must have: coffee!

Coffee is one of those things in my life that I can always count on.  It's always tasty, I can make it a variety of different ways, and it seems to give me a little "pep in my step" as they say.  

It's the nectar of the gods if you ask me.  

With that being said, coffee can be a huge calorie suck if you're not careful.  Flavored creamers, sugar, syrup, whole milk, whip cream, etc.  Before you know it you're staring at a 7 Point Plus venti peppermint mocha-cinno blah blah blah...

I don't have points to waste like that, so I had to find alternatives.  

Well hello tasty substitutes!  

From left to right: fat free half & half, sugar free vanilla syrup, and my trusty (and very large!) Vespa mug.  

At first I was pretty sure that fat free half & half was simply impossible; I mean "half & half" by definition is half cream and whole milk.  But then I spent the two bucks at the grocery store to try it out, and I was pleasantly surprised.  You get the color, the flavor, and the creaminess in your coffee and it's a major Points Plus bargain!  That's right, it's zero Points Plus for 2 tablespoons of it, and if you're like me and have two cups of coffee with 2 tablespoons each, then it is one Points Plus value.  

The syrup next to it is something I picked up at my local grocery store and it happens to be the same syrup that Starbucks uses.  One ounce of it is zero Points Plus!  It adds a great sweetness to the coffee and since it's sugar free, it's a Points Plus bargain also.  I've tried the vanilla and the caramel variety, both of which I'd say are pretty tasty.  

So there you have it, my coffee must haves!  

recipe review: it's THE soup!

The first thing everyone should learn how to cook if they're going to be a Weight Watcher is this soup.  My family and I simply refer to it as "THE SOUP" because we'll all know what we're talking about.  

So here you go, make this.  

Garden Vegetable Soup

6 servings

0 Points Plus

1 spray of cooking spray (like Pam)

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/4 cup diced onions

2 cloves of minced garlic

3 cups of broth (anything fat free like vegetable, chicken, or beef)

1 cup diced green cabbage (this is a little less than 1/4 of a head of cabbage)

1 cup chopped spinach

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup diced zucchini

Spray a large saucepan with cooking spray; heat.  Saute' carrot, onion, and garlic over low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add broth, cabbage, spinach, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt; bring to boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, covered, about 15 minutes.  Stir in zucchini; cook 3-4 minutes more.  Serve hot.  

This recipe is great!  Six servings usually lasts me a week or two, and it's really easy to double the amount of soup you're making if you think you're going to go through it quickly.  You can freeze it also, but it does lose a little crunch in my opinion.  

If you go out on the internet and search "Weight Watchers Zero Point Soup" you will get a bunch of different recipes, this particular one comes from the 2012 guide I got in December 2011 at my meeting.  

If you're looking for something a little bit different, try this one: Mexican Zero Point Soup or look up one of your own.  

My recommendation if you're going to make this soup at home, buy the Pampered Chef 1-cup Prep Bowls and store them in those.  The bowls freeze, microwave, and travel extremely well and best of all they are glass and they don't stain or smell like other cheaper material storage containers.