My Secret to Eating Well on Weight Watchers
Great Recipes for Few Points
When you’re on Weight Watchers, it’s all about the points, right?
But how much can you really eat on just 18-30 points a day?
You’d be surprised. I know I was.
(By the way, I put in some links throughout this story, so you can go directly to the site I'm talking about. So just click on them to go there.)
Dieting really isn’t my thing (and it shows!). Even though I’m not a real big sweets fan, I am one of those people who likes to eat a good hearty meal: big breakfasts, tasty lunches and divine dinners are my favorite.
So you can imagine my reaction when my online Weight Watchers quiz estimated my daily point allowance at a mere 22 points.
Twenty-points! Are they crazy? I thought.
What can a person eat with 22 lousy points? Then I clicked onto their online menu ideas and saw how far those 22 points could really go.
Worried that your points allowance is going to leave you hungry -- and grumpy?
That is absolutely not a problem on Weight Watchers!
One of the best ways to make sure you always have a ton of recipe ideas is to join up with the Weight Watchers online program -- click here to check it out.
When you're an online member, you have access to around a million recipes (okay, not that many, but you get my point), and every single one tells you exactly how many points are in it.
I found this tool totally indispensable! Click here to see what I'm talking about.
Try these tasty recipes for loads of filling meals and desserts!
What did I give up for breakfast on my new Weight watchers Point Plan? Not much. Of course I did have to learn a little about portion control (ok, so I can’t eat everything I want). For a single weight watchers food point I could have:
• a diet English muffin
• 2 slices of diet breads (or one slice of whole wheat regular)
• A small bagel (or jam extra)
• 3 scrambled egg white (and if I wanted to add another 1 ½ points I could throw on a slice of Kraft 2% cheese a 3 slices of Hillshire Farm ham for a great omelet!)
• 1 cup of just about any fresh fruit I could find in season
• ½ cup of just about any fruit juice
• A cup of instant low-fat hot chocolate
• ½ cup of milk
• And much more!
For a filling and tasty breakfast, try one of these Weight Watcher’s favorites straight from their own recipe archives:
Cherry Cheese Blintzes (just 3 points per serving)
Bacon and Egg Muffin Melt ( 5 points)
Banana-Oat Pancakes ( 7 points)
Apple Cheddar Pancakes ( 5 points)
Orange-Cranberry Scones (4 points)
Lucky for me I love the three S’s for lunch: soups, salads and sandwiches, because there sure are plenty of them to choose form on Weight Watchers.
Get this, for no points at all (yes, I said 0 points!), I can delve into a scrumptious (and filling) garden vegetable soup packed with all kinds of fresh vegetables. And, if I want to really get stuffed at lunchtime, I can add a pastrami sandwich with 7 slices of Hillshire Farms Dei Select meat, on two slices of low-cal bread for just 2 points more.
All that for lunch and it only costs a mere 3 points! If you don’t like pastrami, feel free to substitute 6 slices of HF ham or turkey instead. With a meal that low in points, I sometimes even add a TBY Sorbet Bar or Dairy Queen raspberry vanilla bar for one point more – if I’m not too stuffed.
Soup and sandwich not your idea of a good lunch? Try these combinations instead:
1 cup of low-fat vegetarian chili over ½ cup brown rice, sprinkled with 2 Tbsp. low-fat cheddar cheese (6 points)
1 small fast food hamburger and a side salad (7 points)
1 cup Chinese vegetables with chicken and ½ cup brown rice ( 7 points)
Pasta primavera made with 1 cup pasta and ½ cup sauce. Sliced tomatoes with 1 oz. mozzarella cheese ( 8 points)
Tuna Nicoise Baguette ( 7 points)
If you’re like me, you need a hearty meal to get you through the night. Here are some of my point-saver favorites:
Shrimp ( 5 oz) and stir-fry veggies on ½ cup of brown rice (7 points)
Salmon Kabob ( 6 points)
Baked Halibut ( ¼ pound) (4 points)
Two large Pita Pizzas ( 7 points)
Rigatoni Bolognese ( 6 points)
Vegetable Lasagna (7 points)
Ham $ Bell Pepper Calzone (7 points)
Mini Meatloaf ( 4 points) – add a half cup of mashed potatoes for an extra 2 points
Shepherd’s Pie ( 5 points)
Healthy Macaroni and Cheese (5 points)
As you can see, eating on Weight Watchers isn’t all that hard.
The trick is learning how to control portion sizes and substitute high-fat ingredients with lower-fat varieties. That’s where their online recipe archives can help (click on the link to see) – by giving you hundreds of low-point meals to choose from, complete with an ingredient list and complete directions.
So, head on over to the kitchen and whip up a delicious Weight Watchers meal and enjoy!
