Sneaky Chef Breakfast Cookies - Only 2 Points on Weight Watchers! By Missy Chase Lapine

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Being a professional chef I needed a plan to avoid gaining significant weight while working around food all day. For over two years now I’ve spent most of my days in the Sneaky Chef test kitchen finding creative ways to hide healthy foods in kids’ favorite meals, and the temptations to over indulge are huge.

In times like these I find myself turning again to the Weight Watchers point system, which has always delivered for me when I’ve needed it most. Keeping track of the points I’m eating is working well for me as I spend these months testing recipes for my second book, The Sneaky Chef for men.

But ultimately it was the avalanche of emails I’ve received from Weight Watchers readers–the many that have started to use the method for their husbands and for themselves–that prompted me to make my most popular Sneaky Chef recipes to fit the Weight Watchers point program. So now you can find the point values for the most highly requested Sneaky Chef recipes, including all the high fiber, high protein, and whole grain dishes. These are convenient, easy-to-make, grab n’ go meals, snacks, drinks and desserts that fit your lifestyle.

Now you can maximize the nutrition per point using the Sneaky Chef recipes with hidden fruits, veggies and whole grains.

Try Sneaky Chef breakfast cookies for starters. It seems like a decadent treat, but in reality it’s a great food that keeps you feeling satisfied longer than any other breakfast bar out there. A single one ounce cookie has only 2 Weight Watchers points, yet contains low fat ricotta cheese, wheat germ, whole grain cereal, plus whole wheat flour with cinnamon and brown sugar. Most people have 1-2 for breakfast or a snack. Wouldn’t it be great to have a delicious and nutritious cookie for only 2 points?

SNEAKY CHEF’S BREAKFAST COOKIES

Nutrition Highlights: whole grains, calcium, and protein. Rich in vitamins B and E, iron, potassium, folic acid, calcium, tryptophan protein, and fiber.

2 cups whole grain cereal flakes (such as Wheaties or Total)

3/4 cup Flour Blend (1/4 cup white flour, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/4 cup wheat germ)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese

Cinnamon sugar for dusting*

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray with oil).
2. Using a rolling pin, gently crush the cereal (in a sealed plastic bag) into coarsely crushed flakes. Alternatively, you can quickly pulse the cereal in a food processor.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together Flour Blend, crushed cereal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, oil, vanilla, and ricotta cheese. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Drop single tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch between cookies. Flatten cookies with the back of a fork and then sprinkle tops generously with cinnamon sugar (or just sugar if your kids don’t like the cinnamon flavor). Bake about 18 to 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and crispy around the edges.

Makes 16 to 18 large cookies.

*Cinnamon has been found to help stabilize blood-glucose levels, thereby preventing the usual “crash and burn” feeling we all get after eating sweets.