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OMG y’all. I seriously think I may have just died and gone to Heaven.
No kidding.
And here’s why…
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I have just discovered mug cakes!
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I know most of you are sitting there thinking, ‘Geez, Jenn- really? That mug cake sensation is almost yesterday’s news! Exactly what rock HAVE you been living under?’
So ok, maybe I misspoke mistyped. I have known about mug cakes long before now- but they were all ordinary, run of the mill, not gonna ring my bell mug cakes.
Until this one.
This mug cake, my friends, will bring you to your knees!
Because it’s not just any old mug cake y’all…
It’s 100%, grade A, certifiable, chocolate-y, peanut butter-y, marshmallow-y nirvana. Warm and gooey and perfectly portioned in an easy one-size-fits-all, grab and go package. Truly, truly proof that God loves me and wants me to be happy.
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(cue the Hallelujah chorus!)
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Now I’m not going to lie. This mug cake is not some low-cal answer to all your dieting dessert dreams.
It’s not terrible– but it ain’t great.
If made as written by the lovely Jessica on The Novice Chef, it comes in at a whopping 14 (delicious!) Points+ per mug cake!
YIKES!!
If this seems completely over the top for you (as it did for me), there are plenty of ways to tweak the recipe without altering it too terribly, in an effort to reduce the Points+ load.
Here’s what I did:
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I changed the all-purpose flour to white whole wheat flour
It doesn’t change the Points+ a bit, but does make me feel a bit better about what’s going in my system. You can also use whole wheat flour- I was just too lazy to go pull it out of the pantry (I keep the white whole wheat on the counter). I debated about using I used skim milk
In my world, milk is milk is milk. I use skim for everything unless whole milk is specifically needed for a recipe due to fat content. In this instance, it didn’t change the recipe a bit but did save me quite a bit on calories. Luckily, it’s also 0 Points+ on WW.
I used homemade unsweetened applesauce in place of vegetable oil
Weight Watchers views all oils as equally villainous. So wherever possible, I trade out for applesauce, Greek yogurt, even sour cream. Here, it still gave me the moisture and helped with the rise, but didn’t affect flavor or consistency in the slightest. And saved me 5 Points+ to boot!
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And other things you can do:
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You can trade out the sugar for Splenda
Up until recently I would have absolutely done this- would have saved me an easy 3 Points+ without even blinking. We were Splenda-aholics and used it in and for everything. However, it wasn’t until I started doing some research that I realized just how bad it was for us (but that’s a whole ‘nother post). Needless to say, I opted to keep the sugar and deal with the added Points+, but that’s your call.
You can use natural peanut butter- or 86 it altogether
Again, using the all natural version doesn’t help you on the Points+ front, but will make you feel better about what’s going into your system. I, however, am still on the fence about natural peanut butter. I know I’m supposed to like it, but that’s a hard sell for me. I’m trying to embrace it more, but I’ll take a jar of creamy Jif anyday! Keep in mind though, if you do 86 the PB altogther, you’ll save yourself the added 3 Points+… but your dessert will be sadly lacking!
You can opt out of the mini ‘smarshmellows’
But who’d wanna do that?! They actually don’t add any Points+ (unless you add more than 10- I only added 6 8), and they give you that wonderful, gooey, smores-y decadence that makes you feel like you’re eating something really bad for you- when it’s really not. So go ahead and indulge just a little (like 6 8 ‘smarshmellows’ worth)- I promise you’ll thank me!
Keep in mind this dessert is INSANELY filling (thanks to the whole wheat flour) and slaps that craving center of your brain soundly in the face!
Take that, hippocampus!
And thanks to Chef Mike (our lovely microwave), each member of the family can enjoy a small treat after dinner with super quick prep, even quicker clean-up, and NO DRAMA! (And my, how I love the sound of that!)
It’s so easy, even the little ones can help!
With the changes I personally made to the dessert, I brought the Points+ total down from 14/mug to 9/mug. Considering I’m allowed 55 Points+/day, I certainly think I can fit one in every so often!
If you make the further changes with the Splenda, you’ll bring the Points+ value down to 6/mug & 86ing the PB will make it 3/mug total- definitely a nice savings (although I’m not sure how great it would taste)!
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If you want my recipe for these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cakes, click here. Or you can find it under my ‘eats‘ tab at the top of the page!
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Whichever way you choose to do it, keep in mind that when making life altering changes about the way you eat, depriving yourself of things you want, all the time, is not the way to go. So indulge a little- you’ll be glad you did.
Like Oprah Winfrey said,
Until next time, chew the right thing!
#mugcake #weightwatchers #peanutbutterandchocolate
This looks yummy! 🙂
Hi Cheng! Thanks so much- it is deliciously yummy and much easier to swallow knowing that it’s (sorta) good for you. By the way, I’m a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer geek too! Just thought I’d let you in on that little secret! Thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂