Losing weight and making decisions that are better for you are two of the top resolutions people make year after year, and I’m no exception. After a decadent holiday season where we engorge ourselves on foods without any thought to calories, we start to realize the warmer months are around the corner, and we want to be ready to look great! Losing weight becomes a resolution for many, and as a major coffee lover (5+ cups of flavored coffee a day), International Delight fat free & sugar free creamers help me enjoy my beloved vice without adding any unnecessary calories or weight…because it’s going to be a looong time before I give up my coffee!
This past year I discovered that International Delight can be added into many of my best recipes, recreating a slew of family favorites by substituting milk with one of the many creamer varieties, or as a standalone ingredient to add delicious flavor, and the new International Delight fat free & sugar free creamers allows me to enhance our favorite family recipes without any extra fat or calories (usually less when it replaces milk).
Five Ways To Drop Calories in 2015
Obviously getting into great shape requires healthy lifestyle changes, so my tips are:
1. Meal plan – don’t wait until it’s dinner time and everyone is hungry to throw a meal together…it usually ends up being less nutritious and high in fat.
2. Carry snacks so you aren’t tempted to pick up junk food when you are hungry on the go.
3. Replace fattening or high calorie ingredients with delicious, lower fat and sugar-free alternatives (like in my Chocolate Almond Biscotti Muffins recipe below).
4. Sneak in exercise whenever the opportunity arises…take the stairs up two flights instead of an elevator, walk to the post office several blocks away instead of driving, etc. It gets you moving and it all adds up.
I want to lose about five holiday pounds but still enjoy three delicious meals a day, and one of my favorite breakfast foods is muffins. These tasty breakfast treats tend to be loaded with fat and calories, especially if I pick one up at a bakery or fast serve breakfast chain. I don’t want to sacrifice the delicious convenience of being able to grab a muffin to go as a way to start my day, and for me homemade is always best, so I began baking my favorite muffins with International Delight Chocolate Almond Biscotti fat free and sugar free creamer.
Better For You Chocolate Almond Biscotti Breakfast Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons flax seeds
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup almonds, crushed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup International Delight Chocolate Almond Biscotti creamer
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup raisins
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400º F and lightly oil muffin pan (this recipe makes about 12 medium sized muffins)
2. Stir flour, baking powder, flax seeds, sugar, and crushed almonds together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until well blended.
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg and stir in vanilla, creamer, and melted butter, then pour mixture into flour. Mix batter lightly until moist, but don’t overmix. Add in raisins last and stir together a few times.
4. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full with batter, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until bursting over top of muffin cups with golden brown color.
They are even better than they look…the Chocolate Almond Biscotti flavor in them is outrageous! I added extra almonds into the batter for protein and raisins (which my sons love) for a boost of vitamin C, plus I love adding flax seeds into everything now, and all work together with the fat free, sugar free creamer to make this lower fat, lower calorie breakfast muffins s better for you grab and go breakfast! I make a batch, wrap them up to stay fresh, and each morning I grab one on my way out the door…no more no-breakfast mornings that leave my starving and overeating by dinner, and I have energy to keep my going through my busy day. I’m happy to give each of my sons one to eat while I drive to school, and wrap one up for hubby to take for his commute. Eating breakfast every morning, a diet with less calories, muffins with less fat…it’s all better for you! International fat free & sugar free creamers offer delicious flavor without the added calories. They’ll lift you up without weighing you down!
What are your Better For You resolutions this year?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.