At Goal!

16 weeks. 22 pounds. :)
I have to say it is a huge relief to have finally made it. And yet it is a scary place to be. Because now I need to maintain. And there is just something about butter and cheese and fried, well, anything that calls my name. Even though I know that Weight Watchers is not a diet, it is a lifestyle, I find myself thinking "I'm done dieting."


Now it has been 17 weeks 23 pounds and 24.25 inches. 
I stepped on the scale this week, apprehensive. I was sure I had gained. (But this would have been okay, because last week I weighed in below my goal weight, and you are supposed to stay within 2 pounds of your goal weight. I was 1.8 pounds below last week. And yesterday, I lost 1.2 more. "That just means you can eat more" the receptionist said to me. Boy I guess! But, I think perhaps I should lower my goal weight. Because the idea of gaining 3 pounds does not sound appealing to me. It is a difficult mindset to get out of. I feel like I should always just be losing losing losing. Maintaining is okay. But the idea of gaining?! No. I don't want to go there. Not unless I am pregnant. And have a reason to gain. 


And can I just say that I have had a lot of brownies this last week?! They were home made brownies at that. And not a "healthy" adaptation. No no. My husband would have none of that. :) It was his birthday last weekend and he loves brownies. 


My secret? I cut the brownies into a little bigger than 1 inch squares. And froze them. I separated them out and put them in the freezer. Once they were frozen, I dumped them in a ziploc bag and pushed them to the back of our freezer. Each little square is 2 points, and if I have 2 of them (as I often do) they are 5 points. If you are at all familiar with Weight Watchers, you know that these brownies are not cheap. They have a high points value, especially when you look at how small they are. But they are pretty tasty, chewy, and when you eat them frozen, they take a bit longer to nibble on. 

Want the recipe? Here we go:


Springer's Espresso Brownies
(A recipe given to me by a social worker I work with)
Ingredients:
-4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I only had semisweet, and went with that.)
-2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
-3-4 tablespoons Medaglia d'Oro ground espresso
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-4 large eggs
-2 cups granulated sugar
-1 cup unbleached flour, stirred with a whisk before measuring
-chopped walnuts (optional) (if you add these they will alter the points values as I did not use them)


1. Melt chocolate with butter very gently. Once melted add espresso and vanilla. Let cool to lukewarm.
2. In medium sized bowl, beat eggs with sugar. Once chocolate has cooled, add it to the sugar mixture.
3. Gently fold in flour, just until absorbed. (Don't beat once flour has been added). Fold in nuts if using.
4. Scrape batter into buttered and floured pan (8x8 or 9x12)
5. Bake at 325 if pan is glass, or 350 if using a metal pan.
6. Bake about 25 minutes but start testing early. When toothpick inserted in center comes out with damp crumbs (but not liquid) remove to rack to cool. Cool for 30 minutes or more before cutting. 

They have a  mocha flavor that I like a lot. But I would not say that these are the world's best brownies either. That being said, I would definitely make them again. And I would probably still use the semisweet chocolate. I don't feel like the brownies were overpoweringly sweet. But when I measured out the sugar, I did go just under 2 cups. They come out fudgey and chewy, just how a brownie should be. (In my opinion!)


I used a 9x13 glass pan, and cut 54 brownies out (6 rows by 9 columns). Enjoy!