MYST 161 Just Say No

What are you going to do when you are offered a special treat during this holiday season?

Photo via Pixabay, by Silviarita

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. Follow his Facebook page to learn how to better use social media. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All images are Creative Common Zero.

MYST 156: Desserts

I hope that you make desserts an occasional part of your weight loss journey. But you may need to follow four simple rules:

  1. Occasional
  2. Planned
  3. Delicious
  4. Portion-Controlled

Photo via Pixabay.com by Catkin

My Rice Pudding Recipe

  • 1 quart whole milk
  • 1/4 cup long grain rice (uncooked)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar (you can use Splenda if you want–I choose to use Splenda so the calories reflect that choice.)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup raisins (optional–I don’t use them)
  • Cinnamon
  1. Preheat oven to 300F
  2. Spray a 1.5 quart baking dish with cooking spray
  3. Pour milk into dish. Add sugar and rice. Stir.
  4. Bake uncovered for 2-3 hours (a larger and shallower dish will need less time than a deeper dish.)
  5. Stir every hour (to mix in the “skin” that will form–this is optional)
  6. After 2 hours, stir in the vanilla and raisins. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. Bake for 30 more minutes (or until the texture is thick enough to your preference.

The exact time will vary for everyone. Altitude, humidity, the type of rice, the depth of the dish will all play a factor in determining total cooking time. Personally, I assume it will take 3 hours, and I give it a stir twice while baking.

This can be served warm or cold.

For six portions (approximately 1/2 cup each):

  • Calories:      126
  • Fat:                5.3g
  • Sat fat:             3g
  • Chol:        16.3mg
  • Sodium:   69.9mg
  • Carbs:         13.8g
  • Sugar:           8.6g
  • Fiber:            0
  • Protein          5.6g

Using 2% milk would only reduce total calories by 10 per serving. Skim milk would make each serving 93 calories (but I’ve never made the recipe using skim milk, so I cannot guarantee the end result.) If you only make this occasionally, I’d suggest using whole milk and just enjoying the richness of it.

A note about vanilla. Use REAL vanilla extract, not the artificial kind. The price is worth it. Personally, I find that Penzey’s makes excellent vanilla at a reasonable price, and they offer free shipping for orders more than $30. Here are their vanilla options. (This post was not sponsored by Penzey’s and the link is not an “affiliate link”. I’ve been a happy customer of theirs for many years, and I just like spreading their name.)

Learn about “Real Ice Cream -v- Faux Cream” here: MYST 145

__________________________

Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over

work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. Follow his Facebook page to learn how to better use social media. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All images are Creative Commons Zero.