Today's Weight Watchers recipe: One of three new zero-point soup recipes from Weight Watchers. Asian-inspired ingredients: bok choy, Chinese cabbage, fresh ginger, bean sprouts, snow peas. Weight Watchers 0 points.
When Weight Watchers UK introduced brand-new zero-point soup recipes, I couldn't wait to try all three. First I tested the 'Mexican-inspired' zero-point soup and now today, the Asian-inspired zero-point soup recipe. (What's left to try? The Italian-inspired soup!)
How do these two new soup recipes compare to Weight Watchers' original zero-points Garden Vegetable Soup?
All three are alike in these ways: all have (1) lots of low-calorie vegetables, (2) no-calorie broths and (3) lots of flavor. To my taste, the Garden Vegetable Soup and the Mexican-inspired soup are more substantial tasting than the Asian-inspired soup. But that's okay, for that makes the Asian soup an especially good choice for days -- after an indulgent weekend, say -- when we want our food to taste as light as it is.
The three Weight Watchers soups are unalike in these ways: vegetables really 'star' in the original Garden Vegetable Soup and the Mexican-inspired soup. Here, in the Asian-inspired version, the dominant flavor is fresh ginger, the vegetables themselves are mild. And the Asian-inspired version is better suited for eating immediately, since the bean sprouts and snow peas need cooking for just a couple of minutes.
WEIGHT WATCHERS ASIAN ZERO POINTS SOUP
See Weight Watchers' inspiring recipe
Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 45 minutes
Makes 10 cups
6 cups vegetable broth (I used 6 cups water and Better for Bouillon)
2 cups bok choy, chopped (use the leftover bok choy to make this great bok choy salad or check the other bok choy recipes)
2 cups Chinese/Napa cabbage, chopped (use the leftover Napa cabbage in this salad with Asian-inspired dressing)
1/4 cup fresh ginger, thinly sliced and julienned
4 oyster mushrooms, sliced thin (I used shiitake mushrooms, next time I will use more mushrooms)
2 cups scallions / green onions (this is a lot of onion, almost two entire bunches, 14 individual onions)
8 ounce can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 red pepper, halved, cored, each half cut into three sections lengthwise, each section sliced thin cross-wise (nestle the three sections together to speed along the cutting)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this is a lot, this soup has some heat, if you don't appreciate that, start with 1/8 teaspoon or even 1/16; the heat does moderate after being refrigerated for 24 hours)
2 cups snow peas (these are far cheaper from the frozen section and don't require stringing, if using fresh cut off the tips and then along the string-y side, that's the side opposite the peas)
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used shozu, a fruity soy sauce, next time I'll use regular soy sauce for more substance)
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
OPTIONAL BUT TIME-SAVING TIP Bring the vegetable broth (or water for bouillon) to a boil in an electric tea kettle or in the microwave while prepping the vegetables.
Collect all the vegetables except the snow peas and bean sprouts in a cold large pot or Dutch oven. When those vegetables are prepped, add the hot water, cover and bring to a boil on MEDIUM HIGH. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the bean sprouts and snow peas, cook another 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and cilantro.
NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Cup: 69 Cal (3% from Fat, 24% from Protein, 72% from Carb); 5 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 0 g Mono Fat; 14 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb11; 4 g Sugar; 54 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 537 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point
What??? One point? Yes, that's how my calculations turned out, double- and triple-checked. When relying on actual math, the Garden Vegetable Soup does too, though not the Mexican soup. Still, all these vegetables are 'free' vegetables in Weight Watchers parlance, and there is no added fat, no starchy vegetables. So call it 0 points, I know I'm going to.
According to the Weight Watchers folks, you can add a protein to a cup of soup:
2 ounces cooked shrimp, Weight Watchers 1 point
2 ounces scallops, Weight Watchers 1 point
1/2 cup firm tofu, Weight Watchers 1 point
2 ounces cooked white meat chicken, Weight Watchers 1 point
KITCHEN NOTES
The Mexican-inspired soup made me me realize that A Veggie Venture's many one-point soup recipes can easily be converted to zero-point recipes, just by substituting a splash of broth for olive oil when sautéing the onion up front. These recipes might be good alternatives for Weight Watchers followers not excited about chopping vegetables for forty minutes. A Veggie Venture is my own website packed with nearly recipes, each one featuring vegetables. It is not associated with Weight Watchers - more information.
FAVORITE VEGETABLE RECIPES
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture (all vegetable recipes)
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column (all courses)
~ more low-carb recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture (all vegetable recipes)
~ more low-carb recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade
~ more soup recipes ~
WEEKEND HERB BLOGGING Today's latest Weight Watchers Zero Points Soup recipe is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen. Head on over to see all the recipes with healthful ingredients collected from all over the world. (And good news for other South Beach dieters like Kalyn: she says that this soup fits all phases of the South Beach diet.)
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