Tag Archives: eating out on weight watchers

Quantum Leap

16 Jun

Esther suggested we meet one night for dinner at Quantum Leap in the East Village.  It’s a restaurant that specializes vegetarian and organic dishes.  Usually not my thing (I like my meat), but Esther said it was good, so I gave it a shot.  Turns out it’s actually pescatarian and they also have vegan items.

It was a long day and I had eaten well, so I treated myself to a beer.  I went with the organic Georg Schneider’s Wiesen Edel-Weisse.  It was so good I took a picture of it.

I actually cannot for the life of me remember what Esther ordered.  Esther: If you read this, let me know!  I remember she liked it very much though.  It MAY have been this: Vegetarian Curry Stew a melange of seasonal vegetables and tofu slowly simmered in our south east asia curry spices. served with basmati-lentil rice

The rice was especially delicious.

I had the Seafood Scampi with skewers of broiled shrimp scallop, flounder and salmon in roasted fresh garlic. served with fettuccini and sauteed garden vegetables in a pesto sauce.

I really liked the seafood and the pasta taste was great, but a little extra oily.

Point estimation?  11 for dinner.

  • Beer ~ 3 points
  • 2 skewers ~ 5 points
  • 1 cup pasta ~ 3 points (I didn’t eat all on the plate)

I think this place was pretty good, and I certainly didn’t miss the “meat.”  I wasn’t overwhelmed, however, and don’t think I’d be chomping at the bit to go back.

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10

Gansevoort 69 by the Highline

23 Apr

My friend, Debbie and I were wandering around by the entrance to the Highline looking for a bite to eat one beautiful Saturday afternoon. We saw Gansevoort 69 and it looked like a nice diner, so we decided to try it.  I was actually pretty surprised by the inside. It was very modern and looked like an upscale restaurant inside.

Debbie was torn between a few dishes, including the Mac & Cheese.  The waiter mentioned that they were just written up in AM New York as one of the best Mac & Cheeses in town.  Strangely enough, I have read one AM New York in the past 3 years and this was the one I had read.  No brainer… Debbie went for the Mac & Cheese.  She was nice enough to give me a bite and it was good, but nothing spectacular.

I went with the “Not Your Mama’s Bennie” which included 2 poached eggs (healthier because there is no oil used to cook them) with Canadian Bacon (the healthier bacon) on a homemade hashbrown.  I asked for the hollandaise on the side (and didn’t even touch it!), went with whole wheat bread, and made sure to eat every bite of the salad.  Simple changes!

Here’s a zoom in.

And a further zoom in… 

See that under the egg there?  Does that look like a hashbrown to anyone?  I mean MAYBE if it were warm and soft… but it was like potato sticks made into a nest.  Not bad, really, but not what I’d consider a “hashbrown.” Made it easier not to eat and spare me the point though. 🙂

Luckily, the egg was cooked PERFECTLY.  This was definitely the highlight of the meal as a perfectly cooked poached egg is surprisingly hard to come by.

Total points for 2 poached eggs, salad, 1 slice of whole wheat bread, 2 bites of “hashbrowns,” and Canadian bacon? 8 points!  Not too bad for a very filling brunch.

In the end, Gansevoort 69 was good, but nothing special.

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10

My First Weight Watchers Oops: Ramen!

19 Apr

One day I had soup with some dumplings. I was impressed to see that the broth was “free” for points and the dumplings were surprisingly low in points.  The lunch was one of the best I found (points wise) in Chinatown.  So Ramen couldn’t be THAT bad, right? Oh so very wrong…

I saw the serving of the noodles was 5 points… so I thought maybe this whole thing (including half an egg and some grilled pork) couldn’t be more than 8 points.  Well… it was 5 points for a HALF cup.  I had about a cup and a half… 15 points on NOODLES.  That’s a mistake I won’t make again.  Nearly 20 points of my 24 for the day slurped up in one sitting.

Luckily there is a great alternative… SOBA! Buckwheat noodles are two points for one full cup.  That’s a no brainer right there!

So after all this I’m sure you’re wondering if my 20 point lunch was worth it? Absolutely not.  It was just… bland.  So bland that it’s not even worth looking up what random place we went for this bowl of flavorlessness.