Weight Loss Recipe of the Day: Pumpkin Spice Sunshine Muffins or breakfast quick bread, to diet for!

Fall is a great time to start or improve your diet and exercise regimen. So, I'm doing a series of "Weight loss recipe of the Day" posts. Think fall and you think pumpkin spice right? I also think home-baked after going oven-free all winter long and because, well, I always think baked goods, lol. Muffins are my drug of choice. But after losing 100 pounds which I'm trying to keep off, they're kryptonite. If you're craving that pumpkin spice shtick and muffins, here's a healthier diet version. My diet recipes tweak favorites with low sugar, better sugar, protein and fiber, low calorie, lowfat (and good fat) options. Make this "to diet for" breakfast muffin/quick bread with 1/3 the calories and tons of healthy stuff! 

Pumpkin Spice Sunshine Breakfast Bread/Muffins

1/2 cups unsweetened homemade applesauce

1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup pumpkin (you can use cooked winter squash too)

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 to 1 cup seeds: pumpkin, sunflower, chia

1 teas. cinnamon

1/2 teas. nutmeg

1 teas. each baking soda and baking powder

Flaxseed to make two eggs

1/4 cup melted 35-calorie light butter or Greek yogurt

mashed banana

fresh crushed peaches or pineapple 

optional: walnuts

Mix ingredients (chunky applesauce and banana is good) and bake 350 for 55 minutes (bread) about 35-40 (muffins). Loaf makes about 20 servings. Calories 100 to 130 per slice. Makes 12 muffins 140 calories each.

Superfood Artichoke Vitae Plus Fat Burner, Antioxidant

 I've been dieting for about 18 months and have lost 96 pounds. I've trimmed fat from every part of my body and dropped from size 20 to 4. My BMI has gone 34 to 24.7 (normal). One way that I keep diet momentum is to change it up. Every time I hear about a new diet superfood or supplement on a reputable source (Dr. Oz is my go-to). I give it a try.    

This weekend I took my girls shopping at T.J. Maxx. I always snoop out their gourmet section. I found a nutritional supplement powder called Artichoke Vitae Plus  (made by Chimex of California). This powder is a blend of fat burners, antioxidants, fiber, aminos, energy boosters and vegan protein sources. It contains artichoke (blood sugar stabilizer, liver and artery cleanse), acai, apple, oat bran, nopal cactus, flaxseed, L-lysine and L-carnitine. 

Two tablespoons has 4 grams protein, 6 grams fiber, no fat, 1 gram sugar, vitamins and minerals and only 25 calories. I add it to oatmeal or non-fat yogurt. I'm going to try adding to my bread recipe. It's crunchy and tasty. I believe it's gluten-free, but since I don't follow that diet, I recommend further exploration. 

Baked Bean Soup with Holiday Leftovers

 Is your leftover holiday ham glaring at you, saying "eat me!" Are the sweet potatoes threatening to go sour? Are you sick of eating them but out of recipe ideas? Well before those leftovers go bad, stage a refrigerator coup and take the other food hostage, here's a healthy, lowfat, high protein and fiber recipe to use them up. Great for dieters. Vegetarian options, too. 

Baked Bean Soup

 

Place in large kettle, ham bone and any leftover ham meat or fat you want to use up. You can even use spiral honey baked ham. It will give the bean soup that sweet-smoky baked bean flavor. You could use bacon or sausage, too. Had a vegetarian holiday? No matter. It's just as good meatless. Skip to step two. 

 

Rinse, sort and add one package dried beans. Navy, pinto, kidney, garbanzo, turtle or any combination (about two cups total) My favorite is Hambeens 15-bean soup mix. Simmer in lots of water.

 

Season with bay leaves, celery seed, black or red pepper (or pepper blend).

 

Dice up leftover or fresh sweet potatoes, carrots, yams or pumpkin.

 

When beans are about half cooked, add mirepoix: chopped onions, celery, green peppers (any combination).

 

If desired, add pineapple toward the end for that Hawaiian baked beans taste.

 

 I made mine with sweet potato and green pepper. It was a lovely yellow color and it's chock full of vitamin A.

 

This soup is great for dieters. Just let it chill and remove surface fat--about 150 calories a one-cup 

Diet Recipe of the Day Phony Coney Island Veggie Dogs

I gotta admit--I don't like veggie hot dogs (aka tofu links). I can handle veggie burgers and actually like them better than hamburgers. But those rubbery soy hot dogs, gahh. But I'm also working on losing 100 pounds (81 gone). Now I could make my own, probably better than the packaged ones. But I had a coupon for Lightlife Smart Dogs and they were on sale. And when I'm working, I need quick low-calorie snacks I can grab and go (that's a diet tip, by the way--keep low-cal snacks on hand so you won't reach for the high-calorie junk when you're hungry). Veggie dogs have about 50 calories, lots of protein and no additives. Here's how I opted to dress up my veggie dogs to make them more palatable. 

Grill Smart Dogs and top with:

 

1/4 c. vegetarian chili (cannelloni beans, diced tomatoes, onions, celery and chili peppers, garlic, cumin, cilantro, oregano, hot Hungarian paprika)

 

1/4 c. lowfat cole slaw (shredded green and red cabbage, carrots, dash of olive oil, acai vinegar, stevia sweetener, sea salt, celery seed, mustard, black pepper)

 

diced onions

 

1/8 cup. shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

 

dab of ketchup

 

Skip the bun and go gluten-free wrapping in large lettuce leaf. Calories per veggie dog about 110 calories with toppings.