I have been following Weight Watchers Flex and trying to change my eating habits for nearly six weeks now. So far, I am finding the plan really easy. I love how flexible it is – even though I have a sweet tooth I have found many ways to satiate my sugar craving. On Flex, so many foods are 0 points and there are many ways to adapt meals and bakes to reduce their points and make them fit the plan easily. With that in mind, I thought that I would start sharing some of the recipes and adaptations that we have made while I have been on Flex – starting with these delicious Butternut Squash and Banana Muffins. Amazingly these are just 5 SmartPoints per muffin or 6 SmartPoints if you add the low-fat greek yogurt frosting. We hope to be sharing more Weight Watchers Flex recipes as my time on the plan continues.
I must admit, I was a little skeptical when I first tried a sweet recipe with butternut squash. However, I was so pleasantly surprised. The squash gives the muffins a lovely moist texture and they add a sweet, caramelised flavour, similar to carrot cake.
The cream cheese and low-fat greek yogurt frosting only adds 1 SmartPoint and goes perfectly with the sweet banana and squash flavours.
Weight Watchers Flex Recipes – Low Fat Butternut Squash and Banana Muffins
Preparation time: 1 hr 30 (includes roasting the squash)
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes: 14 Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
200g cooked butternut squash (This works out as around half a smallish squash, once peeled and de-seeded)
100g banana, plus extra for decoration
275g self-raising flour
125g low-fat spread
Low-calorie cooking spray
100g soft brown sugar
3 large eggs
Zest of 1 orange
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
Icing:
100g low-fat creme cheese
75g 0% fat greek style yogurt
6 tbs icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Method – Low-Fat Butternut Squash and Banana Muffins
For the muffins:
- Peel and remove the seeds from the butternut squash. Cut 200g into cubes and place in a baking tray. Spray with low-calorie cooking spray and roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until soft and beginning to brown.
- Once the squash has cooled, puree the flesh using a blender or masher. Set aside.
- Mash 100g of banana and add to the squash purée.
- Prepare a muffin tray or two with 14 muffin cases and pre-heat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C for a fan oven, gas mark 6)
- In a mixing bowl, beat the low-fat spread and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a little of the flour each time.
- Fold in any remaining flour, the orange zest, the cinnamon and the squash and banana purée. Gently mix until combined.
- Divide the mixture into the 14 muffin cases.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the muffins are cooked through. (You can use a skewer or toothpick and see if they come out of the muffins clean.)
- Make sure the muffins are cool before decorating with the frosting and slices of banana.
For the icing:
- Mix the low-fat cream cheese and greek yogurt together in a bowl.
- Add the vanilla essence and icing sugar.
- Mix together until until they form a fairly runny icing.
- Chill in the fridge until you are ready to ice the muffins.
Weight Watchers Flex Recipes
And there you have it – delicious muffins that feel like a real treat but without the guilt. In addition, both my children love these muffins. They are a great way to give a healthy treat and get some extra fruit and vegetables into them during the process. Look out for more Weight Watchers Flex recipes soon.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may like:
Strawberry Cheesecake Flavour Oreo Parfaits
Salted Caramel Cookie Cheesecake
Please note, I was recently part of a paid campaign with Weight Watchers. However, this recipe is not part of that campaign and I am sharing simply because I am genuinely still on the plan and creating recipes for myself.
