1-2-3 Cupcake for a Sweet Treat

Sometimes you just want something sweet. Not because you are hungry---that's when nutritious food is what your body wants and needs. But, just because you want a little treat. The trouble is, if you buy that box of a dozen cookies or cupcakes, you may eat too many. The key is to find a way to get just one to help you with portion control.

You can go to a candy store and choose one, extra special chocolate. Or a bakery and select one cookie. But how about a way to make one hot cupcake at a time in your microwave?

Marcia was fired up to share this cupcake recipe with her MM group this week. She loves these easy cakes, but didn't have any idea how many calories to count for each one. Keep in mind, these won't provide anything in the land of nutrition, but I decided to take a look...

1-2-3 Cupcake

Dump into 1 gallon-size plastic food bag and shake until well blended:

• 1 box Angel Food cake mix
• 1 box any flavor cake mix

To make one cupcake:

Mix in a coffee mug or custard cup

• 3 Tbsp mix
• 2 Tbsp water
• Microwave for 1 minute

1 cupcake has 101 calories; 2 units

Marcia's favorite is using a chocolate cake mix, and adding a dollop of honey flavored Greek yogurt on top. I tried mine with a little drizzle of fat-free chocolate syrup. It was fun to make and turned out to be a light & spongy little warm chocolate cake. So easy, so quick.

Remember: this is for that occasional urge for a sweet. By adding something healthy to eat with it, you'll add some nutrients and help calm that blood sugar spike. How about a glass of non-fat milk, soy milk, or maybe yogurt with your cake? If You Give Yourself a Cookie, Don't Forget the Milk!