The muffin disaster of 2010

Pin It Ok, I think I'm a decent baker - baking is not my strong suit, but after my successful experimentation with ingredients in my banana oatmeal chocolate chip muffins, I got the urge to bake again last Friday before Shondi came...here are some photos:

So I've needed new oven mits for a while...it became quite apparent on Friday when took the muffins out of the oven and burned my thumb (see the hole?) on the pan and flipped the muffin pan upside down...

Uh oh...I picked them all up...but there's one missing...where DID it go???









Ok, I found it...

Ok, now I KNOW I truly have baking talent...how many people can burn their thumb, flip the pan, close the door and in a split second as the door is closing, catch a muffin and SQUISH it between the oven door and the oven?  See folks?  REAL talent...



All in all, these muffins were OK (if a little deformed...did I mention they were not done when I took them out?), but I would not make this recipe again...I'll stick with the chocolate chip one :-)

Balsamic Shrimp Sauté and Fat(ter) Pants

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Ok, I know the two of these have nothing in common :-)

Here is a photo of me with my largest pants:

Now here is the recipe for the latest meal I made (from WW magazine)

Balsamic Shrimp Sauté

Prep 15 Min, Cook 15 Min, Serves 4

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
3 any-color bell peppers, sliced
1 large fennel bulb, sliced or 1 tsp fennel seeds
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and fennel; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, thyme, salt, and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes soften, about 2 minutes.

Add shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 5 minutes. Serve drizzled with vinegar. This recipe works with the Simply Filling technique.

PER SERVING(About 2 cups): 190 CAL, 5 G Fat, 1 G Sat Fat, 0 G Trans Fat, 160 MG Chol, 668 MG Sod, 17 G Carb, 5 G Fib, 20 G Prot, 93 MG Calc. Points Value:3 

Photos

 

 

I blame the sodium

Pin It I suppose it was bound to happen sometime, but I don't think I was mentally ready for it this week. I've had my first gain since I began WW on October 3, 2009 :-( I was up 1.6lbs yesterday. Now, truthfully, when I think back on my week, I can see why. Don't get me wrong, I still wrote down EVERYTHING I ate and, to the best of ability, I recorded the points and stayed within my allotment, but...there were some things beyond my control (sort of) this week:

1) Monday - baby shower @ work - pizza for lunch, plus cake. Without knowing the true nutritional info on these two items, I had to make a best guess using the WW books and the generic foods in there (i.e., cake, store bought with icing = 7 points for one slice...who knows how big that slice really is??!)

2) Tuesday - out for supper to my usual haunt (S.C.) where I had my usual meal...and then I forced Tina to order the extra order of "free" french fries...I had 12 of them (I counted and everything!), but unfortunately there is nowhere in the book to look up "12 S.C. french fries", so I had to guess again... Also on Tuesday, I could not resist the leftover shower cake in the lunchroom, so I had what I deemed to be "half of a slice" for 3.5 points...again, may be a gross understatement in points.

3) Wednesday - birthday cake at work today (see Monday & Tuesday for issues on this)

4) Thursday - thought I was doing well - made my self a stirfry for supper and instead of using a teryaki sauce, I used soya sauce and corn starch...BAD idea...After work I must have had 5-6 cups of water...I think on Saturday morning they were STILL floating around in my body somewhere!

5) All week I've been snacking on these new Thinsation treats - while low in points (and not overly high in sodium), I think the addition of so much processed food was something else the body didn't like. I had them at least once per day and, if I had points leftover, I had them more than once. This week I have planned out one per day - for the END of the day, if points permit.

Ok, so I can't really blame the sodium entirely. I think the combination of that stirfry and the guessing on so many foods this week (I usually don't do that!) brought on the 1.6lb gain - which I clearly deserved. I've been so careful since I joined WW to limit my exposure to foods that I could not control or accurately count the points on, but this week I chose to let it get out of control. Today I press the restart button and begin again. I'm grateful that my gain wasn't so bad as to force them to take away my latest 5lb star (no, they wouldn't really take it away!) - it could have been so much worse.

Stay tuned for my next blog in a few minutes - recipes, photos, etc. to come...

Restartingly yours,
Tanya

Low Fat Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Low Fat Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

4 medium bananas, mashed
1/4 cup Splenda (or sugar, but it will increase calories)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup whole wheat flour 
1/2 cup rolled oat (instant is fine)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Add sugar to mashed bananas and mix.


2. Add beaten egg and mix.


3. In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients.


4. Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix well.


5. Mix in applesauce.


6. Add chocolate chips and Stir.


7. Spoon into medium size muffin tin (spray your paper muffin cups so they won't stick) and fill 3/4's full.


8. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

If using Splenda, WW points = 2pts (well worth it for these muffins!)