Now for something different.

Over the last week and a half of being in Weight Watchers, I've been slowly making myself acquainted with all of the amazing features of both the website and the app.

When I track my points in the iPhone Weight Watchers App, I have a couple of choices. I can do a search, I can use the points calculator, or I can use the scanner. I just discovered this last one and it has made tracking so much easier. It's such a cool feature. You scan the barcode of the item, for example Cedar Hommus, and it tells you the points value as well as the basic nutritional information. It's very cool.

Today I decided to try the Recipe Builder feature on weightwatchers.com because I love to bake but I haven't recently. So I took a recipe I've been wanting to try (Applesauce muffins) and plugged the ingredients into the builder and based on how many servings the recipe makes, it gave me the points plus value. It was very helpful. The original recipe called for 6 tablespoons of butter which would have nearly doubled the points plus value of the recipe per serving so I chose to omit it.

They turned out really great. They have chunks of apple in them which is really satisfying and they're light and a little sweet and worth four points for a snack, especially with a piece of fruit.

So here's my very first recipe post, made Weight Watchers friendly, by me.



Applesauce Muffins
Source: adapted from Your Cup of Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups applesauce
1 cup apple, peeled and chopped (about 1 medium apple)

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-muffin baking pan with non-stick baking spray or line with liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and brown sugar together until incorporated. Add applesauce and chopped apples.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring to combine. Be careful not to over mix.
5. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, fill muffin tins to about 3/4 full.
6, Bake for twenty minutes. Check for doneness using a toothpick. If it comes out clean, they're done.

Makes 12 muffins. Weight Watchers Points Plus: 4 per muffin.