You can have muffin without the muffin top!

31^st October 2014

Strength – a river cuts through a rock, not because of its power but its persistence.

Good morning, I’m up early and off to a training day today with my Weight Watcher colleagues, I also get to sit next to my bestie all day which is a bonus! 

So not only is it Friday, it’s Halloween, candy and sweets will be in houses everywhere, not mine thankfully, we celebrate by closing the curtains, turning the lights off and pretending we’re out – sorry true killjoys here as far as the tradition of trick or treating goes.  I can’t handle having bowls of treats in my house at the moment, I’m struggling not to eat anything and everything so temptation cannot be around me!

Another successful day yesterday, I’m still eating more than I probably need but it’s all Filling & Healthy foods so that’s progress!  I also gave the tube of Pringles and bag of Haribos away that I’d used in my meetings all week, I knew if I took them home we’d have eaten them!

I made muffins for breakfast yesterday though, they were delicious and only 4pp each,

Raspberry and Banana Muffins

4pp each

Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 25 min

Serves: 8

Ingredients

200 g Plain White Flour   

2 teaspoons (level) Baking Powder   

8 tablespoons Artificial Sweetener, Granulated (such as Splenda)   

100 g Raspberries, frozen, briefly thawed   

1 medium (raw) Egg, whole   

1 teaspoons (level) Vanilla Extract   

50 g Butter, melted   

100 ml Semi Skimmed Milk   

1 medium Banana, ripe, mashed   

Instructions

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200°C/400°F. Place 8 paper muffin cases into a muffin tray, or use squares of greaseproof paper.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sweetener and raspberries.

Beat together the egg, vanilla extract, melted butter and milk. Stir into the dry ingredients with the mashed banana until just combined. Avoid overmixing and do not beat. The mixture will be quite lumpy, but there should not be any traces of dry flour. Spoon into the paper cases.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack.

I didn’t have 8 tablespoons of sweetener but I did have about 2tbsp and some sachets of vanilla flavoured sweeteners so I added about 8 of them as well.  They worked, I like warm muffins for breakfast occasionally, especially when it’s miserable and grey outside - it’s like sunshine in a cake case!  Muffins are also really easy to make it has to be said, these Nigella ones are mmm too;

Chocolate banana muffins

The recipe says makes 12 (6pp each) I made 13 and brought it down to 5pp each.

In Nigella’s words;

“most muffins are at their best pretty well straight out of the oven, the bananas in the mixture make sure these beauties keep their moist, eat-me texture long after those less favoured have staled and lost their allure.”

3 very ripe or overripe bananas

125 ml vegetable oil

2 large eggs

100 grams soft light brown sugar

225 grams plain flour

3 tablespoons best-quality cocoa powder (sifted)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1.    Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with papers. Don’t worry about getting special papers: regular muffin cases will do the job.

2.    Mash the bananas by hand or with a freestanding mixer. Still beating and mashing, add the oil followed by the eggs and sugar.

3.    Mix the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb together and add this mixture, beating gently, to the banana mixture, then spoon it into the prepared papers.

4.    Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes, by which time the muffins should be dark, rounded and peeking proudly out of their cases. Allow to cool slightly in their tin before removing to a wire rack.

What am I doing sharing cake recipes with people who are trying to lose weight!  Well as we’ve discussed this week, you can eat anything you want as long as you track it and it’s within your allowance.  Ignorance isn’t bliss, don’t pretend you’re not going to have the foods, don’t try to resist the good stuff forever, that won’t work long time.

If like me you’re a foodie, then you have to find a way to have your cake and eat it, not just look longingly at photos of them on Facebook or in shop windows!

Yep you can eat niceness, my yesterday looked like this;

Breakfast – 2 muffins (8pp)

Lunch – salmon, brown rice & peas – (12pp)

Tea - Liver and mash (8pp)

Yep cake for breakfast, why not, a little of what you fancy does you good, there were banana and raspberries in them, I rarely eat fruit so at least I did yesterday!

Right I’m off to get ready for a day with a bunch of witches, I mean leaders ‘-) tee hee!

Have a fabulous Friday BeYOUtiful and remember YOU CAN!