Weight Watchers Recipes

Gazpacho soup is a cold traditional Spanish soup that’s widely consumed throughout Spain, Portugal and some Latin America countries. its main ingredients are tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and vinegar.

Here’s a version that also uses avocado, cucumber and onion. You can try accompanying this soup with hard boiled eggs, or use ham as a garnish (served in separate little bowls). ¡Buen provecho!

Weight Watchers Gazpacho Soup recipe
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
5 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (12 ounce) can tomato juice (V8 if possible)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 celery rib, minced
4 teaspoons cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
coarsely ground salt & pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup chopped green or red pepper (optional)
Tabasco sauce (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Preparation
1. Partly puree all the ingredients (except 3/4 of the avocado and the sour cream, if using).
2. Chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Garnish each serving with remaining avocado dices, sour cream (optional) and a sprig of cilantro.

One serving is approximately 300 grams.
WW POINTS per serving: 3
Nutritional information per serving: 142 calories, 10.8g fat, 3.7g fiber

Here’s a very interesting Asian-inspired salad: shrimp, mango and cellophane noodles (also known as glass noodles or Chinese vermicelli). It’s a light dish with a nice combination of flavors.

Weight Watchers Shrimp and Mango Salad with Glass Noodles recipe
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1 lb medium or large shrimp (cooked, peeled and deveined)
4 ounces very thin glass noodles
1 large mango, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (1 pound)
3 scallions, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh serrano pepper or jalapeno chile, including seeds (to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preparation
1. In a large bowl, cover the noodles with boiling-hot water and let stand for 8 minutes.
2. In a colander, drain well the noodles and rinse with cold running water, then return to bowl.
3. While the noodles are soaking, combine the shrimp, mango, scallions, basil, and chile in another large bowl.
4. In a measuring cup, stir together the vinegar, salt and sugar, until the sugar is dissolved, then toss half of sauce with the shrimp salad and half with the noodles.
5. Serve the noodles topped with shrimp salad.

One serving is approximately 235 grams.
WW POINTS per serving: 6
Nutritional information per serving: 289 calories, 2.2g fat, 1.7g fiber

This is a traditional Southwestern recipe for a very easy and tasty dish. If you feel adventurous, you can experiment with this recipe by adding some tomatoes, portobello mushrooms or mozzarella cheese to this casserole.

Weight Watchers Sausage and Eggplant Casserole recipe
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1/2 lb bulk sausage
1 small eggplant
1 egg, beaten
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup butter cracker crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons italian seasoning
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Peel the eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes and lightly salt to sweat the bitter taste out.
2. In a saucepan, cook the eggplant cubes with water for about 18 minutes (until tender); drain and cool slightly.
3. Cook the sausage and onion until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft.
4. Combine the eggplant and sausage; add the beaten egg and bread crumbs.
5. Spoon into a prepared casserole.
6. Combine the butter and cracker crumbs. Spread over the top of the casserole.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes (until the cracker crumbs are golden brown).

WW POINTS per serving: 7
Nutritional information per serving: 323 calories, 15.9g fat, 5.9g fiber

Here’s a delicious and elegant chocolate treat that’s surprisingly easy to prepare.

Instead of grated chocolate, you can also roll the truffles in coconut. They will keep for up to 2 weeks in a cool place.

Weight Watchers Italian Chocolate Truffles recipe
Makes 24 balls

Ingredients
6 ounces dark chocolate (or milk chocolate)
1 3/4 ounces grated chocolate
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons sweet butter
2 tablespoons almond liqueur or orange liqueur

Preparation
1. In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate with the liqueur; stir until well blended.
2. Add the butter and stir until melted.
3. Stir in the sugar and ground almonds.
4. Leave the mixture in a cool place until firm enough to roll into balls.
5. Put the grated chocolate on a plate and roll the balls in the chocolate to coat them.
6. Put the truffles in paper candy cups and chill.

WW POINTS for one ball: 2
Nutritional information for one ball: 79 calories, 7.2g fat, 1.8g fiber

Even though it appears that soda bread was not invented by the Irish (it is believed that American Indians were the first to leaven their bread using a type of soda ash), soda bread is considered a traditional Irish dish.

Here’s a very easy Irish soda bread recipe that’s traditionally served warm with lots of butter, accompanying a corned beef and cabbage dinner.

Weight Watchers Traditional Irish Soda Bread recipe
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
3 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 cup dry currants
2 tablespoons sugar (for the glaze)
2 tablespoons hot water (for the glaze)

Preparation
1. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.
2. Stir in the milk and currants.
3. Combine until well blended (the dough will be sticky).
4. Turn out the dough onto a floured board and knead 10 times, until smooth.
5. Shape into an 8″ round loaf.
6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. With a knife, cut an “X” into the top of the loaf.
8. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 45 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven. Pour the sugar and water glaze over the top and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

WW POINTS per serving: 5
Nutritional information per serving: 268 calories, 0.9g fat, 2.5g fiber