Banana Muffin for 3sp - worth a try I reckon!

23rd January 2016

If the whole world was blind, how many people would you impress?

Well I had a lovely afternoon of 'me'ness, finished all my work about elevenish, then turned the computer off, put the phone on silent, made some lunch and sat down!  We watched a fantasy movie which I enjoyed and my wool arrived so I started knitting me a jumper, I didn't completely turn off from WW'ers, it's impossible as I had the man in the van coming to collect stuff and my boss called me mid afternoon, I'm sorry, I can ignore numbers I don't recognise but not my new bosses number, she didn't know I was trying to have a work free day. 

I did realise I don't need to turn off completely to be honest, I just need to accept it's okay not to feel I have to get back to everyone within the hour!  I stayed out my group so hopefully they looked after each other in there and played nicely ;)

I made a fish pie, instead of making the sauce, I used a tin of soup, next time I only need to put 1/3 to 1/2 of the tin of soup in it, as the soup went into the mash and made it a bit mushy.  Otherwise it would've been tasty, 12sp of mash, haddock 3sp, tin stilton and broccoli soup 6sp, and cathedral city light cheese 7sp.  The whole thing was 28sp, easily enough for four people.

I'm off to Nando's today, belated birthday get together, just looking at my options, I'm thinking I like the look of 5 chicken wings for 7sp, then they have 1/4 chicken for 4sp or they do a grilled chicken pitta for 8sp, I'll probably have to have a corn on the cob for 4sp, as I love corn on the cob, but at least I can eat out and stay on track.  It's doable if you try.

Right I better get myself motivated to work!  Although first I'm going to share this Banana muffin recipe I had from the Daily Mail supplement, I haven't made them but I know everyone is after a bit of something sweet for less right now so at 3sp per muffin, that sounds good to me!

Banana Muffins

36 smart points (3 per muffin)

Makes 12

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5/ 190c/fan 170c.  Put 12 paper cases into a bun tray. In a mixing bowl, combine 150g sifted plain flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 50g caster sugar.  Melt 40g low-fat spread and beat in 100ml skimmed milk, 1 egg and 1tsp vanilla extract.  Add to the dry ingredients; grate in one small apple.  Mash one small banana, add to mixing bowl and stir combined.  Do not over-mix.  Spoon mixture into the paper cases and bake for 15-18 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Double recipes today, here's one for an alternative Chinese, I remember cooking these in the meeting many years ago, they are tasty.  

Chinese Meatballs

Serves 4, 5sp per serving

1 x 220g water chestnuts
500g extra lean (5% fat) pork mince (14sp)
½ tablespoon Chinese 5 spice powder
low fat cooking spray
2tbsp cornflour (4sp)
3 tbsp dark soy sauce (1pp)
1 red chilli deseeded and diced

Put oven chips to cook as per instructions. Drain water chestnuts and chop 1/3 finely and mix with the pork mince and Chinese 5 spice powder. Shape into 20 meatballs. Lightly coat non stick frying pan with low fat spray and cook meatballs for 12 – 13 minutes over a medium heat, turning to brown them evenly. Meanwhile, mix cornflour and soy sauce together in a measuring jug then add 300ml cold water and the chilli. Slice the remaining water chestnuts in half and add these to frying pan, along with soy sauce mixture. Simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce is thickened and clear. Serve immediately.

Serve with 100g thick oven chips or 60g rice each for an extra 6 smart points

Well it's the weekend, I have a couple of hours of enjoyable work this morning then I'll be enjoying the rest of my weekend, doing some more chilling, hope you enjoy yours too!  Tiredness kills me, it leads me to the kitchen, I look for my mattress in the fridge, so I need to get plenty of rest at this time of year to balance out all the hours I'm working.

Remember there's more to healthy than what's on your plate - it's all about a happy balance!