Happy Holidays? How Do We Watch our Weight with Weight Watchers Right Now?

Well, it's that time of year...The Holidays...Friends, Family, Parties, and a time when all those tempting goodies will be right there in our face.

I've slacked off the past six months and I need to get back on the wagon, but let's face it, this isn't the best time to try to lose weight.  However, it is a good time to remind ourselves of the WW principles and find ways to get back in control if we've lost our way.  So, I've made a plan today that includes the next 6 weeks and after the holidays are over.  Making a plan makes me feel better.  Here's my plan:

Make soups.  I love my Crockpot soups...the potato and broccoli are my favorites.  It's soup season, and I plan to have more soups for my meals.

Look for more recipes in which vegetables are the stars. Sprouts is filled with lots of winter vegetables like winter squash, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. And I see yummy recipes all the time on Facebook and I've tried a bunch of them that were very good.  I vow to focus on the ones that primarily use vegetables and adapt them to lower WW points. Likewise, I will look for fruit based recipes that fit the WW model to stave off my craving for sweets during the holidays.

Stock the freezer with low point frozen dinners and WW frozen deserts.  I really need these.  Sometimes I am too lazy to cook for myself. I love most of the Lean Cuisine dinners and they provide WW points on every box, so I'll be stocking up. I'll always make sure I have some kind of frozen WW sweet treat in there too!

Start tracking points again and weighing myself regularly.  I'm going to go easy on myself, but it's time to start tracking again, to get my mind in gear.  I think I'll set my daily point goal at 35-40 a day during this time period, so it will be easy to feel in control. I'm also going to start stepping on those dreaded scales. It's time to click on our brains and have the right attitude!

Enjoy the holiday dinners. Yes, I'll be eating and enjoying! I won't be worrying about WW Points on Thanksgiving Day or for Christmas dinner....if I do I'll feel too deprived.  However, every OTHER day, I will put on my WW thinking cap.  And after the dinners, I'll make everyone else take home high point leftovers!

Sign up for Weight Watchers online again after the holidays. Come January, it will be easy to slip into weight loss mode and hopefully, lose the pounds I've gained. I find using the website helps me stay focused.

I'll be sharing the good ideas I discover over the next 6 weeks, so check back. I hope you'll share your ideas for how to stay a Weight Watcher during this time too!

Happy Holidays everyone.  Enjoy, but keep watching your weight!

Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup for Weight Watchers

I'm guessing all Weight Watchers have incorporated soup into their daily diets. Filling up on meals with a low point value keeps us all on track!

I adapted my Crockpot Potato Soup to create its close cousin... in which Broccoli is the star ingredient.  It's creamy with minimal fat, filling and good for you. The best part is it's only 3 points per 1 cup serving! If you like broccoli, you'll love it!

Makes 10 - 1 cup servings
WW Pts+: 3 per serving

Ingredients:

14 oz. bag of frozen broccoli florets
1 small onion, chopped
3 cups water
3 cubes or teaspoons of chicken bouillon
1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup (Healthy Request)
8 Oz. package Neufchatel cream cheese
1 cup skim milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Place broccoli and chopped onions into crock pot
• Heat water. When hot, add bouillon and mix to create broth
• Pour hot broth over broccoli and onions in crock pot.
• Add soup, 1/2 teas salt and a few shakes of black pepper
• Cook on high for and hour and a half or until onions are cooked.
• Turn heat to low and add cream cheese. Cook another half hour until cheese has melted, stirring occasionally
• Add milk and stir into soup mixture.
• Cook an additional 10-15 minutes until heated through.

 
Tip: You can use 2 cans of chicken broth in place of the bouillon if preferred.  Adjust salt accordingly as the bouillon is usually saltier than the broth. Also, I found some of the broccoli florets a little too big for a soup spoon, so after the soup had cooked 1/2 hour I spooned out the larger florets and cut into smaller pieces.