0
0
2. Seven day Weight Watchers
Founded in 1963, the Weight Watchers program has changed with the times. Its trademark in-person weight-loss groups are still available, but you can also choose from an online-only plan, or one-on-one coaching plus online tools. The program assigns every food a certain number of points based on its calories and nutritional value, and members aim to stay under a certain number of points per day.
DAY 1
– BREAKFAST| FRUITY GRANOLA: 6 ProPoints
Serve 40g granola with 150ml skimmed milk or 125g fat-free natural yogurt.
Top with a handful of berries.
– LUNCH | LUNCH BOX CAESAR SALAD: 8 ProPoints
Whisk together 20g reduced-fat mayonnaise, 1tbsp lemon juice, 1 chopped anchovy, 1 small garlic clove and ½tsp Worcestershire sauce to make the dressing. Shred some romaine lettuce and top with 15g croutons, 100g cooked skinless chicken breast and 10g grated Parmesan.
Add the dressing just before serving.
– DINNER | BAKED MED COD: 8 ProPoints
Heat a 200g tin of chopped tomatoes with 2tsp tomato purée, one chopped garlic clove and some fresh thyme leaves.
Simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thick. Pour into a small ovenproof dish and add 1tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1tsp capers and five pitted black olives. Top with a 125g skinless cod fillet and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve with 40g dried tagliatelle (cooked following the pack instructions) and fresh basil.
DAY 2
– BREAKFAST | MUSHROOM AND SPINACH OMELETTE: 6 ProPoints
Heat ½tsp olive oil in a small pan.
Add sliced mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes.
Stir in a handful of spinach, mixing until it starts to wilt, then add 30g low-fat soft cheese and a pinch of grated nutmeg. Keep to one side. Heat ½tsp olive oil in a small frying pan and add two medium beaten eggs.
When the top is almost set, add the mushroom mixture to one half of the omelette, fold and serve when ready.
– LUNCH | TUNA BEAN SALAD: 6 ProPoints
Combine some diced red onion, a good squeeze of lemon juice, 1tsp olive oil, a few cooked and halved green beans, 1tsp capers, 120g drained mixed beans, 2tsp tomato purée and some cherry tomatoes.
Serve with mixed salad leaves and top with a 56g tin of tuna in spring water (drained) and freshly ground black pepper.
– DINNER | BUTTERNUT BORLOTTI STEW: 8 ProPoints
Add 100g borlotti beans, 150g diced butternut squash, a chopped spring onion and a small tin of chopped tomatoes to a saucepan of 200ml vegetable stock. Add ½tsp dried mixed herbs and a pinch of paprika and cook for 20-25 minutes. Just before the stew is ready, fry 40g cubed light halloumi until golden. Add 15g pine nuts and cook for another minute, stirring.
Serve the dish with halloumi and pine nuts on top.
– DAY 3
– BREAKFAST | BREAKFAST FRUIT COMPOTE: 3 ProPoints
To a small pan, add three apricot halves from a tin with 3tbsp of the juice, three prunes and a few pear quarters (also from a tin, without the juice). Warm through for a few minutes, adding a pinch of cinnamon or mixed spice if desired.
Serve with 100g fat-free natural Greek yogurt and 1tsp pumpkin seeds scattered on top.
– LUNCH | SMOKED MACKEREL AND COUSCOUS SALAD: 9 ProPoints
Add grated zest of half an orange to 40g dry wholewheat couscous along with the juice from half the orange. Add boiling water so the couscous is just covered and soak for 10 minutes. Slice the remaining half of the orange and add to the couscous with sliced cucumber, spring onion, a grated carrot and 55g of faked smoked mackerel fillet.
Serve with a handful of watercress.
– DINNER | CREAMY PESTO CHICKEN: 8 ProPoints
Pan-fry a 165g skinless chicken breast in 1tsp olive oil for 20-25 minutes, turning often until cooked through and golden. Add some halved cherry tomatoes and cook for three further minutes. Then add 1tbsp half-fat crème fraiche and 1tbsp pesto, stirring to make a sauce.
Squeeze in some lemon juice and serve with fresh basil on top and a side of vegetables or salad.
DAY 4
– BREAKFAST | OATY APRICOT SMOOTHIE: 3 ProPoints
Whizz up a smoothie with 200ml skimmed milk, ½tin of apricots in fruit juice (drained) and 15g oats.
– LUNCH | STUFFED MUSHROOMS: 7 ProPoints
(Serves 4) Remove the stalks from four portobello mushrooms and place the caps in a roasting tin. Drizzle each with ½tsp olive oil. Roast for five minutes. Measure 200g couscous into a bowl, add some grated lemon zest and a vegetable stock cube and cover with boiling water. Cover the bowl and leave for five minutes.
In 2tsp olive oil, fry a few chopped spring onions and the mushroom stalks until cooked, then add to the couscous along with a chopped roasted red pepper, some diced tomato and 100g light feta.
Spoon the filling into each mushroom, cover with foil and roast for 12 minutes.
– DINNER | SEAFOOD TAGLIATELLE: 10 ProPoints
Cook a sliced red onion in 1tsp olive oil on a low heat for about five minutes. Add a small tin of chopped tomatoes and a pinch of chilli powder, then simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce. Cook 60g dried tagliatelle and drain when cooked. Add 100g cooked seafood selection (such as mussels, prawns and squid) to the sauce and heat through.
Stir the pasta through the seafood sauce and serve with 2tsp grated Parmesan and fresh parsley.
DAY 5
– BREAKFAST | BAKED EGGS AND TOMATOES: 2 ProPoints
(Serves 4) Halve 1kg ripe tomatoes and place in an ovenproof dish (fit them close together). Sprinkle 1tsp olive oil and some dried oregano over them and bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes until they soften. Make four wells around the tomatoes and crack an egg into each before returning the dish to the oven for around 10 minutes.
Serve each portion with a 50g slice of ciabatta for an extra 4 ProPoints.
– LUNCH | PRAWN PASTA SALAD: 7 ProPoints
Cook 50g farfalle pasta, drain and cool. Make a dressing with 30g fat-free natural yogurt, some chopped fresh dill, a squeeze of lemon juice and 1tsp capers. To the pasta, add 80g cooked king prawns, a chopped spring onion, a few quartered cherry tomatoes, some watercress, a little lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.
Add the yogurt dressing and serve.
– DINNER | FILLET STEAK WITH VEGETABLE MEDLEY: 7 ProPoints
Heat a griddle pan and cook a sliced courgette, a red pepper and a few asparagus spears, that have been tossed in ½tsp olive oil and 1tsp balsamic vinegar, until tender. Brush a 150g lean fillet steak with ½tsp olive oil and rub chopped fresh rosemary on both sides.
Cook the steak in the griddle pan and serve with the vegetables and some cherry tomatoes.
DAY 6
– BREAKFAST | HONEY CITRUS CREPES: 6 ProPoints
(Serves 4) Make pancake batter with 125g plain four, one medium egg and 300ml skimmed milk. Cut a few segments from an orange and a grapefruit, removing all pith. Put in a bowl and stir in 2tsp honey. Make eight pancakes cooked in 2tsp oil.
Serve two pancakes folded in quarters topped with the fruit for one serving.
– LUNCH | TORTILLA PIZZA: 8 ProPoints
Place a 65g tortilla wrap on a baking sheet and top with 3tbsp tomato purée, 30g grated mozzarella, some sliced tomato and a sprinkling of dried mixed herbs. Season with black pepper and finish with three black olives, halved. Bake for around eight minutes until crispy.
Serve garnished with fresh basil.
– DINNER | SEARED TUNA NIÇOISE: 8 ProPoints
Cook 120g baby new potatoes, add some green beans for the last couple of minutes, then drain. Chop a tomato and mix with 1tbsp capers, five black olives, ½tsp olive oil, ½tsp wholegrain mustard, chopped fresh parsley and the juice of half a lemon. Brush a 125g tuna steak with ½tsp oil and cook in a griddle pan to your liking. Add the potatoes and beans to the tomato mix.
Serve with a wedge of lemon.
DAY 7
– BREAKFAST | SMOKED HADDOCK FLORENTINE: 5 ProPoints
Poach a skinless 175g smoked haddock fillet for six minutes until the flesh is opaque. At the same time, poach a medium egg. Wilt a large handful of spinach by pouring boiling water over it in a colander and pressing with a spoon to remove the excess water.
Serve the haddock and egg on top of the spinach and season with black pepper.
– LUNCH | MINESTRONE: 6 ProPoints
Heat ½tsp olive oil in a pan. Add sliced spring onion, half a chopped courgette and some diced green beans. Fry for a few minutes. Add 425ml vegetable stock (made with half a stock cube) along with 1tsp dried mixed Italian herbs. Bring to the boil then simmer for two minutes. Add 30g small pasta shapes and simmer until almost cooked, then add 40g peas for the last minute.
Serve with 2tsp green pesto stirred through.
– DINNER | LAMB AND FETA BURGER: 9 ProPoints
Mix together 100g lean minced lamb, crushed garlic, chopped fresh rosemary, ½tsp dried oregano and 25g light feta. Shape into a patty. Grill the burger until cooked through.
Serve with salad and a salsa made from quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced spring onion, a couple of chopped black olives, a splash of red wine vinegar, 1tsp olive oil and fresh parsley.
SNACKS AND TREATS
No foods are forbidden – you can still enjoy your favourites
Gin (25ml) and slimline tonic – 2 ProPoints
Jaffa Cake – 1 ProPoint per biscuit
Weight Watchers Dark Chocolate Digestive Biscuit – 1 ProPoint per biscuit
Crumpet – 2 ProPoints per crumpet
Weight Watchers Caramel Wafers – 2 ProPoints per wafer
Prosecco – 3 ProPoints per 125ml glass
Almonds – 2 ProPoints for six
Total 0 per cent Fat Greek Yogurt With Blueberry – 4 ProPoints per 170g serving
Mars Twix Fino – 3 ProPoints per finger
Lager – 3 ProPoints per ½ pint
Weight Watchers Fruit Crumble Biscuits – 2 ProPoints per biscuit
Walkers Quavers – 2 ProPoints per bag
Apple – 0 ProPoints
