dontdiefordiets:

Spicy Pumpkin Dip

• 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix 
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper, any color
• 1 ounce chopped olive (optional)

1. Beat together the first four ingredients.
2. Stir in the bell pepper and olives.
3. Chill until serving!

Makes 15 servings, 42 Calories each

 Fat 2.6g /Carbohydrate 1.9g (Fiber .3g, Sugars .4g)/ Protein 1.7g

(via spoonfulofglass-deactivated2011)

Another pumpkin coffee

• 1 cup unsweetened almond mil
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 3 dashes pumpkin pie spice (a few shakes)
• Sweetener to taste

STOVETOP: Whisk all the ingredients together and heat gently.

MICROWAVE: Put the pumpkin, cocoa powder, and spice in the bottom of the standard size mug first, mix together well. Pour on the milk until almost full then mix together, nuke it until hot. (Double recipe if using an extra tall or wide mug.).

50 Calories for entire recipe

Instant Gingerbread Coffee

• 1 -2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (see here for mixture)
• 1 teaspoon molasses (be very careful with this, add it last, and start with even less; molasses sticks out and tastes horrible to me, so test it out)
• 1 cup water

1. Mix coffee granules and pumpkin pie spice in a mug.
2. Bring water to a boil, poor into mug, add molasses.
3. Stir and enjoy!

Makes one serving for 25 Calories 

Fat 0g / Carbs 6g (fiber 0, Sugars 3.7g)/ Protein .2 g

Low Fat Creamy Mushroom Soup
Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes

• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 cups water
• 2 chicken bullion cubes
• 5 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 8 oz baby bella, sliced
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 tbsp light butter (optional)

1. Place cold water and flour in a blender and blend until smooth, pour into a medium pot and set heat to medium. 
2. Add celery, mushrooms, chicken bullion and butter and bring to a boil. 
3. Cover and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove celery and a cup of soup, then run that through the blender, then return back to the pot. (so you are blending a single cup of what you’ve cooked to give you a creamier texture)

Makes five 1 1/4 cup servings, 50 Calories each

 Fat: 1.8 g • Carb: 6.6 g • Fiber: 1.1 g • Protein: 3.2 g 

Ridiculously Easy Southwestern Coleslaw

• 1/2 medium cabbage
• 2 carrots
• 1-2 hot chile peppers, thinly sliced or chopped
• 5-6 tablespoons salsa verde
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons vegan mayo or lite silken tofu
• 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar (or other sweetener)
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Remove and discard the core of the cabbage, and cut cabbage in half. Use a food processor fitted with a shredding disk to shred the cabbage and carrots. Place in a serving bowl along with the sliced chile pepper.
2. Whisk all remaining ingredients together until smooth. (If you’re using silken tofu, you may need to blend it in a small blender or food processor.) Add the dressing to the cabbage and mix well. Add salt to taste. Cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Check seasonings before serving and add more salsa, lime juice, cumin, or salt if necessary.

Makes six servings, 25 Calories each (using lite silken tofu)

1g total fat, 151.3mg sodium,  5.1g carbohydrates, 1.1g fiber, 2.5g sugar, 1.4g protein, 

Roasted Spaghetti Squash
Gina’s 

• 1 large ripe spaghetti squash
• salt and fresh pepper

1. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and fibers with a spoon.
2. Place on a baking sheet, cut side up and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
3. Bake at 350°F about an hour or until the skin gives easily under pressure and the inside is tender. 
4. Remove from oven and let it cool 10 minutes. 
5. Using a fork, scrape out the squash flesh a little at a time. It will separate into spaghetti-like strands. Place in a serving dish and serve hot.

Should make about six servings. 1 cup of this is 42 Calories.

Fat: 0.4 g • Protein: 1.0 g • Carb: 10.0 g • Fiber: 2.2 g • Sugar: 3.9 g Sodium: 27.9 mg

Pumpkin Cookies

Okay, this is one I discovered last October and have been obsessed with ever since. All of my friends love them as well.

• 1/4 cup light butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sweetener (such as Splenda or Truvia)
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar (you NEED this for flavor)
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or pumpkin spice seasoning. I like mine strong, so 2-3 tsp at least for me)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º F
2. Have ready some ungreased baking sheets (parchment paper or silicone baking sheets are nice though).
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sweetener and the brown sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. Blend in pumpkin, egg white and vanilla extract.
5. In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
6. Mix flour mixture into butter-sugar mixture. Dough will be very sticky and very thick.
7. Drop tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
8. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges.
9. Remove warm cookies and transfer to racks.
10. Let cool completely for a least one half hour before attempting any kind of frosting, but I think they’re amazing without anything added on top.

Makes 24 cookies, 40 Calories each. 

Fat 1.1g / Carbs 7.4g (fiber .2g, sugar 3.1g) / Protein .8g

Pumpkin Butter

Via Food.com

Ever have apple butter? Well this is the pumpkin version!

• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 - 2 tablespoons granulated sweetener (Splenda/stevia/Truvia/etc; you may not even want more sweetness after the brown sugar - taste before adding)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (or 1 and 1/4 tbs  pumpkin pie spice instead of all of those)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling mix)

1. Combine everything except the canned pumpkin in a microwaveable one quart bowl. Mix well.
2. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, then stir.
3. Mix in the pumpkin well, and microwave on high 5 minutes longer. It should be bubbly after these five minutes.
4. Put into clean, sterilized jars for gift-giving, or into other clean, airtight containers for home use.

Remember to keep this refridgerated! It will keep up to three weeks, but you can freeze in an ice cube tray for individual servings to thaw for later.

Makes two cups, or 16 servings or two tablespoons, 20 Calories per serving.

Fat 0g / Carb 5.7 G (sugar 4.8g, fiber .3g) / Protein .2g

Frozen Fruit Pops
Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup diced kiwi
• 1/3 cup diced watermelon
• 1/3 cup diced strawberries
• 1/3 cup diced pineapple
• 1/4 cup fresh pineapple juice or orange juice

1. Combine diced fruit in a bowl and fill each 5 oz cup with fruit. 
2. Add 1 tbsp of juice and insert craft sticks into each cup. They easily stay in place because of all the fruit.Place in the freezer a few hours until firm. 
3. To remove the pops from the cups, run under warm water a few seconds. Enjoy!

Makes four pops, 32 Calories each 

  Fat: 0.2 g • Carb: 7.8 g • Fiber: 1.1 g • Protein: 0.4 g • Sugar: 5 g Sodium: 1.4 mg

Cinnamon Latte

• 7 tablespoons strong coffee (a little less than half a cup; or 1/2-1 teaspoon instant coffee with 1/4 cup hot water — you can add more to taste later)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon sweetener (this would be a perfect time to use any flavored syrups you have as well)
• 1 1/3 to 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1. In a large pan, mix the cinnamon and sweetener with a bit of milk.
2. Add the rest of the milk and bring to a boil.
3. Just as the mixture comes to a boil, take it off the heat.
4. Pour into mug
5. Pour in the milk and serve immediately.

Or if you’re lazy like me

1. Heat up 1/4 cup water (or use hot water from tap) and mix in instant coffee. Stir cinnamon in as well.
2. Heat up 1 and 1/4 cup almond milk in microwave (in a measuring cup for me) for one minute. Pour all but 1/2 cup into coffee.
3. Add sweetener (syrup for me) into coffee. Taste, and add more as needed.
4. Use milk frothing tool to whip up remaining almond milk (it does work!) before topping coffee with froth. For those without this tool, I’ve heard that you can use a glass jar with a lid to “shake up” milk foam. 

Another variation is to leave out the ground cinnamon, but instead put a large cinnamon stick, some cloves and green cardamom pods in the milk. Leave as it comes to a boil, set aside and let it infuse for a couple minutes. Then strain out the seasonings and pour into the coffee.

Equal to about 50 Calories (check your almond milk’s label).

And mine isn’t as pretty, but here

Berry Yogurt Popsicles
Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes

Ingredients:

For the purple:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup blackberries
• 6 oz fat free blueberry yogurt
• 1 cup crushed ice

For the white:

• 14 oz fat free vanilla yogurt
• 2 tbsp agave or sugar (or sweetener)
• 1 cup crushed ice

For the pink:

• 3/4 cup raspberries
• 3/4 cup strawberries
• 6 oz fat free strawberry yogurt
• 1 cup crushed ice

*You can add more sweetener as needed

1. Blend each color smoothie separately in a blender and set aside. 
2. Pour the first color into the popsicle mold 1/3rd of the way and freeze for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from the freezer and insert the sticks, then freeze one hour.
4. Add the white yogurt into each popsicle mold another 1/3 of the way and freeze an additional hour. 
5. Add the purple smoothie and fill it to the top of the mold and freeze until ready to eat.

Makes 16 popsicles (about 1/2 cup llquids), 51 Calories each
 

Fat: 0.1 g • Protein: 4.0 g • Carb: 8.7 g • Fiber: 1.1 g • Sugar: 7.0 g \Sodium: 14.1 mg  

And don’t worry if you don’t have a mold. You can use disposable cups as well (though I’d check out your local grocery store or dollar store, since they’re fairly cheap)

theskinnyonfit:

THINK THIN: Cauliflower risoto 

1 C of cauliflower - shredded to rice like size in a food processor

1 tbsp onions

3 tbsp milk

In a medium saucepan mix together all the ingredients, add tomatoes, spices and herbs to taste 

calories : 40 calories !  

(via berriesandpearls-deactivated201)

Homemade Hot Cocoa

This one is super simple.

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons sweetener (Splenda, Truvia, etc.)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup unsweetend almond milk (this is 35 Calories, you can substitute whatever you have though)

This is fairly simple. Combine dry ingredients, then had hot milk (or whatever, though it’s not as good). Stir to combine (you may need to use a fork for this to avoid clumps — I use my milk frother).

This makes one serving at 55 Calories (20 if you use water instead of almond milk).

Optional — add a few miniature marshmallows. They are about three Calories apiece!

And here’s mine!

Photo from here.

healthyblonde:

Low Fat Guacamole

24 Calories for 1/4 cup 3.6 carbohydrates 2g protein

Ingredients

    * 10 oz Frozen Peas
    * 1 tbsp Avocado
    * 1/2 cup Cilantro
    * 1/2 slice of Tomato
    * 1/3 cup Onions
    * 1 tsp Lime Juice

Directions

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Ingredients:

* 10-ounce pack of frozen peas
* 1/2 small ripe avocado
* 1/2 cup cilantro, stems removed
* 1/2 ripe tomato, de-seeded and chopped
* 1/3 cup chopped onion (optional)
* Squeeze of fresh lime juice

Preparation:
Cook peas according to package instructions. Empty into a colander, drain and rinse with cold water. Place peas, avocado and cilantro in a blender and blend to desired consistency. Spoon into a bowl with chopped tomato and onion. Add a squeeze of lime juice, stir and serve.

Simple Teriyaki Vegetable Sauce

• 1/3 cup canned chicken stock, fat skimmed from top of can.
• 1  tablespoon soy sauce
• 1  tablespoon teriyaki sauce
• 1  teaspoon cornstarch
• 2  teaspoons fresh grated ginger root