Mother’s Day Coffee, Cake and More -- on a Diet & a Dime

My closest friends know I was 175 lbs after using Depo Provera several years ago, and just when I had given up on ever getting back to my tiny self, I found Weight Watchers. In five months I lost 50 lbs. Snap! Just like that. And by “just like that” I mean with RIGOROUS self-control, lots to keep me busy and eating fruit 24 hours a day.

Ever since I’ve been on WW to monitor my weight and keep it up as a lifestyle (rather than a diet). Of course, then I met the man who is now my live-in boyfriend, and we both gained weight, haha. So I’ve been back at it, with the same rigor and regiment as my last successful time around. (...)

My mom is on WW as well -- she introduced me to it! But she also was a chef several decades ago -- and a superb one, at that -- so I knew a good mother’s day gift would be a homemade meal by her daughter.

I also got her a bag of Ethiopian beans from Andante in LA, champagne and (0-point) turkey bacon. Together this made scrambled eggs and bacon, a few large cups of coffee, mimosas and coffee cake, that we shared over our favorite weekend program “CBS Sunday Morning” and the newly released season of Dead to Me on Netflix!

Needless to say it was a beautiful spread that felt original and yet nostalgic, compared to flowers and chocolates or jewelry. The mother’s day brunch is certainly a recipe for success, and to make that happen, I want to share this coffee cake recipe that is low-cal, delicious and super easy to make. 

Replace the sour cream with nonfat plain yogurt and cut the butter and sugar with smart balance butter and Splenda.

New York Times Sour-Cream Coffee Cake Recipe

For the crumb topping use this recipe but only 1/4 cup of smart balance (no regular butter), and add about 1/4 cup of flour and use hands to make “crumbs.”

Erren’s Kitchen New Jersey Crumb Coffee Cake

If you add fresh raspberries as I did, add them in after pouring the batter into the baking dish (8x8) and spread a light coating of batter over them. Adding fresh berries means adding time to your recipe too, so bake for about 80~90 mins. It will be hard to tell when it’s ready, but you can be sure it’s done by 90 mins, it’s the berries that make it appear at first cut that it’s under-cooked (it’s just moisture).

After baking, I heard a tip that if you coat the berries lightly in all-purpose flour it keeps them from sinking to the bottom (but this is also achieved via the method I used).

Stay healthy and stay caffeinated! ☕