Weight Watchers

I started weight watchers (WW) this week. I am loving it so far! It has been fun, and manageable. Most people are familiar but if you aren't I will tell you how it works.

It's based upon a point system. The Carbs, fat, fiber, and protein are evaluated and then the food is given a point value. I am given an amount of points that I can eat each day. After that I can eat whatever I want, as long as I stay within my allowed points. Now if I go over there are weekly points for splurges and then extra points can bee accrued by working out.

My roommate Kristen started doing it off and on. Then our friend Sarah jumped on the bandwagon. She was having such success with it that I couldn't help but join in. It has been wonderful having her as a teammate! She let me borrow her hungry girl (HG) cookbook that has AMAZING recipes that have made this all so enjoyable.

Well Sarah and I both love pasta. who doesn't, right? Well in the HG cook book there are some pasta recipes that don't use pasta.....

You know me.. I am always up for a good adventure.

And what an adventure these were!

This is a tofu noodle that is a substitute for... noodles...duh.

We quickly found out that they aren't found at the typical grocery store. We tracked them down at a Oriental food market/restaruant/strip mall type thing. Have you ever been to one of those places?????? THEY SMELL TERRIBLE! gross gross gross. BUT we did find what we needed and each picked up a couple bags. We stocked up so that if we happened to like them we wouldn't have to come back for quite some time.

The only caution we could find about these things is to be sure and rinse them EXTRA well. They come packaged in a liquid and the liquid smells AWFUL. about the same as the smell of the market we bought them in. so rinse, rinse, rinse, and then rinse some more. :)

Don't let that deter you because they are delicious. And with the points you save you can eat some garlic break with your alfredo!

We made Fettuccine Hungry Girlfredo Veggie Explosion! Which was AMAZING! It was so tasty and so much food! We ended up splitting it because we weren't that hungry. I give it 4 thumbs up!

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 151 calories, 4.5g fat, 407mg sodium, 20g carbs, 7g fiber, 7g sugars, 9g protein -- PointsPlus®value 4*

Ingredients:
1 package House Foods Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine Shaped Noodle Substitute
1/2 cup small broccoli florets
1/2 cup red pepper chunks
1/2 cup large zucchini chunks
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
1 tbsp. fat-free sour cream
2 tsp. reduced-fat grated parmesan-style topping
salt and pepper, to taste
Optional: garlic powder, chili powder

Directions:
Place all the veggies in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl with 2 tbsp. of water. Cover bowl and microwave for 2 - 3 minutes (until veggies are fully steamed and tender). Drain water and set aside.

Drain and rinse noodles well. Dry noodles thoroughly (use paper towels to soak up as much moisture as possible), and then use a knife or kitchen shears to slice them up a bit. Next, place noodles in a microwave-safe bowl, and top them with the cheese wedge, sour cream, and parm topping. Then microwave for one minute.

Stir well, and then microwave for one additional minute. Mix in the veggies, and season well with salt and pepper. If you like, add some garlic powder and/or chili powder. Enjoy!!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Thanks Sarah for the awesome adventure!! :)