Skinny Banana Cream Muffins

It still boggles my mind how much I used to eat back in the day.  Fast food at least once, sometimes twice a day.  Buying snacks for the train ride to work, only to fix my breakfast as soon as I got to work around 9, then eating lunch by noon.  One of my go to muffins was from Oak Park Bakery – the banana nut muffin, and it was giant and delicious.  Most bakery muffins are around 20 smart points.  So my “snack” used to be nearly almost a whole day of food for me!

As a Premier Protein Ambassador, I was sent a bunch of flavors that weren’t yet available in my area (which they all are now!) one of which was the bananas and cream shake.   While the caramel and chocolate shakes seem obvious to make a 2 smart point coffee drink, I thought I’d think outside the box with this flavor.  It dawned on me over the weekend – what about making muffins?! 

Guess what?  These are delicious!  Light, fluffy and the best part is each muffin is only 4 smart points, so it can truly be considered a snack.

And for people who have asked where I got that coffee mug, Hannah got it at Walmart.  😀 I love it!

I’ve put the recipe into the Weight Watchers recipe builder using the exact ingredients I used, and they came out to 4 smart points, the nutrition label that is built into my recipe software isn’t always 100% accurate, so just use it as a guide.

In case you missed some of my other Premier Protein recipes, here they are:

Elvis Banana Pancakes (with bacon and peanut butter!):

Vanilla Coffee Pancakes:

Carrot Cake Protein Waffles:

Skinny French Toast Sticks:

Strawberry Shortcake Buttermilk Waffles:

Just to name a few!  What I love about Premier Protein is that a).  I started using their products long before they asked me to be an Ambassador and b). these are the ONLY protein products that don’t make me want to use the bathroom within 10 minutes after drinking it.  Sorry if that is TMI, but if you’ve had problems with protein drinks before, definitely give these a try.  The cheapest place by me is Sam’s Club, a dozen come in a package for $16.68, but you can also find them at Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Target. 

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My eats are going to be a bit interesting since I didn’t grocery shop.  I was hemming and hawing about whether I wanted sweet or savor for breakfast yesterday, so I decided to do both!  On the bottom is a cup of steel cut oats (4) – with spinach, hard boiled egg and hot sauce for the savory side (2) and banana and two tablespoons of granola (2) on the left for the sweet side.  My friend Christina thought it was genius because it was like having an entree and dessert for breakfast – I couldn’t agree more!  

Another glorious day in Chicago yesterday.  That’s my sister and her co-worker Jenny in front of me.  We got in a quick 45 minute walk before they had to pick something up for lunch.

My lunch?  Was “throw shit in a bag and see what sticks.”  I did 4 ounces of turkey breast (2) that I smeared with German mustard, then wrapped around dill pickle spears.  On the side was carrots, cucs, 4 tablespoons hummus (3) and an apple for dessert.  That whole plate was only 5 points!

When I got home from work, the kadults had the grill going, so I asked if they could watch my frozen Jennie-O turkey burgers on the grill.  Since they were frozen, I put them on the cool side of the grill, and then Jacob finished them off over the coals.  If you think you aren’t a fan of turkey burgers, give these a try – they are especially good cooked on the grill.  It’s a 1/3 pound patty, they don’t really shrink when you cook them, and are 6 smart points each.

Yeseterday was Day 2 of Shaun T Week – Pure Cardio!  Luckily this one was only 25 minutes, but 15 minutes of it was non-stop.  I am happy to say that I did 100% of the modified workout, and tried to keep with Shaun T when I could.  Baby steps!

Remember all the leftover butternut squash from my “tray of happiness” I made for our neighbors?  I turned them into . . . butternut squash tots!  This recipe is still a work in progress, so I won’t share the recipe just yet.  While the outside consistency had that nice crunch to it, the inside was still a bit soft – which I didn’t mind because I love buttnerut squash, but my next recipe will test using shredded butternut squash.  That serving of tots was only 2 smart points though since butternut squash is 0 smart points.  My burger was 8 points with the bun, with pickles and just a tiny bit of mustard.  #mustardoverketcup all day every day!

My one boss is out today so I hope to get some organization done today.  Still a work in progress since our office moved, but little by little I’ll get there.  There is a slight chance of rain so my sister and I may have to walk the pedway today – we’ll have to wait and see.

Happy Wednesday – no go make it a great day!