Candied Walnuts & Autumn Salad

Autumn is here with out a doubt and to be honest I am relishing in it. I love this time of year! ok, maybe not the rain, but I like the fresh chill in the air, I like coming in and putting the heating on in the evening and I love the warm, comforting food that comes with this time of year.

While out shopping today I came across some Kale for 99c a bag in Lidl. I've never had kale before, Its one of Autumns many seasonal veggies, so now is a great time to enjoy it at its best. I decided to give it a go and I made a really tasty salad with it using some Candied Walnuts I made earlier today.

Candied Walnuts

3 Pro Points for 10g

70g Walnuts
50g Sweet Freedom Syrup
25g Brown Sugar
4 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 150

Mix the syrup, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring frequently.
Pour the syrup mixture into a bowl and stir in the Walnuts, Mix well
Leave the Walnuts to soak for 3 minutes

Place a sheet of baking parchment under a wire cooling rack and spread the Walnuts over the rack
Leave the excess syrup to drip off for a couple of minutes
Place the Walnuts on a lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 5 minutes, toss half way.
keep a firm eye on them as they burn quickly.
Leave to cool on the tray and transfer to a jar or air tight container.

Autumn salad

Serves 4

8 Pro Points Per Serving

To bulk up the salad for a main meal add a grilled chicken breast for an extra 4 pro Points per serving

A bunch of kale (I used half a bag from Lidl)
Half a Butternut Squash, cubed
1 cup Cous Cous
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
70g Goats Cheese
30g candied Walnuts
Fry Lite

Bring one cup of water to the boil, stir in vegetable stock cube and add one cup of Cous Cous, Cover and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Spray a large frying pan/wok with Fry Lite and turn on a medium heat
Saute the Butternut Squash for 10 minutes, until tender
Remove from the pan and let cool,
Spray the pan again with fry light and add the Kale, Wilt the kale for a couple of minutes until it turns a dark green colour but is still crunchy.
Remove from the pan, let cool and chop roughly.

In a large bowl, mix the Cous Cous, Kale and Squash together.
Crumble over the Goats Cheese and Toss.
Sprinkle the Walnuts on top and serve.

The slight bitterness of the crunchy Kale meets the soft sweetness of the Butternut Squash. The creaminess of the Goats cheese contrasted with the sweet crunch of the Candied Walnuts, This salad is bursting with flavour and texture, definitely a must try this season!

Filling & Healthy Pumpkin Bread and White Chocolate, Pumpkin Muffins

I love pumpkin!

From Pumpkin Pie to Pumpkin Spice Lattes I have become a little Pumpkin addict! I am blaming my friend Mandi, who is originally from America for the addiction. I found cans of Pumpkin puree in my local Supervalu and I just about exploded with excitement, but at €2.49 a can, its pricey.
Mandi, however, very kindly gave me two cans of Pumpkin puree courtesy of her mothers care packages. I was excited to use it as soon as possible, pumpkin pie being the obvious option but not necessarily the most Weight watchers Friendly!
I came up with a few ideas and I settled on Pumpkin bread and some muffins to start with and off I went on a Pumpkin baking spree!

First off for these recipes you will need pumpkin puree and Pumpkin Spice. If you can't get your hands on canned Pumpkin you can make your own Puree from roasting and mashing fresh Pumpkins. Pumpkin spice is a mix of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove, All Spice and Ginger, here is the mix I used for mine - http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-pie-spice-recipe/

Filling & Healthy Pumpkin & Oat Bread

Free on the Filling & Health plan

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree (canned or home made)
1 Cup Low Fat Natural Yogurt
4 Cups of Porridge Oats
2 Eggs
2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice
3 Tbsp Sweetener of choice
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Dash of Skimmed Milk
Fry lite

Preheat Oven to 180

Stir together the Pumpkin and yogurt in a mixing bowl.
Add the Eggs, Pumpkin Spice, vanilla, oats, sweetener and baking powder and mix well, adding a dash of skimmed milk as needed.

Spray a 2lb loaf tin with Fry Lite and fill with the bread dough.
Bake in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and turn onto a wire rack to cook further.

White Chocolate Chip & Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12

1Pro Point each on the Filling & Healthy Plan

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree (canned or home made)
1 Cup Low Fat Natural Yogurt
4 Cups of Porridge Oats
2 Eggs
2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice
3 Tbsp Sweetener of choice
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Dash of Skimmed Milk
80g White Chocolate Buttons (Smashed in a bag using a rolling pin)
Fry lite
2 Squares White Chocolate

Preheat Oven to 180

Stir together the Pumpkin and yogurt in a mixing bowl.
Add the Eggs, Pumpkin Spice, vanilla, oats, sweetener, baking powder and White Chocolate,
Mix well, adding a dash of skimmed milk as needed.

Line a cupcake tin with Muffin Cases and spray the cases with Fry Lite.
Using an Ice Cream scoop, pack the scoop with the muffin mix and empty into the muffin cases.
Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack
Melt the 2 squares of White Chocolate and drizzle over the tops of the Muffins.