Authors: Lisa Lillien
Frank’s adds Buffalo wing flavor to anything and everything. Chop cooked chicken, toss with sauce, and chew!
Cheats:
Top with reduced-fat Parm-style grated topping and/or serve with carrots, celery sticks, and light blue cheese dressing.
Dessert Duos
Here are the best and easiest sweet-tooth-satisfying dishes.
Brownies! Devil’s Food Cake + Canned Pure Pumpkin
PER SERVING (1/12 of recipe, 1 muffin): 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 357mg sodium, 37g carbs, 2g fiber, 20g sugars, 2g protein
Mix up an 18.25-ounce box of devil’s food cake mix with a 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin. THAT’S ALL! Stir until smooth (but still thick), and evenly distribute into a 12-cup muffin pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Eat up!
Banana Split! Gerber Banana Strawberry Mini Fruits + Fat-Free Vanilla Ice Cream
PER SERVING (¼ cup Mini Fruits plus ½ cup ice cream): 133 calories, 0g fat, 99mg sodium, 28g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 10.5g sugars, 3g protein
Freeze-dried fruit is an unconventional but very tasty ice cream topper. Mix and match your favorites!
Mini Cream Pies! Athens Mini Fillo Shells + Jell-O Sugar Free Pudding Snack
PER SERVING (3 pudding-filled shells): 64 calories, 3.25g fat, 73mg sodium, 8.5g carbs, <0.5g fiber, 0g sugars, <0.5g protein
Prepare a 15-count box of the fillo shells according to the box directions. Take a Pudding Snack and spoon a little pudding in each shell. Eat up. Bite-sized bliss!
Cheats:
Squirt Fat Free Reddi-wip on top or add some chopped fruit. Or be crazy and do both!
Mini Snickers Pies! Athens Mini Fillo Shells + Snickers
PER SERVING (2 Snickers-filled shells): 91 calories, 4.75g fat, 53mg sodium, 11g carbs, <0.5g fiber, 6g sugars, <1g protein
Cut a 2.1-ounce candy bar in half lengthwise, and then cut each half into 5 “nuggets.” Set out 10 frozen fillo shells and pop a nugget into each one. Place on a baking sheet, bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, and then let those babies cool. INSANELY delicious.
Baked Apples! Apple + Diet Black Cherry Soda
PER SERVING (1 medium apple plus ½ cup soda): 95 calories, <0.5g fat, 16mg sodium, 25g carbs, 4.25g fiber, 19g sugars, <0.5g protein
Just like Mom used to make! Puncture a cored Rome apple several times with a fork, place it in a baking dish, and pour a half-cup of Diet Dr Pepper over and inside of it. Bake that beauty at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until soft.
Cheats:
Add cinnamon and/or no-calorie sweetener before baking.
Caramel Hot Chocolate! 25-Calorie Diet Hot Cocoa Mix + Light Caramel Apple Dip
PER SERVING (1 packet cocoa plus 1 tablespoon dip): 75 calories, 0.75g fat, 172mg sodium, 17.5g carbs, 1g fiber, 10g sugars, 2g protein
Sometimes we sip our desserts! Stir a little caramel dip into your cocoa. Why not?
Cheats:
Top with Fat Free Reddi-wip!
Rice Krispies Treats Original Bar + Sugar-Free Preserves
PER SERVING (1 ready-to-eat bar with 1 tablespoon preserves): 100 calories, 2.5g fat, 105mg sodium, 22g carbs, 0g fiber, 8g sugars, 0.5g protein
Fruit attack! These preserves go everywhere, even on Rice Krispies Treats.
Vitalicious Triple Chocolate Chunk VitaTop + Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter
PER SERVING (1 VitaTop plus 1 tablespoon peanut butter): 196 calories, 7.5g fat, 258mg sodium, 30g carbs, 6g fiber, 11.5g sugars, 7g protein
Don’t even thaw that Vita. Just spread your PB on top, and sink your teeth into a totally delicious and satisfying snack. Pssst…Go to vitalicious.com for the muffin-top 411.
Rice Krispies Treats Original Bar + Fat-Free Vanilla Ice Cream
PER SERVING (1 ready-to-eat bar plus 2 tablespoons ice cream): 114 calories, 2.5g fat, 122mg sodium, 22g carbs, <0.5g fiber, 8g sugars, 1g protein
Just slice a Rice Krispies Treat in half to make two wide, thin bars. Spread your ice cream evenly on top of one half, and place the other half on top. You’ve got a chewy ice cream sandwich. LUCKY!!!
Protein-Packed Pairs
It’s the middle of the afternoon, right between lunch and dinner, and you start dragging. Reach for a little protein, baby!
Canned 98% Fat-Free Chunk White Chicken Breast + Salsa
PER SERVING (3 ounces chicken plus ¼ cup salsa): 108 calories, 1.5g fat, 753mg sodium, 4g carbs, 1g fiber, 2g sugars, 18.5g protein