Miso Hungry Mushroom Soup - 2 pts

I spent last night with a friend who made me a fantastic mushroom soup. You're probably thinking of the reconstituted Campbell's variety that was so prevalent in mid-century cooking, but it's not that nasty stuff. Now in all fairness, I refuse to try it, so it could taste good, but the idea is a total turn-off. This recipe is just as easy, a hundred times fresher, and only 2 points for a huge bowl of the stuff. You won't regret this.

The proportions here aren't terribly important, just make it to taste. Does the pound of mushrooms seem a bit much? Use fewer. Don't like onion? Leave it out. You can easily add veggies to this, but the mushroom, garlic, onion and scallions are the "true" miso ingredients (at least according to the bowls I have at Americanized Asian restaurants). I suggested putting a dash of fish sauce in there for a bit of Asian authenticity, but sometimes I leave it out of recipes just because I don't want my pantry to smell like fermented fish for the next week, so I can imagine that would deter some people from putting it in there at all.


Allie's Miso Hungry Mushroom Soup
Adapted from watching Allie make it

1 lb mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 tsp olive oil
8 c veggie, chicken or beef broth (bouillon works just fine)
1/4 - 1/2 c soy sauce (reduced sodium has fewer calories, but this isn't terribly caloric to begin with)
dash of fish sauce (if available and desired)
6 stalks scallions

Heat up the olive oil in a large pot (it has to hold about 2 quarts of broth alone, let that be a guide). Slice your mushrooms, press your garlic, and slice your onion into thin little rings and strings, then toss them in and sautee for a bit. Once the onion is starting to get translucent, add in your broth.

Now this part is important: first, give it a little taste. Next, add the soy sauce, one tablespoon at a time, until the proportions are to your liking (and the fish sauce too, if that's your thing). NOW you can bring the pot to a light boil. Keep an eye on it, and when your mushrooms are done, your soup is done.

Slice the scallions into those little scallion rings and sprinkle into the soup. Serve and enjoy!


2 points per 2.5 cup serving (1/4 batch): 128 calories, 4.5g fiber, .4g fat

Turkey-Veggie Burger - 3 pts

Oh hell, I'm on a burger spell.

I've been reading the Weight Watchers Recipe blog for awhile now, but haven't seen much in the way of innovative recipes (hence WWFF—that's my fancy new abbreviation for 'Weight Watchers for the Foodie'). HOWEVER, they had a fantastic recipe for Chicken Burgers today and I gave it a shot tonight. It's kind of a hybrid between a chicken patty and a veggie burger, except the good kind that isn't trying to taste like meat. Caution: the picture looks nothing like what you get.

The good ideas are the chicken patty bulked up with veggies and served on a whole wheat English muffin. I found that Thomas' Light Multigrain are the friendlist to the plan--just half a point for an entire muffin. I almost started jumping up and down in the grocery store.

I kept the main ideas of the original, but made it a smaller batch and modified according to my experience with it. Here goes!

Turkey-Veggie Burgers
Adapted from Weight Watchers Recipes' Chicken Burgers Recipe

4oz ground turkey
2 tbsp egg substitute, lightly beaten
2 oz mushrooms (about 3 medium button mushrooms), chopped
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoons soy sauce, salt reduced
4 whole wheat English muffins
1/2 tomato
some lettuce leaves

Toss the mushrooms, celery, onion, egg white and soy sauce into your food processor and grind until smooth. Mix your veggies with your ground chicken and enough bread crumbs to make a texture like regular beef patties. Divide and roll into 8 balls, then pat these down into patties; cook in a sprayed nonstick pan until chicken is no longer pink and the patty stays together well.

Toss those suckers on an English muffin with your choice of lettuce, tomato, extra onion, ketchup and/or mustard.


3 points per burger (1/4 batch): 180 calories, 9.4g fiber, 3.4g fat

The Ubiquitous Portabella Mushroom Burger - 1 pt

This is one I thought I came up with on my own, but apparently it's a big seller in the WW community—and with good reason. I find it hard to work meat into my diet on WW, particularly beef, which is really the only kind I like. Portabellas are nice and meaty and practically calorie-free. I find them to be an extremely satisfying addition to dinner, almost like fast-food for dessert. I eat them without bread, as the bread just seems to get in the way and adds unnecessary points (but feel free to throw it on a slice of WW toast if that's your thing, just don't forget the added points).

I couldn't find a lot of details on HOW to cook the mushroom, so here's what I do. You'll notice the points are not 0, which is what they usually claim this burger is worth, but I included all condiments, the broth and veggies and it works out to 1pt. Still not bad, right?


The Ubiquitous Portabella Mushroom Burger

1 Portabella mushroom cap
1/4 c chicken broth (or veggie broth)
2 slices tomato
1 slice onion, chopped
1 leaf lettuce
ketchup
mustard
Optional for .5 pt: 1 slice fat free cheese (Kraft takes a decent stab at this, but it only tastes good when melted)

Rub the mushroom with a paper towel to get all the dirt off. I'd read that mushrooms have enough moisture without being rinsed, and anyway, I never found that rinsing mushrooms worked particularly well in terms of the moist soil all over them. Take a few jabs at the mushroom with a knife, this lets the moisture out and keeps the mushroom from burning too easily. Heat up a little bit of the chicken broth in a nonstick pan, then add the mushroom. Cover with a lid and let cook about 15 minutes. Check up on it every five minutes or so and add more broth as needed.

Once the mushroom seems reasonably done, throw a slice of the cheese on there if you want it and put the lid back on til it's melted. Then put your patty in a bowl, smear some ketchup and mustard over it, then top with onions, tomato and lettuce. It tastes so much like a burger it's remarkable.

1 point per serving(without cheese): 79 calories, 1.9g fiber, .1g fat
1.5 points per serving with cheese: 109 calories, 1.9g fiber, .1 g fat

Turkey Taco Chili - 3.5 pts

This is a great recipe I got off the back of a package of lean ground turkey, but I can't remember what brand and can't seem to find the recipe online anywhere. This means I get to take credit! Hooray!

This chili tastes a lot like tacos, mostly because of the cumin and is actually quite healthy. Just 3.5 pts for 1 cup, and a cup filled me even pre-WW. If you wanna go all-out, add a quarter a cup (dollop) of fat free yogurt in place of sour cream (add .5 pts) or a quarter cup fat free cottage cheese (1 pt). With such a light meal, you can really afford to add to it.

This is also a little mild, so if you want to be really bold, use hot salsa and switch up the 1 tbsp chili powder with .5 tbsp chili powder and .5 tbsp cayenne pepper. I gotta say, if you go over that proportion, you're gonna be sitting in heat. I love spice, but found it practically inedible the time I though that chili powder=cayenne pepper. It really does not.


Turkey Taco Chili
Origin unknown

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 cloves minced or pressed garlic
1.25 lbs ground turkey
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1 x 28oz can stewed or diced tomatoes
1 x 14.5oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 c salsa or picante sauce

Cook onion and garlic in olive oil 5 minutes. Add turkey and spices and cook 5 more minutes. Add everything else and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered 10 mninutes, stirring occasionally.


3.5 points per 1 c serving (1/6 batch): 204 calories, 5.4g fiber, 1.6g fat

Green Bean Casserole - 2 pts

This recipe was the first to really highlight the difference between Regular People Food and Foodies' Food. It's Nook and Pantry's The Foodie's Green Bean Casserole and it's divine. In its previous form, the complete recipe is at 40 pts, but with a few substitutions you can make it WW friendly at just 10 points for the entire dish (consider that absent French Fried Onions alone are about 10 pts). Eat half for 5 (at WW portions, it is quite filling) or a quarter for 3 and pair with some lean meat for a well-balanced meal!


Image courtesy of Nook and Pantry

The Foodie's Green Bean Casserole
Adapted from Nook and Pantry

1 lb green beans, ends trimmed and broken in half
8 oz crimini mushrooms, chopped (these are also called Baby Bella in some places)
3 tbsp Land O'Lakes Light Butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
1/2 c chicken stock (chicken broth and Better Than Bouillon also work)
1/4 c Land O'Lakes Fat Free Half and Half
1 sauteed chopped onion

Preheat the oven to 400^o F.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushroom, garlic, some salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms are starting to release their liquid. When the liquid is starting to reduce, add the beans and cook until they are bright green and still a bit crunchy, about 5 minutes. You will only bake the casserole for a few minutes in the oven so cook the beans a little less than your desired tenderness.

While the beans are cooking, melt the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the flour, whisk and cook until the roux is slightly golden. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, while continually whisking. Simmer the mixture for about a minute. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the half and half, and add the green bean and mushroom pieces; toss to coat.

Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8 Pyrex or a 9" diameter pie dish. Sprinkle with sauteed onions. Bake about 10 minutes.

Many thanks to Nook & Pantry!


2 points per 1/4 batch: 129 calories, 5.2g fiber, 5g fat