Sweet Nothings

Childhood memories can be wonderful things; reminders of simpler times, of lives still lived in pursuit of fun, before possessions and responsibilities made adults of us. My own childhood, while often solitary in nature, included a fair share of wonders and delights... Fishing in the summer sun, endless bike rides fueled by [seemingly]endless energy, even the occasional encounter with 'magic'.

As a Weight Watchers member though, perhaps it's not surprising that many of my childhood memories involve food. Favorite casseroles, Sunday dinners, restaurants visited during family road trips. And the foods I remember most vividly are the desserts... Of course... Duh. ;-)

For example, my earliest restaurant memory was of being allowed to order my own hot fudge sundae while on a family vacation. I can also recall the taste of my mother's plum pudding, the first pie eaten on a school field trip (banana cream), my grandmother's Portuguese rice pudding, my first slice of restaurant pie (pecan).

Such memories recently inspired me to revisit a favorite childhood dessert, pineapple upside down cake. The end result was (I thought) quite yummy, while costing only 6 Weight Watchers SmartPoints. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did......

UPSIDE DOWN SUNDAES

Ingredients:

• Breyer's sugar-free vanilla ice cream
• Fat-free frozen whipped topping
• Fresh, diced pineapple
• Brown sugar
• Unsweetened, shredded coconut (optional)
• Rainbow sprinkles
• Butter-flavored spray

Directions:

Scoop a half-cup of sugar-free ice cream into two small dishes. Sprinkle one tablespoon of unsweetened, shredded coconut over each scoop, if desired.

Slice a fresh, ripe (nicely yellow and sweet smelling) pineapple into bite-sized chunks. Spray butter-flavored spray into a skillet and place over a medium flame. Once the skillet is hot, toss in a cup of pineapple and two tablespoons of brown sugar. Spray a little more butter-flavored spray over the pineapple and stir until the juice from the pineapple gets syrupy and the pineapple starts to caramelize. Remove from heat.

Spoon a half-cup of the hot pineapple mixture over the ice cream, top with a quarter-cup of fat-free whipped topping and one tablespoon of rainbow sprinkles. Enjoy!

A note to social media users: Here is a sample tweet you can use to share this recipe: 

• Fond memories of childhood #desserts? Try this @WeightWatchers-friendly variation: bit.ly/1W9z662 #RecipeOfTheDay #recipe #foodblog