Vanilla Nutella Cupcakes - (as low as 1pt each cupcake)

I found these through pinterest. I adapted it from this site's recipe.
Here is their recipe: 

Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes

adapted from these ones.

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola or mild vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 cup Nutella, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325F.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. The batter will be thick. It needs to be in order to swirl in the Nutella!

Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Drop a spoonful of Nutella on top of each, and swirl through the batter with the tip of a bamboo skewer, knife or other pointy object. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Tilt them in the pan to help them cool. Makes a dozen cupcakes.

The recipe as is- 12 cupcakes is 229 calories each cupcake or 30 mini cupcakes 92 calories. Or for 12 cupcakes is 5 points each or 30 mini cupcakes is 2 points each (under the old point system).

I made some adjustments to the recipe to cut out as many calories and as much fat as possible. 

Vanilla Nutella Cupcakes (Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes)
1/2 c Applesauce (no sugar added)
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 TBS flax meal
4 TBS water
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c Nutella (no added to mixture)
Mix all but the Nutella in a bowl. Use paper liner. Mixture makes either 12 large cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes. Bake at 320 degrees F for about 25 minutes for full size cupcakes, and 12 minutes for minis.

Using these substitutes-
12 cupcakes- 155 calories each or 3 points each
30 mini cupcakes- 62 calories each or 1 point each

if you substitute a no calories sweetener (like Splenda)
12 cupcakes- 107 calories each or 2 points
30 mini cupcakes- 43 calories each or 1 point each

if you don't have flax you can use a 3rd egg instead, this changes your calories (using sugar)
12 cupcakes- 160 calories each or 3 points
30 mini cupcakes- 64 calories each or 1 point each
the advantage of flax is- more fiber and Omega-3

Teriyaki Meatballs- 1pt meatball

photo courtesy of budgetbytes.blogspot.com

This is an adapted recipe from Budget Bytes site. It is a cool cost of making the meal.
I adjusted their recipe to make it healthier by adding fiber. You can adjust it as you fit ways to cut calories (ie-less sugar, ground turkey, chicken, pork, halving with lentils~has the same calories/fat as the beef but more nutrients.)
Here is the recipe as given by Budget Bytes

MEATBALL INGREDIENTS		COST
1 lb.	ground pork	$3.50
1 large	egg	$0.23
1/2 cup	plain breadcrumbs	$0.17
1 clove	garlic, minced	$0.07
2 inches	fresh ginger	$0.52
1/2 tsp	soy sauce	$0.02
2 whole	green onions	$0.25
10-15 cranks	freshly cracked black pepper	$0.05
TERIYAKI GLAZE INGREDIENTS		COST
1/2 cup	soy sauce	$0.48
1/2 cup	brown sugar	$0.12
1/2 cup	water	$0.00
1/2 Tbsp	toasted sesame oil	$0.28
1 Tbsp	rice vinegar	$0.04
2 inches	fresh ginger	$0.52
2 Tbsp	corn starch	$0.12
1 Tbsp	sesame seeds	$0.17
RICE BOWL INGREDIENTS		COST
2.5 cups	dry jasmine rice	$1.10
3.75 cups	water	$0.00
2 whole	green onions	$0.25
TOTAL		$7.89

I substituted  90% lean beef for pork, and 1 cup Oats for the breadcrumbs (or using 1/2 c oats 1/2 c flax~same cals/fat/fiber). I also added a 1/2 finely chopped celery (I used it instead of green onion).
Calories per meatball-- 67 gram, Fat-- 1 gram, Fiber--3 grams
1 pts (old system) per meatball plus your rice points/calories
Directions (adjusted from Budget Bytes):
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place ingredients for the meatballs in bowl, mix it up.
STEP 2: Cover a baking sheet with foil. Roll the meatball mixture into small balls, about one tablespoon each. You should yield about 30 meatballs. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet as you roll them. Bake until golden brown (about 35-40 minutes).
STEP 3: While the meatballs are in the oven, begin cooking the rice according to the package directions
STEP 4: While the meatballs are in the oven, also prepare the teriyaki glaze. In a medium pot combine the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger and sesame oil.Heat over a low flame until the brown sugar is dissolved (just a few minutes).
STEP 5: Dissolve the cornstarch in just enough water to make it pourable. Pour it into the pot with the glaze ingredients. Turn the heat up to medium high, stir and cook until thickened. It should thicken as soon as it begins to simmer.
STEP 6: When the meatballs come out of the oven, transfer them from the baking sheet into the pot with the glaze. Stir to coat.
If you eat the recommended serving size by Budget Bytes of 1cup cooked rice with 5 meatballs- it would be 10 pts (5 for 5 meatballs, 5 for 1 cup rice).