I really liked the spiced pumpkin cake but my center is sold out. Does anyone know of similar item from the grocery store or have a recipe. I am new to Jenny Craig and didnt realize I need to stock up on the seasonal items.
Thanks,
Missey

Hi, Missey! First, let me welcome you to Jenny Craig! Next, I'll take a stab at your request.

I understand your disappointment, but maybe this will help. Thought it a sign that I saw this recipe in a newsletter the same day I read your post. I haven't made it, so I can't attest to it's deliciousness, but it has pumpkin in it (!) and lots of spices. How bad can it be? (You can use cow's milk and regular ingredients... the recipe is from a vegetarian newsletter.)

I ran this through a recipe analyzer and here's the nutritional info. I had to change the number of muffins to *16* to get the calorie count down to JC level, so be aware of that... you'll have to change the baking time for smaller muffins.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 61 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 132 Calories from Fat 21
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2.4g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 120mg
Total Carbohydrates 25.7g
Dietary Fiber 1.9g
Sugars 10.6g
Protein 2.6g
Vitamin A 48% • Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 4% • Iron 7%


Spiced Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Muffins
Makes 12

I don't bake often because when I do, I tend to eat what I've made. These are delicious and also pretty good for you (as far as muffins go). Use freshly ground cardamom seeds and nutmeg for the best flavor. If you have some fresh cranberries around (and this is a good time of year to freeze them for later use), add a small handful to the recipe.

¾ cup organic cane sugar or Sucanat
1 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry or spelt flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup soy or other nondairy milk
1 cup organic canned pumpkin or firm fleshed, cooked fresh squash
2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
1 teaspoon white or rice vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray regular sized muffin tins with cooking spray, or use nonstick tins or flexible silicon trays (which you put on a baking sheet).

Combine the sugar, flours, oats, salt, baking powder and soda in a large bowl. Stir well to combine.

In another bowl, mix the remaining ingredients except the cranberries. Stir until well mixed.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, along with the cranberries, and stir well but quickly to combine. Over stirring muffins will make them tough. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill about 2/3 of each cup.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and cooked in the middle. Let cool on a rack. Enjoy.

Before I was on Jenny Craig, I liked the Weight Watchers snack cakes that you can get at most grocery stores, Walmart and Target (usually near the Hostess snack cakes). The carrot cake ones are pretty similar to the pumpkin cake...it's a spice cake with a cream cheese-like frosting.

Here's the nutritional data. 2 of the small Weight Watchers cakes are fairly close to the nutritional value of one JC pumpkin cake. (Since you are still new to the program though, I would avoid too many substitutions until you've gotten used to the program and talked with your JC consultant):

Jenny Craig's Pumpkin spice cake:
1 g fat
170 calories
230 mg sodium
39g carb
Sugars 23g
3g protein


Weight Watchers Carrot Snack Cake with Cream Cheese:
Serving Size 1 cake (27 g)
Amount per serving
Calories 80 (2 cakes = 160)
Calories from Fat 25 (2 cakes = 50 calories from fat)
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2.5g 4%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 5mg 2%
Sodium 90mg 4% (2 cakes = 180 mg)
Total Carbohydrates 14g 5% (2 cakes = 28g)
Dietary Fiber 2g
Sugars 10g (2 cakes = 20g)
Protein 1g (2 cakes = 2g)