Six New Foods in My Kitchen


Since starting Weight Watchers eleven weeks ago, my eating habits have changed. They haven’t changed enough–this week I gained almost half a pound. Apparently I’m retaining fruit.

We’re buying a lot more of some of the healthier choices we made before Weight Watchers–especially fruits and vegetables which don’t cost any points.  Yesterday I ate blackberries, blueberries, plums, grapes, an apple, and a banana. No wonder I’m retaining fruit.

We even bought some tofu. My partner marinated it in mostly soy sauce and grilled it. I ate three pieces and was surprised to keep them down. We might have it again one day (though I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we won’t).

These days our grocery cart is chocked full of items we wouldn’t have considered buying before. Some I’ve even come to enjoy. Here’s a sampling of some of the new foods in our kitchen.

Whole Wheat or Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins. We quit buying bread shortly after we started Weight Watchers. It costs too many points. We were thrilled to find sandwich thins. They’re just two or three points (depending on the variety) as opposed to five or more points for a piece of bread.

Turkey Burgers. We keep a box of turkey burger patties in the freezer. They’re quick, easy, and only cost four points. We eat them on sandwich thins for a total of only six points per burger–about half of the points for a beef hamburger on a regular bun.

Egg Whites. On weekend mornings, I like a nice omelet after my bike ride. Using egg whites instead of whole eggs cuts the number of points in half. I add onion, green pepper, and chicken or turkey cold cuts (one point per serving) and sprinkle the top with fat-free shredded cheese–another new addition to our refrigerator.

Greek Yogurt. Weekdays I pop the top on a container of Chobani Greek Yogurt, stir it up, add blueberries and if I have them, some blackberries, for a tasty fat-free breakfast that only cost me four points (three for some flavors). The pineapple is my favorite, with strawberry, peach, raspberry, strawberry/banana, and lemon all being very good, too. I’m not a fan of the vanilla, hate spitting out the seeds in the pomegranate flavor, and have never been a fan of mango.

Olive Oil Vinaigrette. I eat a big salad for lunch almost every day with prewashed organic lettuce (I get big plastic bins of it at Publix), Texas Toast Croutons (one point per serving), some fat-free shredded cheese (another point for 1/4 cup), and chicken or turkey cold cuts. Sometimes I have tuna fish instead of the cold cuts, or maybe some cottage cheese. I use Wish Bone’s Olive Oil Vinaigrette which counts as a healthy oil and only costs two points per serving–half as many as either Ranch, Thousand Island, or Honey Mustard (all favorites of mine).

String Cheese. The Weight Watcher’s mozzarella string cheese is just one point per serving. I might have a piece with an apple, my salad, or by itself for a snack. The other brands of string cheese (including similarly packaged cheddar and Colby) is usually two points.

Eating these low-point foods throughout the day frees up enough points for my nightly dish of ice cream. I know cutting it out, or even cutting it in half, would speed up my weight loss. I don’t care. Life is short and I plan on enjoying mine, right here in…

My Glass House


2 responses to “Six New Foods in My Kitchen”

  1. LOL on the tofu. It definitely is one of those foods that there is no middle ground with…you either like or don’t. I can’t stomach it any way but fried..I like it fried, as in Chinese mixed veggies, garlic sauce and fried tofu. I like the tofu as an alternative in that dish to shrimp..but since WW, I opted for the shrimp instead the one time I treated myself to a Chinese lunch…with brown rice, of course. Keep up the good work!

  2. Thanks DMC. I have to admit, I’ve indulged in some fried rice a time or two since I’ve been on WW–the good stuff with shrimp, chicken, beef AND pork 😉