Weight Watcher Recipe - Potato Soup

There is nothing worse than having to eat uninspiring food. Not only is the resulting boredom likely to destroy your diet but it is no fun watching other people eat "nice food" if you are stuck with "diet food." The answer to this dilemma is to make healthy recipes, which taste good.

If you are a fan of potatoes, you might want to make something satisfying and tasty with them. Obviously creamy mashed potato is not the best dish for your diet but what about a weight watcher recipe for potato broth? Soup is great for weight watchers because the liquid helps to fill you up without adding extra calories. Creamy soups are not the most figure-friendly but using broth and low fat milk as a base can give you a similar creaminess without the calories or fat.

The following recipe contains carrot and cabbage for sweetness. It is satisfying and tasty and you can make it with leftover potatoes. If you are not using leftover potatoes, peel and cut raw ones into big pieces, then cook them in salted water, drain them and let them cool. You can make them ahead and chill them, so they hold together better in the soup.

If you want to cook this in a hurry, make sure you chop the vegetables into really small pieces. You can use any meat in this soup. Turkey, leftover roast lamb or ham are all nice. Feel free to adjust the broth and milk if you want a thinner or thicker consistency.

You will not need sour cream to garnish this dish because the low fat milk makes it creamy. Some chopped chives and black pepper are good on top instead, or you could use green onion or shredded cheddar as a topping.

What you will need:

2 1/2 lbs cooked russet potatoes
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
14 oz chicken broth
2 cups low fat milk
1 finely chopped onion
6 cups chopped green cabbage
8 oz cooked ham or bacon (or any other cooked meat)
2 peeled chopped carrots
Salt and black pepper, to taste
How to make it:

Put the butter or margarine and oil in a heavy pot over a moderate heat. Add the onions, carrots and cabbage and cook until they begin to soften, stirring sometimes. Chop the meat and add it to the pan.

Slice the potatoes, making some pieces tiny so they dissolve and thicken the soup and others larger so they add texture, and add them to the soup with the milk and some salt and pepper. Warm the soup through without allowing it to boil, then garnish it and serve.

Before Your Big Wedding Day, Learn How to Lose Some Quick Weight, Shed Those Unnecessary Pounds

On your wedding day, all eyes will be on you. Most of your relatives and all of your friends will greet you. On this day that you will remember for the rest of your life, there will be high emotions because this is a very special day for you, family and your friends. Many of your guest will surely remember it as one of the most important days of your life. This is a day that you and your love one will start a life together as a married couple. This is why so much planning and preparation is put forth for this glorious day. Most of the planning and preparation is put into the selection of the perfect wedding gown, the right tux, selection and arrangement of flowers, the menu for the reception and many others things that will need to be done. Most often the most important fact is that you are often neglected.                        

Endurance You will need to be very energetic and have plenty of stamina on the glorious day. You will have to greet all of your guest, you will be on your feet most of the time standing, walking and dancing. This day will require a flawless and perfected performance from you and your wedding party. Tempers may flare up, there will be excitement and the anxiousness level will be through the roof. A few weeks prior to the wedding, will be a tense and hectic time of running errands and the finalization of the wedding plans.  Thank goodness for the wedding planners who will wisely delegate most of the responsibilities and oversee the finalization of the plans.   Although you will have a wedding planner, you will need to have more energy than you normally do and will need to take good care of yourself. Eat healthy meals, exercise and get enough restful sleep. So on your wedding day you will look, feel and be your very best on this very important  day.  

Remember you will have a full day and you will need all of the energy that will exist within you in order to enjoy your day. Without this day long energy, no matter how much make-up you put on, it will show up in your face that you are tired. It is always better to be alert, have a healthy glow and show positive energy on your wedding day. 

Eating Low Fat Foods Start eating low fat foods, a few weeks before your wedding day. Eating low fat foods is the easiest way to lose weight, if you are trying to lose weight. Using as little as possible or no butter, margarine, mayonnaise or oil is a good reason for preparing your own lunch. When eating out or ordering take-out food, it is too difficult to control the amount of fat in your diet. Try ordering grilled or baked lean meats that have no added fat, if you are dinning out. You have to remember that some salads have a higher fat content which means there are more calories involved than some meat dishes. Any cream-based dressing, such as Caesar dressing will be high in fat.

Fatty fast foods, junk food, chocolate bars, chips, soda pop and doughnuts, refrain from consuming. Eat at least three regular meals a day. You may include one or two low calorie or light snacks, of low fat cheese and crackers or some fruit. The snacks will help maintain your energy level and help control the amount you eat during your regular meals. When you skip meals in order to lose weight, your body will store an extra amount of fat to make up for the lost meals. Then you end up gaining more weight and you are feeling more fatigue and frustrated than you normally would be.

A word of wisdom, do not try to lose weight by going on a crash diet or not eating proper meals. Plan ahead of time; give yourself at least a few months before the wedding date to acquire your proper weight loss. Doing it this way will bring better long term results. Get someone with experience to help you calculate the amount of exercise it will take to burn a certain amount of calories. This is one of the areas where most people will under estimate the amount exercise it takes to burn a certain amount of calories.  

 Starchy Foods

Bread, pasta, rice, or potatoes are considered to be very high starch food. It is good to eat a high starch food because it is an energy releasing food. Glucose is formed in your body, then it is used instantly for energy. By supplying your body with an ample amount of glucose, your muscles are ready for action and your mind will stay alert. Word of warning, do not overeat, one serving per meal is all that it takes. Avoid adding fatty sauces, make your own sauce with little or no fat to mix with your food. Take every precaution to cut out the extra calories and maximize the nutritious value for your meals.

High Fiber Foods    Split pea, beans, rice, wholegrain breads, oat bran, corn, wheat breakfast cereals, bean soup, chick peas, fresh fruits and vegetables are high fiber foods. The fiber makes you feel full because of its bulkiness; thus, helping you to eat less food.  

Down To The Last Day Before The Wedding

Drinking an excess amount of alcohol may relieve the tension, discomfort and feelings of insecurity, but it will leave you with a hangover and affect your performance on your wedding day. Your new spouse to be will not be happy with you for straggling through out the wedding ceremony. Lord forbid your tripping and falling. You will be stress enough without the help of the alcohol raising your blood pressure. Drink no more than two of the same type of alcoholic beverages the night before your wedding day.

Do not drink more coffee than you normally have unless it is decaffeinated. Of coarse you should know that regular coffee has the stimulant caffeine in it and will cause your heart rate to increase. Your anxiety level will be high enough so stay away from the tea, colas and any medication that may contain caffeine.  

Make sure you eat properly and get a good nights rest. You may want to pack some food and beverages for a snack between your ceremony and your reception time period. Stay away from trying new foods during this time because it may cause you to have an upset abdominal.

 On Your Wedding Day

On the day of your wedding, start your day with a good breakfast. Eat some fruit, cereal, an ounce of cheese, peanut butter or other high protein products. This will help keep your energy level up for about four hours. Avoid just having sweet drinks like a glass of juice. The energy that you get from them will not last long, no more than an hour to an hour and a half.   

You must limit the amount of your caffeine intake because it will increase your level of restroom visits. The caffeine will act as a diuretic on a day when your body will have a need for more fluids. Do not eliminate the caffeine completely if you are using it on a regular basis. If you do, there is the possibility that you will have withdrawal symptoms or end up with a major headache.

You may want to pack a lunch and some beverages for the long picture taking wait period between your ceremony and your reception. Sandwiches made with ham, pastrami, roast beef or turkey; finger foods such as cheese, crackers, carrots sticks, and fresh fruits are perfect for a quick pick me up.  Avoid foods that are loaded with fat. If you are extremely tense and have a poor appetite, eating small meals or snacks throughout the day will help.   

If you are sweating excessively, put about a third of a teaspoon of salt into a liter of diluted juice. This will help to replenish your dehydrated body. Avoid soda pops or limit the amount you drink because the carbonation may cause bloating, particularly if you are having a high stress day.

Be sure to cherish every moment, take good care of yourselves and enjoy your wedding day. Take plenty of pictures of the wedding, particularly at the reception. The reception will have all of the fun shots. Follow the above advice and this will be a wonderful, precious and very special day for you.

Top 3 Soup Tricks That Lead to Weight Loss

Looking to lose some pounds quickly and safely? Scientists have now proven that nutrition can account for 70% of your weight loss efforts. However, if the thought of boring diet food and tiny portions are discouraging your weight loss efforts, take heart. With some creativity you can eat satisfying and tasty meals and still lose weight. Soups are perfect for weight loss because they are filling and can be made in a variety of ways. Here are some simple ways to transform your favorite soup recipes into powerful weight loss aids.

Stock instead of fat: Eliminate fat from your soup recipes by sauteing your ingredients in stock. This increases the flavor of your food without extra calories. Once your soup is ready to serve you can add half a teaspoon of heart healthy fat, such as extra virgin olive oil per serving of soup. This way you get all the mouth feel of fat without adding extra calories.

Fibre rich creamy soups: You don't need fatty cream to make your soup taste rich. Use red lentils in your recipe. Red lentils break down to impart a nice creamy texture into your soup. They also add a nutty flavor to your soup, not to mention extra B vitamins, fiber and protein.

Secrets of yogurt: A wonderful way of livening up simple soups is by adding a generous dollop of fat free yogurt just before serving. Enjoy all the sensations of a rich soup without the added calories.

Other weight loss substitutions include adding whole wheat pasta to noodle soup recipes, adding cayenne pepper instead of black pepper (cayenne is a proven metabolism booster) and using spices for flavor instead of fat.

Lose Weight Fast - Discover Low Carb Soups

For me, a low carb diet is a dream come true when it comes to being able to lose weight fast. An Atkins style meal plan allowed me to eat as much as I wanted of some of my favorite foods. I love steak, lamb, omelettes ham, cheese, and plenty of salads. So far, I have lost over 15 lbs using this approach.

However, despite the rewards you get when you lose weight fast, eating all that meat and salad does get pretty boring. You see, even if you love steak, eating it in two or three meals a day, means it is only a matter of time before you get sick of it. The same goes for ham, bacon, (and especially) omelette's.

If it weren't for low carb soup, I might have dropped out of the diet program entirely.

Finding out how to cook different low carb soups, really helped me to stick with it and opened up a whole range of new food opportunities for me. I had always enjoyed soup, and it's extremely easy and fast to make. Learning to make these soups significantly increased my meal choices! Many of the best known traditional soups, from miso soup to chicken soup and clam chowder are easy to make as low carb versions.

Since cream isn't high in carbohydrates, all you have to do to make low carb chowder is to cut out the potatoes. Same for coconut milk - a great additive for Thai style soups. That isn't that hard, is it?

Of course, if you want to make a really good soup, you need to do things the right way using a home made stock. It is amazing how much better a soup prepared with home made stock tastes than one made entirely with stock cubes.

Here is one of my favorites:

Chicken, Leek and Asparagus Soup

You need:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 leek (white part only), chopped and washed well
3/4 pound of fresh asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 clove of garlic
14 ounces of home made chicken stock from left over chicken bones. You can replace this with reduced-sodium chicken stock if you need to.
1/3 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add leek and saute until soft. Add the asparagus and cook 1 minute more. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer until asparagus is tender (about 8 to 10 minutes). Mix in the cream, salt and pepper.

If you want a smooth soup, run it through the blender.

There are other low carb soup recipes on my site.

Eating Soup is a Nutritious and Delicious Way to Lose Weight

I am always looking for a few weight loss tips. One of my favorites is eating soup. Soup is a nutritious and delicious way to lose weight! I learned long ago that making my own soup at home is an economical way to stretch my grocery dollars, make use of leftovers, control what I eat, and plan out my meals for the week. Controlling what I eat and planning my meals for the week are key to losing weight and keeping it off. As an added bonus, soup fills you up physically and lifts you up emotionally.

Soup Is Economical

Stick to broth based soups as creamy soups are harder to balance calories and fat that support a fit lifestyle. I like to keep my cabinets stocked with 98% fat free chicken broth (without MSG). This allows me to throw together a pot of soup just about anytime I want without adding salt or fat for flavor. To keep the broth economical, I generally use equal amounts of chicken broth and water to form the base. Celery, carrots, and onions are also cheap and add wonderful flavor to any soup.

What should you put in your soup? Look in your refrigerator. Look in your cabinets. Look in the freezer. You probably have many more ingredients than you realize. A few veggies, a carbohydrate (potatoes, pasta, rice, corn, or beans), and a protein (chicken, turkey, pork roast, ham, ground sirloin, beef) simmered in your broth base will produce a lovely and economical soup from your leftovers. Experiment with spices such as rosemary, pepper, and onion powder to add additional flavor.

Low Calories High Satisfaction

Because you control what you put in your soup pot, you can keep the calories under control. Eating soup also helps you eat vegetables if you are not a big fan of veggies. The fiber in the veggies as well as the broth help keep you satisfied and full for a longer period of time. Protein also helps keep your appetite satisfied longer and adding a grain such as rice or barely helps even more.

Helps Plan Your Meals All Week Long

Making a pot of soup on the weekend can take you through a whole week of lunches at work. Planning your meals ahead of time helps you control cravings, properly fuel your body, and lose weight. Remember, you control what goes into your soup. Eating two cups of broth based soup everyday can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy diet.

Swap recipes. Experiment with making your own soup recipes. It is hard to mess up a pot of soup. After all, you are adding ingredients from your refrigerator and cabinets. These are ingredients you already love in other recipes. Eating soup is one of my favorite weight loss tips. It is a nutritious and delicious way to lose weight. It will fill you up and give you great satisfaction emotionally that you were able to throw together a yummy healthy dish using your own leftovers while setting yourself up for success throughout the week.