Tag: 6-10 Smartpoints

Tale of an Oatmeal Newbie: The Mystery of the Overnight Oats!

Tale of an Oatmeal Newbie: The Mystery of the Overnight Oats!

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📌(Chocolate PB Breakfast Recipe at the end of the post)

Why did I wait so long to try ‘Overnight Oats?’ 

Because, well, oats sounded icky. Oats sounded way to healthy for me!  Oats?  Nah, I’ll pass. They won’t be tasty enough. They won’t be filling enough. I don’t eat oats. I can’t eat oats. I am not one of those healthy eaters?

🔴But, I was wrong. Oats are going to be a permanent addition to he foods I eat.

Oats are high in protein and fiber and healthy, digestible carbs. They barely have any sugar and have no sodium.

🔹Change is slow.  I am 44.  I have 44 years of habits and routines to modify.  Change doesn’t happen overnight.  Going cold turkey and changing everything at once has never been sustainable for me.  Slow change is working, so I am not messing with my pace.

🔹The type of carb you eat can make real difference…intellectually, we all know this, but I promise that you will FEEL the difference when you start to use more whole grains.  This past week, I started to focus on oatmeal.  My goodness!  There are so many types of oatmeal!  Rolled, Steel Cut, Old-Fashioned, Frozen, etc.  I could spend days explaining the difference, but generally, they are all ‘oats’…but may need different prep time and may taste different.

🔹Part of the personal ‘tweaks’ to my personal food selections over the past few months has been to see if I can still be happy with ‘healthier’ and ‘less processed’ versions of regular foods.

🔔The answer is usually, a big YES…but we all have different taste buds.  Trial and error is key to my process.  Many of my ‘experiments’ do not work out.

☑️You have to actively try new things and figure out what will work for you and YOUR taste buds.  I look at this effort as a grand adventure in food…after all, we all LOVE to eat, right?  Why not dive into the food arena and figure out  new ways to enjoy foods you love?

☑️I find that my list of healthier foods that make me satisfied AND act as the whole, ‘Food is Fuel’ mantra, grows every single day.  Personally, I am all about variety, so I am always looking for new foods and products and recipes that add a little ‘sparkle’ to my daily food menus.

🍫This chocolate breakfast felt like a dessert and I cannot wait to make it again!  In fact, I bet if I served it as dessert, it would be a hit!

😎My breakfasts can range from 4-10 sp, so although 8 is a little on the higher end, this fills me up for hours and I feel great knowing that my body is processing every bit of what I ate!  So, not the prettiest-looking food, but a pretty fabulous choice!

📌Overnight Oats📌

8 SmartPoints or 1 sp on Weight Watchers Simply Filling

  • 2 tbsp PB2 = 1sp
  • 1/4 cup fat free skim milk = 1sp
  • 1/2 cup old fashioned oats = 4sp
  • 1-2 super sweet, ripe bananas = 0sp
  • 1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder = 0sp
  • 1 container Fage 0% Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt = 2sp
Let’s Talk Oats
Overnight Mush, I mean Oats
SmartPoints Quick Visual Guide: Chocolate Oatmeal Breakfast

Questions?  Comments?  Do you have any links to fabulous overnight oats to share?  Feel free to add it into the comment section.

😻Happy Experimenting! Consider Oats for your next trial and error adventure!😃

Unlock your own oats mystery!

Baked Sriracha Onion Rings: The Recipe I didn't want to post

The Recipe I Didn’t Want To Post: Baked Sriracha Onion Rings

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😜The recipe I didn’t want to post, but it is too tasty to keep to myself!

🌶Sometimes, you just want an onion ring or something ‘fried’!🌶

But as we all know, deep fried foods are not inline with a healthier diet, so I am always on the prowl for great taste at a lower caloric price.  Now, my newfound love of air frying jumpstarted my culinary creative juices into my own version of spicy onion rings.  You can buy pre-made onion rings/veggies & that is obviously easier, but if you want to have a little fun and make them yourself, then I am listing the recipe.

I was hesitate to post a healthier recipe for this (you can find a zillion online).

Why?  Because, unlike most recipes, the measuring and tracking of your ingredients used, for this will require an extra step every time you make it. Baked Onion Rings or Baked Vegetables are not new, but when your goal is to make every calorie truly count, then making them yourself is a really big deal.

Please see my explanation below:

⚠️Two things to note on this recipe:⚠️

> ➡️Please calculate your own ingredients and save in the recipe builder as the size, amount, and type of ingredients you use for your baked veggies will affect the points and ANYTHING breaded could add up very quickly in the calorie/SmartPoint department.  (There is a recipe builder on the Weight Watchers app as part of their membership, but other sites of recipe builders as well, such as http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator)

> ➡️You may need a little MORE of the ingredients than you’ll actually use, so if you want to be exact with your points/calories, you’ll need to measure what you have left over and THEN calculate the SmartPoints or calories.

Why? Because when you are ‘dipping’ the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, you need a little more than you’ll actually use.  So, I would actually DOUBLE the flour and the breadcrumbs amount listed below and then, as I say above, measure what is left at the end for more accuracy.  This is how I always do recipes like this so I can be as accurate as possible with hard-to-calculate ingredients.  Yes, it takes more time, but if you like the recipe you create, you only need to spend that time once. (Time well spent in my opinion).

Continue reading “The Recipe I Didn’t Want To Post: Baked Sriracha Onion Rings”

Air Fryer Cornflake Chicken for the WIN!

Air Fryer Cornflake Chicken For The Win!

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⭐️More juicy air fried chicken!⭐️
🍗More like ‘air-baked’ in a super juicy way!❤️

Tonight, I learned that some air fryer recipes can save me TIME & turn out just a little bit tastier!
(recipe at bottom)

😃So, Besides my delicious 2sp air fryer shrimp melt (see previous post), I also made cornflake chicken in the air fryer tonight AND the toaster oven so the family could do a true comparison. I can only fit 4 chicken drumsticks in my 3.2 quart Farberware air fryer, so I wanted to make the rest at the same time….

The family agreed that the chicken in the AIR FRYER edged out our traditional oven cooked version that I have made for years.

🤔WHY? Because the air fryer version of my traditional cornflake chicken was so juicy, it almost squirts at you! 🤣One of my kids pointed out that the cornflake crust was evenly cooked all around instead of a little mashed down and squished on one side (which when I remember to use a wire rack, I can avoid that, but I usually skip it as it would be one more thing to clean).

BUT another reason my traditional recipe gets a big plus in my book was because it only takes ❇️20 minutes❇️ in the air fryer, but it takes approx. 45 minutes at 350 in my toaster oven.

 ⏲Time saving AND juicy? Oh, yeah!

RECIPE:

🔹Cornflake Chicken Drumsticks🔹

🔸Prep Time: 10-15 min
🔸Cook time: 20 minutes in air fryer at 370, 45 minutes in oven
🔸SmartPoints: 13sp for 2 chicken drumsticks or 7sp for 1
(always put your own info into the recipe builder for accuracy)
🔸Serves: 4 with two pieces per person

Ingredients:

  • 8 chicken legs
  • 1/4 cup Wondra (or any flour)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 2 Eggs
  • Splash of Milk (up to 2 tbsp of skim or any milk)
  • 2 cups cornflakes (I used Kellogg’s)
  • Cooking spray or I like Canola Oil Spray

Instructions:
1. Spray air fryer with canola oil spray
2. Use 3 bowls for dipping the chicken into:
1. Wondra with a little salt and pepper
2. Whisk the two eggs & milk
3. Crush the two cups of cornflakes
3. Wash & Dry defrosted or fresh chicken drumsticks
4. Dip each in flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and finally, coat with the cornflakes
5. Place into air fryer leaving a little space around each one for air flow.
6. Spray the tops with canola oil spray (or similar)
7. Bake at 370 for 10 minutes, then pull out basket and flip each piece over, respray the tops and bake for 10 more minutes or until juices run clear.

🔆Then, get out a napkin because these chicken legs will be super duper juicy! Enjoy!

Additional Oven Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Bake 40-45 minutes or until juices run clear
  • Spray Pan with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper
  • If you have a wire rack that fits inside the baking pan, you can use that as well, but spray it first so nothing sticks to it.

👩‍🍳Someday I will leave the kitchen…someday when I get tired of air frying! Oh, my! I have been having a blast learning how to use this new gadget. I love a tool that can make my life easier and better….and tastier! Oh, how fabulous! Just had to share!

I am also sharing the almost identical Cornflake Chicken boneless thighs recipe.  Great for sandwiches!

🔹Disneylady’s Cornflake Chicken Boneless Thighs🔹
Air Fryer or Oven
(If you need a lot of them, you’ll have to make them in the oven, but the air fryer rocks and is easier to clean than a giant pan and wire rack)
#disneyladyscornflakechickenthighs

🔸Serving Size: 2 pieces
SmartPoints: 8 sp for 2 thighs or 4 sp for 1 thigh
(But always calculate your own ingredients in the recipe builder as the weight of the raw thighs will vary with every package you purchase)

🔹Ingredients:
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (approx 2 lbs)
1/4 cup Wondra (or any flour)
Salt & Pepper
2 Eggs
Splash of Milk (up to 2 tbsp of skim or any milk)
2 cups cornflakes (I used Kellogg’s)
Cooking spray or I like Canola Oil Spray

🔹General Air Fryer Instructions:
1. Spray air fryer with canola oil spray
2. Use 3 bowls for dipping the chicken into:
1. Wondra with a little salt and pepper
2. Whisk the two eggs & milk
3. Crush the two cups of cornflakes
3. Wash & Dry defrosted or fresh chicken thighs.
4. Dip each in flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and finally, coat with the cornflakes
5. Place into air fryer leaving a little space around each one for air flow.
6. Spray the tops with canola oil spray (or similar)
7. Bake at 370 for 9 minutes, then pull out basket and flip each piece over, respray the tops and bake for 7-9 more minutes or until juices run clear. Baking time depends on how thick they are.

🔆These make GREAT chicken sandwiches or as a main entree! Juicy and delicious! Crunchy and a joy to eat!!! YUM!!!!

💠Additional Oven Instructions:
Follow all the same prep directions…
Preheat oven to 350.
Bake 20-30 minutes or more…..or until juices run clear. Cooking time depends on thickness of the chicken thighs.
Spray Pan with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper
If you have a wire rack that fits inside the baking pan, you can use that as well, but spray it first so nothing sticks to it. Nice to flip them halfway through cooking.

Mmmm. Crispy Cornflake Chicken Thighs!

Mmmm. Crispy Cornflake Chicken Thighs!

 

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