It had to be done. Well, something had to change, and so on 1st April I re-joined Weight Watchers Online. No joke!
My goal is to lose 10% of my starting weight and then see what happens from there. One thing that is for sure, I have to make better food choices and become a fitter, healthier version of myself. The hard part will be keeping it off and not allowing myself to go back to where I was, and where I was heading. But I have done it before so can do it again, and learn better habits this time round.
I know that Weight Watchers is not for everyone, and in this village, many people lead such an active lifestyle that they don’t suffer with weight problems. At least they don’t appear to. But for some of us we need to track what we eat so that we can see where we are going wrong and then make a conscious decision to do better.
The Freestyle programme is different to the plan that I was on before and I am having to learn it all again but, so far, it has encouraged me to eat more fruit for snacks, instead of the junk I was tucking into before. Also I don’t eat meat, with the exception of turkey, chicken and fish which are all zero points on this plan, so I am learning to eat more balanced meals throughout the day. And having the new puppy has helped me become more active as he needs to go for walks every day. I no longer have an excuse!
However, sometimes a treat is in order, so I looked for a recipe on the Weight Watchers site and found this one for Banana and Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins. They did the trick and were a healthy option. (I even made them better for me as I didn’t have any chocolate chips to hand – bonus! Plus I made a half batch and then shared them with friends so they wouldn’t be hanging around in my kitchen providing an unnecessary temptation). So, I am pleased to share this recipe in an effort to show that diet food doesn’t have to be just salads and that everything in [reduced fat and sugar] moderation can help move the number on the scales in the right direction! Look out for more healthier recipes over the next coming months.
Ingredients
- 1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
- 1⁄2 cup fat free skim milk
- 1⁄2 cup uncooked quick oats
- 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 large banana, mashed
- 11⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄4 cup unpacked brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1⁄2 tsp baking soda
- 1⁄2 tsp table salt
- 1⁄2 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat 36 mini muffin holes with cooking spray (use three 12-hole pans).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt, milk, oats, vanilla extract and egg and set aside 5 minutes for oats to soften and then stir in banana.
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir flour mixture into yogurt mixture to moisten ingredients (do not beat – the dough will be very thick). Reserve 1 tablespoon chips; stir in remaining chips.
- Spoon batter by heaping tablespoons into prepared muffin holes; sprinkle each with a few reserved chocolate chips. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in centre of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes.
- Yields 1 muffin per serving which equals 2 Weight Watchers Freestyle points. (Or 1 point if you leave out the chocolate chips! 😉)
Traced Elements 