Weight Watchers Friendly Recipes

[Aartemys]

Well as I mentioned in The Powder Room, I've been doing Weight Watchers for the past few months. I was amazed to find the vast amounts of recipes out there that are Weight Watchers friendly. I am going to post some that I love to make and also some that I've made up on my own...(the WW website has a recipe builder that helps you figure out points per serving values)...

 

So, on to the recipes!

[Aartemys]

Zero Point Vegetable Soup

 

2 32oz. Boxes of Stock (Vegetable, Beef or Chicken)

4 bags of frozen veggies (I usually do corn, carrots, green beans & okra)

Tabasco sauce (to taste)

Complete seasoning (to taste)

Stovetop Preparation: Combine stock & vegetables in a large soup pot. Add Tabasco & seasoning to taste (i like mine very spicy). Bring mixture to a boil. Simmer for an hour.

 

Slow-cooker Preparation: Same as above. Put crockpot on high for one hour, then set it to low and let it cook for 7-8 hours.

 

Makes approx 18 servings.

 

I put them in plastic containers (Gladware is a perfect size) and freeze them. Come lunchtime/dinnertime, just stick in the microwave for about 3 minutes.

 

*******************************************************************

Diet-Coke Cake

 

1 Box Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Cake Mix

1 Can Diet-Soda

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9" springform pan with non-stick cooking spray.

 

In a large bowl, combine cake mix & can of diet coke for about 3 minutes using a hand mixer on the low setting. Pour mixture into the pan and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes.

 

Makes 12 servings at 2pts a serving.

 

You can also get creative with this one by experimenting with flavors. For Meia & DK's birthday cake, I used Devil's Food Chocolate cake mix and Diet Black Cherry Cola. This week we're going to try Yellow cake with Diet Cream Soda. I've also been told that Diet Orange soda with white cake is good as well as Lemon cake with diet sprite.

 

For frosting, you can use Pillsbury Reduced Sugar frosting (2tbsp = 2pts) or just Cool-Whip Lite which is 0 points...

 

**Note: The cake comes out to a brownie-like consistency and doesn't grow like a normal cake, so you might want to double up on the recipe if you were looking for a big cake...

[Princess Meia]

I can attest to that cake being moist and YUMMY!

[Nanno]

wow, that cake sounds yummy

 

I've made the zero points soup a few times and its delish

[Aartemys]

wow, that cake sounds yummy

 

I've made the zero points soup a few times and its delish

 

 

I've now made it for a fourth time...each time I try something new...same thing with the cake. That's the fun with a lot of these recipes...

[soldier of fortune]

in my humble opinion WW is a cult!

But some of their low fat recipes are nice, just cos its low fat don't mean it can't be tasty!

[Cathy]

This isn't Weight Watchers, but I didn't see another diet thread, so I'm posting it here.

 

The Amazing Soup Diet that you won't find in the magazine!

 

 

The Soup Diet: Simple Food Substitution

 

If you hate certain items in the meal plan, you can swap them out for something else that is equal in calories.

 

Dining Out on the Soup Diet

 

Even if you're eating at a restaurant or grabbing food on the go, you can still stick to the diet. Here, a quick breakdown of what each meal should consist of:

 

Breakfast

 

Choose:

1/2 protein serving or 1 dairy serving

For example: 1 egg, 1 cup milk (fat free or 1%), 6 oz. plain nonfat yogurt or flavored light yogurt

1 starch

For example: 1 slice bread (preferably whole grain), 1/2 English muffin, 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal

1 fat

For example: 1 tsp. butter or margarine, 1 Tbsp. cream cheese, 1 slice bacon

1 fruit

For example: 1/2 large apple, 1/2 large pear, 1/2 large banana, or 1 cup raspberries, strawberries, melon, or cut-up mixed fresh fruit

 

Lunch (or dinner if you have the soup meal at lunch)

 

Choose:

1 protein

For example: 3 oz. skinless chicken, fish, shellfish, very lean meat, or 3/4 cup cottage cheese

2 starches

For example, one serving of starch would be: 1 slice bread, 1/2 cup any grain or potato (not fried), 1/2 cup starchy vegetable such as corn or peas. You can also replace one starch serving with one fruit serving.

1 fat

For example: 1 tsp. butter or margarine, 1 tsp. oil, 1 1/2 tsp. mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp. fat-reduced salad dressing

1 vegetable (cooked without added fat)

For example: 1/2 cup of carrots (raw or cooked) or any nonstarchy cooked vegetable. You can also have an unlimited amount of salad greens and raw vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms.

 

[Lycaon]

This is from Cooking Light:

 

Creamy Spring Pasta

Hands on and total time: 30 minutes

This dish is luxuriously creamy, but the pasta soaks up the sauce quickly. Be sure to serve right away. Use refrigerated pasta to cut several minutes off the cook time.

 

 

3 quarts water

2 ounces french bread baguette, torn into pieces

1 tablespoon butter

3 garlic cloves, minced and divided

1 1/2 cups (2 inch) diagonally cut asparagus.

1 cup frozen green peas

6 ounces uncooked fettuccine

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 cup fat-free lower sodium chicken broth

1 cup 1% low-fat milk

3 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup packed)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

 

1. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven.

2. Place torn bread in a food processor; process until course crumbs form. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 garlic clove to pan; saute 3 minutes or until golden brown and toasted. Remove bread crumb mixture from pan;wipe pan clean with paper towels.

3. Add asparagus and peas to boiling water; cook for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Rinse under cold water; drain.

4. add pasta to boiling water; cook 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and keep warm.

5. heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. add onion and the remaining 2 garlic cloves; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Place flour in a small bowl; gradually whisk in chicken broth. Add broth mixture and milk to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; add cheeses, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheeses melt. Add pasta, asparagus and peas; toss well. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and tarragon.

 

SERVES 4 (serving size about 1 1/4 cups)

CALORIES 408; FAT 13.8g (sat 6.7g, mono 4.5g, poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 17.6g; CARB 5.4g; FIBER 4.6g; CHOL 33mg; IRON 3.9; SODIUM 625mg; CALC 225mg

 

Cooking Light April 2012, page 95