Weight Watchers Banana and Blueberry Muffins- 3 ProPoints

WEIGHT WATCHERS BANANA AND BLUEBERRY MUFFINS (3 ProPoints)
Serves 12

These scrumptious muffins aren't plaeo but they are only 3 Weight Watchers points and they really hit the spot  when you need something a little sweet. These aren't as sweet as normal muffins as they have a lot less sugar and the sweetness comes from the fruit. If you want to make these paleo, go back and find my Apple and Date Muffins and replace the apples and dates with the bananas and blueberries! Easy!!

Ingredients
50g Caster Sugar
100g Nuttelex Lite (or Weight Watchers canola spread)
2 Medium Bananas (mashed)
2 Small Eggs
225g Self Raising Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
150g Fresh Blueberries
1 tsp Vanilla Extract


Method
1) Preheat the over to 200 degrees and line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases.

2) Put sugar and nuttelex into the TMX bowl and mix for 5 seconds on Speed 4 or until creamed together. (You may need to scrape the sides with a spatula and do for a couple more seconds).

3) Add bananas, vanilla and eggs and beat for 5 seconds on Speed 4 or until combined.

4) Put flour and baking powder into the bowl and mix for 10 seconds on Speed 5 before decreasing to Speed 4 for another 10 seconds- 20 seconds all together (or until combined).

5) Take the bowl off and fold through fresh blueberries with your spatula.

6) Divide evenly between the 12 muffin cases and bake for 15-20 minutes or until well risen and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

My Favourite Salad Dressing!

MY FAVOURITE SALAD DRESSING (From the 'My Way of Cooking' Cookbook)

I have tried a few salad dressings in the Thermomix. This one is my favourite. Tastes delicious!! It is 0 WeightWatchers ProPoints for the drizzle you would put on your salad. It is also Paleo (if you leave the sugar out and buy a sugarfree organic mustard from your nearest health food shop).

Ingredients
240g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
50g Wholegrain Mustard
50g Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp mixed dried herbs (eg. Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp (pinch) of cracked pepper


Method
1) Place a jar or container onto the TMX mixing bowl lid. Weigh oil into it and set aside.

2) Place all remaining ingredients into the TMX bowl and mix for 30 seconds on Speed 4.

3) Hold measuring cup with your hand to prevent it from vibrating, beat for 3 minutes on Speed 4. Meanwhile pour the oil onto the mixing bowl lid. Once time is up, pour into a jar or dressing jars and refrigerate.

It's that easy!!!!! Enjoy!

MARINATED CHICKEN WITH WHITE CABBAGE SALAD PALEO (mostly) Weight Watchers Pro-Points: 7

MARINATED CHICKEN WITH WHITE CABBAGE SALAD

PALEO (mostly) Weight Watchers Pro-Points: 7

Marinade

Ingredients

55g Tamari (reduced salt soy sauce- wheat free, no preservatives)

70g Honey

30g White Wine Vinegar

2 Cloves Garlic

3 cm cube ginger

45g Olive Oil

2 Spring onion cut into chunks

1tsp black peppercorns

Method

1)      Place garlic, ginger, spring onion and peppercorns into the TMX bowl and blitz for 4 seconds on speed 7. Scrape sides with spatula.

2)      Add remaining ingredients and mix for 20 seconds on speed 3.

3)      Pour into a shallow dish and place chicken breasts in. (use spatula to scrape honey off of the bottom). Flip chicken a few times and use a spoon to scoop some of the chunky bits onto the top of the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to marinate. 

White Cabbage Salad (adapted from the ‘My Way of Cooking’ Cookbook)

Next make the salad...

Ingredients

250g cabbage cut into large chunks

60g carrot, cut into large chunks

25g red onion (quarter of a red onion)

50g red capsicum, cut into large chunks

50g apple, quartered

2 sprigs parsley (leaves only)

1 tsp rock salt

2 pinches of pepper

20g light olive oil

2tbsp lemon juice

Method

1)      Place all ingredients into the TMX bowl and chop for 6 seconds on speed 4 using the spatula to help combine. (This can be done to desired consistency- I like mine quite chunky. The key here is to not cut the veggies too small. LARGE CHUNKS!)

2)   Refrigerate until needed.

Chicken

Method

1)      Take chicken out of the marinade and wrap tightly in cling film or place into a sandwich bag with all excess air squeezed out. (DISCARD EXCESS MARINADE- please do not try and keep this, it is dangerous as it has had raw chicken sitting in it. It’s not worth it guys. Would’ve cost you next to nothing to make that marinade)

2)      Fill the TMX bowl with 1000g water.

3)      Place the wrapped chicken into the varoma and place on top of the TMX bowl.

4)      Cook for 30 min at Varoma Temp on Speed 2

5)   Take Varoma basket off of the TMX bowl and let is rest, lid on, with chicken in for a further 5 minutes.

6)      Finally I like to seal my chicken briefly on each side in a pan with a tiny bit of spray oil just to crisp it off.Take chicken out of glad wrap and put into a hot frying pan briefly on each side (not too long- it doesn't need to cook any longer)

6)      Serve with Cabbage Salad. YUM!!!

***Please Note: I worked out the ProPoints for this by breaking each meal down. The majority of the marinade will be disgarded- it has been used to impart flavour. I worked out the marinade that is left
on the chicken would be 1 point at the most. The chicken is 5 points because we are steaming it (super healthy way of cooking chicken!). The cabbage salad serves a lot of people and the only thing worth points in it is the oil. Again a serve of salad is worth about 1 point. This will always depend on your serving size. Keep this in mind!!***

Amy's Wonder Juice!

AMY'S WONDER JUICE
PALEO/ WW ProPoints: 0

There comes a point in my day, usually around 3 or 4 o'clock, when I feel like I could sit on the floor with a HUGE chocolate cake and absolutely write myself off.... Mmmm chocolate cake... Luckily, however, Will Power prevails!!! After finishing all of my episodes of The Real Housewives of Miami this afternoon, I decided to get off my arse and make myself a juice! Juices are GREAT in the Thermomix. Don't get me wrong, if you are lucky enough to have a $400+ cold press juicer then please go ahead and do them in there. But if you are like me and have one of those juicers with a thousand parts that gets messy and becomes so much of a hassle that you decide to simply go the chocolate cake, then the Thermomix is for you!!You can use anything you like- Fruit, Veggies.. You're Choice! But if you are like me, you like when someone can tell you combinations that work well and taste amazing! How many WeightWatchers ProPoints you say? 0! ...... Pfft.. No Way........... YES WAY! And all of you Paleo Lovers! Of course!!!!!
So this arvo I made the following juice.. The result was a delicious blend of fruit and veggie with the addition of the power veggie BEETROOT! (read here... http://www.rawfoodjourney.co.uk/raw-living-food-ingredients/beetroot/5-top-health-benefits-of-raw-beetroot/) AND I feel great.... AND I didn't gorge on chocolate cake! SUCCESS!!!

Enjoy!

Ingredients 

2 Carrots (cut into chunks- no need to peel)
1 beetroot (peeled and quartered)
Half a seedless watermelon
2 Apples (cored and quartered)
Half Pineapple
2 trays ice
260g filtered water
400g orange juice (nudie 'nothing but oranges' orange juice- pulp free)


Method

1) You want to do this juice in 2 batches. So half everything... Place 1 carrot, half beetroot, half the watermelon, 1 apple, half the pineapple, 1 tray of ice, 130g water and 200g orange juice into the TMX bowl. Slowly turn the speed up to 8 and blend for 40 seconds on speed 8.

2) Next I strained the juice (if you enjoy the pulp, it is actually better for you to keep it all in, however I can't drink it like that, so I strain mine). You can use your TMX basket, however I like to use a simple sieve as I find it makes for a lovely, pulp-free juice. Use your Basket/Sieve over a bowl/jug and use a spoon to work the juice from the pulp. Discard the pulp.

3) Repeat steps 1 and 2 and add the second batch of juice to the first!

Done! So easy!!! This will serve approx 6-8 drinks!! That fruit cost me $9.50 from a green grocer and gave us 8 glasses of juice! Bargain!!!!


Helpful Hints:
*The EDC suggests you keep pulp and make fruit spread. This would be ok for an only fruit based juice, however with the veggies included I wouldn't recommend. Each to their own!
*You can use your own oranges in this juice, however it will add a ton of pulp (that's ok if you like the pulp). The Nudie 'nothing but oranges' juice is completely just that- orange juice! Using it like this as an addition to the juice helps add 'liquid' to a very pulpy juice. (or you could pre-juice your own oranges)

Chicken Cashew Curry With Cauliflower Rice! PALEO! Weight Watchers Pro-Points: 9 per serve (as a serve 6)

CHICKEN CASHEW CURRY with CAULIFLOWER RICE

This recipe is adapted from the recipe community (thanks nicky parsons!) and is super easy. It is a paleo recipe and is 9 WW ProPoints. Super filling and cauliflower rice is used as a replacement for normal rice (0 WW ProPoints!!)

Ingredients

1 whole cauliflower (approx 500g)
130 g raw unsalted cashew nuts
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 stick cinnamon broken in half
1 pinch chilli flakes
1 onion peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic
30 g olive oil (light)
750 g chicken breast, cut into 3cm chunks
200 g coconut milk
100 g water
Juice of 1 lemon
60 g baby spinach

Method

1) First you will need to make your cauliflower rice. Cut cauliflower into florets and put into TMX bowl (try leave out as much stalk as you can as this doesn't fall apart as easy as the florets). 'Whack' cauliflower for 5 seconds on Reverse speed 5.
*"By “whacking” instead of “chopping” we retain the kernal-like quality of cauliflower so it resembles more of a grain than a fine mince. By using the florets and not the stalk, this will result in a pile of large-grained rice-like cauliflower. At this point, I transfer the mock rice into a large bowl. Any harder bits of stalk that may have slipped in and didn’t succumb to “whacking” in reverse can be returned to the Thermomix and chopped (forward) for a second or two to fully break down, then mixed in with the other mock rice."- http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2012/15926/mock-rice-thermomix-recipes.html

2) Transfer the cauliflower rice into the simmering basket and set aside. Give the TMX bowl a quick rinse out. Next it's time to make the curry...

3) Roast cashew nuts for 5 mins/Varoma temp/Reverse + Speed 1. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and chilli flakes and cook for 2 minutes/Varoma temperature/Reverse + speed 1. Take out the cinnamon sticks and discard. 
Mill 2 minutes on speed 9.  You will end up with something like this.... set aside in a small bowl. 

4) Next you will need to put the onion and the garlic in the bowl and chop for 3-5 seconds on speed 6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add oil. Cook for 3 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.

5) Add chicken, cashew and spice mix, coconut milk and water.  Cook for 12 minutes at 100 degrees on Reverse + Speed Soft. (***Note: If using chicken thigh, cooking time goes up to about 20 minutes).

6) Add lemon juice and spinach and cook for a further 3 minutes at 100 degrees on Reverse + Speed Soft (using the spatula a few times to ensure spinach is mixing through and wilting). Place in your thermoserver to keep warm while you cook your cauliflower rice. 

7) Rinse out TMX bowl. Place cauliflower rice in the basket. Fill TMX bowl with 500g of water. Place basket in the TMX bowl and cook for 12 minutes at Varoma temperature on Speed 3. 

Serve and ENJOY!

Thermomix Recipe- EDC (pg 75) Weight Watchers Pro-Points: 0 per serve (as a serve 6)

TOMATO SOUP

I absolutely love this tomato soup recipe from the EDC. PLUS if you take out the sugar and lentils it becomes Paleo! YAY! (However I would keep it as close to the recipe as you can, because it truly is delicious!) The best part of this recipe is that it is 0 WW ProPoints!! So why not have a bit of wholemeal flat bread to top it off!?

Photo Courtesy of the EDC.


Ingredients 

75g Red Lentils
3 Black Peppercorns
600g Ripe Tomatoes, halved
1 Onion, peeled and quartered
50 g tomato paste
1 tsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Sugar
Small bunch Parsley
500g Water + 2 Tbsp TM Vege Stock
Salt to taste

Method

1) Place all hard ingredients into TMX Bowl and mill for 1 minute on speed 8.

2) Add remaining ingredients and cook for 15 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1. At the end of the heating time, blend for about 30 seconds going slowly from speed 1 to speed 8.

3) Serve!!

YUM!

Thermomix Recipe- EDC (pg 64) Weight Watchers Pro-Points: 9 per serve (as a serve 6)

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNAISE WITH WHOLEMEAL PASTA

I love my Spaghetti bolognaise and when I saw and made this recipe from the EDC I thought it would be really high in WW ProPoints. But when I put it into the recipe builder on my WW planner, I found it isn't really that high at all. This recipe is straight from the EDC (I added the wholemeal pasta)

Enjoy!!

 Photo courtesy of EDC


Ingredients

80g Stalk Celery
1 Carrot, roughly chopped
1 Onion, quartered
1-2 Garlic Cloves
Few Oregano Leaves
Few Basil Leaves
50g Olive Oil Light
400g Lean Beef mince (made in thermomix)
1 fresh bayleaf
Pinch Nutmeg
70g Red Wine
70g Water
150g Tomato Paste
200g Tomato Puree


Method

1) Place celery, carrot, onion, garlic, oregano, basil into TM bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7

2) Add Oil, minced beef, bay leaf, salt and nutmeg and cook for 10 minutes at Varoma Temperature on Reverse Speed + Soft, placing basket on top instead of MC.

3) Serve on a bed of cooked pasta!


It's that easy!!!

A few helpful hints:
* The recipe uses half beef, half pork mince. However Pork is higher in fat and WW ProPoints than Beef, so I make mine with 100% beef mince.
*If you aren't making your own mince, you will need to buy thicker, chunkier mince rather than fine (or it makes the sauce too runny!)
*If you like your sauce even thicker, add a beef stock cube in to help thicken

Thermomix Recipe- EDC (pg 40) Weight Watchers Pro-Points: 0 per serve (as a serve 8)

BROCCOLI SALAD

Ingredients
250g Brocolli, roughly chopped
100g Carrot, roughly chopped
1 Apple, seeded and cut into quarters
1/2 red onion (I use a 1/4)
100g Low Fat Greek Yoghurt
Juice 1/2 Lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Place all ingredients into the TM bowl and chop for 5-8 seconds on speed 4 with aid of spatula. Scrape down the sides and chop for an additional 2-3 seconds on speed 4 or until desired consistency is achieved.
*NOTE: I did mine for 8 seconds on speed 4 and didn't chop any further to get the consistency in the photo.

This is the YUMMIEST Salad AND it's 0 WW ProPoints (when served as a side)

Hey everyone!

I know, I know! It has been AGES!! I am on here to start a new section of the blog! I know it's called Paleomix (and is mainly for Paleo Thermomix recipe) but to be perfectly honest, the best I have ever felt as far as balance and weight goes, is when I did Weight Watchers. I have dusted off the ol' tracking tool and have re-booted my WW journey. As a result, I have decided to mix up this blog a little. So here's how it will go...

If a recipe is Paleo, I will write PALEO before the post. I will also put the ProPoints value of every meal (incl Paleo)

If a recipe is from one of the Thermomix cookbooks (which I have converted to WW ProPoints) then I will write the book title first i.e. EDC (Everyday Cookbook)/ MY WAY OF COOKING

If a recipe is a Weight Watchers recipe which I have converted for use in the Thermomix, I will put WW at the beginning.

I hope that all makes sense!! This is a way to make my blog more accessible to a range of different dietary preferences. Remember not everything works the same for every person! And I am in no way a professional on the matter. All I know is that out of everything I have tried (and there have been a few!) Weight Watchers has worked the best for me!

Enjoy!!!
xx