I'm thinking about veggie soup, BUT, here's that cliff hanger, I'm not sure how healthy my version is, but my hubby loves it , and I was just wondering , well here's my recipe: app. 1lb (usually more cause he likes it meaty I know) hamburger. 1 can mixed veggies, a lb of his mom's "homemade" freezer corn( I know this is a lb because she puts it up in 16 oz. butter or sour cream bowls) a boatload of potatoes(he likes a lot of potatoes also and so do I) of course his mom's canned tomato juice, a little macaroni(which I really don't like if I wasn't dieting) and that's about it . I always season with regular Mrs. dash (my secret ingredient). well am i destined for failure? or can I have like 1/2 cup and a salad? or do some of you all have a revamp for my recipe? I would like to try ww veggie soup, but buying all those ingredients seems far fetched when I don't use them because nobody else eats it which I can always freeze the soup. What is every body else having for dinner tonight?

I think I looked up ground beef last night when I made shepherd's pie and it said for 80/20 lean beef 1lb was 21 points. That gives you a start Sounds like something you could reasonably have 1c of if it makes a large number of servings... The whole pot might end up being 30 or more but if it makes 8 servings that's like 4 pts/serving, which ain't so bad

Dinner tonight for me is gonna be black bean burritos with yellow rice! I love black beans, I'm not complaining!

Here are some ways to re-vamp the soup. We make a Vegetable soup that is really low in points....

on the hamburger meat... use the extra lean (like 97% lean) ground beef.... for even LESS on the points.. use 1/2 lb. extra lean ground beef and 1/2 pound ground turkey (as long as they're mixed, you won't taste a difference).

use only HALF of the corn and HALF of the potatoes. If your hubby loves the taters.... then when it comes time to add the corn and potatoes, divide what soup you have into 2 pots.... make yours with only half the corn and no potatoes... or if you'd rather have the potatoes then leave out the corn, this way there is only one starch in there.

in our soup, we buy fresh squash and zuccini and cut it in little chunks and put it in there.

And don't put the macaroni in the soup (or leave it out of "your pot" of soup if you make 2 pots).

The canned tomatoes should have little to no points in them... most of the veggies (excluding the corn and taters) should have little to no points in them. It's always hard to calculate the points in soups.... I know! So, just add up EVERYTHING that you throw in the soup pot and then divide by however many cups the pot will hold (if you know the size of the pot, there are sites online that will calculate how many cups are in a "X" quart pot - just go to google to find one).

As far as seasonings, when we make our soup, we use a little salt, pepper and I throw in 3-4 bay leafs (depending on how big they are) and let it all simmer together until the squash and zuccini are tender. I don't know what it is about the bay leafs but they make the soup YUMMY!!!!

I know in our soup that we make, it's only about 3 points for a cup. So, I can have a NICE size bowl for little points!

Hope this helps!

thanks it sure does and London I'll try the bay leaves. Thanks you all!!

If you have a recipe and don't know the nutrition info, calorie-count.com has a recipe analyzer. There is a link to in on this page http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/browserecipe.php. I have found it very handy and you can play with ingredients to see how the points come out. I just sit there with my points calculator and adjust.

Also, I've figured out that most veggie soups (not cream broths) come out in the 2-5 points range. They are always a better bet than solid foods because they fill you up so well. Probably if you leave the macaroni out and only add it to his and go for a leaner beef, you'd be surprised.