winter-time meal ideas

girlsenberry · 11-27-2011, 12:05 PM

WW is so hard for me at this time of year. To me, summer-time is all about light foods- wraps, fresh fruit & veggies. Winter-time screams cream-based soups, casseroles, and starchy vegs, which are, of course, way heavier in points, and hard to work with when you only have 29. What are some of your stand-by's to get you through the colder months (especially at dinner time)?

mandamail88 · 11-27-2011, 12:27 PM

I love chili....its easy to make a good lowcal home recipe...but I really enjoy a cup from Wendy's too....no mess...perfect portion....low points....and delicious

sontaikle · 11-27-2011, 02:20 PM

I love wraps too much to stop eating them

so I toast the the meat,bread and cheese and then add the lettuce and tomato later on and roll it up. Nice and warm but still tasty!

nancylmrn · 11-27-2011, 03:12 PM

I make my own chicken broth then make soup...usually veggie or chili both are good. Another good soup is tortilla soup and just leave out the chips or limit the number.
For dinners I try to 'grill' chicken or shrimp and then add some roasted cauliflower or carrots

chubbybunny29 · 11-28-2011, 07:44 PM

Soup is a big thing for me in winter. There are some amazing soup recipes on here. Some of them even taste creamy, in spite of not being hi-cal.

There are also some great trimmed-down casserole recipes on here.

girlsenberry · 11-28-2011, 08:33 PM

mandamail88- good idea, I've been trying to get more beans into my diet, and I love chili. Not so much Wendy's tho, something in the flavor upsets my tummy. I guess I could crock-pot a bunch and freeze some single serve portions. Thanks

sontaikle- I love wraps- I've never thought to toast them up tho. I've gotta try that.

nancylmrn- I've been meaning to try tortilla soup, I'll go search out a low-point recipe. Thanks for the idea.

I've been roasting broccoli a lot, and I'm getting brocc'd out.. I'll give cauliflower a try.

chubbybunny29- I keep forgetting about the recipe section. The few times I looked it was a chore to weed out the points plus recipes, but I didn't look in the soup section either. Thanks for the idea.

seagirl · 11-28-2011, 09:03 PM

Butternut squash! Zero points, low calorie, high fiber and so tasty! It is a staple of my meals these days.

Munchy · 11-29-2011, 10:06 AM

Double Post

Munchy · 11-29-2011, 10:07 AM

I always lose weight in the winter because I like to eat soup/chili out of mugs. I could eat soup for every meal!

My favorite online links to soups are:

Spicy Tomato Blue Cheese Soup (I switch out cream for evaporated skim milk) Link

Carrot Peanut Link

Sun Dried Tomato Soup Link

Roasted Broccoli (I add a T or so of Romano cheese to my bowl before serving) Link

Split Pea with Ham Hock (I switch out hock for smoked turkey neck) Link

Chicken and Lentil Link

Fire Roasted Corn Chowder (I switch out cream for evaporated skim milk) Link

Baked Potato Soup Link

And for chili:

My absolute favorite is the old WW 1 point chili (I add in an extra can of beans and do a full pound of ground turkey) Link

White chicken Chili Link

This pumpkin chili is delicious and creamy Link

girlsenberry · 11-29-2011, 11:33 AM

Aw, Munchy, THANK YOU for all those links! I forgot about Skinnytaste, too.. I love that she figures out the points for us. My mouth is watering just looking at all those soups.

mercuryblue · 11-29-2011, 11:46 AM

OH MY... giiiirl get using a slow cooker if you have never used one! This is the best time of year for a wonderful hearty stew. You can make one so easily in a slow cooker and for very little points. for mine i use,

Can of corn (reduced or no sodium)
Can of peas
mini potatos cut in half
bag of baby carrots
turnips cut up
onions
butternut squash
can of tomato juice
beef broth low sodium
bistro beef gravy cubes
stewing beef cubes

I may be missing stuff, but it is SO GOOD. love seeing it cooking on the countertop all day and it has a wonderful smell in the house.

Munchy · 11-29-2011, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by girlsenberry

Aw, Munchy, THANK YOU for all those links! I forgot about Skinnytaste, too.. I love that she figures out the points for us. My mouth is watering just looking at all those soups.

Anytime - and since you mentioned casseroles, her chicken divan is so delicious Link and all of her enchiladas are awesome, namely the zucchini enchiladas Link. I think I mentioned this before, but when I make casseroles, I tend to freeze them partially, cut them into the number of servings indicated, then put the servings into a freezer bag.

Since I make almost every meal ahead of time and freeze portions into containers, it takes ALL of the trouble away. My stand up freezer is filled with tupperwares with little labels on them of date/meal/calorie or point value.

I just try to make 2-3 different dishes per weekend, and I end up with 20+ meals that are ready. It's a great trick with soups and chilis, and I always double the recipe.

Some other recipe websites that I love are www.eatbetteramerica.com, www.cookinglight.com, and www.eatingwell.com

chubbybunny29 · 11-29-2011, 12:49 PM

Another great site is laaloosh.com. She has lots of recipes. And they have the points (I'm doing flex), and I beleive PointsPlus too.

I'm making pulled pork tonight in the crock pot. Tomorrow I'll make a bit of basmati rice, and it'll be glorioius

And filling for the points.