long time. The hardest part was mashing the bananas.....and that's not hard at all.  I was thinking about what kind of icing/frosting to put on these, but they really don't need any. They're very moist and flavorful. A great way to use up some very ripe bananas.

BANANA CUPCAKES

Makes 12 Cupcakes

1 Cupcake = 3 PointsPlus™

1/2 cup light butter, softened

1 cup Splenda granulated
1 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350º. Line muffin tin with papers.

Mix all ingredients together.

 

 

 

 

 

Fill muffin papers 1/13 – 1/2 full.

Bake 20 minutes.

That's it!

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!! *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

Later!

Loving Life(time)!
Jan

WW Friendly Thanksgiving Feast 2012

 

 

I don't know about you, but I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week! Where has this year gone? We just got over that Candy Monster 'holiday' aka Halloween.....and now we have the first of the BIG food holidays. Did you know you CAN have a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast and still stay 'on Plan'? If not and you're worried about over-doing it, I hope I can come to your rescue. The following is a list of some of the delicious foods we can enjoy and not have to worry about going over our PointsPlus™. In fact, it's very possible to enjoy a feast for dinner AND have your other necessary meals and still stay within 26 PointsPlus™ IF you're careful. You wouldn't have to touch those 49 "play points" and you wouldn't have to stress!

 

 

I'm going to give you a 'list' of things I would consider incorporating into my feast.  The recipes are on here (Tweaked at Chez Jan).  Then I'll  give you a sample menu (what I would/will make). Ya ready? Here we go!

 

Fresh Fruit Salad 0 P+

Cream of Mushroom Soup 1 P+ (1/2 cup)

 

Reduced fat crescent rolls 3P+ each (I use WalMart brand because I'm cheap!)

Candied Sweet Potatoes 5P+ (1 cup OR 3P+ for 1/2 cup)

Save-The-Day Stuffing 2P+ (1 cup)

Herbed Roast Turkey 2P+ (2 oz.)

Vegetable (non-starchy, steamed) 0P+

Green Bean Casserole 4P+ (1/2 cup)

Spiced Cranberry Sauce 0P+ (1/2 cup)

 

Wayne's Pumpkin Smash 1P+ (served with fat-free whipped topping)

Pumpkin Pie Cuppies 1P+ (served with fat-free whipped topping)

Pumpkin Bundt Cake 3P+ (made with raisins)

Cranberry Torte 5P+ (made with nuts)

 

Here's what my feast would look like:

 

1P+ Cream of Mushroom Soup (1/2 cup)

3P+ Candied Sweet Potatoes (1/2 cup)

4P+ Herbed Roast Turkey (4 oz.)

1P+ Save-The-Day Stuffing (1/2 cup)

0P+ Spiced Cranberry Sauce (1/2 cup)

8P+ Green Bean Casserole (1 cup)

1P+ Wayne's Pumpkin Smash

 

18P+ for my feast. And, yes......this is a feast! I'm going to splurge on the Green Bean Casserole! It's one of my favorite holiday foods and I haven't had it in ages! If I had this for my Thanksgiving Feast, I'd still have 8P+ left for the day. So it IS doable!

 

The only recipe that is NOT on my blog is the Green Bean Casserole.....and here's how I make it: 2 cans (drained) French cut green beans, 1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, @1/2 of a 6 oz. package of French's french fried onions; mix beans and soup in a casserole dish; sprinkle onions on top; bake at 350º for @30 minutes.

 

There ya go! Now you can quit stressing, enjoy your feast, and then go for a brisk walk afterwards!

 

I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

Later!

Loving Life(time)!

Jan

Ginger Berry Cake

GINGER BERRY CAKE

Makes 12 Servings

1 Serving = 2 PointsPlus™

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup Splenda granulated
3 TBSP sorghum (or molasses)
1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries
1 cup fat-free buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray 11 x 8 inch baking dish; set aside.

Don't forget to spray in the dishwasher lid!

In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, Splenda and sorghum (molasses) until well blended. Beat in egg substitute.

 

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and salt. Remove 2 TBSP of this and toss with the blueberries to coat.

 

 

 Stir remaining dry ingredients into applesauce mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing after each addition.

Carefully fold in the blueberries.

Pour into the baking dish. Bake 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY SPIN: I think this would be good using cranberries instead of the blueberries.

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!! *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

Later!

Loving Life(time)!
Jan

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I know this looks like alot of ingredients, but you probably have the majority of them in your cupboard. If not, it's worth it to go to the store and make this! YUMMMMM

PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE

Makes 16 Servings

1 Serving Without Raisins = 2 PointsPlus™

1 Serving With Raisins = 3 PointsPlus™

1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/2 cups Splenda granulated
1/2 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute
2 egg whites OR 6 TBSP refrigerated egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP baking cocoa
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray bundt pan.

Don't forget to spray it in your dishwasher!

In a large bowl, beat pumpkin, Splenda granulated, buttermilk, applesauce, water, egg substitute, egg whites and vanilla until well blended.

 

 

 

 

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients EXCEPT for the raisins and chocolate chips until well blended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold in raisins and chocolate chips.

Transfer batter to sprayed bundt pan.

Bake 50 – 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes in the pan and then remove from the pan to continue cooling on a wire rack.

MY SPIN: Go ahead and put the raisins in......it's a nice little surprise when you bite into one! This can be served 'as is' or with a dollop of fat-free whipped topping which wouldn't add PointsPlus™.

 

 

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!! ***The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark.***

Later!

Loving Life(time)!
Jan