Responsible Indulgence - 2 PointsPlus Brownies, Fudge, Rice Krispy Treats, and Lemon Bars!!

I have a really terrible habit of comforting myself with unhealthy food when I'm sad or upset about something. Of course I know that using food to cope is not healthy, but if it must be done there are certainly ways to be smart about it.

The following pictures are times when I wasn't smart about it (click to enlarge if you dare):

1/3 of a slice of each: cheesecake, tiramisu, fruit tart, and chocolate mousse cake from a local bakery

Chocolate Cake from iHop

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes from iHop

Tiramisu from Olive Garden

Oreo Cookie Cake from Hot & Crusty

To be honest, much of that food wasn't even worth the calories.  The Tiramisu from Olive Garden was served frozen (they didn't even bother to try to thaw it), the icing on the Oreo Cookie Cake was so rich that I ended up throwing much of it out, and the Cinnamon Roll Pancakes barely tasted like cinnamon roll.  Lesson learned the hard way: indulge responsibly.  This past week I found that it was more fun and more satisfying to make my own decadent desserts.

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First up, Weight Watcher's One-Bowl Cocoa Powder Brownies (recipe at the bottom of that page).

These were super easy to make, and only 2 PointsPlus each.  They were a little too rich for my taste, but they got great reviews from my coworkers.

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Next, a recipe from Weight Watcher's Magazine for Creamy Fudge.  (You can click to enlarge to read it, but it's really easy so I'll try to explain.)

Melt 10oz of chocolate chips in 14oz of canned sweetened fat-free condensed milk.  Transfer chocolate mixture to an 8x8 pan lined with saran wrap.  Refrigerate overnight.

Flip the pan over to get the giant block of fudge out of the pan.

Cut the giant block of fudge into 64 individual bite-size pieces.

2 pieces are 2 PointsPlus, but you won't be able to have just two.  I made these to take to a party so I would be sure not to eat them all myself.

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For that same party I also made Gina's Low Fat Rice Krispy Treats.

Melt 10 oz of mini marshmallows in 2 tbsp of light butter.  Once melted, stir in 6 cups of rice krispy treats.

Gina suggests using wax paper to get the mixture into a pan... This is what happens if you don't use the wax paper.

I decided to use the wax paper to smooth out the top, then I let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour or two.

Cut the large block of rice krispy treats into 16 individual pieces.

I decided since I was bringing these to a party, it would be a good idea to wrap them individually so people wouldn't get their fingers sticky and no one would have to touch anyone else's treat to separate them, etc.

And one of these delicious things is only 2 PointsPlus.

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Lastly, since I was REALLY craving lemon, I decided to make Weight Watcher's Lemon Bars.  This recipe was more complicated than the other three, but it was worth it to me.

One giant lemon bar straight out of the oven.

Cut into 24 pieces - I couldn't wait to take the picture, and I snitched two!!

All packed up in a tupperware with parchment paper to keep them separate.

And one of these was only 3 PointsPlus.

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All of these homemade treats were better than any of the desserts I had at a restaurant - except maybe the cheesecake (I have a special thing for cheesecake).  But it definitely makes me feel better knowing exactly what I'm eating and how many PointsPlus it is.  The best part is - these were all really easy to make!!!  The hardest part is eating just one...

Until next time... Happy eating,
Steph =)