Core Muesli Bar Base - Oven or Slow Cooker

Serves: 12
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:

Basic recipe

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup stewed apples
• 150ml non-fat milk
• 100ml water
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp vanilla
• sweetener, equivilent sweetness of 1/2 cup sugar

Method A:
Mix all base ingredients together.
To here is Core for a meal (32 pts if not Core)

Additional non-Core Ingredients:
Add your choice of dried fruits, nuts and seeds and calculate the Points.
I added 1/2 cup sultanas, 1/4 cup craisins, 1/2 cup pepitas and 1 TB linseeds (12.5 pts of non-Core ingredients, or 34.5 pts total)

Method B:
Press mix down into sprayed pan or slow cooker insert.
Oven - Bake in moderate oven until the slice begins to brown around edges.
Slow Cooker - cook for 2-3 hours on high until the slice begins to brown around edges. Turn off and allow the insert to cool before slicing up. If you have a lot of condensation inside the lid, you might want to wipe the lid. I cooked mine in the slow cooker.
To here is Core (32 pts if not Core)

Not on Core? The total Points for this recipe is 34.5 pts with listed additional ingredients or 3pts each serving 12.
On Core, you'll need to add 1 pt per serve for fruit and seeds as listed.

Blackberry and Apple Strudel ~ 2pt (not Core)

Serves: 16 individual strudels, scale up and down as needed

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 500g frozen blackberries (or other berry), defrosted.
  Reserve some if doing the custard side
• 1 can Ardmona pie apples (Or make your own dryish stewed apples)
• 250g tub extra light ricotta (perfect Italiano)
• 16 sheets filo
• Few sprinkles of cinnamon
• 4 tsp arrowroot or cornflour (optional - makes it thicker)
• 16 tsp of raw sugar (the chunky "cafe" style granules - adds an unexpected crunch in the creaminess)
• Spray oil
• 50g Slivered almonds

Method:
Mix fruit, ricotta, cinnamon and thickener together to form filling
Get first sheet of filo, spray half lightly with oil, fold in half, smooth over and repeat so it's folded in quarters.
Add almost 1tsp of sugar, followed by 1/3 cup of the fruit mix.
Fold filo over topping, fold in edges, squeezing shut and roll up
Put on tray with join downwards.
Repeat

Spray tops very lightly with oil
Sprinkle with a few slivers of almonds and a few sugar crystals
Bake 180*C for 15 mins until lightly brown

Caution - Filling is hot

Each filo is 2 pts

Note - the pastries should be prepared and baked without huge delay. If allowed to sit more than about half an hour, the wet filling may make the pastry soft and leak out of seams when it bakes.

The custard side:

Pour 100ml of Lite Pouring Custard into a little bowl or ramekin (I used Dairy Farmers Lite Pouring Custard)
Top with a few drained berries.
Get a teaspoon and collect about 1/8 tsp of berry juice.
Touch to side of bowl to get the lovely ring.
Can sprinkle with cinnamon

The side is an extra 1 pt each. Very impressive when entertaining

Chocolate Fudge Cake ~ 1.5pt/slice (not Core)

This is a moist, fudgy chocolate cake.
Sharon's recipe.

Sorry, no picture. It disappeared too quickly :)

Serves: 8

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup SR flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2/3 cup spoon-for-spoon artificial sweetener (Splenda or Equal)
• 1 egg
• 1 x 200g nonfat diet vanilla yoghurt
• 3 TB apple sauce

Method:

Mix everything with a wooden spoon
Spray oil into small loaf tin
Bake at 180*C for 25-30 mins.
Serve cold

Keep left overs in fridge if you have any

Each Slice (1/8th) = 1.5 pt

Whole recipe = 11.5 pts

Apple and Orange Cakes ~ 1 pt each (not Core)

These are not Core, but they are quick and easy to make,

very yummy and are only 1 pt each.

So enjoy without guilt.

Serves: 10 cakes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup SR flour
• 2/3 cup spoon-for-spoon artificial sweetener (Splenda or Equal)
• 3TB apple sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• rind of one small orange, finely grated
• 1/2 can Ardmona pie apples
• 200g nonfat natural yoghurt (or diet vanilla), I used Jalna Fat Free Natural

Method:
Mix everything apart from apples with a wooden spoon
Spray oil into 10 1/2 cup muffin cups.
Divide mixture into the 10 holes.
Put 1 or 2 pieces of the pie apple on top of each mound of batter (you may need to cut big pieces in half)
Gently push the apple down into the batter so it is only slighly higher than the batter (try not to hit the bottom).
Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake at 180*C for 25-30 mins.
Serve hot, plain or with ice cream or custard (low fat of course)

Each Cake = 1 pt

Whole recipe = 11.5 pts

CORE Caramel Couscous Upside-down Cake

I suggest using a short round silicone cake tin.
Mine is 20cm wide and 3cm high and it filled it to the top - perfect.
It's a moist cake and using a high tin might break the cake when you turn it out.

Great for breakfast

Serves: 4+

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup dry couscous
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 3/4 cup Cottees Diet Caramel Topping (1 pt)
• 400g tin of pineapple slices in juice, drained
• 1/3 cup frozen berries
• 1 egg
• 100g vanilla diet yoghurt (or natural low fat and 2 tsp vanilla)

Method:
Mix couscous, water and 1/2 cup of the topping in a microwave bowl.
Microwave on high for 4 minutes (5 mins for under 1000W).
Stir, add the remaining caramel and let cool (15 minutes or so)
Mix in the egg and yoghurt.
Spray a baking tin with oil.
Arrange the pineapple rings in the base, adding large frozen berries in the center of the rings and filling the gaps with little ones.
Pour the couscous mixture over the top and smooth off.
Bake at 180*C for 30-35 minutes until firm and pulling away from the edges.
Put a plate upside-down on top of the cake tin. Gently flip the plate and tin and remove tin.

Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting - it's a moist cake that is a litle fragile straight out the oven. You can always serve neat slices and warm in the microwave :)

Core + 1 pt for the recipe
If eaten at mealtimes, the cake is Core, but there is 1 pt, which rounds to "zero" if you have 4 serves

Not on Core? The total of this recipe is approx 8.5 points (2 for a quarter size serving)

CORE Berry Couscous Muffins / Puddings

Great for breakfast or dessert.
Hot or Cold
Particularly nice with vanilla diet yoghurt and strawberries

Recipe is 9 points - I made 9 muffins so that if I have for "snacks", 1 muffin is 1 pt.
Feel free to make 8 or 10, or whatever.

Makes: 9 small muffins (the 1/2 cup ones)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dry couscous
• 1 egg
• 1 cup frozen berries
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 1/2 TB Splenda
• 1 x 200 g diet yoghurt in strawberry or other berry flavour
• 2 tsp vanilla

Method:
Add couscous, and 1/2 cup boiling water to a large mixing bowl.
Allow water to absorb and cool.
Meanwhile, microwave the frozen berries for 2 minutes, then lightly mash with a fork. The object is to squish out some juice and break up the larger berries into smaller pieces, not to have puree!
Add all ingredients and mix well.
Spray muffin pans with oil.
Divide mix between muffin trays (they were about 3/4 full in 9 x 1/2 cup trays)
Bake in preheated oven at 180*C for 30-35 mins

Not on Core? The total of this recipe is approx 9 points (1 per muffin)

Recipe modified from Buttermint's couscous muffins

CORE Apple Cannelloni Pudding

Serves: 6 (12 cannelloni)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 410g can sliced apples (I used Woolworths/Safeway brand) or 1 1/2 c lightly steamed fresh apples
• 12 cannelloni shells
• 1 x 250 g tub light ricotta
• 4 TB Splenda
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups non-fat milk
• 4 tsp (1 TB) vanilla essence
• cinnamon

Method:

Slice the apples thinly and add to large bowl. Add 1 TB of Splenda, 1 tsp cinnamon and ricotta and mix well with a spoon.
Stuff mix into cannelloni shells and lay into a small square or rectangular baking dish (flat if you can). You can try and do this with a spoon, but hands are quicker, easier but much messier!
Some of the ricotta will drip back into the bowl, that's fine, as long as there's no apple chunks left over.
Add 3 eggs, vanilla essence and 3 TB of splenda to the ricotta and beat.
Warm the milk, but don't boil it. I did 2 mins on high in 1200W micro.
Add the warm milk to the eggs and beat until there is 2 or 3 cm of fluff on the top.
Pour over the cannelloni and sprinkle with more cinnamon
Bake at 180*C for 50 minutes. The pudding is done when you jiggle the dish and it doesn't jiggle back.

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 21 points

Core Apricot and Pineapple Cake / Muffins

Serves: 12+
This mix makes enough for :

1 x 20cm square/round tin or
1 loaf tin and 6 American muffins (the 1 cup type) or
12 large American muffins
24+ regular muffins

These keep well in the fridge, as the fruit keeps them lovely and moist. 30 - 45 secs in the microwave and brekkie is ready.
I double bagged the muffins in freezer bags as rough edges of the oats can snag the cheap freezer bags (OK, it was a medium bag, twisted, pulled back over and tied - for some reason I can't buy homebrand small freezer bags and mediums are cheaper than the small namebrands?!?)
Also freezes well - thaw on bench for an hour or 2, or microwave on LOW or DEFROST (high setting will make the fruit too hot and you might burn yourself)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 200g oats
• 200g All bran
• 1 x 410 g tin apricots in juice
• 1 225 g tin pineapple pieces in juice
• 1 3/4 cups skim milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 TB baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 TB vanilla essence
• sweetener, equivalent of 1/4 cup sugar

Method:
In a large bowl, combine the oats, All bran, milk and juice from the cans and leave to sit for 20 mins to soak
Meanwhile, turn on the oven to preheat at 180*C and cut the fruit pieces into quarters
Add the eggs to the bran/oats mix and stir with a wooden spoon, then add other ingredients.
Spoon mix into oiled tin(s)
Cook at 180*C for approx:
35 mins for muffins
45 min for loaf
50-60 mins for large tin

Two "are they ready" tests - (1) stick a skewer/toothpick in, should come out clean (2) if you press gently on the top with your finger, it should bounce back.

Not on Core? The entire recipe is worth 30 points (1 "serve" = 2.5 pts)