Welcome to Weight Watchers Weekly SmartPoints Meal Plan #79
Do you ever struggle with planning what to cook? I sure do.
So, on Saturdays I share samples/examples of my Weight Watchers Meal Plans, which provide a rough outline of what I'm planning.
I hope they help you reach your goals.
Bon Appétit!
The Benefits Of Cooking At Home
Since I like to cook I may be biased, but I've always believed that the food you cook for yourself is essentially good for you.
Taking the time to cook for yourself (and others you love) is a supremely nourishing act of kindness.
But, it doesn't mean I'm always in the mood to do it.
And the older I get, the less time I'm willing to spend in the kitchen.
My Overall Weight Watchers Meal Plan Strategy
Getting dinner on the table is so much easier when I've planned what I'm cooking and eating ahead of time.
With the grocery shopping done and weight watchers recipes at the ready, I can just walk into the kitchen and get cooking.
I don't always stick to my plan one hundred percent. Life happens.
But, it helps me to have a rough guide to follow which also prevents me from reaching into the cookie jar or bag of chips too often.
Whoever said that failing to plan was planning to fail was spot on!
My approach to meal planning is simpler than most.
Just reading many of the meal plan programs out there suggesting a different breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day are enough to make me run from the kitchen screaming.
Are you kidding me? Who cooks like that?
Not me or anyone I know.
I've experimented with many of the sophisticated meal planning programs out there, but I've never been able to make them work for me, except for this one:
If you are looking for a Healthy Meal Planning Solution (affiliate link) with lots of options including low carb and vegetarian diets with complete nutritional information and Weight Watchers SmartPoints, my WW friend Kristen, from Slender Kitchen has a really good one.
And as far as I'm concerned, the Slow Cooker is the best invention ever for folks trying to eat healthy and lose weight without losing their minds.
I use mine at least once a week, sometimes more. I'm absolutely, positively convinced that cooking with my Crockpot is directly linked to the success I've had keeping my weight off!
As a creature of habit, I tend to rotate between the same one or two breakfasts and lunches the days I eat at home each week.
And because we are a family of two, most recipes result in leftovers that we are happy to eat again, or transform somehow.
So, I usually only cook from scratch three or four times a week, at most.
We like to eat out a couple of times, usually on the weekend.
If we end up with more food than we can eat, I portion it out, package it up and pop it in the freezer for future quick and easy lunches and dinners.
I hope these posts make it easier for you to stay on track with your weight loss and/or healthy eating goals too.
It's a process that gets easier with practice.
And remember, there's a Weight Watchers Weekly Meal Plans Section here so you can get inspiration from all of the previous weekly meal plans too.
The lower numbered meal plans all have PointsPlus values for those not making the switch to SmartPoints.
Enjoy!
Weight Watchers SmartPoints Meal Plan #79
Breakfast
I’m a creature of habit, especially where it comes to breakfast. I tend to alternate between these choices at the moment:
A large mug of Decaf Coffee (0SP) and:
1. My Favorite Protein Shake of the Moment is a Chocolate Banana Berry Concoction with (4SP): In the blender (affiliate link) I combine the following and blend till smooth: ½ cup Cottage Cheese (2SP), 1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder (2SP), ½ Frozen Banana (0SP), ½ cup berries (fresh or frozen) ½ cup Water and a big handful of ice.
I don't count the banana or berries and don't need any extra sweetener because the Protein Powder I use has stevia in it. Add sweetener to taste and adjust you points accordingly.
2. Cottage Cheese (1 cup – 5SP) and Fruit (0SP): One of my favorite quick and easy summertime choices for breakfast and/or lunch.
3. Whole Grain Toast (2SP) with 1 tablespoon Peanut Butter (3SP) and ½ banana (0SP)
4. Whole Grain Toast (2SP) with ¼ Avocado (2SP) and Fried Egg (2SP)
5. Slow Cooker Southwest Breakfast Casserole (8SP) and Fruit (0SP) (I make it on the weekend and warm it up during the week)
More Weight Watchers Friendly SmartPoints Breakfast Ideas
Lunch
Again, I tend to rotate between the same few lunch choices on days I don’t eat lunch out. Here are some of my favorite quick and easy lunches right now:
1. Leftovers
2.Crunchy Tuna Salad (3SP) on a bed of Mixed Greens (0SP) with Tomatoes (0SP) and Cucumber (0SP) and Garden Vegetable Soup (0SP)
3. Egg Salad (3SP) stuffed into a tomato (0SP) or spread on a slice of whole wheat toast (2SP) with an Apple (0SP)
4. Greek Turkey Feta Mason Jar Salad (7SP) and Garden Vegetable Soup (0SP)
5. Baked Potato with Cottage Cheese and Salsa (7SP)
Dinner
Because we are a family of two, most recipes I make result in leftovers that we are happy to eat again on another night or that I re-purpose somehow.
This means that I usually only cook from scratch 3 or 4 times a week.
We usually eat out 1 – 2 times a week. Any extras get packed up and put in the freezer for future quick and easy meals.
It's predicted to reach 117F degrees here on Sunday. Needless to say, I’ll be focusing on food that keeps me away from the grill, oven and stove as much as possible.
Thankfully we love salads, sandwiches and most anything from the slow cooker.
Enjoy!
1. Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers (6SP) - I love sausage and peppers. This recipe featuring lean poultry Italian sausage covered in sauce, bell peppers, and onions and then simmers all day in the slow cooker from Organize Yourself Skinny looks like a winner. Enjoy as is or serve in a hoagie roll or over a bed of whole grain pasta or zucchini noodles.
2. Crock Pot Lime Chicken Fajitas (6SP) - I just love chicken fajitas. This recipe from Dashing Dish is flavorful, light, and so easy to make. Just put everything in a crockpot in the morning (or the night before), and you will have a healthy and complete meal ready in just a few hours.
3. Turkey Burger</a. (4SP) - I don't usually make turkey burgers from scratch. I buy the frozen ones at Costco or Trader Joe's and then season them well, with whatever spice blend is handy. Serve with Slow Cooker Baked Beans with Molasses (5SP) Easy Healthy Broccoli Slaw (4SP) and Watermelon (0PP)
4. Easy Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Casserole (4SP) and Simple Tossed Green Salad (0SP) with Light Vinaigrette (2SP) and Warm Crusty Bread (2SP)
5. Leftovers
Are You Ready To Slow Cook Yourself Slim?
Snacks
I try to limit my snacks to one in the late afternoon which keeps me from being overly hungry when I'm getting dinner. I try to only snack when I'm hungry enough to eat an apple.
To prevent snacking while I'm making dinner, I often chew gum.
A former Cheez-Its junkie, I've pretty much given up on processed, packaged, snack-y foods that I can never seem to get enough of once I begin. Weight Watchers calls them Trigger Foods for good reason!
Here are some of my favorite go-to snacks at the moment:
1. Sliced Apple or Pear (0SP) with a String Cheese (2SP) and Almonds (7 – 1SP)
2. Hard Boiled Egg (2SP) and Grape Tomatoes (0SP)
3. Triscuits (6 – 3SP) and Laughing Cow Cheese (1SP)
4. Guacamole (¼ cup – 3SP) and Baby Carrots (0SP)
5. Watermelon (0SP)
Dessert
With the new SmartPoints plan from Weight Watchers, sweet treats are a lot more "expensive" than they were with PointsPlus. I usually try to limit indulgent desserts to once or twice a week.
Other times, if I feel like I want a "little something" after dinner, I've been opting for a cup of decaf or herb tea instead, which can be surprisingly satisfying.
I don't keep many sweets around the house. You can't eat what you don't have!
Through the years I've convinced myself not to waste my valuable points on ho-hum sweet treats. But it's still an ongoing practice!
Here are some of my go-to sweet treats at the moment:
1. Sliced Banana and Strawberries (0SP) drizzled with Chocolate Syrup (2 t. – 2SP) and a dollop of canned Reddi Wip whipped topping (2T – 1SP)
2. Pineapple Whip (2SP) – Blend together ½ cup Fat Free Cottage Cheese (2SP) and ½ cup Frozen Pineapple (0SP) and Sweetener of Choice until the consistency of soft serve ice cream. You may need just 1-2 tablespoons of water or skim milk too.
Any fruit will work. I frozen mixed berries and frozen mango too.
3. Creamy Chocolate Greek Yogurt (1SP) – plain non-fat Greek yogurt, cocoa powder and sweetener of choice is a cold and creamy way to satisfy a chocolate craving. I want to try this with a little PB2 (affiliate link) (peanut butter flour (affiliate link)) too.
4. Microwave Baked Apple with Cranberries and Maple Syrup (2SP)
5. Skinny Baked S'mores (3SP)
6. Sliced Apple "Cookies" (3SP)
Have a wonderful week!
Search For More Weight Watchers Friendly Recipes
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P.P.S. And remember, there's a Weight Watchers Meal Plans with PointsPlus section on the blog so you can get inspiration from all of the previous weekly meal plans too.
WW Recipe Roundup: The Best Recipes from 2016 with SmartPoints
*PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT Weight Watchers Zero Points fruits and vegetables using the WW Recipe Builder.
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Fran
Great article but don't know how I can save all the information