Soups:
Ridiculously Easy Lentil Soup
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Instead of the frozen mirepoix vegetables, feel free to use 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 2 ribs celery, diced.
2 cups (400 g) green lentils, rinsed
7 cups (1600 ml) water
14 ounces (400g) mirepoix blend vegetables
8 ounces (220 g) Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
2 servings vegetable bouillon cubes (I used one large Not-Beef Broth Cube, which is gluten-free)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
3 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves, chopped
14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes (use fire-roasted for best flavor)
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/8 teaspoon hickory salt (or other smoked salt), optional
salt, to taste
additional seasonings, to taste
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Place lentils, water, and next 7 ingredients into pressure cooker or large pot.
For pressure cooking, seal the cooker and bring to high pressure. Cook under pressure for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow pressure to come down for 5 minutes. Then, release any remaining pressure and return to very low heat. Add tomatoes, pepper, and both salts, and taste to check seasonings. If necessary, add more to taste (I added more oregano and garlic). Cook uncovered for at least 15 minutes, adding more water if it seems too thick, and stirring from the bottom often. Stir in vinegar just before serving.
For regular cooking, bring to a boil, stir well, cover pot, and cook over low heat until lentils are tender, about an hour. (Add additional water if it begins to dry out.) Add tomatoes, pepper, and both salts, and taste to check seasonings. If necessary, add more to taste (I added more oregano and garlic). Cook uncovered for at least 15 minutes, adding more water if it seems too thick, and stirring from the bottom often. Stir in vinegar just before serving.
Servings: 8
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/8 of a recipe (13.8 ounces).
Percent daily values are based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Though MyPoints are calculated using a formula similar to Weight Watchers Points TM, this site has no affiliation with Weight Watchers and does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.
Garden Vegetable and Bean Soup
Aside from an added can of cannellini beans and slightly increased seasoning because of the increased volume of the beans, this soup is exactly as the Weight Watchers Zero Points Garden Vegetable Soup over at Alanna Kellogg's incredible blog, A Veggie Venture. Alanna had marked it as a favorite recipe and named it as the best soup on her blog for January. It's filled with fresh veggies and nutrient-rich cabbage.
6 cups fat-free vegetable broth (but I used Imagine Un-Chicken broth)
cooking spray
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoons garlic (from a jar or substitute four cloves minced garlic)
1/2 cabbage, chopped
1/2 pound frozen green beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
generous grinding of black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 large zucchini, diced
1 19-ounce can (2 cups) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (may substitute Great Northern Beans or any white beans)
Sauté the carrots, onion and garlic in a large sprayed or non-stick pot for about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and cannellini beans and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add the zucchini and cannellini and cook until the zucchini are tender.
Simple though it seems, this soup was wonderful. And--attention parents--it is kid-friendly!
Even with the addition of beans, Weight Watchers members and people following Eat to Live or the McDougall Program can enjoy this without guilt. Based on 8 servings, the nutritional breakdown is about 86 Calories; trace Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 448mg Sodium; 5g fiber; 1 WW Point.
Quick and Easy Potato Soup
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This is such a simple recipe, SusanV adapted from the VitaMix cookbook.Peeling the potatoes isn't even necessary because blending completely pulverizes the skin, but including the peel makes the soup a sort of gray-green color, so if you want your soup to be creamy white like in these pictures, you'll need to peel your 'taters. Just let them cool a little so you don't wind up with scorched fingers!
Potatoes can be microwaved, boiled, steamed, or even baked beforehand, but microwaving is quickest.
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cooked and peeled, if desired
1/2 small onion
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (using more will make it spicy)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon raw cashews or 1/2 tbsp. cashew butter (optional)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 1/2 cups low-fat soymilk or other non-dairy milk
High-Powered Blender Users: Place two of the potatoes along with the remaining ingredients into the blender in the order given. Start machine on low speed and increase to highest setting. Blend for about 4 minutes, until steaming hot. Dice remaining potato and divide it among 4 bowls. Pour the soup over the potatoes and serve hot.
Regular Blender/Stovetop Users: Chop the onion and sauté it until soft in a medium-sized saucepan. Cut the potatoes into cubes and add 2/3 of them to the pan, along with the broth, rosemary, white pepper, and salt. Simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Pour into blender along with cashew butter, soymilk, and nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth. Return to pan, add remaining potatoes, and cook, stirring often, over low heat until hot.Makes 4 servings. Per serving, with cashews: 131 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (8% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 306mg Sodium; 2g Fiber. Weight Watchers 2 Points.
Without cashews: Per serving: 119 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (1% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 305mg Sodium; 2g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core/ 2 Points.
Smoky Refried Bean Soup
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This soup is so thick it's almost a chili. Use the minimum amounts of chipotle chili powder and hot sauce to make this a mild dish or add more to make it as hot as you dare.
The canned beans version is such a great convenience, and in this soup, they contribute a wonderful creaminess that will make you think the soup is richer than it is. But if you don't like using canned refried beans, you can always do it the old fashioned way: whiz up a cup and a half of pinto beans in your food processor with a little of their liquid and add them straight to the soup. No frying needed!
1 large onion, chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
15 ounces fatfree refried beans
15 ounces black beans, cooked
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 - 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (to taste)
1 teaspoon hot sauce (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
Spray a large, non-stick pot with cooking spray, and sauté the onion until it begins to brown. Add the garlic and bell pepper and cook for one more minute. Add all the remaining ingredients and cook until the flavors blend, 20-30 minutes.
Serving suggestion: Garnish with fresh tomato salsa and serve with baked tortilla chips and a large salad.
Makes 4 large servings. Per serving: 257 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 895mg Sodium; 14g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core (4 Flex Points).
Salad:
Raw Corn and Black Bean Salad with Avocado
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Fresh raw corn tastes good, a little starchier than you might expect, but sweet and juicy. People have been whipping up raw creamed corn, soup, chowder (and more chowder), salad (and more salad), and corn chips and, of course, eating it right off the cob.
This salad is very quick to throw together, light, with the flavors of summer. A couple of words of warning, though. You must use corn that is freshly picked for this to have the best flavor. Older raw corn is still edible, but it'll be tougher and less sweet. Also, some people (such as kids) just don't like raw corn.
If your corn is not absolutely fresh, cooking it before removing the kernels is recommended for best flavor. Baking and grilling produce the most flavorful results.
2 ears fresh corn, silks and husks removed
1 1/2 cups (1 can) cooked black beans, drained and rinsed in a colander until water runs clear
1 medium tomato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (or to taste)
1/4 - 1/2 jalapeno pepper seeded and finely chopped (to taste)
1 avocado
4 lime wedges, to serve
Cut the corn from the cob: Stand the corn on end in a large mixing bowl and insert a sharp knife just at the bottom of the kernels. Slowly cut all the way to the other end of the corn. Turn the corn and repeat until all the kernels are cut from the cob. (See a short video here.)
Put the corn in a medium mixing bowl. Add the well-rinsed black beans and all remaining ingredients except the avocado and lime wedges. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate a couple of hours to allow flavors to blend.
To serve, peel and slice the avocado. Place one-fourth of the slices on each salad plate, arranging them in a circle, if you wish. Fill the center of each circle with the salad. Serve with wedges of lime to be squeezed over the salad at the table, if desired.
Servings: 4
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (7.4 ounces).
Percent daily values are based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Though MyPoints are calculated using a formula similar to Weight Watchers Points TM, this site has no affiliation with Weight Watchers and does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.
(Without avocado, contains 161 calories, 1g of fat (7% calories from fat), 32g carbohydrates, 9g fiber, 9g protein. My Points: 2.54.)
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