Sunday, February 17, 2019

Chicken butternut squash & white bean soup - 1 point on WW



I am going to be very sad when winter is over! I am not a summer soup eater but soups are so easy to meal prep for low point options on Weight Watchers! Meal prep is key to staying on track :-)

This soups has only 4 points in the whole pot! The majority of these points come from using a little but of olive oil to sauté the onions. You can reduce the points by using cooking spray instead but I personally don't think it cooks the same way. You need a little bit more grease to get the onion cooking nicely.

I used pre-cut butternut squash for this recipe because I just hate cutting it up so much! We have to take short cuts where we can right? Many of the other ingredients I chopped up while the onions and chicken were cooking to save time.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 tsp of olive oil
1/3 of a white onion, diced
1 large chicken breast (around 10 oz), cut into small cubes of about 1/2 an inch
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp of salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
8 oz of butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 ribs of celery, diced
15 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 oz of frozen peas (I buy a 12 oz bag and use half)
4-5 cups of water
2 cubes of low sodium chicken bouillon

Cooking equipment: 6 quart Dutch oven and garlic press

Directions:
Spray a 6 quart Dutch oven with cooking spray this allows you to use less olive oil. Add diced onion and olive oil to the pot and sauté on med-high heat until the onions are translucent, about 5-6 minutes. While the onions are cooking, I cut my chicken into cubes. Add chicken to the pot and using a garlic press, add the garlic. Add the cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to the pot and cook until the chicken is mostly cooked, about 5-7 minutes and then add the squash cubes. While the chicken and squash are cooking, I dice my celery. Add the celery, beans and peas to the pot. Cover the contents with water, about 4-5 cups and add the bouillon cubes. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.

The recipe makes about 6 bowl-sized servings which the recipe builder calculates at 1 point each. There are only 4 points in the whole pot, 3 from olive oil and 1 from the bouillon cubes.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

10+ Weight Watchers breakfast ideas - 5 points and below!

Yes, we get tired of eating eggs but they are an easy breakfast a lot of days o  Weight Watchers. I like to make frittatas with almond milk (low points) on the weekends for a quick grab and go breakfast. They are usually 0-2 points depending on what I put in them. Freestyle friendly!

But sometimes...you want something else, something that isn't eggs! Here are 10+ ideas for 5 or fewer points and no eggs!

**update: I originally wrote this post when WW was on the Freestyle plan, which is now the blue plan. If you are following green or purple plans, check your points.

1) Avocado Toast

I might be a millennial because I love this. To make it Freestyle-friendly, I use a 2 slices of 1 point bread, such as Aldi's light and fit wheat, and weigh out 2oz of avocado (3pts). I put 1 oz on each slice. Normally, half an avocado is 1.75-2.5oz.

A dash of salt on top is nice too.

Total: 5 points

2) Toast with powdered peanut butter

Avocado isn't ripe yet? Well, you can also use peanut butter powder on your toast! My favorite kind is PBfit but I have tried a bunch of different kinds. Put 3 tbsp of powdered peanut butter (mixed up with water per the directions on the package) on 2 pieces of toasted 1 point bread.

I also like to add a dash of salt or cinnamon on top. You can also add banana or apple slices for no additional points. Sometimes I will also only have 1 piece of toast with peanut butter and a banana (3 point version, shown above).

Total: 4 points

3) Peanut butter banana wrap

Use a 2 point wrap, such as Aldi's light & fit multigrain flatbread, and spread 2 tbsp of powdered peanut butter (mixed with water into peanut butter). Slice half of a banana and layer on top of your peanut butter, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and roll it up. I eat the rest of the banana as a morning snack. You can also do this with apples.

Total: 3 points

4) Cheese pretzels slims

This is not a very traditional breakfast food but for me, if you eat it in the morning, it's breakfast. So think outside the box!

Take 1 wedge of light cheese, such as light laughing cow, and spread it on 32 pretzel crisps. You will probably not have enough cheese for all of them but the extras make a good snack on their own.

Total: 3 points

5) Pumpkin muffins

Do yourself a favor and prep a batch of these pumpkin muffins, eat some and keep the rest in your freezer for busy mornings. You can have 2 muffins for 3 points and there's no artificial sugar.

Total: 3 points

6) Peanut butter pancakes

I make these peanut butter pancakes usually for breakfast on Sunday and the have the leftovers the next day. I eat them plain without syrup a lot of times, especially when leftover but you could also mix up some peanut butter powder that's extra thin as a drizzle or dip (extra point for 2 Tbsp of powder). You can have 2 pancakes for 4 points.

Total: 4 points

7) Breakfast Sandwich

Don't start dreaming of McMuffins, but this Weight Watchers version isn't too shabby. Take one light English muffin and toast it, smear on a wedge of light cheese (light laughing cow or similar) and add a couple of slices of deli turkey or ham (check the point value of this, you need something that is 1pt for up to 2oz but there are lots of options). Voila - breakfast sandwich.

You *could* put an egg on this, if you wanted but I promised no eggs.

Total: 4 points

8) Cheese and an apple

Two pieces of light string cheese and apple slices. Cheese also pairs well with grapes. Plus this a grab and go option.

Total: 3 points

9) Almond Milk Crepes


Don't hear "crepes" and think "this is too fancy, I cannot make this!" because you definitely can. Crepes are basically flat pancakes but also a blank canvas for topping with delicious things. These are definitely a meal-prep item, here is the recipe.

The recipe page has lots of low-point ideas for topping them, check it out for many options! You can also eat them plain and they are quite good.

Shown below is a crepe topped with bananas and powdered peanut butter made into a drizzle (1pt crepe, 1 pt drizzle).

Total: 2 points for 2 crepes (toppings extra) 

10) Sausage veggie scramble

Take 3 turkey sausage links and dice them up. Spray a pan with cooking spray and saute the sausage with your choice of zero point veggies such as broccoli, peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini. Just about anything you have in your fridge! I add a little garlic salt for seasoning.

This isn't really a grab and go option, but can be prepped for a few days in advance. It's also good with avocado or cheese on top, for additional points.

Total: 2 points

11) Oatmeal

I could eat oatmeal every day of the week! Depending on how you make it, the points can vary a lot. I use 1/3 of dry quick oats (3pts blue) and I like to make it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk (1pt) or you can make it with water for zero. If you want a zero point sweetener, I like monkfruit but you can add what you prefer. I usually just toss some berries or banana slices in mine.

If you want to prep a little in advance, this baked oatmeal is delicious and you get a little more volume for your points.

Total: 4 points for either 1/3 cup oatmeal with almond milk or 1 serving of the baked oatmeal

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Friday, February 1, 2019

Mediterranean chicken salad – 2 points on Weight Watchers


Easy lunch alert! When you are trying to plan your meals, can you have too many easy lunch ideas? I don’t think so!

This chicken salad was inspired by a local Mediterranean deli that makes the best chicken salad ever.
I seriously didn’t even like chicken salad until I had theirs. I’m not really a mayo fan but they use an olive oil mayo and magic, which makes their chicken salad fantastic.

So I set out to recreate it and recreate it in a way that was Weight Watchers (or I guess now it’s Wellness Works!) friendly. First the recipe and then I’ll give you some ideas on low-point pairings!

Ingredients:
12.5 oz can of 98% fat free chicken breast (must be breast! And at least 98% FF or it has points!)
1 cup of fat free, plain, Greek yogurt (approximately, see directions)
Juice of half a lemon
15-20 grapes cut in half
1 rib of celery diced
1 tsp salt
1 clove of fresh minced garlic or 1 tsp of garlic powder
½ tsp of celery seed
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp of ground pepper

Directions:
In a medium bowl with a lid, put chicken breast, mayo, grapes, celery and all spices. Add about half of the yogurt (or a big spoonful)  and the juice from the lemon. I suggest squeezing the lemon juice directly into the bowl using a small strainer to catch seeds. Stir until all ingredients incorporated, shredding the chunk chicken and adding more yogurt until it reaches desired consistency, approximately 1 cup.



The recipe makes two servings of a little more than 1 cup each, each serving is 2 points on Weight Watchers Freestyle program. Or the whole recipe is 3 points. If you use regular mayo instead of the suggested olive oil/reduced fat, each serving is 3 points.

So what are you gonna eat it with? Here are some ideas!
  • Pretzel slims (3pts/oz)
  • In a low point wrap (I like Aldi fit & active wraps for 2pts)
  • On low point bread (1-2pts/slice depending on the bread)
  • On top of a salad
  • With baby carrots (0 pts)
  • With celery sticks (0 pts)
  • On top of sliced cucumbers (0 pts)

Do you have any other ideas on what to eat it with? Leave them in the comments! 

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.