WeightWatchers & "How Many ProPoints?" Thread MkII

Potato and Onion Soup

ProPoints® Value: 2
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 40 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Enjoy this warming soup that can be 'dressed' up with shreds of cabbage, lean ham or even sliced mushrooms.

Ingredients

1/2 medium Onion, All Types, about 60g, chopped
5 spray(s) Cooking Spray, Calorie Controlled
300 g Potatoes, Old, Raw, peeled, chopped
2 clove(s) Garlic, crushed
1000 ml Stock, Fresh, vegetable or chicken stock (made with powder or a cube)
1 pinch Salt, and black pepper, freshly ground
80 g Cabbage, green leaves, thinly shredded

Instructions

• Put the onion into a medium saucepan sprayed with low fat cooking spray and heat until sizzling. Cover and turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Then stir in the potato, garlic and stock.
• Bring to the boil, season to taste then simmer gently , uncovered, for 20-25 minutes until the potato is tender and starts to break up. The soup can be cooled and chilled ahead at this stage. It can also be blended until smooth in a liquidiser if you want a creamy texture. Otherwise leave it chunky.
• To serve, return to a gentle boil, add the cabbage and cook for a further 3-5 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes
• Cook's tip: You can add 100g of sliced mushrooms or 75g chopped ham instead of the cabbage.


Iced Banana Muffins

ProPoints® Value: 2
Servings: 20
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

These tasty muffins make a great treat or lunch box pudding.

Ingredients

5 spray(s) Cooking Spray, Calorie Controlled
3 tablespoons Oil, Vegetable, Any Type
50 g Sugar, Light Brown
2 medium Banana, peeled and mashed
1/2 medium Lemon, finely grated zest of 1/2
2 medium Egg, Whole, beaten
3 tablespoons Buttermilk
150 g Flour, Wheat, White, Plain, plain
1 teaspoons (as purchased) Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
50 g Sultanas,

For the icing:

50 g Sugar, Icing, sifted
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F. Lightly spray a mini muffin tray with low fat cooking spray or line with mini muffin papers.
• In a large bowl combine the oil and sugar and then beat in the bananas, lemon zest, eggs and buttermilk. Sift together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and stir into the mixture with the sultanas. Spoon into the muffin tray and bake for 15 mins until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once cool, make the icing. Mix together the sugar and lemon juice and drizzle over the cakes letting it run down the sides. Store in an airtight container for 1-2 days.

Notes

• Freezeable without icing.

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Lunchbox Layered Tuna Salad

ProPoints® Value: 4
Servings: 1
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Fill up your lunchbox with a healthy sandwich filling - without the bread!

Ingredients

3 leaf/leaves (small) Lettuce
1 large Tomato, sliced
1 medium Egg, Whole, hard-boiled
100 g Fish, Tuna in Brine, Drained
1/4 small Onion, All Types, finely sliced
1 tablespoons Capers, in Brine
1 tablespoons Parsley, fresh, chopped
1 tablespoons Vinegar, All Types, to season
1 pinch Salt, to season
1/8 teaspoons (ground) Pepper, Black (Whole, Cracked or Ground), black, freshly ground

Instructions
• Place the lettuce leaves directly in the base of a lunch box. Top with the sliced tomatoes.
• Shell the egg and slice it. Place the slices over the tomatoes, then spoon the tuna fish on top.
• Scatter the red onion, capers and parsley over the top of the tuna, then sprinkle with a few drops of vinegar. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Seal the lunchbox and keep cool – either in the fridge or in an insulated cool bag with an ice pack.

Notes
• Try topping with roast skinless chicken, lean ham, lean beef or cottage cheese as an alternative to tuna.

Sweet Onion Dip

ProPoints® Value: 2
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Our easy dip puts packaged onion-soup-mix dips to shame. You could even serve it in a hollowed-out red cabbage at your next dinner party or family gathering.

Ingredients

1 medium Onion, All Types, finely chopped
1 clove(s) Garlic, minced
145 g Cheese, Soft, Medium Fat
175 ml Cream, Sour
60 g Mayonnaise, Low Fat
1 tablespoons Dill, Fresh, fresh, minced
1/4 teaspoons Salt

Instructions
• Mix together all ingredients in a medium bowl and serve.

Notes
• Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

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Sticky Date and Oat Flapjacks
ProPoints® Value: 3
Servings: 16
Preparation Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 30 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

These flapjack-style cakes are delicious served warm as a pudding, or cold as a tea-time or lunch-box treat.

Ingredients

150 ml Water, boiling
1 teaspoons (level) Vanilla Extract
150 g Spread, Low Fat
150 g The Co-Operative Healthy Living Oatmeal, Quick Cook, Raw
75 g Sugar, Light Brown
1 tablespoons Sunflower Seeds
1 tablespoons Sesame Seeds
6 tablespoons Apple Juice
225 g Date, Dried, stoned and chopped

Instructions
• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F. Line the base of a 20 cm (8-inch), square, shallow tin with greaseproof paper or baking parchment.
• Place the dates in a heatproof bowl and pour on the boiling water. Leave to stand and soften for 15 minutes. Add the vanilla essence and beat to a smooth puree.
• Gently melt the spread in a saucepan, or in a bowl in a microwave oven. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Mix well.
• Spoon half of the oat mixture in the tin, pressing it down well with the back of a wooden spoon. Spread the date puree over the base and top with the remaining oat mixture.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the surface is golden. Allow the mixture to cool in the tin before cutting into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container.

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Barbecue Chicken Wrap

ProPoints® Value: 10
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 22 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Our homemade barbecue chicken wraps are a great lunchtime treat. To transform into a dinner, serve the chicken mixture over mashed potatoes or rice.

Ingredients

240 ml Coca Cola Company Diet Coke, or other diet brand
240 g Tomato Ketchup
60 g Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoons Hot Pepper Sauce (Tabasco)
40 g Onion, All Types, finely chopped
1 teaspoons (level) Garlic Purèe
675 g Chicken, Breast, Skinless, Raw
1 pinch Salt, & black pepper, freshly ground
4 medium Soft Tortilla, whole wheat
1 individual Lettuce, and mixed greens

Instructions
• Preheat grill.
• Combine diet cola, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, onions and garlic purée in a heavy saucepan; gradually bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat slightly to obtain a gentle simmer; simmer barbecue sauce until reduced by a quarter, about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, start to prepare chicken. Season chicken with salt and pepper; grill until cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove chicken from grill and pull apart into shredded bite-size pieces.
• Combine chicken and barbecue sauce in a medium bowl; mix to evenly coat.
• Divide chicken mixture onto bottom half of each tortilla; top with mixed greens. Fold tortilla bottom over filling and then fold sides in toward centre to enclose filling.

Notes
• If you serve with mashed potatoes or rice, use Recipe Builder to determine the new ProPoints values for the recipe.

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Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad

ProPoints® Value: 2
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 40 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Stir some tasty roasted vegetables and pasta shapes together to make a satisfying salad.

Ingredients

5 spray(s) Cooking Spray, Calorie Controlled
1 large Onion, All Types, red, cut into wedges
1 medium Pepper, Yellow, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 medium Courgette, thickly sliced
1 individual Chilli, Green or Red, (preferably red), deseeded and finely chopped
2 sprig(s) Thyme, Fresh
390 g Artichoke Hearts, Edible Portion, Cooked, in brine, drained
4 individual Tomatoes, Cherry, on the vine
100 g Pasta, White, Dried, shapes
1 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 pinch Salt, and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200°C/fan oven 180°C.
• Put the olive oil into a large roasting pan and add the onion, pepper, courgette and chilli. Toss to coat in the oil. Season and add the herb sprigs.
• Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Stir in the artichokes and place the cherry tomatoes on top. Roast for 5-8 more minutes. Cool whilst the pasta cooks.
• Cook the pasta shapes for 10-12 minutes until just tender – they should retain a little 'bite'. Rinse with cold water to cool quickly, then drain thoroughly.
• Stir the pasta shapes and lemon juice through the vegetables. Season, then serve.

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Baked Vegetable Frittata

ProPoints® Value: 2
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 35 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

This tasty vegetarian frittata is very versatile. Cut it into wedges and serve with salad or more vegetables for a main meal.

Ingredients

1 medium Aubergine, large, sliced
1 medium Courgette, sliced lengthways
10 spray(s) Cooking Spray, Calorie Controlled
1 medium Onion, All Types, finely chopped
1 clove(s) Garlic, crushed
225 g Peppers, All Types, roasted, in brine, drained
6 medium Egg, Whole
4 tablespoons Milk, Skimmed
2 teaspoons (as purchased) Oregano, dried
1/4 teaspoons Salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoons (ground) Pepper, Black (Whole, Cracked or Ground)

Instructions
• Preheat the grill. Arrange the slices of aubergine and courgette on the grill rack. Coat lightly with low fat cooking spray. Grill each side for about 3 minutes. Alternatively cook them in a char-grill pan.
• Meanwhile, spray a non-stick frying pan with low fat cooking spray and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/190°C/fan oven 170°C.
• Spray a 23cm (9 inch) round baking dish with low fat cooking spray. Add a layer of half the aubergines, half the peppers, then all the courgette, sprinkling each layer with some of the onion and garlic mixture. Repeat with remaining peppers and aubergine.
• Beat the eggs, milk and herbs together. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the vegetables. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until set and golden brown. Serve warm or cold, sliced into wedges.
• Meanwhile, spray a non-stick frying pan with low fat cooking spray and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/190°C/fan oven 170°C.

Hi everyone.
Sorry i havnt posted in ages,have had a crazy two weeks. Was in liverpool the weekend before last,ate and drank before and after me so luckily I was only up 1lb, and last weekend I had alot on,so that involved drinking, and takeaways!! Was dreading going to weigh in but I went with the intention of starting a fresh week the minute I walked out the door. And I was pleasently suprised to learn I was down 2lbs. How I dont know,but it made me more motivated than ever before cos it bought me into the 11 stone bracket. It goes to show going to meetings def pays off. So thats 7 pounds to go to a stone gone by xmas. Hows everyone else in that club doing?
Well done to everyone on the great losses and for everyone who fell off the wagon,chin up. I thought I'd fell off so it goes to show...
Good luck this week everyone!!

Wow thanks a mil for all of them recipes! Lunchtimes are what I seriously struggle with.. Flapjacks sound amazing..
Trying to stay good this week after being up tues night.. However I did have a wrap from mcdonalds today my boyfriend is a nightmare when I'm trying to be good!

I also can't find my pocket book thing anywhere, will my leader give me another? Or does anyone know anywhere online I could find stuff? Blogs etc..

Thanks! X

Had a gourge wintery warmin dessert after my dinner 2day...mum had sum homegrown apples lyin around so in2 a pie dish n made a crumble toppin wit porridge oats(wit seeds mixd thro),flour,a tblsp of linseeds, n aPprox 50g of low fat soya spread!!! D whole dish was 28pp n we got bout 7/8portions 4 4pp each, had it hot out of d oven wit 1pp worth of low fat yogurt, soooo yummy on a cold nyt cosied up by d fire...healthy low pp comfort food!!!!

Ok so I learned something last night. You know the way they always give you these bits of advice on how to lose weight, distracting yourself etc etc and lets be fair you hear it but never heed it. Last night I was sitting watching tele at about 9. All my dailies were gone and I started thinking of all the things I wanted to eat when really I wasn't hungry I was just bored. Well I tried something new....I got off my ar*e. I was in the bedroom and starting clearing out a press. Not only did I leave it clean and tidy I threw out so much cr*p I didn't need and then sat down almost 2 hours later with a deserved cuppa and felt well chuffed that I did something I'd being threatening to do for an age. So the advice they give may actually work Just think of all the clean cupboards I'm gonna have, I already have my eye on another couple

Quick question out to all this morning!
I'm just curious as to how much fruit people are eating. I know we talked about it before so sorry!! I know its 0pp you aint gonna pile on the pounds from eating apples but it just keeps crossing my mind that I may be eating a little too much every day as I really love it??

Yesterday I would have had strawberries and blueberries on my porridge, a large apple, a large pear, a small handful of grapes and a mandarin :eek:

See that's why a tracker is handy when you write it all down you can read back and see. That to me seems a lot on top of my dailies??

Shinnie0503 wrote: »

Hi dammitj, would you mind telling me which of the Dunnes Bread you buy? The bread I buy for the kids lunches have 6pp for two slices!! I have been buying the ww ones but not the same as normal slices. thanks

The Dunnes own brand granary and I think wholemeal is 2pp per slice and 3pp for 2. It's quite good to be fair.

Do you weigh yourself at the same time at home as your WI on a Wednesday?

Hmmm I see your point. Well I'm a firm believer in mixing things up and trying new things so perhaps try and eat a little more fruit as per norm at the weekend then WI on Sun like you do, and reduce fruit a little on Mon and Tues and drink loads of water and see?? Might be worth a go? I counted the last few days almost 300 cals on fruit a day. I know we don't work it like that but still interesting to work it out all the same

In relation to fruit intake, I reckon WW have incorporated in the plan when working out the PP allowance - eating 5-8 portions a day at 0pp, anything over that I would point.

Im really frustrated about how the calculations work out (I guess I need to invest in the actual calculator) When the package of bread indicated it is 2 PP for a slice and I have 2 slices I write it down as 4, but when I add them up as 2 together it works out to be 5. I just don't get it. Its just frustrating.

MaggieMay2 wrote: »

The calculator has been a godsend, either the one in class or the app on the phone. Alot of multiples of things can do that but bear in mind that multiples can bring things down too. Like 1 digestive is 2pp but 2 is 3pp so it makes more sense to have 2 for less, well you get my meaning It just means that a doubling up of something rounds it off. If a slice of bread is in actual fact 2.4pp then 2 is 4.8 hence the 5. In my experience point everything and anything you can with the calculator and if it's stuff you eat all the time it becomes so easy. Does that help?

It does, it just never occurred to me to point them out as 2 slices together. I will have to invest in the calculator, because Im probably going all wrong with the multiples, hopefully other things have worked in my favor.

How exactly do u work out the pp 4 multiple items on the official calculator???

I also fancied a fri nyt treat 4my dinner...a real fri nyty dinner of my childhood...waffles n fish fingers, a staple on a fri nyt wn friends wr round after school...had 4 fishfingers 4 6pp, 2waffles 4 6pp n a tbsp of frozen peas wit a bit of broccoli thrown in 5 good measure!!! Totaly worth the splurge in points, had enough 2 warrent it and 2 hav dessert after....discoverd m&s count on us choc frappe dessert 4 3pp...tastes really creamy n indulgent, def worth the points!!!

Goin away 4 the wknd, hopin I'll b able 2 stay on the wagon, been soo gud al week!!!