Dieting is one of my lifelong pursuits. Being born with a body genetically prone to being overweight, I have probably been on hundreds of diets in my lifetime. Two years ago I tried Weight Watchers for the first time and found it to be the best program I have ever tried for losing weight. Not only was I not hungry, I found that I could eat just about anything I wanted. I just had to compensate for the desired food within my points range.

To keep boredom at bay, I and my co-dieter began what became a constant search for new and different things that we could add to our daily food lists. My friend is one of those women who loves to cook and daily creates wonderful meals for her family and host of friends. I, on the other hand, am the Queen of the Microwave. “Fast and easy” . . .that is my motto . With that in mind, you can only imagine my delight in discovering a dessert that could be made in less than five minutes and could be consumed in quantities that defied belief! Someone shared their version at one of our monthly WW meetings. The following recipe is my modified version (which in my opinion is much better than the one given at the meeting).

Fluffy Dessert (isn’t that an imaginative name?) Ingredients: 1 medium can of pineapple tidbits (including the juice) 1 small package of Instant Sugar-free Jell-O pudding mix (I use either Cheesecake or White Chocolate) 1 Large Tub of Fat-free Cool Whip 1 C. of fresh or frozen blueberries 1 C. sliced strawberries 1 Large Banana, sliced ½ C. chopped walnuts

Stir the dry pudding mix into the juice from the pineapple until dissolved. Fold in the whipped topping. Next mix in all of the fruit. To finish, fold in the chopped walnuts. If you are planning to take this to a social gathering, I recommend putting it in a pretty crystal bowl. (It tastes even better when it looks pretty!) Store in the refrigerator.

Depending on the variety of ingredients you use, the WW points value will probably range from 2 to 5 points per 1 cup serving.

I have taken this to numerous social gatherings and it has never failed to score rave reviews. I cannot count the number of times I have been asked to share my recipe. You don’t have to tell anyone that it is guilt-free unless you want to! Even the Queen of the Microwave looks good when I serve this dish!