Tag Archives: Weight Watchers

Low Smartpoint Chicken and Noodles

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This is one of my favorite recipes for when I need that comfort food feeling.  I’ll be the first to admit it – pasta is my downfall.  I could live on the stuff.  Take your meat, your chocolate, your sugar, hell even bread.  The one thing that I love love love to eat is pasta!

I was so excited when I found these Carba-Nada Egg Fettuccine Noodles. At 3 Smartpoints for a cup and a half you just can’t beat it.  They are freakin’ good too!  I’ll include stove top and Instant Pot directions.

This chicken and noodles recipe  comes in at 5 points for 1 1/2 cups.  Amazing!

Ingredients:

1 10 Oz Bag Carba-Nada Egg Fettuccine Noodles
1 Pound Chicken Breast
1 Cup Chopped Celery
1 Cup Carrot Sticks
1 Small White Onion, diced
4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 1/2 Tablespoon Wildtree Herbes De Provence Blend (or poultry seasoning)
2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Salt

Instant Pot Directions:

Season Chicken with Herbes De Provence blend (or your local grocery store version) and set to the side.  Put Instant Pot in Saute mode and add oil.  Add Celery, Carrots, and onions. Season with salt.  Saute for 2-3 minutes, until onions become translucent, stirring occasionally.

Add Chicken Broth, stirring to get any stuck bits from the bottom.  Gently place chicken on top of the liquid, close the lid, and set for 10 minutes Manual.

When finished do a quick release and remove chicken.  Shred with two forks.  Empty your noodles into the liquid, then place chicken on top.  Set for 1 minute manual.

Quick release, stir, and you are done!  You may want to add a bit more salt once it’s finished.  I have been weaning myself off using so much so I don’t use a lot in my cooking anymore!

Stove Top Directions:

Follow Instant Pot directions except boil on stove.  When you go to poach your chicken, be sure liquid is boiling.  Bring down to a simmer, cover, and check the temp of chicken after 15 minutes.  It should reach a safe temperature between 15-20 minutes.

Once chicken has reached temp, remove and shred.  Add noodles to your broth and veggies, and cook 3 minutes, stirring often.  Re-add chicken when finished and you are good to go!

I use Wildtree in my recipes but always try to give an alternative.  If you are interested in Wildtree products you can find them here.

Edited to add:  Amazon has Instant Pots on sale for $99 today (5/9/17) so if you were thinking of buying one now is the time!

Weigh in 5/6 – If only it were Magic.

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The GIF associated with this post is what I send to people at work that want something done right away.  In case you are not old like me this is Tabatha from a show called “Bewitched” (and it’s actually before my time too, just saw it a lot on reruns.  I swear) and she would wiggle her nose and get what she wanted.

I stopped sending this when one of the engineers at work said “Awww is that you?” Yep, old.

Anyway….It would be so much easier if you could twitch your nose and lose the weight.  I did well this week, lost 1.8 pounds, but I’m working for it.  Which is kind of the point.  You have to work for it.  You have to be mindful and you have to move your body.

If something tells you it’s magic it’s wrong.  It is Math.  Pure and simple.  I get tired of answering all the “How did you lose all that weight??” questions with Weight Watchers because I’ll get a ton of “oh you should try this fill in the blank diet next” or “Weight Watchers doesn’t work” or “but do you eat white stuff” blah blah blah.  So my standard answer now is “I burn more calories than I consume.”

Really that is what it all boils down to, whether you do Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig or Whole 30 or Atkins or the damn Hotdog Diet.  You have to eat less than what you expel.  Period.

The trick is to find something that works for you.  A family member of mine is always saying that white stuff is poison and we cannot lose weight if we eat white stuff.  I eat white stuff.  I’ve lost almost 40 pounds, 65 if you count my highest weight.  Hey, if not eating white stuff works for you, that is awesome.

I’m not going to never eat bread again.  I’m not going to never eat a potato again.  If there is one thing I have learned in my 46 years on this Earth is you best find something you can live with the rest of your life.  There is no “done”.  I’ve watched this family member drop huge amounts of weight only to gain it back along with the same amount of friends.

I’ve never done that with Weight Watchers, and God knows I’ve done it enough times.  I just get smaller each time I come back.  I’ve learned valuable things that fit me and how I want to live.

Find that and you are golden.

Staple Meal – Stuffed Pepper Soup

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So would you believe me if I told you this Stuffed Pepper Soup is 2 Smartpoints for a cup?  I didn’t believe it and put the ingredients in the recipe builder over and over and over again until I had to accept it.

I can’t tell you how many times this recipe has saved my Weight Watcher life!  With the fiber from the Bulgar and the protein from the meat it is very, very satisfying!  I’m including directions for both the Instant Pot and the stove top, but if you have a pressure cooker it is so much more flavorful made that way!

Makes 13 1 Cup servings

Ingredients:

1 lb 93% Ground Beef
28 ounce can diced tomatoes (use petite if you like smaller chunks)
1 small onion, chopped
3 Green Peppers
1 Red Pepper
4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Bulgar Wheat
1 tablespoon Wildtree Ranchers Steak Rub (Montreal Steak Seasoning is a good sub)
Salt and Pepper to taste (I use Wildtree’s California Garlic and Pepper blend to cut down on the sodium)

Method of Preparation:

Instant Pot:
Turn pressure cooker on saute mode, and once it reaches “HOT” status add your ground beef and onions.  Season with steak seasoning. Saute until beef is cooked through.  Remove from Instant Pot and add olive oil.  Put in your peppers, season to taste with salt and pepper or your choice of seasoning, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put everything back in the pool.  Add broth, tomatoes, and Bulgar and give it a good stir.

Lock on lid and cook on manual high pressure for 7 minutes.  Let naturally release for 10, then release the rest of the steam.

On the Stove Top:

In a large skillet heat until hot and add your ground beef and onions.  Season with steak seasoning. Saute until beef is cooked through.  Remove from skillet and add olive oil.  Heat oil and put in your peppers, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper or your choice of seasoning.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a stock pot add all ingredient together, giving it a good stir. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to a simmer.  Cook for at least 40 minutes to up to an hour, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!

I use Wildtree products in a lot of my recipes, but I always try to give a substitute.  If you’d like to check out Wildtree, you can visit my site HERE.

 

Smart Swap – Turkey Sausage Links

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So normally I am not a huge fan of the substituting Turkey for everything to lower the points.  I’m not even a fan of Turkey, but I have acquired a new appreciation for it.

My Mother, God rest her soul, was one of the best cooks on the planet.  Okay so maybe no one knew that outside of our family and friends, but she was phenomenal in the kitchen.  Everything I know I learned from her.

Anyway the one thing that woman could not get right was Turkey.  Anyone remember that scene from the movie Christmas Vacation where they stick a fork in the Turkey and all the air comes out and it collapses because it was so dry?

Yeah, every Thanksgiving was like that and no one ever said a word.  We just gnawed on our Turkey Jerky like it was the best thing ever because my Mama was not someone you messed with.  Ever.

I asked her about it after I was older, didn’t live with her, and was pretty sure she wouldn’t kill me.  Basically she was afraid of it being underdone and making someone sick.

So Turkey is not my favorite thing, but I’m coming to realize that as long as you don’t cook it with the fires from the seventh layer of hell it’s not bad.

I’ve tried several different turkey breakfast sausage things and Jimmy Dean has the best in my opinion.  I love love love (did I say love?) breakfast and at 3 Smartpoints for 3 links it saves my breakfast loving Weight Watcher heart every weekend!

Weigh In 4/29 – Oprah is an A-Hole

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So I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here but I had a year long tantrum over the change in the way that Weight Watchers calculates points.  Here comes Oprah Winfrey and suddenly coconut oil was 7 of these Smartpoints instead of 3.  Oh I was so mad that a lot of my staples had now become high point items, and when people would ask me how Weight Watchers was going I would say, “Not good because Oprah is an A-Hole.”

I’m usually awesome with change – in fact unlike most people in the universe I LOVE it.  It’s exciting to shake things up, learn something new – just don’t mess with my food and something that is working for me.

Now I realize that Oprah probably didn’t get involved with Weight Watchers just to change the entire plan.   I love Oprah, always have, but she was the easiest fall guy for what in my mind was the absolute destruction of Weight Watchers.  I think I tried it for like a week, got mad, and stopped logging in and going to meetings.

I’ve always had a problem with things like Atkins and low carb.  Hey, if it works for you great, but that is not something I would be able to sustain.  With the changes to the program that seemed to revolve around protein it seemed to me that was heading in that direction, and I did not like it.  Not. One. Bit.

So I wasn’t logging my food, and I wasn’t going to meetings, but I was still paying Weight Watchers.  Some may think that foolish, but I just knew I couldn’t close my account.  This is not my first rodeo with WW.  This isn’t even my third rodeo with WW.  I know what happens when I totally quit.

My tantrum seemed to subside somewhere around this Christmas, when I knew I had to do something or I would gain back all the weight I had already lost.  I’ve beat the odds and not been one of those people that gained back all their lbs + some friends when I stop doing a diet program.  In fact, I’ve never gotten back to my original high starting weight from 2002.  Weight Watchers definitely taught me a better way to eat, but getting to that goal has been like finding a unicorn for me.

I bit the bullet and went back to meetings in February like I was a brand new member.  I was still 10 pounds down from before my tantrum, and I kept it.  Telling myself I would give it two weeks of really, really trying I went in head on and totally on plan.

Really it wasn’t as bad as I had built it in my mind, and I begrudgingly had to admit that a lot of the changes were for the better.  Once I got my groove I had no problem following the plan and have never been hungry.  It seems really, really easy this time – something that has never happened to me before because chocolate.

So at weigh in this week I am down 37 pounds.  I am 22 pounds from my goal weight.  I’ve been closer before, but that is another blog post entirely.

22 more.  I’m going to do it this time, and Oprah, if you can hear me, I’m sorry I called you an A-Hole.  A lot.

 

Steak and Cabbage

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Alright, I’ll admit it.  I have a long way to go with my food photography, and I probably should do better than a paper plate. This was a quickie though, and one of my absolute favorite recipes that is super good in Smartpoints and also follows the Simply Filling technique!

This recipe always brings awesome memories of my Mom.  She loved this meal, so we had it a lot.  Granted it isn’t the sexiest looking dish, but it is deep with flavor and gives that comfort food good vibes for sure.

I snapped these pics awhile ago, and I was doing the Simply Filling technique.  When using Smartpoints, I separate the Bulgar, steak, and cabbage on my plate to better count points.  Bulgar is 4 points a cup, the steak is 3 Smartpoints for 3 oz, and the cabbage is free.

I used my most favorite appliance in the entire world to make this, my Instant Pot.  If you have memories of your Grandma’s pressure cooker blowing up and hitting the ceiling don’t fret!  The new versions have tons of safety features, and can replace several appliances like your crock pot or rice cooker.  It makes PERFECT eggs.

Watch Amazon because they have it as the deal of the day all the time!

I’ve also included stove top instructions for those of you who do not have a pressure cooker.

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds tenderized round steak
1 small head of cabbage, core removed, quartered
3 teaspoons Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub (Or Montreal Steak Rub found in grocery store or just liberal salt and pepper and garlic powder)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Bulgar Wheat (found in the International aisle at the grocery store)
2 1/2 cup beef broth
Method of Preparation:
Season steak liberally with seasonings.  The Wildtree is my favorite, and is sold online at here.
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Cut into 1 inch strips, being sure to keep them all the same size:
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Set your Instant Pot to Saute Mode, drizzle oil  and wait for it to read hot.  Working in batches so not to crowd the pan give each piece a steak a good browning.
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Once all the steak is done remove from pan and add the broth  Scrape the bottom of the pan and get all those delicious bits off and melted into your broth.  Add Bulgar.
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Stir to incorporate
Next layer cabbage on top of bulgar/broth.
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Give it a pinch of salt and then layer steak on top.
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Close lid and cook on manual mode for 8 minutes.  Let naturally release for 10 minutes, and release any remaining pressure.  Stir all ingredients together, and if it still is a little juicy return to saute mode for a few minutes.  Enjoy!
If you are following Weight Watchers or count calories you can easily remove the steak and cabbage so that you can measure your bulgar.
Now if you want to cook this on the stove top:
You will not use the bulgar.  I use this to sop up the extra juice in the pan for this, and I love bulgar.  You will be stirring to much to do it this way.
So instead of putting your ingredients in your Instant Pot, you will put them in your pan on the stove.  You need a very deep pan, and to be honest I usually use my stock pot.  I brown the steak just like above, add only 1 cup of broth, then return all – steak and cabbage to the pan.  cook on low for at least 50 minutes, stirring about every 5.
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Staple Meal – Pizza

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So I was born in Chicago and pizza sauce runs in my veins.  The Smartpoint count for Pizza on Weight Watchers is enough to bring a grown woman to tears, so when I am really crazing that ooey-gooey goodness I make my own.

That’s not to say that I don’t ever enjoy the heaven that is Gino’s East or Giordano’s.  I simply eat smaller portions and you know, not every other day.

I keep my monster pizza cravings at bay by making a better Smartpoint version at home.  This has quickly become one of my go-to staple meals.  If I’m running late at work, tired when I get home, or just a complete unorganized mess I always have these ingredients in my pantry so that I can make a quick, nutritious, delicious meal.

I can’t tell you how many times this has saved my Smartpoint balance.  Of course I try to plan, prepare – do all those things we are supposed to do but let’s face it.  We are human and sometimes things just don’t work out the way we planned.  Having a Plan B and a Plan C and even a Plan D will help you from getting thrown off the wagon and drug behind it for a few miles.

There really isn’t a recipe for this – you do what you want to do.  A little pizza joint down the street from me used to make a fabulous veggie pizza and they put broccoli and cauliflower on it.  It is super good and helps bulk up the pizza.  I keep frozen broccoli and cauliflower in my freezer, and nuke it on a paper towel for about a minute before putting my pizza in the oven.  It comes out perfect.

So I start with a Tumaro wrap.

tumaro

They are only one point and hold up well!  1/2 cup 2% mozzarella covers it well.  For the sauce I sometimes make my own for zero points with crushed tomatoes, or Ragu has a traditional pizza sauce that is decent but will cost you a point for 1/4 cup.

So the wrap, then the sauce, whatever veggies I have on hand, then the cheese.  I bake that bad boy for about 20 minutes at 350 and dinner is served for 6-9 points, depending if I decide to add Canadian bacon or some other form of meat.

Sometimes I’ll sprinkle some garlic, sometimes I’ll do the Canadian bacon with some pineapple.  It’s nice to switch it up and get a little taste of something that is so comforting.

What is your comfort food?

 

Food Find – Tumaro’s Wrap

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Anyone who is doing Weight Watchers knows that 30 points is the lowest you can go, hence my blog name.  I’m not big on fake/artificial stuff, so swapping out things isn’t always easy for me.

The Tumaro Wrap is a lifesaver!  It is ONE POINT PEOPLE.  Not only is it one point, it is GOOD.  I won’t eat stuff just because it’s low in points, it has to be delicious too!

I found these at Meijer’s, and they have all different kinds.  I love the Chia seed one also.  This whole wheat one is my favorite for making little pizzas and sandwiches.  I’m going to have pizza later, so I’ll post it!

Smart Swap – Rice Rollers

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So I’m not a big fan of processed food.  Back in the day when Weight Watchers first started the “CORE” program it really changed the way I view food and how I eat.  Even after I fell of the wagon and was dragged for miles and miles I still ate a mostly whole food, cooked from scratch diet.

That being said, sometimes you just have to do a smart swap – swapping out a high point item for a more point friendly option.

Breakfast is a big deal for me.  I may have grown up in the Chicagoland area, but my family is from the south and skipping breakfast was not an option.  Ever.  Growing up that way I have to eat in the morning.

During my work days I always have the same thing.  1 cup of Kirkland Greek Yogurt (from Costco) mixed with one cup of blueberries, a dash of vanilla, and a drop of stevia extract.  That is 3 points, which is really good for that amount of food.  I’m a texture person though.  I have to have something besides mush, so I’d add 1/4 cup granola, which gave my breakfast a 4 point boost.

Now I have no problems having a 10 point breakfast on my days off, but during the week…when I don’t have time to cook and am going just for nourishment… Nope!

So I found these rice rollers while at Costco, and they save me 2 points.  Each rice roller is just 2 points.  I break it up into smaller chunks and add it to my yogurt.  I get the texture and it is really more filling.

Never mind that they kind of remind me of that Sugar Snap cereal from when I was a kid.  Oh yeah, they are delicious, something I never thought I’d say about a rice cake kind of deal!

You can find these at Costco sometimes.  It has been hit or miss for me so I started ordering from this link to Bamboo Lane Crunchy Rice Rollers: 3.5oz 8 Packs of 8 Rollers“>Amazon.  They have become to important in my daily routine to run out!

I’m hoping to have at least one Smart Swap a week, so be sure to check back!