My First “Official” Weight Watchers Mealplan

I finally signed up for Weight Watchers Online this past weekend. I am cautiously optimistic about the program, while mildly frustrated already, but I’ll give it a shot.  While I get used to the points and what is what, I went hunting for recipes that were already calculated for me. Anything to get past the barrier of keeping track!

I mentioned on Twitter that I had planned out 5 meals* and people wanted me to share, and as promised. Here we are. I am also keeping a Pinterest board here if you’d like to follow what I’ve got my eye on.

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Last night I made this Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Lasagna. At 8 points per serving I was SO pleasantly surprised by it.  I read all the reviews first, as I tend to do, and substituted some Worcestershire sauce for the diet cola because…yuck. No thank you. I also made sure to season each step of the way with salt and pepper as some reviewers thought it was bland. I used whole wheat lasagna noodles which brought the points to 7 and found it made 9 easy servings instead of 8 which brought it down to a further 6 points per serving. 

Tonight is this Cauliflower & Cashew Curry from Laaloosh with brown rice and steamed broccoli. I generally make my coconut milk curries with Thai curry pastes so I’m excited to give this a shot.  Even with brown rice it’ll keep the meal under 10 points which I think is pretty good. Leaves me room for chocolate!

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I have these Chickpea Burgers & Tomato Salad lined up for sometime this week with a side of Parmesan Green Bean Fries.  I’ll admit I’m far more excited about the green beans than I am about the burgers but I’m going to give them a try until I calculate my normal go-to burger recipes. The burger and salad is only 4 points while the green beans are 2 points per serving. I like things that let me get an extra helping if I’m still hungry.

I just got a burger press recently – Exciting, I know – so I figured this week would be a good chance to try it out with these Quinoa Veggie Burgers in addition to the others. I’m serving this with Skinny Scalloped Potatoes and a green salad. The burgers are 3 points, the potatoes are 4 points per serving, add in the salad and it should be under 10 again. Not too shabby and hopefully satisfying!

Finally, I’ve got an actual Weight Watchers recipe for Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce from my Versatile Vegetarian cookbook that I love. I have edited the recipe to use quinoa noodles. If you haven’t tried GoGo Quinoa pasta – do it. SO delicious! It has a similar bite to wheat pasta which is unlike most gluten free options and a bonus of a little extra protein.   Since I edited the recipe and can’t even find a decent substitution online, you’re in luck! A disclaimer however, I have not tried this recipe yet. I’ve edited it in my head and have it on the mealplan for sometime this week. It looks pretty standard though.  I’ll also add some steamed broccoli and baked soy-marinated tofu for protein.

Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce (7 points per serving)

6oz Quinoa spaghetti (I think Whole Wheat spaghetti might be less points, unsure)
2T white vinegar
2T smooth peanut butter
2tsp grated ginger
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Cook the pasta as directed, drain and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, peanut butter, ginger, oils, garlic, soy sauce and pepper flakes with 1 Tablespoon of water. Add the pasta and toss to coat. 

3. Add cucumber and red pepper, toss and sprinkle with scallions.  

Voila! There is my meal plan for the week!  Do you have any great Weight Watchers recipes or healthy recipes you love? What are YOU eating this week?

*This seems to be the appropriate number for me to plan, considering unplanned nights out and leftovers that won’t take over my apartment-sized fridge.