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Weight Watchers Cooking Take 2: Zero Point Soup

9 Apr

I was told that there was a mysterious “Zero Point” soup recipe out there… and I figured “hey… I like soup. And I like making soup. And I really like the idea of eating meals that I don’t have to count towards my points!” So I went in pursuit of zero point soup.  Turns out there are several, but the “Italian Veggie” sounded best to me so I set to it.

It’s so easy and quick to make. Lots of fresh veggies. 

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RECIPE
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This is the original recipe as I found it:

Italian-Inspired Zero POINTS Value Soup
Makes 12 servings

POINTS® value | 0 per serving

Ingredients

  • 2 cups escarole, chopped (I used cabbage instead)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup onions, chopped
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 2 small zucchini, cubed
  • 1 medium red pepper, chopped (for allergy reasons, I ommitted this)
  • 2 cups fennel bulb, thinly sliced (one bulb)
  • 6 cups vegetable broth (I used fat free chicken broth)
  • 28 oz canned diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (ommitted for obvious reasons)
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped (I used dry)
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I went dry due to available ingredients)
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil

Instructions
Put escarole, garlic, onions, spinach, zucchini, red pepper, fennel bulb, vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, thyme and oregano into a large soup pot; stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

Stir in salt, black pepper, parsley and basil. Serve.

Serving size: about 1 cup

Variations:
They used the POINTS Tracker to calculate the following additions to an individual 1-cup serving:
1 1/2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, POINTS value: 1
2 oz cooked chicken sausage, POINTS value: 3
2 Tbsp cooked chickpeas, POINTS value: 0.5
2 Tbsp cooked orzo, POINTS value: 0.5
2 small, store-bought turkey meatballs, POINTS value: 2

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An Ode to Stir Fry

2 Apr

For many, many years I labeled myself as someone who really had no idea how to cook.  I have probably mentioned this before, but I once hermetically sealed a pot in college while trying to make a rice-a-roni.  I just didn’t know any better and found cooking incredibly intimidating.  I was quite adept at baking, but cooking just seemed like a world away. Plus, there was open fire to contend with!

At some point during college, someone showed me how to make a stir fry.  I remember tentatively sitting in my kitchen the next day, surrounded by (poory) cut veggies and some cut up strips of chicken wondering if I could possibly make anything edible out of these FRESH things… without a recipe and without ::gasp:: measuring!  I cooked up the rice (I was finally an expert at rice by then) and then put some oil in the pan, threw in the chicken until it browned, threw in some veggies, threw in some soy sauce and garlic powder and watched in fear.

It seemed to be right, but how did I know if the chicken was done enough?  I remember calling out to my roommate, Kim (who was a very good cook), and asking how to know if the chicken was done. She mentioned something about cutting it open and seeing if it was pink.  I had pieces of chicken that were maybe 1 inch cubes, so I wasn’t quite sure how to cut into this thing… but it looked white inside so I took a deep breath and decided it was time to see how badly I could poison myself.

I was so surprised when it wasn’t just cooked, it was GOOD!  I think I stir fried everything for the next few weeks.  I tried every veggie and every meat.  I experimented with sauces (note: teriyaki sauce, good… BBQ sauce, bad) and found out that you could do some pretty crazy things in one pan.  I think I would call this my turning point.  Or at least a step in the right direction. I could cook stir fry! It was a small, but remarkable accomplishment.  I hadn’t set anything on fire, I hadn’t poisoned myself, and I hadn’t necessitated the strength of two men to pull apart a pot (mind you… it was the only pot we owned in college).

I have a warm spot for stir fry in my heart since then, and when Mike suggested he cook it for me a few weeks ago, I was quite excited by the idea. 

He used some good Basmati Rice.

Then put together some chicken, broccoli, carrots, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and what I think was soy sauce and a bit of ginger. 

It was so good!

One of my favorite things about stir fry is that you can pretty much clean out your fridge with it. I’ve even made stir fry with pieces of deli meat that were nearing their expiration.

Delish!

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Weight Watchers Cooking Take 1: Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds

31 Mar

While I found a number of sites that have Weight Watchers Point Values listed with their recipes, there are very few curated recipes that say which ones are actually GOOD.  (I want an AllRecipes.com style sorting for recipes with points!)  One of the few places I found was a thread on Chowhound that discusses some good and bad recipes.  It was here that I found a recipe that sounded right up my alley.  I love chicken with fruit. 

I browned the chicken cubes in whole wheat flour which really added a great extra flavor to the chicken.  I also used cooking spray instead of oil since it’s 0 points.  But watch your cooking spray! I learned that more than 5 seconds of spray means you have to add a point.

When I added the apricots to the chicken, it smelled great. 

We had leftover rice (from the stir fry) so I added half a cup to my meal (2 points). 

Honestly, this recipe was absolutely sensational. I would make this even if I’m not on a diet! It is so delicious and perfectly balanced. 

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RECIPE
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Chicken Tagine with Apricots: 5 points (6 pts. if you decide to add oil to cook the chicken, I went with cooking spray)

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz. dried apricot halves
  • 1 cup fat-free chicken broth
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1” cubes
  • 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour (I actually used whole wheat flour which was VERY tasty!)
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1/4 cup slivered or sliced toasted almonds
  • 1/8 tsp. salt or to taste
  • 1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper or to taste

Directions:

  1. In a saucepan, bring the chicken broth and apricots to a simmer and then set aside.
  2. Toss chicken with flour
  3. Coat a large, nonstick saucepan with cooking spray and place over high heat
  4. Sautee chicken until coated chicken until golden brown – about five minues
  5. Add diced onion, reduce heat to medium low and cook until onions are soft, about 10 mins.
  6. Add cinnamon and honey
  7. Stir in apricots, broth and almonds
  8. Season to taste with s&p.
  9. Simmer 5-10 minutes

Serves four (I found the servings a bit small on gym day, so I went with a serving and a half and put down the 7.5 points that time… still easy amount of points to work with!)

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