Tag Archives: weight watchers

Mandarin Court Restaurant- Dim Sum

16 Apr

Another Chinatown meal while on Jury Duty: Dim Sum made me nervous… especially on Weight Watchers. I thought even if I could get away with eating there and not feeling sick (unfortunately, Chinatown dim sum and my belly don’t usually go well together), I could never do it for less than 1,000 points. Right? Wrong.  4 steamed dumplings = 4 points. So 8 dumplings = 8 points. Not too shabby.  I used UrbanSpoon to find a place close and it came up with Mandarin Court Restaurant on Mott (just below Canal).

The experience was hysterical.  A woman came down the row of tables with a cart of dim sum and starts yelling things. It wasn’t until she was next to my table, screaming at ME, that I realized she was asking “Pork? Chicken? Fresh Made Riiiiiiice?”  I asked her “is that shrimp” while pointing to a dish and she put it on my table.  I was still looking at the menu and thought she was maybe delivering an order since I had not placed one yet so I told her that I hadn’t ordered it. She protested that yes, I just did.  It was at this point that a bus boy stepped in and explained to her that I needed a few minutes (or something like that).  Thanks bus boy!

I decided on pork and shrimp.  The pork was good, but nothing special.

The shrimp was really a full shrimp wrapped in a wonton wrapper.  Good, but again, not great.

Tried to get a shot of the actual shrimp in the dumpling…

And guess what? It made me sick afterwards.  BOOOO

Total Nom Points: 4 out of 10

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Bahn Mi from Paris Sandwich

14 Apr

Bravo me! Two Weight Watchers home cooked dinners down and you’re on a roll… then everything came to a screeching halt… I was on jury duty… downtown… in Chinatown. I hardly know where to eat down there to begin with, let alone on Weight Watchers. I had heard such great things about Paris Sandwich’sBanh Mi from FeistyFoodie. I was bummed that I was finally in the area and would have to forgo for this new diet.   I decided to go with the mindset, however, that you can eat anything as long as you track it and account for it with eating less at other times.  So I snuck open the iPhone app while hearing a slow case and calculated the points.  I was thrilled that it was only 10 points.  That left me with 12 still for dinner (after my 2 points used at breakfast on my yogurt).

Paris Sandwich (on Mott between Hester and Canal) was quintessentially Chinatown.  Women barking at patrons who were completely overwhelmed by a menu they could hardly read.  I tried to ask if there were any peppers in the sandwich or if it was spicy… and the answer wasn’t convincing. So I ordered and crossed my fingers.

They seem to have bread pre-made that they then put through a toaster and add the items.  I went with the grilled pork and it comes with cilantro, Japanese mayo (which looks more like butter and I’m not sure what it adds to the flavor… hmmm), carrots and daikon. (And you can add jalapenos to the sandwich I believe)

All of these flavors just combined to perfection. And the bread was delicious… though messy. Luckily I ate this outside as afterwards I was covered in crumbs! Wouldn’t have had it any other way.

If you are ever in Chinatown and not so keen on dim sum, definitely try the Banh Mi from Paris. It’s delish!

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

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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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