Hostess 100 Calorie Cup Cakes

I know these have been written about all over the blogosphere but I just found the Carrot Cake version a couple of days ago. I think they are one of my new favorites to throw in with my lunch. They actually taste like a slice of carrot cake. I also like the chocolate and vanilla flavors but the carrot cake seems more decadent. At two points per pack they fit very well in my Weight Watchers program.

The drawback for me is the price of these little cakes have gone up to $3 a box now. That seems a little steep to me, but if you are patient you can catch them on sale. If you haven't tried them yet go out and get yourself a box of Hostess 100 Calorie Packs CupCakes.

Say Hello to an Old Friend

I am kind of misleading you with the title a bit but I am feeling a little mischievous as I write this post. This past week I had the pleasure of enjoying something I have not had in a long time. Especially since I have been dieting because I really liked lathering this friend up with butter and sugar. Okay get your mind out of the gutter. The friend I am speaking of is the often forgotten Acorn Squash.

Yep its just a squash, but this is a blog about food after all. I could make a meal on just these squash baked up with lots of butter and some sugar sprinkled on top. I had thought about trying to prepare them in a low fat version but just hadn’t done it until now. They are so simple to make and very good indeed. You just slice them in half, clean out the cores and put them on a baking sheet. They need to bake for about an hour at around 350 degrees. When they are done just take them out and squeeze a little Smart Squeeze or your favorite nonfat margarine substitute on them and then sprinkle with Splenda.

They were fabulous if I do say so myself. If you are tired of just the same old vegetable choices say hello to a friend of mine, the Acorn Squash.

Quick and Easy Pineapple Angel Food Cake

I have been experimenting with different cake recipes to try to add a little more sweet and less fat to my diet. After the post I made about making cakes with diet soft drinks I received this idea from Andrea via comments. Thanks Andrea it was very good.

This one is just as easy as the diet soft drink cake. All you need is a boxed Angel Food cake mix and a regular sized can of crushed pineapples. For my cake I found a Pillsbury cake mix and Dole crushed pineapples. The directions on the box called for water to be added to the mix. I replaced the water with the can of crushed pineapples. I used the entire can juice and all.

I baked it in a Pampered Chef bundt stone according to the cooking directions on the box. It turned out just right. You can get creative with toppings or you can just slice it and eat it. I did not add anything to mine.

As for the implications for your diet, the good news it is a non fat food. But, it still came out to 3.5 points per slice with the cake cut into twelve pieces. I would have liked to have gotten the points down under three but it just didn’t make it. It is very good though and worth being added to my recipe box.

Did Someone Say Cake?

This may be an oldie for some of you but it is definitely a goody. A while back a friend of ours shared this after one of her Weight Watchers meetings. It is really simple and quite good to boot.

The first time my wife made this for me I thought she was off her rocker. But it is really pretty good. First of all who doesn’t like cake? But, when you are on a diet, cake is one of the things we try to avoid. This quick and simple recipe just may help you put more cake back into your diet.

You only need two ingredients to make this cake. One is a diet soft drink and the other is a packaged cake mix. Even though the box will call for eggs, oil and water you just use the soft drink instead. I would check all of the labels of the cake mixes looking for the one with the lowest fat and calories. Depending on the cake mix you select will determine what kind of diet soft drink to use. For example if you pick a chocolate cake mix you can use Diet Coke. When making a white or yellow cake mix you need to use a Diet 7Up or Diet Sprite. When baking your normal sized cake from Betty Crocker, Pillsbury or Duncan Hines for examples you will use twelve ounces of soft drink to one box of cake mix. For me it’s hard sometimes to find 12 ounce cans of soft drinks so I have to buy a 20 ounce bottle and just measure 12 ounces. Bake the cake as per the instructions on the package and you are done.

Some of the tasty things you can do with this recipe are to get a white or vanilla cake mix and bake as cupcakes. Then you can add some low calorie whipped topping and the fruit of your choice and you have yourself a great dessert. I have heard suggestions like mixing low calorie Cool Whip with sugar free cocoa mix to make a cake icing but I haven’t tried that yet.

Let us know if you have tried this recipe and if you have come up with great ways to top it off.

Low Fat Tips Made Easy

Just a quick note on a couple of things you can do to help reduce the calories and fat in your meal planning. Tonight we changed our normal menu up a bit by replacing our customary chicken breast with fish. It was a nice mix up in our menu and fit in well with my diet.

Tonight I prepared one of my favorite vegetable dishes, baby carrots sautéed in fat free Italian dressing. But instead of the usual chicken I had thawed out some Tilapia filets. I placed them on foil in a baking dish and then poured some fat free Italian dressing over them baking them until the meat was flaky.

I wanted some bread to go with the meal so I made some cornbread from a prepared mix. One way to cut some calories and fat is to use skim or low fat milk instead of whole milk. Most prepared mixes also call for an egg. If you substitute Natural Eggs or Egg Beaters you can eliminate some more fat and calories. My teenage daughter likes corn bread but she was reluctant to try it with the “fake” eggs. When she finally gave it a chance she couldn’t really tell the difference.

To recap you can use fat free Italian dressing to give fish or chicken a snappy flavor while helping reduce fat. Whenever you can, substitute eggs for non fat Natural Eggs or Egg Beaters.

How do you use Italian dressing? Do you have some tips for reducing fat in your meals? Leave a comment and lets see what kind of things people are having success with.

Make You Own Ice Cream Sandwiches

Everybody likes ice cream, well most everybody. With summer approaching I thought it was a good time to pass along this recipe for Ice Cream Sandwiches. I try to keep several of these in the freezer at all times. They make a great snack and you only need two ingredients to make them. Well, three if you count the plastic wrap.

1. Graham Crackers – Read the labels and try to get the ones that will count the least points.
2. Frozen Whipped Topping- Again read the labels as you can get fat free, sugar free or light.

First of all you want to set the whipped topping out to thaw some. I normally just put it in the fridge for a while. I put about two and a half tablespoons of whipped topping on one of the graham crackers (two of the four rectangles) and put the other cracker on top like a smore. Then you just wrap it up in the plastic wrap and place in the freezer.

My sandwiches that I just made tonight came out to 1.5 points. Depending on the nutritional information of your ingredients your points may be more or less.

Low Fat Pepperoni Pizza

Points 4.3 per slice

One of the things I have missed the most while dieting is Pizza. I have been watching what I eat for the last eight weeks plus. In that time I have not had two of my favorite kinds of food, Pizza and Chinese food. I have had the occasional frozen Lean Cuisine or Weight Watchers offerings, but I haven’t had the real thing. Now I say I haven’t had Pizza because I am talking about regular high fat and cheesy Pizza.

To help me stay on my program I have looked around for recipes to reduce the calories and fat in my favorite foods. I have made this low fat Pizza about three times now and it has been satisfying every time. When you are shopping for the ingredients pay close attention to the nutritional information. For example some of the sauces you can select are very low in calories and fat. The dough is where most of the points come from so compare your dough choices to reduce the points from the crust. You can also experiment with the meats, I have used Turkey Pepperoni to prepare mine I am going to try a grilled chicken some time soon. If you are selecting one of the prepared chicken products be sure to read the label. Some of the prepared chicken products are higher in fat and calories.

Ingredients:

Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust – you will find it in the refrigerated case
34 Hormel Turkey Pepperoni Slices
½ Cup of Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese
¼ Cup of Fat Free Cheddar Cheese
1 Cup of Pizza, Spaghetti or Pasta Sauce – I use Hunts Garlic and Herb Spaghetti Sauce it is lower in calories and fat than the other options at my grocer.
Italian Seasoning to Taste

Prepare the crust per the package instructions. The Pillsbury Pizza Crust I used has to be cooked for six minutes before you add the toppings. Spread the sauce, cheese and seasonings evenly before adding your meat. You can also add your favorite vegetables like mushrooms, peppers, onions ect. Finish baking the pizza per the instructions from the crust. I use a Pampered Chef stone to cook my pizza so the crust comes out just right. You may want to adjust the cooking time depending on how you like your crust.

Using the brands and portions I have listed above when you cut the pizza in six slices it comes to 4.3 points per slice with three of the points coming just from the crust. If you find a crust that is lower in points please let me know, I would love to get the points down a little more.

Enjoy.

Italian Glazed Carrots

Points 1 cup = 2 points

This is one of my favorite vegetable sides. I don’t remember who gave me the recipe but I am glad they did. You only need three ingredients to make this dish.

1 Cup Prepared Baby Carrots
4 Tablespoons Fat Free Italian Dressing
Water as needed

I start by putting about a ¼ cup of water in a non stick skillet. Then add the carrots and dressing, cover and cook. You will need to add water along the way as it evaporates. I like to cook my carrots for about 35 minutes. Depending on how crunchy or soft you want your carrots to be you may want to adjust your cooking time.

Who says rabbit food can’t be good?