Welcome to this Week's Weight Watcher's Meal Plan!
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It's their healthiest, most holistic plan yet.
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Every Saturday I share my Weight Watchers Weekly Meal Plans with Points and Recipes here on Simple Nourished Living. It includes what I'm planning to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well a few snack and dessert ideas.
Meal times are so much easier when I've taken the time to think about what I'm cooking and eating ahead of time. With the 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 to have a rough guide which 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!
The Benefits of Cooking at Home More
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 is a supremely nourishing act of kindness…
And mindfulness.
When I step into the kitchen and begin to cook I lose myself in the process, becoming completely focused in the simple acts of chopping, mixing, stirring, smelling and tasting.
It gives me pleasure and keeps me grounded and connected to myself, my family and the world.
My Overall Weight Watchers Meal Plan Strategy
Even when you like to cook, it can be the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day. I've found that the key is to keep things simple.
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.
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. We like to eat out a couple of times, usually during 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 on the blog so you can get inspiration from all of the previous weekly meal plans too.
Enjoy!
Weight Watchers Weekly Meal Plan (Week #61)
From here on out I'll be providing SmartPoints (SP) values instead of PointsPlus.
I love this time of year, but am ready to give my belly a break after all extra cookies, candy, eggnog and other seasonal indulgences of the past several weeks.
Fortunately we are in the celebratory home stretch.
New Year's tends to be a quiet occasion for us and we'll focus on eating simple homemade soups to gently compensate.
As I have mentioned time and time again, soup is my go to food when I need to get my eating back into balance.
There are lots of studies that show the magical ability of soup to help with weight loss. It can fill you up and help you feel satisfied on fewer calories.
Breakfast
This week I'm going to begin the day with a cup of black coffee (half calf/half decaf) (0SP)
1. Scrambled Eggs (4SP) with 1 slice Whole Wheat Toast (2SP) and Grapefruit half (0SP)
2. Cereal with Fruit - 1 cup Mini Shredded Wheat (5SP) with 1 cup Soy Milk (2SP) and Banana (0SP)
Lunch
I like to keep lunch quick and easy. Limiting my choices makes weight loss/maintenance easier. (Here's research that supports the idea.) I eat lunch out 1 or 2 times a week with my mom and/or girlfriends, something I look forward to. Whenever I can I'll choose soup 🙂
1. WW 0 Points Vegetable Soup (0SP) and Healthy Crunchy Tuna Salad (3SP) Spread on Cucumber Slices (0SP)
2. Leftovers from dinner
Dinner
Because we are a family of two most recipes result in leftovers, so, I only cook from scratch three or four times a week. (We eat out once or twice.)
1. Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew (3SP) - 'Tis the time of year when my body begins craving a dose of simple, hearty, home cooking, like this slow cooker hamburger stew - a hodgepodge of vegetables and ground beef simmered for hours in the crock pot. With a simple side salad (0SP) drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar (0SP) and 1 teaspoon Olive Oil (1SP). Have 2 cups if you're hungry!
2. Broiled Wild Salmon (3 ounces - 3SP) - with Wild Rice (¾ cup - 3SP) and Steamed Green Beans (0SP)
3. New Years Eve
4. New Years Day
5. Leftover Ham Bone Soup (3SP) - Use your leftover ham bone to make this hearty, satisfying soup loaded with tons of veggies and chunks of sweet lean ham. With a slice of warm crusty Whole Grain Bread (2SP)
Are You Ready To Firmly Plant Yourself
On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?
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. 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, I call them EVIL and have expelled them from my house 🙂
1. Apple Slices (0SP) with 1 tablespoon Peanut Butter (3SP)
2. Grape Tomatoes (0SP) with a WW String Cheese (1SP)
Dessert
With the new SmartPoints plan, sweet treats are a lot more "expensive" than they were with PointsPlus. I usually try to limit dessert to once or twice a week.
I don't keep many sweets around the house. You can't eat what you don't have 🙂
And I usually save my Points for homemade sweet stuff, which is more work, but always tastes so much better.
Through the years I've convinced myself to not waste my valuable points on ho-hum sweet treats.
And after all the extra sweets of the holiday season, it's time for a bit of a detox!
Banana Yogurt - Stir together ½ medium banana (diced) (0SP), ¼ cup plain low fat yogurt (2SP), a dash of Nutmeg and little sweetener of choice. (I opt for a teaspoon or two of maple syrup for 2 SP)
If you make one of our weight watchers recipes, we would love for you to take a picture and share it on Instagram. Use the hashtag #simplenourishedliving. We want to see what you are making and would love for you to follow us on Instagram.
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.
Have a wonderful week!
*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.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or Craftsy links, I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thanks for your purchase!
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Debbie
Thanks Martha for your wonderful recipes and pep talks. I am a struggling lifetime member who needs to go back to the meetings. 😉
Martha McKinnon
Hi Debbie, Thanks for your kind words! We all struggle at times. I've been there too. Meetings can be a great source of motivation. I'm really excited about the new "connect" feature in the WW app too. It's like a 24/7 source of motivation and inspiration.
Lauren
Is the crunchy tuna salad recipe 3 smart points? I noticed that you have it listed as that in the menu, but on the recipe it still lists points plus. Thank you for these menus! I just discovered them, and they are a great resource!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Lauren,
Yes, the Points stayed the same with the crunchy tuna salad - When I ran the ingredients through the WW Recipe builder it came out to 3 SmartPoints. Hope this helps.
Lauren
Thank you! I just made this for dinner with the WW veggie soup. Yum!!
Martha McKinnon
You are most welcome Lauren!!
Arlana
Are the points I am allowed on Points Plus the same with SmartPoints
Martha McKinnon
Hi Arlana, Thanks for your question. No, you daily and weekly SmartPoints allowance is different than with Points Plus. When you sign up on line or go to your Weight Watchers meeting it is calculated for you. I'm on maintenance and get 36 daily SmartPoints and 28 weeklies. Hope this helps.