Applesauce Bread

If you like Banana or Zuchini Bread you will love this!!  Especially hot out of the oven with  butter(light/low cal of course) melted on it.

1 1/2 c. wheat flour
1/2 c. honey
1/2 tsp. baking pwoder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. applesauce
2 eggs
1/4 c. light butter, melted
Preheat tp 350. Mix dry ingredients, then add in wet ingredients.  Pour into greased loaf pans. Cook for 45-55 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  This recipe will fill a large loaf, but I used the smaller ones so I could give little loaves to friends/neighbors. If you use smaller loaves, adjust the cooking time to about 35 minutes, but watch and test for doneness.
The total point value for the recipe is about 26.  So it is around 3 points a serving if you cut the big loaf into 8 slices....which would be a good size snack piece of bread.  This recipe would also be good with pecans or walnuts but that would of course raise the point value.

Potato Casserole

4 medium potatoes, diced
6 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
6 eggs, beaten
2 c. reduced fat cheese, any variety
salt/pepper/other seasonings- to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Boil potatoes, as if making mashed potatoes but don't cook until mushy.  Place potatoes on bottome of 9x13 dish.  sprinkle salt/pepper/seasonings over potatoes.  Pour eggs over. sprinkle with cheese and bacon.  Cover with foil and cook 40-45 minutes.

The total points for this recipe is 42 and will serve around 8 people, but that depends on how much you want to eat.
To lessen the points, you may substitute the eggs for egg whites, use 12 egg whites instead and the total point value would be 28.  Also, if you don't want the bacon, the total will be 36.  You may also susbsitute turkey bacon, but i'm not sure what the value would be, probably around 38.

So if you used egg whites and turkey bacon the points would be around 30-32.

Now I know this recipe isn't exactly diet...but it can be with the substitutions. =)

Whole Wheat Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 c. wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chip cookies

Preheat oven to 375. Mix sugars, vanilla, egg, applesauce together. Stir in soda, salt, flour, chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
I sprayed a little cooking spray on my baking sheet just to make sure they didn't stick since there was no butter. The cookies don't spread a whole lot, mostly just rise. They keep a soft cake-like consistency, which I love!!
You can cut back a little more by using egg whites but it only shaves 1 point off the total recipe. I calculated it to be about 36 pts for the whole recipe. My batch made about 32 cookies, and then my daughter I ate a few cookies worth of cookie dough =). I also put most of the cookies in bags in the freezer so I can indulge later and not all at once.

Intro

I decided to do this blog for 2 reasons: The first is I've had a lot of friends and family ask me for recipes to help them eat healthier. This makes it easier so I can share them with everyone. The second reason is so I can keep my own recipes in a somewhat organized fashion. Right now I have some written on a few pages in a notebook here, a notebook there, a few recipe cards, some printed off papers, a cookbook here and there, and some in emails.

Now here is my disclaimer: I am a "do as I say, not as I do" type of person. I am all too guilty of not practicing what I preach. I have no will power when it comes to sweets and chocolate but I do try to eat healthy once in awhile. I "try" to follow the Weight Watchers point system so on most the recipes I will try to include the points value for the total recipe and then recommend a serving size but since everyone eats a different amount, you can divide it into the amount of servings you choose if you have the total point value. I see recipes for brownies for 1 point per serving, but then you find out that serving is the size of your pinky fingernail. Now if you have the will power to only eat that small a serving...I salute you, but for most of us, we like a little more.

So, if you see me indulging in the triple chocolate fudge cake....don't think bad of me....my mortal weakness is chocolate and anything it is found in. Maybe this blog will help keep me motivated to eat and find more healthy recipes. I hope you enjoy!!!