Frosty Glo Cakes My Way + Weigh In

I found this really great recipe on Pinterest (surprise!).  It is from a blog called Oh She Glows - the same blog that first inspired me to try a Green Monster!

I made lots of changes to the recipe to suit my (and my toddler's) taste.  You can tell from the picture above that he loved them - they turned out super great!

Frosty Glo Cakes, Jessica's Way:
2 mashed bananas
1 cup of oats
1 cup crunchy cereal (I used The Fresh Market's Live Crunchy Cereal)
2 tbsp. cocoa (I used extra dark)
2 tbsp. wheat germ
1 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp molasses
1 drizzle of honey
2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp natural peanut butter (I use JIF)
Method:
Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl, then add in the dry ingredients.  Stir until completely combined.  Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake papers.  Drop by the heaping tablespoon full in to each cupcake well.  Press the mixture into the bottom, until it feels firm (it will fill up about half the cupcake well).  Pop the pan in the freezer for at least an hour.  Enjoy!

Most people would eat normally - not my Paulie!  It was pretty funny to watch him eat this.  =)

The glo cakes feel like a special treat, but they really are pretty healthy for you.  They are really filling, too!  I am pretty pumped to have one for breakfast tomorrow.

This morning, I had my usual Sunday weigh-in.  I lost 1.5 pounds (since Wednesday)!

Here are the stats:
Week 1: 218.8
Week 2: 216
Week 3: 213.1
Week 4: 211.1
Week 5: 210.9
Week 6: Skipped
Week 7: 208 - 10% goal at 210.5
Week 8: 208.7 - gain
Week 9: 206.5
Week 10: 206
Week 11: 204.9
Week 12: 205.5
Week 13: 204 - First Week on New Plan
Total Loss Since December 2010: 30.5 pounds


I guess the new plan is working!  I am SO SORE today from working out yesterday, but I am so excited for Zumba tomorrow!

Baked Strawberry Oatmeal

Today, I made a wonderful baked oatmeal for breakfast!  My toddler ate two bowl fulls, which makes me super happy because this is a really healthy dish.  I have been really trying to incorporate healthier foods into our every day lives, like steel-cut oats!

Steel Cut Oats look so different from regular oatmeal! 

I got the original recipe from a Fresh Market flyer last Christmas - I saved the recipe because it looked so yummy to me, but this is the first time I've actually made it.  Surprisingly, I had everything I needed on hand in my pantry! You can find an online version of the original recipe here.

I recently decided to switch to Agave nectar instead of added sugar in our everyday foods.  SO, I changed this recipe to incorporate that.

I also halved the recipe because I don't need 6-8 servings of anything! My version was delicious and made 4 perfect size servings.  Here it is:

Baked Strawberry Oatmeal1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup steel-cut oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup Soy Milk (low fat dairy milk would work, too)
1 egg white, beaten
2 1/2 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tbsp molasses
1 cup frozen strawberries
For Garnish: Warm Strawberry Jam, Plain Greek Yogurt

Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients, except the strawberries.  Add the wet to the dry and mix, with a big spoon, until combined.  Pour mixture in a greased baking dish, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Stir mixture and add in the berries.  Bake for 20 minutes more, or until golden brown on top.  I served this with a big dollop of Greek yogurt and a drizzle of warm strawberry jam.  YUMMY!

This breakfast was SO filling and satisfying.  I hope you guys try it!

2 Point Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I love this stuff -

No added sugar.  Lots of fiber.  No preservatives. Just pure, wonderful pumpkin! Baking with this pumpkin is one of my most favorite things about Fall.

I was hunting around on the web for this magical recipe I heard about - cake mix, pumpkin, and water.  I also heard it was only 2 points+ per muffin.  I found it here!

I didn't have spice cake mix, so I used white cake mix + 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice.  I did have to bake them for 25 minutes in my oven - I pulled one out at 20  minutes and it was still a bit gooey.

The end result was DELICIOUS.  The kiddo ate 2.5 of these things, and it's hard to get him to eat anything these days.  {Happy Mommy!}

I double checked the points value by putting the recipe in the Weight Watchers recipe builder - they are truly only 2 points per muffin!  WOOT!

Mine turned out like this

They aren't the prettiest muffin, but for the taste and low point value, I can over look that.  =)

You could easily throw in some blueberries, banana, apple sauce, or raisins - the possibilities are endless!  I can't wait to try a few versions (and to try it with the spice cake mix).

Caprese Salad

One of my most favorite things in the whole, entire world is a caprese salad made with fresh tomatoes.

I could eat it forever, without stopping.

The Pioneer Woman, Ree, has a wonderful tutorial here on how to make a classic caprese. 

Whenever I eat this, it feels like summer.  The only thing that could make it better is a pretty glass full of fruity sangria, but that's another post. ;-)

As I mentioned earlier this week, my wonderful husband stopped and got us some fresh tomatoes from Chilton county last week on his way home from Alabama.  Chilton County tomatoes are THE BEST.

Jimmy Durbin Sunshine Farms Tomatoes - THE. BEST. EVER. 

Seriously, if you are ever on Interstate 65, just south of Birmingham, you must stop in Clanton and get some of these.  Please do it.  Get some peaches, too - you won't regret it.

Anywho, today I was rummaging around in the kitchen trying to drum up something for lunch.  I have no bread, no wraps, no leftovers ... I was in a bind.  I saw the mozzarella, and it hit me - CAPRESE!

I didn't have fresh basil, but I always have dried, so I just used that.  It wasn't as magical, but it still made me pretty happy. =)

On the WeightWatchers scale, this salad is pretty light.  1 ounce of whole milk mozzarella, 1 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. of olive oil, 1 tomato, basil = 4 points+.   Along with my salad, I had a couple boiled eggs and a green salad.

A yummy, energizing, healthy lunch.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits - SCORE!

Oh. My. Goodness.  SkinnyTaste has done it again.

Cheddar biscuits that taste just like Red Lobster for 3 points?! Get out.

I adore Gina and her blog, SkinnyTaste.  Adore.  I make a recipe from her site, probably twice a week, at least.

Click here for the recipe!

Shut Up.  Shut the front door.  Whatever you like to say - these babies are INCREDIBLE!

Holy Moly. I just can't get over how easy and perfect they are.

We followed the recipe as written, except I didn't have cheddar, so I used pepper jack cheese.  The only low-fat milk in my house is my vanilla soy milk, so we had to use whole milk.  If they were this incredible with my change, I can't imagine what they would be like if you had all the right ingredients!

Another great thing is that you could easily change the cheese, spices, and milks to make them different.  I am already dreaming of a cinnamon, vanilla, blueberry breakfast version!

Speaking of wonderful things, I found a truly yummy string cheese for 1 point+.

These were on sale at my local Publix, so I picked them up.  I was very pleasantly surprised! I'm all for anything that fills me up, offers cheesy satisfaction, and is only 1 point.  Pair one of these with an apple, and you have a very balanced, low point, afternoon snack. Score!