Date and Walnut Biscotti

Date and Walnut Biscotti

Are you looking for a sweet treat? or do you have some friends popping in and you need something to accompany that cup of tea or coffee? These are a great sweet treat that no one will expect is Weight Watchers friendly. 

Serves 20, 2 propoints per serving

Ingredients

75 grams granulated Sugar
1 Egg
150 grams all-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon grated Lemon rind
65 grams Dates (finely chopped)
40 grams Walnuts (finely chopped)

1. Preheat your oven to 160C or 300F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Place Sugar and Egg into a large bowl and using a hand mixer, mix until the mixture becomes thick, pale and creamy.
3. Sift flour into the mixture and fold in gently, and until just combined.
4. Add Lemon rind, Dates and Walnuts and mix in until combined.
5. Make a log shape with the dough and place onto the prepared baking tray. Press down gently so the log is 2 cm (about half an inch) in height.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool
7. Slice log into 20 even pieces and place side down on the baking tray.
8. Bake for an additional 20 minutes, turning the biscuits over half way through the cooking time.
9. Remove from oven, cool and enjoy.

These biscuits are going to be crunchier that usual. They are a great accompaniment with tea or coffee because they are perfect for dunking! 

Gingerbread Loaf

Gingerbread Loaf

Is it a cold winters day and you're looking for something to spice up your life? Or you'd like to impress some drop in guests with a deliciously decadent treat that wont cost you half your days propoints allowance? Then this is definitely the sweet treat for you! It's definitely sugar and spice and everything nice.

75g Light and Salt Reduce Canola Spread

1/2 cup Skim Milk

2 teaspoons ground Ginger

1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground Allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground Clove

1 Egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons Molasses

1/2 cup tightly packed Brown Sugar

1 cup Self-Raising Flour

1. Preheat oven to 165C or 300F. 

2. In a medium saucepan add the Canola spread, milk and spices. Place over a medium heat on the stove and allow the canola spread to melt completely. Your kitchen will start to smell of all the wonderful spices! 

2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the molasses, brown sugar and beaten egg. Mix very well until everything is incorporated. 

3. Mix in flour until just incorporated, you don't want to over mix. 

4. Divide evenly into 10 cupcake liners or pour into a loaf tin. 

5. Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or loaf for 30-35 minutes. You will know they are cooked through when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean or they spring back when gently pressed in the centre. 

I took some of the cupcakes to work to share, everyone commented on how light and moist the cake was and how impressed they were that it was Weight Watchers! 

Vegetable & Ham Pasta Salad

Vegetable & Ham Pasta Salad

This is a great lunch, or a great barbecue side salad! 

Serves 4, 8 pro-points per serving

240 grams pasta (spirals, penne, elbow macaroni), uncooked  
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 tablespoons Vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped Parsley
1 large red Capsicum, chopped
5 Mushrooms, sliced
2 medium Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Celery sticks, chopped
1 large Carrot, grated
1 400 gram canned Corn, drained
50 grams low fat Ham, sliced

1. Cook pasta in a pot of salted water, drain and set aside.

2. In a large bowl mix oil, vinegar and parsley. 

3. Add cooked pasta, chopped vegetables and ham to bowl and mix until well combined. 

4. Serve and Enjoy!

This is delicious, it is nice to still enjoy pasta but without all the pro-points. 

Chicken with Oyster Sauce Stirfry

Chicken in Oyster Sauce

This recipe is 5 pro-points per serving and makes 4 servings.

Feeling like a fake-away?? Its your very own home made take away! This is a great stir-fry for when you want a quick and easy weeknight meal or for a weekend lazy night in.

500 grams skinless chicken breast, cut into strips

4-5 cups of 0 pro-point stir-fry friendly vegetables of your choice that have been cut into bite sized pieces (you could use a mix of: carrot, onion, broccoli, capsicum, mushrooms, zucchini, baby corn, green beans or any other of your favourites)

2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil

2 tablespoons of Oyster sauce

Marinade Ingredients: 

2 teaspoons grated Ginger
2 teaspoons crushed Garlic
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce (salt reduced is best)
2 tablespoons Chinese Rice Wine (Shaoxing wine)
1 teaspoon Sesame oil
2 teaspoons Cornflour

1. Mix marinade ingredients until they are well combined, pour over chicken strips that have been placed in a medium bowl and allow to marinade for 2.5-3 hours in the refrigerator.

(If you're making this for a weeknight meal, do this step in the morning before work and it will be all ready for you when you get home)

2. Drain marinade from chicken and discard liquid.

2. Add half oil to a large pan/wok over high heat and allow to heat through. Add chicken in batches and allow to brown. Transfer to another plate.

3. Add remaining oil to pan and stir fry onion until translucent. Add remainder of vegetables and cook them until tender.

4. Add chicken back to the pan. Add oyster sauce and Stir-fry until heated through.

5. Serve with steamed rice for an additional 4 pro-points per half cup.

This is delicious!! I made this on a lazy Saturday night and both my boyfriend and I enjoyed this great meal. I served it up with half a cup of steamed brown rice. 

Enjoy!

Macaroni Carbonara

Macaroni Carbonara

11 Pro-points per serving, makes 4 serves

This is a great alternative to the cream rich original version. whilst it's lower in points it's still just as tasty and a makes for a low effort but great taste weeknight meal. Serve with steamed vegetables or a simple salad and enjoy!

Ingredients: 

300 grams elbow shaped macaroni

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil 

1 chopped Brown onion

250 gms low fat Bacon, sliced into strips

2 cloves Garlic, crushed (or finely chopped)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Cook pasta until tender, drain and reserve 1/2 cup of boiling water.

2. In a large saucepan, heat oil then cook onion and bacon together until onion is translucent and bacon is crispy. 

3. Add garlic and saute` for 30 seconds or until fragrant. 

4. Add Parmesan cheese and boiling liquid. 

5. Remove pan from heat and add lightly beaten eggs and pasta. Mix until well combined. 

6. Serve with steamed 0 pro-point vegetables or a 0 pro-point salad. 

Enjoy!! 

Weight Watchers Salt and Pepper Squid

Orange Syrup Soaked Sponge Cake

I had a craving for something sweet, I was having a lazy Saturday night at home and knew that if I let myself get too out of control I would end up splurging my 49 weekly pro-points(points-plus) plus a few extra on things that  I really didn't want to eat, but the fact that they would satisfy the hand to mouth habit that I had so aptly inherited from my father would mean that I'd happily just throw it down the hatch and swallow. I set on finding a cake that would satisfy my want for something sweet, but also let me stay within my daily allowance too.  I ended up stumbling across this Orange Syrup Soaked Sponge cake on the weight watchers recipes site (it was originally a lemon and lime soaked sponge cake, but all I had was oranges...and I wasn't prepared to go to the store) which was a happy 3 pro-points per serving (and let me tell you, you get more than a slither of this delicious citrus dessert).

This delicious cake is 3 pro-points per serving and has 8 Serves. 

Ingredients: 

Sponge- 

3 whole eggs (small)

75g Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange rind (grated)

 75g Self-raising flour

Pinch of Salt (this is optional, but it helps with the sweetness)

Syrup- 

3/4 cup Orange Juice (freshly squeezed)

25g Icing (confectioners) sugar

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C or 375F

2. Line and grease a 20cm baking tin with parchment paper.

2. Place eggs, sugar, vanilla & orange rind into a bowl, whisk on high for 5 minutes using an electric hand mixer (you can also use a stand mixer - that's what I used). You want the eggs to become thick, creamy, pale in color and when you take the beaters out the eggs should leave a ribbon. 

3. In a separate bowl mix your Self-Raising flour and salt. 

4. When the eggs are done, sift the flour mixture over the eggs and fold in gently (you don't want to stir it, otherwise you will loose all the air that you worked so hard to get in there). 

5. Pour into baking dish and bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer placed in the centre comes out clean. 

6. Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tin. 

7. Place orange juice and icing sugar into a small saucepan and heat the mixture just until the sugar has been dissolved. 

8. Spoon all of the syrup over the cake (at first I thought there was too much, but it needs to soak all the way through the cake, so it's just the perfect amount). You may see it pool on areas of the cake, but be patient, it will be absorbed. 

9. Cut into 8 pieces 

Enjoy!

Pad Thai with Tofu and Baby Corn

I got home late last night and wanted something quick and easy for dinner. I work late every Wednesday evening so I try to make dinner something quick and easy (previously I would have tucked into a takeaway, McDonalds, KFC, Fish and Chips...everything not so good for you).

I found this weight watchers Pad Thai recipe and set my mind on making it. Should I have make it again I probably would make some changes. Seeing that I'd forgotten to defrost chicken I thought I'd give Tofu a go. I would suggest that if you're going to use Tofu for this recipe that you marinate the Tofu in the sauce or buy pre-marinated tofu, that it isn't so plain the final dish. I found the tofu to be somewhat bland.

I also made the mistake of not cutting up the baby corn into smaller pieces, the 'baby' corn didn't feel so 'baby' when I was trying to eat it.

All in all it was nice. I think next time I'd prefer to use chicken over Tofu. I particularly liked the sweetness of the peanut butter, and the tanginess of the lime juice that made up the sauce.

 

 

This dish has 11 Pro-points (points-plus) and Serves 4 people.

Ingredients
200g Wide Rice Noodles (dry)
1 tablespoon Canola Oil
375g Firm Tofu (or Chicken), cut into 1cm cubes
1 red Onion, cut into small wedges
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can Baby Corn, drained
1 Bunch, Choy Sum, rinsed and chopped
1/2 Cup Coriander, chopped finely (use for garnishing)
1/4 Cup Basil, chopped finely (use for garnishing)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 teaspoons Fish Sauce
2 tablespoons Lime Juice
2 tablespoons Peanut Butter (Crunchy or Smooth)

Mix all of these ingredients to make a sweet and tangy sauce.

Method
1. Place noodles in a bowl, and pour over boiling water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes then drain and set aside.
2. Heat up oil in a pan and add your desired protein (tofu or chicken), allow to cook through and become golden brown. Remove from Pan and set aside.
3. Add onion and allow to sauté until translucent.
4. Add garlic and allow to sauté for 30 seconds.
5. Add Choy Sum and Baby Corn, allow vegetables to become tender.
6. Add the Tofu/Chicken, Noodles and Sauce.
7. Mix to combine.
8. Serve in bowls and garnish with the chopped coriander and basil.

Enjoy!

Apricot Chicken

	This is a delicious and nutritious dish that makes a great mid-week meal! or can be served up as something extra special when you have people over for dinner. Apricot chicken is a classic dish and can now be enjoyed without all the extra calories. I hope you try this and make it! Enjoy! 11 Pro-Points (Points-Plus), Serves 4. Ingredients:1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil (or whichever oil you prefer)    4 Large skinless chicken thigh fillets, fat trimmed (775g approx.).
	1 Onion, sliced
	1 Garlic Clove Crushed
	1 Packet Powdered French Onion Soup Mix (17.5gms), dissolved in 1/3 cup water.
	1  cup Apricot nectar
	6 pieces canned Apricot, drained

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 or 160'c fan-forced.
2. Heat oil in oven proof casserole dish over medium heat.
3. Add Chicken and cook until browned all over, remove from pan and set aside.

4. To the same pan add onion and sauté until softened.
5. Add Garlic and sauté until fragrant (20-30 seconds)
6. Add French onion soup mix, apricot nectar and apricot pieces to the pan.
7. Add chicken pieces back to the pan (add any liquid left in the plate/bowl from the chicken also)
8. Remove from heat and place in oven covered for 45 minutes
9. After 45 minutes uncover and cook for a final 15 minutes (this will allow the sauce to thicken slightly)
10. This is best served with rice, and 0 pro-point (points plus) vegetables.

Enjoy!

Almond and Coconut Balls

This is a delicious no bake treat that you can make quickly and easily and is sure to impress your guests.




Weight Watchers Pro-points/Points Plus: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Almond Flour (Almond meal)
• 1 cup shredded Coconut
• 4 Tablespoons Maple Syrup or Agave Syrup
• 1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
• 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract *Optional
• Dark Chocolate **Optional for dipping

Method:

1. Add all ingredients into a bowl
2. Mix thoroughly until a dough forms
3. Roll into evenly sized balls and refrigerate to set
4. If you would like you can dip these in some melted dark chocolate.

Enjoy!

Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto

This is a great recipe, its filling and delicious and it doesn't leaving you feeling heavy. This is a great meat free recipe that is great for Vegetarians and Vegans, or just anybody wanting a meat free meal. This serves 4 people as a main meal or 8 as a side dish.

Ingredients -

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Onion finely chopped
1.5 cups chopped Asparagus spears
1.5 cups Mushrooms sliced
1.5 cups Arborio Rice
4 cups Chicken Flavored Stock or Vegetable stock
Salt - to taste

Method -

1. Saute` Vegetables in olive oil over medium heat until they are softened (do not allow to brown)
2. Add rice and saute` for 1-2 minutes (also, do not allow to brown)'
3. Add 1 cup of vegetable stock and stir regularly until stock is absorbed.
4. Add another cup of  stock, continue to stir.
5. Continue adding stock in 1 cup addition and regularly stirring until rice is cooked through
6.You may need a little more or a little less than 4 cups.
7. When the rice is cooked, serve immediately.

The regular stirring releases starches in the rice that produce a thick and creamy sauce that bathes each rice grain. With a little effort you can create a delicious and healthy meal that is kind on the budget and the body.

If you are following the Weight Watchers plan this meal is only 7 Pro-points (Points Plus) per serve.

Enjoy!!

Banana Bread

This is a delicious and might I add a healthy banana bread. At only 4 pro-points a serving you can enjoy your cake and eat it too! Many Banana breads are high in pro-points and usually have a lot of both sugar and oil, this one doesn't and it doesn't contain any animal fats either.  With only a few ingredients that you are sure to always have on hand this is a great recipe to have in your box.  I really recommend trying it out, it's really tasty and even those who aren't watching what they eat are sure to be big fans!

Ingredients:

• 225 gm All Purpose Flour
• 100 gm Brown Sugar
• 4 medium Bananas, mashed
• 75 gm Vegetable oil
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1.5 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
• 1.5 teaspoons Mixed Spice
• 50 gm roughly chopped Walnuts *Optional

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius

1. Mix Flour, baking powder, cinnamon, mixed spice together until well combined. 

2. Mix mashed bananas, brown sugar and vegetable oil together until well combined. 

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined (don't over mix or else your bread will become tough)

4. Mix in chopped nuts, until just mixed through 

5. Place in a greased and lined loaf tin and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for a further 40 minutes (if the bread is becoming over brown on top place a piece of aluminium foil on top to stop this from happening)

6. Wait for it to cool and enjoy!

Snack Time Treats

 

So I thought I'd share some great snacks that I have while I'm at work!

I have a desk job so lots of daytime activity apart from walking the 20 steps to our office printer is rare. If it's not busy in the office I can go on a walk, which I welcome!

Each day I try and pack a nutritious lunch and snacks that will keep me going all day, so that there is no 3pm slump!

I find that have lots of high fibre and high protein snacks on hand that they keep me feeling full and I never get ravenously hungry.

Today I have:

Carrot and Celery Sticks
Tuna Dip
2 boiled Eggs
Diabetic friendly Date Slice

Have a great day :)

Chicken Marsala

This is a lovely chicken dish, that you can serve for dinner and no one will know that it's Weight Watchers, so that whole family can sit down and enjoy a dinner that is good for them. I served this with peas that I stewed with a small amount of onion and chicken stock, and mashed potatoes that I made using low fat canola spread, and skimmed milk.

 

Ingredients:
880gms Lean Skinless Chicken Breast
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon low fat canola spread
1 large onion, sliced
1 tablespoon Plain/All purpose flour
250mls Marsala Wine
1 cup Chicken stock
1 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped.

Meat Pie

This is a very delicious and not to mention healthy alternative to the classic fat laden meat pie! It's quick and easy to make and boy does it taste oh so good!

This makes 4 Servings and each serve has 7 Pro-points. 

Ingredients:
1 large Onion sliced
400g lean beef mince
1 cup of Beef Stock*
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
2 tablespoons Cornflour
8 Sheets of Filo Pastry**

*I usually use chicken stock when making this recipe
 ** The original recipe called for low fat puff pasty but I reduced the pro-points/points plus even further by making this with filo pastry instead. 

Banana and Cinnamon Smoothie

This is a simple and delicious on the go breakfast. I have a blender that makes single servings, so in the mornings or when I need something that will satisfy me for hours I make this. It tastes great and really fills you up, best of all it's only 2 pro-points per serving!

Ingredients:
1 Banana, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup Skim Milk
1/2 cup low fat Vanilla Yoghurt*
1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

*I use low fat unflavored yoghurt

Spinich and Cheese Pie

This is a delicious and light meal idea!!! It was easy, very tasty and best of all it was HUGE slice. The addition of lots of filling and healthy foods means that this is a very satisfying meal, that tastes great. 

A slice is only 7 pro-points (points plus) and the dish makes 4 servings. 

Ingredients:
300gms of frozen spinich
1 large Onion sliced
2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
75gms Fetta Cheese
100gms 97% fat free Cottage Cheese
4 Medium Eggs*
8 Sheets of uncooked Filo Pastry
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Canola Cooking Spray

*I used 3 Extra Large (700g) eggs. 

Little Passionfruit Cakes

These are a great low pro-point sweet treat to have with a cup of tea, or serve as an after dinner dessert. They are easy to make and taste amazing! I served them after dinner to some non Weight Watcher friends and they couldn't believe how nice they were. 

 

 

If you make them in a standard cupcake size they are 4 pro-points (points plus) per serve, if you make them in a mini cupcake tray they are only 2 pro-points (points plus)

Ingredients:
75gms Low-fat Canola Spread
110gms Castor Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
200gms Self-Raising Flour
1/2 cup Butter Milk*
80gms Apple Puree
1/4 cup Passionfruit Pulp
1 tablespoon Icing Sugar for dusting**.

* Alternatively 1/2 cup Skim milk (minus 1/2 tablespoon) and mix in 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar.
** Optional 

Bircher Museli

Hi There!

I found this delicious recipe in an old weight watchers book, that was stashed deep in the recesses of my bookshelf. Seeing that I've been wanting a change from my old breakfast, I thought I'd give it a try, and, I loved it! So I thought I'd share the recipe with all of you.

Ingredients:
30gms dry Rolled oats
90mls Unsweetened apple juice
120gms Yoghurt (any kind - I used blueberry flavoured)
1 small Apple peeled and grated.

Sunflower Seeds & Fresh blueberries to serve* Optional

Hope to see you back here soon!!
Enjoy xx