Raspberry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

This is yummy and super easy to make.  I love that it doesn't have any added junk in it and it's natural and clean and it tastes better than store bought stuff too!  You could also use a blackberry or another berry of your choice in place of the raspberry spread.

Ingredients
1/3 cup red raspberry fruit spread (I used Smucker's Natural)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (I used Pompeian)
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp honey (I used raw, local)
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Blend all ingredients, except the oil, in a blender (I used my ninja mini food processor).  Add oil and process until everything is well blended.  Pour into a glass jar and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Will keep about 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

Apple Craisin Salad

When I had my very first baby, Craig, one of the meals that was brought to us included this delicious apple salad.  I had to have the recipe.  Unfortunately she doesn't write down the amounts so I had to do it by taste.  I usually make this with walnuts as well, but it's delicious without them too.  You can add more sugar or less lemon juice to make it sweeter if you like, but I wanted to keep this lighter and with the sweet apples and craisins, it balances out well.  This recipe is for a single serving, but I have made it for a large group and everyone loves it.  You could use different apples as well.

Ingredients
1 apple (I like gala)
3 Tbsp craisins
1 -2 Tbsp walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup Kraft mayo made with Olive Oil (or another mayo if you prefer)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves

Directions
Cut up your apple into small chunks and put in a bowl.  Add craisins and walnuts.  In a jar or small bowl, mix together mayo, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and cloves.  Pour 1 Tbsp of mixture over apple salad and put the rest in the fridge.

WW points/Calories:  3 points for the whole salad or 174 calories (without walnuts)

Pineapple Pistachio Pudding

My mom came up with this recipe and it reminds of a watergate salad, or as my family always called it, "Green Junk."  :-)  It is a healthier, creamy option.  It is yummy and satifying.

Ingredients
2 cups nonfat plain yogurt (I like Dannon all natural)
1 package sugar free, fat free, pistachio pudding
1 can crushed pineapple in juice, drained

Directions
Combine all ingredients well.  Divide into 5 containers equally and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Weight Watcher Points: 2 points each serving!

Cherry Pie Pudding

This is so yummy and creamy and delicious!  I came up with it from the original Cherry Pie Fluff recipe, just using yogurt instead of cool whip.  I like this this is thick and has a higher protein level to keep you feeling full longer. 

Ingredients
1 can lite cherry pie filling (could use sugar free if you want)
2 cups nonfat plain yogurt (I like Dannon all natural)
1 box sugar free, fat free, cheesecake (or white chocolate) pudding mix

Directions
Combine all ingredients and mix very well until all blended together.  Divide into 7 different containers and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Weight Watchers Points: 2 points per serving!

No Bake Cherry Cheesecake

This is like a light, delicious cheesecake, yet no bake and the easiest recipe ever!  I have made this a few times now and it's a big hit and absolutely delicious!  I would like to try it with all light/low fat ingredients and see how it comes out sometime, but I haven't tried it that way yet.  I found the original recipe on allrecipes and they call it cherry cheese pie, but that just sounded weird to me.  It only called for 2 cups of whipped topping, but I just used the whole container.  If you like cheesecake, this is light and not heavy and so delicious!

Ingredients
1 graham cracker crust
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
8oz frozen whipped topping, thawed
21oz can cherry pie filling

Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy.  Fold in whipped topping until smooth.  Pour into pie crust.  Top with cherry pie filling.  Cover and chill at least 2 hours.  So easy and so yummy!!!

Banana pineapple mango smoothie

This has become my new favorite breakfast.  I drink it every morning, and it is very satifying, delicious, and only 4 WW points!

Ingredients
1 ripe banana
1 cup diced frozen pineapple and mangos (I found a huge bag at Sam's, by Dole)
1 cup almond milk
1 packet stevia or spenda

Directions
Blend all ingredients well in a blender and enjoy!  So yummy and good for you!

Weight Watcher Points: 4 points for the whole thing!

Two ingredient banana muffins

A while back I made Banana Spice Muffins with overripe bananas and spice cake mix.  My mom recently started making muffins a lot for my nephews (with a lot of major allergies) with vanilla cake mix and bananas.  The kids all love them, and they are so easy.  I made these with strawberry cake mix and bananas.  I also made chocolate cake mix with bananas for my church one Sunday (mostly because we have a child who had a lot of allergies), and they were a big hit!  Use any cake mix you think would go well with bananas and enjoy.  Just watch for allergens in your cake mixes if you need to be aware of them.  One tip, if you don't have enough bananas, you can add in a little applesauce if your cake mix it too dry.

Ingredients
4 overripe bananas, mashed
1 cake mix (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, spice cake... or another kind if you want)

Directions
Mix bananas and cake mix together well.  No oil, no eggs, no water.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, fill sprayed muffin tins about 2/3 cup full, and bake muffins according to cupcake directions on back.  Remove from muffin tins, cool, and enjoy!  Makes 24 muffins.

Weight Watcher Points: 2 points a muffin

Banana Sour Cream Bread

Ok, don't get freaked out the name.....  my husband hates sour cream and had no idea it was in there, and I bet you won't either.  You don't taste sour cream at all.  This is moist and delicious and honestly, probably the best banana bread I've ever had!  It got gobbled all up at our church for breakfast and my kids loved it!  I found this on the top banana bread recipes on allrecipes and modified it for one bundt pan.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened*
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk**
3 very ripe bananas
8oz sour cream***
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray large bundt pan.  In a small bowl, stir together 2 tbsp white sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and then sprinkle all over bottom and sides of pan.  Cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar.  Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Mix in salt, baking soda, and flour.  Stir in nuts.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Lower fat version: 4 weight watcher points per 1/12th of the loaf (vs 6 per slice without nuts).  This also reduced the calorie content about 100 calories per slice!
Substitute:
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce*
1 egg + 1 egg white**
8oz light sour cream***

Pineapple Mango Smoothie

I love smoothies!  My husband and my kids also love smoothies.  This one reminds of a virgin pina colata, and I've made it with and without 1-2 Tbsp shredded coconut.  It was good either way, but unless you have a really good blender, it does have a different texture with the coconut.  I think this would be really good with coconut milk instead of almond milk as well.

Ingredients
1 cup frozen diced pineapples and mangos (I got a big bag by Dole)
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I like Dannon)
1 packet of splenda or Stevia

Directions
Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Weight Watcher points: Ony 4 points for the whole thing!

Berry Green Smoothie

We love smoothies around here.  We really like them with peanut butter, but it really adds up in calories for me.  I love adding spinach to my smoothies because it so good for you, but you can't even taste it in a smoothie.  This one is packed full of nutrition and antioxidants, and it's not loaded with calories like many smoothies can be.

Ingredients
3/4 cup frozen sliced strawberries
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup vanilla low fat yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk (or you can use soy or cow's milk)
1 cup fresh spinach
1 packet of stevia or splenda

Directions
Add all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. 

Weight Watcher Points: 4 points for the whole thing, a nice tall glass

Banana and Peanut Butter

This is a fun post for me!  :-)  I grew up eating peanut butter and banana, my kids eat it all the time, and it's an all time family favorite for much of my family.  My grandfather eats this every day for lunch, and my oldest son eats this almost every morning for breakfast and now my almost 2 year old does too.  :-)  I am surprised how many people do not know about this amazing combination.  Eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack.  Use crunchy or creamy peanut butter.  I love this meal because it's fruit and protein.  It's filling and satifying.  When my 8 year old was little, he called it "Nonny Butter"  :-)

Ingredients
Banana
Peanut Butter (I like natural for heart healthy)

Directions
Cut up your banana and apply a small amount of peanut butter on each bite.... or if you want it to look more like an "adult" meal, just hold your banana and use a knife to put a small amount of peanut butter on the end, bite it off, and put more peanut butter on your next bite. :-)  Eat with a glass of milk if you like.  :-)

Blueberry Slump

This is my Mom's recipe, and it is so super yummy!  It's kind of like a cobbler.  It is best served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  IF you have any leftovers  :-)  store them in your fridge and then reheat in the microwave.  My picture does not do this recipe justice.  It is delicious!  I served it to some friends of mine recently, one of them who is an actual chef, and he loved it!  It is so simple and easy to make, with few ingredients, yet elegant enough to serve for a special occassion.
Ingredients
1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/3 cup milk (you could probably use water if you need dairy free)

Directions
Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 5 minutes while you make the dumplings.

To make dumplings, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in shorterning until coarse crumbs form, then stir in milk until flour is moistened.

Drop 6-8 spoonfuls of dough into the blueberry sauce mix.  Cover pan tightly.  Simmer for 15 minutes without lifting cover.  Remove from heat.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

I found this recipe on pinterest and it looked absolutely delicious by the picture.  Now her pictures do this recipe a whole lot more justice than mine.  The big mistake I made was that I put the blueberries in frozen and not thawed, like she said, so when I thought the cake should be done, it wasn't, so when I tried to dump it out, it fell apart, so I had to scoop it back up and put it back in the pan.  Then it just took forever to cook.  I didn't think the frozen blueberries would make that much difference, but it did, apparently.  I did make a couple small changes in the recipe.  I exchanged the oil for unsweetened applesauce.  I also used low fat vanilla yogurt instead of plain, so I didn't add the vanilla extract.  I also reduced the sugar a little bit due to the yogurt not being plain.  So I made this for breakfast at church, and it was very yummy.  It has a very strong lemon flavor, but I love lemon flavored cakes.

Ingredients
for the loaf:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour + 1 Tbsp, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup vanilla non fat or low fat yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed
for the lemon syrup:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
for the lemon glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2-3 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or a bundt pan.
2.In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3.In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and applesauce. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.

4.Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.

5.While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.

6.Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.

7.To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Cinnamon Craisin Granola

 I love granola and I love craisins.  Granola is so expensive though, so I set out to find a recipe I could make myself for cheaper and I know exactly what's going into it.  I found this recipe on allrecipes but I modifed it a little bit, using craisins instead of raisins, and I always use canola oil and not vegetable because it's better for you. It's wonderful over yogurt or even served as a cereal with milk.  I did read you could leave out the coconut if you don't like it.  I'm not sure if you would need to add more oats if you did that though.

Ingredients
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 -1/3* cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 - 1/3* cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup craisins (or raisins)

Directions
In a large bowl, combine oats and coconut.  In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, oil, honey, and cinnamon.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour over oat mixture and stir to coat well.  Spread in a shallow baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cool completely.  Add craisins.  Store in an airtight container.

*Updated 6/16/12: So after reading a couple comments on this recipe on the website I found it on, I decided to make a couple of changes the next time I made it.  I really like it either way, but the way I made it this time, it ends up with more of the few chunks stuck together and less flakey, if that makes sense.  Just up your brown sugar and honey to 1/3 cup each.  It does it make it sweeter as well.  Try it either way!  It's yummy!

Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle

So I found this original recipe on skinnytaste, but I modifed it some.  If you want the Weight Watchers version, go to her website and see the original recipe.  I took this to a get together at a friends house and everyone loved it.  I used frozen fruit, and I think I would have liked it better with fresh, but everyone said they liked it the way it was.  You can buy a premade angel food cake if you like to cut down on time.

Ingredients
1 box angel food cake
2 cups frozen (thawed) or fresh strawberries, sliced
2 cups frozen (thawed) or fresh blueberries
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1 package sugar free white chocolate instant pudding mix
16oz fat free cool whip

Directions
Make angel food cake according to package directions.  Let cool completely.

Whisk the condensed milk plus one can full of water together.  Whisk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes.  Let sit for 2 minutes and then fold in the cool whip.

Break up the cake into about 1" pieces (or you can slice if you like) and arrange half of it on the bottom of a trifle or punch bowl.  Sprinkle evenly with a layer of 1/3 of the blueberries.  Spread half of the cream mixture over top of the blueberries.  Sprinkle evenly with half of the strawberries.  Layer the remaining cake, 1/3 of the blueberries, remaining cream, and then top with remaining blueberries and strawberries.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Cherry Danish

I have been making a special breakfast for our church plant every Sunday morning.  I told them they get to be my guinea pigs for trying new recipes.  So far they haven't seemed to mind.  :-)  I made this one and my friend Chip, who is a real chef, absolutely loved it.  He took 6 of the leftover little pieces home and only had 3 by the time he got home.  :-)  The only real change I made from the original recipe is that I baked the bottom layer of crescent rolls so I wouldn't chance them getting soggy.  You could try this with different pie filling flavors too, apple, apricot, rasberry, strawberry, blueberry...

Ingredients
2 cans (8oz each) crescent dinner rolls, divided
2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1 egg white (leave out for egg free)
1 tsp vanilla
20oz can cherry pie filling
1-3 Tbsp milk

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Unrolls 1 can of crescent rolls into 2 rectangles.  Press onto bottom of sprayed 9x13 pan.  Press the seems together to seal and also spread dough to edges of pan.  Bake in oven for 10 minutes and then remove.  Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, egg white, and vanilla with mixer until well blended.  Spread onto crust.  Cover with pie filling.  Unroll remaining can of crescent rolls, separate into 2 rectangles.  Pat out for form 9x13 rectangle, pressing seems together to seal.  Place over pie filling.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Gradually add milk, 1 Tbsp at a time to remaining sugar.  Beat with whisk until well blended and the consistency you desire.  You may only need 1 Tbsp.  Drizzle over danish.

Cherry Pie Fluff

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest.  It recommends using cheesecake pudding mix, but I used white chocolate since I had it on hand.  I tried it with cheesecake as well and either one is good.  The first time I made it, I could only find light cherry pie filling, not sugar free.  I liked the taste better with the light than the sugar free, but it does add some calories, so I figured if you divided the whole thing 8 ways with the light cherry pie filling or 7 ways with the sugar free cherry pie filling, it's 2 Weight Watcher points each.  I liked it either way and they were very satisfying portions for only 2 points.

Ingredients
20 oz can no sugar added or light cherry pie filling (see notes above)
1 box sugar free white chocolate or cheesecake pudding mix
8oz fat free cool whip

Directions
Combine cherry pie filling with pudding mix.  Fold in cool whip.  Refridgerate.  Enjoy!

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

I have been looking for new recipes I can eat on Weight Watchers, in particular desserts. I found this one, and it was very yummy! I made it in 2 loaf pans instead of an angel food cake pan.

Ingredients
1 can pineapple tidbits or crushed pineapple in 100% juice
1 box angel food cake mix

Directions
Add pineapple and juice in can to angel food cake mix. Do not add anything else. Follow directions on cake mix to finish your cake.

WW points: 1/12 of the cake is 3 points. To give you an idea, that would be 1/6 of a loaf, which is a good size piece. :-)

Mom's Pumpkin Bread

This is my Mom's recipe for amazing pumpkin bread! I love pumpkin bread, and this is my absolute favorite recipe! Originally my mom made it with butter instead of applesauce, but she started using applesauce more recently and it comes out just as yummy and delicious but without the added calories and fat. Note: I have tried making this with baking splenda twice now and then once with half brown sugar and half splenda (same as the splenda sugar blend) yet it does not come out at all! It comes out extremely flat and dense and does not taste the same at all. I have no idea why, but trust me when I say, I could not get it to work.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup applesauce

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

1/3 cup water
2 eggs (see my side note about using flax seed for egg substitute for egg-free)

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 "rounded" tsp cinnamon

1/2 "rounded" tsp cloves

1/4 "rounded" tsp ginger

dash allspice (optional)

dash nutmeg (optional) Directions

Mix sugar, applesauce, pumpkin, water, and eggs in a large bowl. In a separate container combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and spices. Add all dry ingredients to the batter, blend well. Spray the bottom only of a bundt or loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes for a bundt pan or 60 or more minutes for a loaf pan. Bake until toothpick comes out "somewhat clean" (we like our pumpkin bread moist). Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling.

WW points: 1/8th of a loaf = 3 points

Avocado Milkshake

My friend Danila, who is from Brazil, introduced me to this drink, and it is highly addictive. Apparently this is how they drink it in Brazil, and it's also how the Filipinos drink it as well. I thought it sounded very odd when she told me about it, but I knew avocados are so healthy for you, so I wanted to try it. It was delicious! You may have to play around with the amounts according to your taste. She and I don't really measure so much, and avocados are different sizes. She uses the large pear shaped smooth green avocados, but you could use any kind of avocado according to your tastes.

Ingredients
1/2 medium or large avocado or 1 small avocado
3-4 Tbsp sugar (or you could use splenda or agave)
1 cup milk (I use 1%)
3 pieces of ice

Directions
Scrape out insides of avocado into blender. Discard skin and seed. If you are using only half, leave the other half in the skin and put into a ziplock bag in the fridge. Add sugar, milk, and ice to the blender. Blend on high until well blended. Modify according to taste.