Two-ingredient dough - tips and ideas! 3 points on Weight Watchers

The discovery of two-ingredient dough was amazing. I am still amazed when I make this dough that it works and it is so versatile! I don't know who came up with this idea, but they are brilliant.

So, what is two ingredient dough? It is a bread dough made from just two ingredients – self-rising flour and plain, non-fat Greek yogurt in equal parts (ie 1 cup of each mixed together).

If you don't have self-rising flour, you can convert all-purpose flour by adding 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder to all-purpose flour.

Since plain, non-fat Greek yogurt is zero points on Weight Watchers Freestyle, the only points in the dough are from the flour. ¼ cup of self-rising flour has 3 points. I have a recipe listing for two-ingredient dough in my app that I created to track the points based on ¼ cup. That means if I make it with a cup of flour and a cup of yogurt the result is 4 servings at 3 points each. Make sense?

Basic Recipe

• 1 cup self-rising flour
• ¾-1 cup plain, non-fat, Greek yogurt 

Mix the flour and the yogurt together. The dough is very sticky when mixed at a 1:1 ratio of flour to yogurt. To counteract this you can add flour to help roll it out but this increases the points in the dough. Therefore, I recommend either using less yogurt for the initial mixture or using a dough hook to mix it.

I feel the results are best when using the dough hook on my KitchenAid mixer, it’s much less sticky when mixed this way. It also helps if you spray your hands with cooking spray before trying to shape the dough into anything.

After it’s baked, you need to refrigerate the bread. It will grow mold in a day or two because it has yogurt in it (ask me how I know….). You can also freeze items to eat later.

Now that you have the dough, what can you do with it?

Bagels

If you search for Weight Watchers two ingredient dough bagels you will find a bunch of tutorials on how to make these. I like this one from Slap Dash Mom, which gives you directions for making everything bagels.

However, you can make any flavor of bagel you want by adding different things to your dough. Think about:

• Garlic (sprinkle garlic powder on top) 
• Onion (sprinkle minced onion on top) 
• Blueberry (add small blueberries when mixing the dough) 
• Apple cinnamon (add cinnamon and apple chunks when mixing the dough) 
• Cheese topped (cheese will add points, top the bagels with cheese when you bake them) 

If you split the dough into 4 bagels, they will be 3pts each for the dough (+any toppings).

3pt garlic bagels

Pizza crust

Using the basic recipe will make 2 personal sized pizzas. I split the full amount of dough in half to make pizzas for myself and my husband, if you only want to make 1 pizza, use 1/2 a cup of flour and 1/3 a cup of yogurt. This ratio will make your crust 6 points (2 servings of dough @3pts each). You can add a little garlic or dried basil to your dough when you mix it if you like.

Before mixing your dough, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Take the amount dough you want to use (see note above on serving sizes of dough and points), using as small amount of flour as possible (because it adds points) roll your dough out using a rolling pin on a sheet of parchment paper. You want the dough about 1/4 in thick. Transfer the parchment paper to a cookie sheet.

Pre-bake the crust for 8-10 minutes, removing it before it turns brown.

Top the pre-baked crust with a small amount of pizza sauce, toppings and cheese and return pizza to oven. Bake an additional 8-12 minutes until the edges of the crust are slightly brown. If you want a crispier crust, bake closer to 12 minutes.

Personal sized pizza using two servings of dough for 6 points + toppings.

The crust is 6 points plus whatever toppings you put on it. My pizza is usually around 10 points and very filling. I like the Trader Joe's fat free pizza sauce, it's the lowest point sauce I have found at 1pt/serving (it's this one, I buy it locally at TJs). Another option that is low point for sauce is Classico Florentine and cheese marinara, it's 2pt/serving (it's this one, I buy it locally at Harris Teeter stores).

Pizza rolls

Honestly, these are delicious but also kind of a pain to make. I recommend making only half a batch of dough for this, which makes about 9 pizza rolls.

In addition to the basic dough recipe above you need:

• Turkey pepperoni (I use Aldi's Mama Cozzi, 1pt/8 slices) 
• Low-fat mozzarella cheese (2pt for 1/4 cup)
• Pizza dipping sauce (see suggestions above in the pizza section)

Preaheat your oven to 375 degrees. Take a small ball of dough, like the size of a large marble or slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a circle. Put  1 slice of turkey pepperoni (I chop it up) and a small amount of cheese in the middle. Fold up the edges to seal the ingredients in the middle and form a ball (this is the hard part, especially if the dough is too sticky).

Bake for 17-20 minutes, until dough is lightly browned.

Repeat until you are out of dough, 2 servings of dough makes approximately 9 pizza rolls. Two servings of dough is 6pts + 1 turkey pepperoni + 2 for cheese + 1 for dipping sauce is 10 points.

Pizza rolls

Pretzels

In addition to the basic dough recipe above you need:

• 1-2 egg yolks, beaten
• Coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 375. Divide the basic recipe into 5 equal portions. Roll each one out into a long tube, about half an inch thick and twist into a pretzel shape. Place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat until all of the portions of dough are shaped.

Coat the top of each pretzel with egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until lightly brown.

Based on 5 pretzels, each one is 2 points on WW Freestyle.

Mini apple pies

This recipe uses the 2-ingredient dough and a homemade low-sugar apple pie filling. They're 3 points each. You can even top them with a low-point ice cream for an a la mode treat!

You can see the full directions here.

Mini apple pie

Parmesan Breadsticks

In addition to the basic dough recipe above you need:

• 1-2 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 1/2 Tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Divide the basic recipe into 5 equal portions. Roll each one out into a long tube, about an inch thick. Repeat until all of the portions of dough are shaped.

Coat the top of each breadstick with egg wash and sprinkle with a small amount of Parmesan. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until lightly brown.

Based on 5 breadsticks, each one is 2 points on WW Freestyle.

Mini apple pies - 3 points on Weight Watchers

These mini apple pies were our Memorial Day weekend treat! What could be better than apple pie?

This recipe uses homemade apple pie filling. You can feel free to use store-bought but you need to be aware of how much sugar it has it in, this will impact the points calculation. It's possible to find lower sugar filling or fillings that use artificial sugar that are lower in points but the only way to really control it is to make it yourself! I try to avoid eating too many artificial sugars. Plus making the filling only takes about 10 minutes and is a great use for any apples you might have that are a little past their prime.

One thing to be aware of if you use purchased filling, is that the apples are really big slices normally. This is fine if you make a full-sized pie. Since the pies are mini, there might be some messy apple cutting in your future. If you make your own, I would suggest dicing the apples into 1-inch cubes. They will fit in the mini pies much better.

The other key element in this recipe is the miraculous 2-ingredient dough. This stuff is so amazing.

*Apple pie filling ingredients:
4 small apples, cored and diced (you can also peel them if you prefer but I don't)
juice of half a lemon
3 cups of water
1/3 cup of cornstarch
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Dough ingredients:
1 cup of self-rising flour
3/4 cup non-fat, plain, Greek yogurt

Cooking spray
Extra flour to roll out the dough

You will also need a muffin pan with at least 10 spaces, rolling pin and a large whisk.

Directions:
Toss your chopped apples in lemon juice. In a large nonstick sauce pan (I use this one), add water and whisk in cornstarch until it's fully incorporated with no lumps. Turn on med-high heat and add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Bring to boil and allow to thicken for two minutes. Add the apples and reduce the heat to low-med level and cook the apples until they are tender, approximately 7-8 minutes. When they are cooked, remove from heat and set aside.

While your apples are cooking, you can prepare your dough. In a large mixing bowl, add flour and yogurt. I like to mix the dough using a dough hook in my kitchenaid mixer because it is less sticky but you can also mix it using a wooden spoon.

Spray your muffin pan very well with cooking spray. I also suggest spraying your hand with cooking spray before rolling out your dough, it helps prevent sticking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take a small of dough, about the size of a ping pong ball and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. It should be rolled to about an 1/8 of an inch thick and its should stick out beyond the sides of the muffin opening.

Repeat until you have rolled out all of the dough, approximately 10 pies.

Scoop a small amount of apple pie filling (approximately 1/4 cup) into each dough circle. until the compartment is full. Fold any extra dough on top of the filling.

Bake mini pies for 17-19 minutes at 375 degrees until the dough is lightly brown on the top.

Each mini pie is 3 points on Weight Watchers Freestyle, based on 10 servings.

*Apple pie filling recipe was adapted from Crazy for Crust to be more Weight Watchers friendly.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links this blog may receive a small commission, thank you for your support. This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Points were calculated in May 2018 using the WW freestyle program. 

Banana muffins - 2 points on Weight Watchers

I think I am definitely baking more since starting Weight Watchers! I was holding off before because I was gaining weight and the baked goods were so unhealthy. Now that I'm on the "reasonably healthy baked goods that fit in to my food plan" train, there seems to be no stopping me!

Plus, if I want baked goods now, I have to make them myself it seems like. 

If you have checked out my other Weight Watchers friendly baked goods recipes (pumpkin muffin recipe, blueberry lemon cake recipe), you will notice that I don't use artificial sugars, instead they are only lightly sweetened and rely on fruit and a little brown sugar to get the sweet taste. These banana muffins follow the same plan.

You can use over-ripe bananas from the freezer in this recipe. I used one from the freezer and one from my counter. If you are using frozen ones, thaw them out first. You can microwave them a little it you don't have time to wait for them to thaw (15-20 seconds).

I have also used almond extract in these muffins to give them a nutty flavor without using high-point nuts in the recipe. You can use vanilla extract if you prefer but they won't have the nutty taste.

Ingredients:
2 medium, very ripe bananas
1 cup self-rising flour
1 egg
1/3 cup unpacked brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

You will also need:
Cupcake liners, I suggest silicone liners when cooking without oil.
Cupcake pan 
Hand mixer, I use my kitchen aid hand mixer.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cupcake pan with liners. In a large mixing bowl, put all ingredients in the bowl and beat with the hand mixer until well mixed. Take care to ensure the bananas are mashed up and mixed in well.  If you have a good hand mixer, you don't need to mash the bananas in advance.

Fill each liner 3/4 full, diving the batter among the 12 liners.

Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

The recipe makes 12 banana muffins, that are 2 points each on Weight Watchers Freestyle.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links this blog may receive a small commission, thank you for your support. This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Points were calculated in May 2018 using the WW freestyle program.

Parmesan crusted chicken - a Weight Watchers sheet pan meal

I have been really into sheet pan meals lately. It is a great way to cook a vegetable and protein really fast after work and it can be done with very little oil, so it's Weight Watchers friendly.

This meal relies on a lot of zero point foods with a few extra carbs and cheese to spice things up! The chicken is 3 points a serving and you can have 4+ ounces of potatoes for 4pts (4 7/8 ounces to be precise...not that I checked 😊). I also track 1 point for the olive oil I use on the green beans for a total of 8 points.

True story, the first night I made this I was still in the kitchen weighing my potatoes and tracking my food and my husband said "Damn baby, this is good." So it's not only Weight Watchers friendly, it's husband approved. Win, win.

Ingredients - Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts (approx. 6-8 ounces each)

2 eggs

Juice of half a lemon (I recommend fresh, or you can use 2 Tbsp of refrigerated)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup Seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used freshly grated but you don't have to)

ground pepper to taste

I used 3 potatoes this size.

Ingredients - Potatoes

3 large potatoes (I used red)

1 generous sprinkle of garlic powder

1 generous sprinkle of onion powder

1 generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning

2 tsp of olive oil

Ingredients - Green beans
16oz fresh green beans, cleaned and trimmed
2 tsp of olive oil
1 generous sprinkle of garlic salt

Equipment
2 cookie sheet pans
Parchment paper (preferred) or aluminum foil
Small mesh strainer if you use fresh lemon juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put eggs, lemon juice, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a medium sized bowl. If you are using fresh lemon juice, squeeze it through a mesh strainer to keep the seeds out. Lightly beat the eggs with a fork until the ingredients are well mixed. Add the chicken to the bowl and stir to coat the chicken.

Line one cookie sheet with parchment paper. Take 3 large potatoes and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes. Pile potatoes into the middle of the cookie sheet and pour on the olive oil garlic, onion and Italian seasoning and toss gently. You can also do this in a mixing bowl but I like to save a dish where possible. Spread the potatoes across the pan in a single layer and put them in the oven.

The potatoes need an approximately 5-minute head-start on the chicken & green beans. While they are cooking you can get your chicken ready.

Line your second cookie sheet with parchment paper (my photos show foil because I ran out of parchment paper, but parchment is still my preference). Mix the seasoned bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese together. Take each chicken breast from the egg mixture and coat in the bread crumb mixture and lay it on the cookie sheet. Grind fresh black pepper on top of each chicken breast to taste.

If you have chicken breasts that are 6-8 oz you can do 4. I had two that size and one really big 10 oz one, so I only made 3 but cut the big one in half after it was cooked to make 4 servings. I suggest smaller 6-8 oz breasts because larger ones have to be cooked longer.

Toss your green beans in 2 tsp of olive oil, either in a  bowl or on the cookie sheet. You do not need to spread the green beans out.

Oven ready!

Put your second cookie sheet with your chicken and green beans in the oven for 18-22 minutes. If your chicken breasts are smaller, they will cook in 18 minutes but if they are larger, you will need 22 minutes. If you have larger pieces of chicken, take care to watch your green beans and potatoes do not burn.

I recommend using a digital thermometer to temp the chicken at it's thickest point and ensure that it is as least 165 degrees F. I had to put my one larger breast back in for an additional few minutes because it wasn't quite to temp yet.

As shown this was 9 points, I topped it with cheese!

You can top with additional grated Parmesan cheese for an additional point for 1 Tb.
Chicken divided into 4 servings is 3 points each serving. To track this you will need to add the ingredients to the recipe builder. For the potatoes, I track an entry on WW called "roasted potatoes with 1 tsp of olive oil" and weigh the number of ounces I have with my food scale (4 7/8 ounces is 4pts). I also track 1pt for olive oil on the green beans and any additional cheese I add on top, Parmesan is 1pt for 1Tb.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links this blog may receive a small commission, thank you for your support. This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Points were calculated in May 2018 using the WW freestyle program. 

Powdered peanut butter taste test!

Have you been thinking about buying some of the low calorie powdered peanut butter to have with your snacks or to make peanut butter pancakes or peanut sauce (see 8 ways to use powdered peanut butter here) but you aren't sure which kind to get or if it's gonna taste weird?

Well, I'm here to help. I bought and tried a bunch of different kinds and here are my reviews!

PB Fit

This was the first powdered peanut butter I tried and I was really surprised how much it tasted like real peanut butter to me! It was just non-oily peanut butter. I also like that it is 1 point a serving on weight watchers no matter if I had 1 or 2 servings, there's not an extra point until you have 3.

When I first ordered it, it was also the cheapest option available on Amazon, which is why I tried it first J. However, I've since noticed the price definitely moves up and down.

Of all the types I've tried, PBFit is definitely my favorite. I haven't tried their chocolate version yet, but it's on my list...when my current supply dwindles a little bit!

Peanut butter & Co - Vanilla

Like PB Trimmed (reviewed below), this brand makes a variety of flavors (original, pure peanut, honey, vanilla, flax & chia, cocoa). I decided to try their vanilla flavor as a good "basic" and I have to say it rivals PB Fit as my favorite so far! First, when you open the jar it has an amazing vanilla scent to greet you. It smells like it's going to taste good.

I don't feel that the taste is overly-vanilla flavored though, in fact it could be stronger in my opinion. It just tastes like peanut butter, which is really what I'm looking for most of the time. The texture mixes up very smooth and I really like that it came in a small jar (6.5 ounce) so I could try it without buying a huge container. If you want to see if you like powdered peanut butter in general before buying a bunch, I would recommend starting here. Or if you want a smaller jar to keep at your office.

PB2 - regular

This is one of the most popular brands and it's available for a lot of people locally (some Wal-Marts sell it). It tastes also tastes very close to regular peanut butter but in my opinion PB Fit is slightly better – but not enough better that I won't buy PB2 if it's on sale for a lower price. The one pound jar is also a nice size.

WW math will get you on the second serving of PB2 - for 1 serving it's 1 point but for 2 servings it's 3.

PB2 - chocolate

This is often sold in a two-pack with regular PB2, which is how I bought it. I was really excited to try the chocolate version but I have say I was underwhelmed at first. Much to my surprise however, the second time I had it, I thought it was much better. It really grew on me. It is delicious on apples and makes a nice drizzle for ice cream.

It is nice that the chocolate is the same points as the regular PB2.

PB Trimmed

The nice thing about PB Trimmed is it comes in a variety of flavors! I was really excited when I found this brand. I wanted to try all different kinds but I am now glad I didn’t buy the sampler pack of 7 different flavors and only bought 1 smaller jar.

I tried the salted caramel flavor of PB Trimmed because I absolutely love salted caramel and I thought it would be really good on ice cream and toast. The flavor of it did not disappoint, but the texture unfortunately did. Unlike the other brands of powdered peanut butter, this one was a little bit gritty. I am mixing it exactly the same as the other brands but it doesn’t get nearly as smooth as they do.

Another disappointing discovery was that while 1 serving is 1 point on WW, 2 servings is 3 points. That is still a lot less than full fat peanut butter but it’s more than I would like it to be.

I don’t think I will buy it regularly for these reasons but I might occasionally buy the salted caramel because that is a flavor not sold by the other brands or check out some of the other flavors. For my regular peanut butter needs, I won’t be ordering PB Trimmed.

Simply Nature Powdered Peanut Butter (Aldi Brand)

I was so excited to find powdered peanut butter at Aldi! I shop there weekly for all of my produce needs (see Weight Watchers Aldi shopping list here) and it saves me a ton of money.

Normally, I find Aldi's brands to be great quality but this was definitely an exception. It tastes like nothing! I even added some salt to it in order to give it some flavor but it didn't really help. I am really glad that it wasn't the first powdered peanut butter I tried because I might not have tried any others.

It's unfortunate as it would be so convenient to buy this while doing my normal shopping, but I'll definitely order PBFit from Amazon and have it brought to my house over this.

Don't get this one!

Are there other brands of powdered peanut butter that you love? Which is your favorite? I will update as I try more flavors and brands!

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of these links this blog may receive a small commission, thank you for your support. This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. Points were calculated in May 2018 using the WW freestyle program.