Everybody say CHEESE!!

So - Shavuos is fast approaching!! Are you worried? There is possibly nothing more tempting and equally more dangerous for your pro points allowance than a luscious piece of fresh cheesecake... until now! Last year I made a delicious and low in pp no-bake Israeli style cheesecake and I'll be blogging that as soon as I make it. In the meantime, this year I decided to have a go at skinnying up my cheesecake brownies recipe. The small corner I nibbled on this morning as it came out of the oven attests to the fact that it was a worthwhile experiment. The recipe makes 16 good size squares of cake for 4pp each (total PP value for the whole recipe is 59pp).

INGREDIENTS

One batch raw brownie batter using my recipe here

200g J&J light whipped cream cheese
20g silverspoon half and half sugar (or splenda, pp value stays the same)
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg white and vanilla until smooth.

Pour the brownie batter into a greased  9x9# cake tin. Smooth the cream cheese mix in a layer over the surface. Then, using a knife, carefully swirl it into a marbled pattern.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180'c for approximately 30-35 minutes (but check after 25). Cool for 5 minutes, then turn out and cut into 16 squares and cool completely before eating - or to stay safer, freezing!

Say it with a snicker (or a smirk...)

OK this is not one for the squeamish and may not appeal to all! And as a disclaimer it looked fairly gross so I didn't bother with a picture...

BUT! If you're in the mood for something sweet, warm and filling with a little hint of savoury, and you're a fan of chocolate-peanut butter confectionery, this is one for you. I got the original idea on the WW online forums, but there was no way I was wasting all the propoints necessary to make it the proper way with peanut butter and nutella... So thanks to the boards for inspiring me to lighten it up a bit... And a big thank you to my friend Yael for leaving me the peanut butter powder on her last trip to London!

INGREDIENTS

30g porridge oats
1 banana
180ml boiling water
1 x 15g sachet instant diet-friendly hot chocolate (I used Ko-sure - available in Kosher Kingdom and elsewhere in the UK; for those who do not need Chalav Yisrael, Options or Highlights will do too)
12g powdered peanut butter - I used PB2

Put the porridge oats, hot choc powder and peanut butter powder in a large bowl. Mash a banana and mix in. Add 180ml boiling water (straight from the kettle) and microwave on high for 2.5 minutes. Stir well and leave to sit for 1 minute. Enjoy!! 5pp in total and you will feel incredibly full afterwards.

Toasty and warm in the succah...

When I planned out my succos menu several weeks ago, tonight's chol hamoed dinner was intended to be 'wrap pizzas' (that Weight Watchers staple!) and oven-baked potato wedges. But as today wore on and I thought about chopping the veggies for the pizza topping, I realised that I was never going to manage to get everyone sitting down to eat at the same time if I needed to make 5 pizzas and a tray of wedges in my little oven at once...

After mulling over a few different possibilities I came up with the idea of calzones, which take up far less space than a pizza. And then it occured to me that if I made them in my sandwich toaster, they would seal much better as well.

I'm pleased to say it was a big success! After making each calzone I slid it into the oven to stay warm as the wedges baked, and we all sat down to eat at once.

INGREDIENTS

1 pack of (3pp) tortilla wraps
1 bag fresh or frozen spinach leaves
1 punnet closed cup mushrooms
2 tomatoes
2 peppers (I used red and yellow for the colour)
2 onions
Frylight
Grated cheese (I used chevington light - the blue bag)

Chop and fry two onions in a little frylight, and while they are softening, wilt the spinach in the microwave. Remove half the onions from the pan and set aside, and then add in the spinach, finishing it off with the onions. Once the spinach mixture is done, remove and set aside. Then add back in the remaining onion and fry with the mushrooms, sliced thinly, until a rich, brown colour. Again, set aside. Finally, fry the chopped peppers until they begin to soften, at which point add in the tomatoes cut into sixths, and fry until they get very soft and fall apart.

You now have 3 different calzone fillings.

Take each wrap and spray with a little frylight. Add a heaped tablespoon of the filling of your choice and sprinkle with 30g light cheese. Fold in half and toast in the sandwich toaster until the cheese begins to sizzle.

And that's it! Each calzone toastie is 5pp if you use 3pp wraps and my suggested amount of light grated cheese. You can also sprinkle some mixed herbs and garlic powder onto the different vegetable fillings as they fry.

Moadim l'simcha!