Who doesn't love cheesecake?? These are sweet bars that don't have the typical graham cracker crust that is loaded with butter. The blueberries and creamy filling are quite yummy.
Ingredients:
Crust
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used regular whole wheat flour but whole wheat pasty flour has more starch and lower gluten content. It's also supposed to produce a fluffier batter.)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
12 ounces of reduced fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)*
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 large eggs
4 tsp freshly grated lemon zest *
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups fresh or partially thawed frozen blueberries
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. To make the crust: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, oil, and sugar with an electric mixer in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add the ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish. Use a piece of plastic wrap to press it into an even layer.
3. Bake the crust, uncovered, until puffed and starting to brown around the edges, about 20 minutes.
4. To make the cream cheese filling: Blend the cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Beat or process until smooth. Spread the blueberries over the crust. Pour the cream cheese batter over the blueberries, spreading evenly.
5. Bake the bars until the filling has set, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into 24 bars with a sharp knife that has been coated with nonstick spray. One serving is 1 bar. The bars will keep, covered in the refridgerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Note: Neufchatel is 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese. I combined this with part of a fat free cream cheese to make my bars. The 4 tsp of lemon zest is roughly one lemon and I used a cheese grater with the small grating side to zest the lemon.
Nutritional Facts:
Per Serving: 140 calories, 3 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 6 g total fat, 3 g sat fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 105 mg sodium
Source: Magic Foods Book again.
This is a trail mix that is curry flavored. You can definitely taste the spices in this mix and it is very delicious snack.
Ingredients:
6 tbsp unsalted butter (I used Smart Balance for this which isn't included in the facts)
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups rice chex cereal
5 cups corn chex cereal
1 cup tiny pretzel twists
1/3 cup lightly salted peanuts
Directions:
1. Place the butter in a 5- or 6- quart slow cooker. Cover and cook until melted, about 5 minutes on high. Add the curry powder, soy sauce, sugar, paprika, cumin, and salt; mix well. Add the rice chex, corn chex, pretzels, and peanuts. Mix well.
2. Cook uncovered about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to low. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is crisp and fragrant, 3-4 hours. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and let cool completely.
Note: I changed the ingredients to have multigrain cheerios and a little less chex cereal. I'm pretty sure you can add rye chips if you'd like. I also added raisins and dark chocolate chips after the mixture was finished cooking.
Nutritional Facts:
Per Serving (1/2 cup): 106 calories, 5 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 9 mg cholesterol, 215 mg sodium, 15 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein, 52 mg calcium. For the weight watchers: Points 2.
Source: Weight Watchers Slow Good super slow cooker cookbook.
So these are basically energy bars and you will definitely fill a sweet hunger craving with these. They're moist and are basically like eating a cookie except you only eat one usually.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (this is made with less harmful oils)*
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13 inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the peanut butter, sugar, and honey in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until blended. Blend egg and egg whites with a fork in a small bowl. Add to the peanut butter mixture, along with oil and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add reserved flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula. Mix in oats, dried cranberries (or raisins), walnuts (or almonds), and chocolate chips. Scrape batter into the prepared baking dish. Use a piece of plastic wrap to spread the batter into an even layer. (The plastic wrap really helps as this batter is extremely sticky.)
3. Bake the bars until lightly browned and firm to the touch, 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a rack before cutting into 24 bars. One serving is one 2x2 inch bar.
Note: If you must avoid peanut butter due to an allergy, you can substitute soy nut butter or sunflower seed butter. You can also replace the nuts with unsalted roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and/or sunflower seeds.
Nutritional Facts:
Per serving: 175 calories, 4 g protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 8 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 9 mg cholesterol, 68 mg sodium.
Source for recipe: Magic Foods, Live longer, Supercharge your energy, lose weight, and stop cravings. It was given to my Grandma by a friend at church using it to control her blood sugar with diabetes.
Who doesn't love cheesecake?? These are sweet bars that don't have the typical graham cracker crust that is loaded with butter. The blueberries and creamy filling are quite yummy. 
