Cold, dark and dreary — it’s hardly the time of year when you feel like living off lettuce.
Thank goodness, then, for Weight Watchers®, which has created its most flexible weight-loss programme yet. Follow Weight Watchers Flex®, and you can lose up to a stone in just eight weeks — thanks to its ingenious SmartPoints® plan and the fact more foods than ever now have a SmartPoints value of zero.
Weight Watchers has already helped millions shed pounds painlessly with its clever SmartPoints programme. Now, SmartPoints has become even better, with far more choice and freedom, making it easier than ever to lose weight.
Excitingly, more than 200 delicious foods are now worth zero points — that’s right, zero — meaning you can eat as much of them as you like and still shift the pounds.
Even if you’re a seasoned dieter, with this plan you needn’t be bored by the food on offer and you are unlikely to be hit by hunger pangs. It can work for you.
And as there’s no limit to how much skinless chicken, fish, pulses and turkey you can eat, and nearly every fruit and vegetable is included, you can enjoy dozens of mouth-watering meals and still lose weight.
All you need to do is to stick to a maximum of 23 points per day — see below for an easy, at-a-glance guide.
Our series, which started on Saturday and continues all this week in exclusive articles, gives you even more scrumptious recipes to try . . . all while proving that shedding the pounds really can include delicious, hearty and warming meals, such as creamy risottos and indulgent pies.
Creamy chicken pies: 8 SmartPoints
Serves 2
- 400g potatoes, peeled and diced
- 125g parsnips, peeled and diced
- 300g chicken breast fillets, skinless, cut into small chunks
- 1 carrot, finely sliced
- 250ml chicken stock, made with ½ stock cube
- 1 bay leaf
- 60g sweetcorn, frozen or tinned
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 40g low-fat soft cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the potatoes and parsnips, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until soft, then drain, mash and season.
Now, put the chicken, carrot, stock and bay leaf in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.
Add the sweetcorn and bring back to the boil. Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp water to make a smooth paste.
Stir into the chicken mixture and let it bubble for a minute to thicken, then whisk in the soft cheese and cook for a minute more.
Remove the bay leaf and add the parsley. Preheat the grill to medium. Spoon the chicken mixture into individual pie dishes or a large ovenproof dish and top with mash. Grill for 3-5 minutes until the topping is golden. Serve.
Hearty black bean & chorizo soup: 6 SmartPoints
Serves 2
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 3 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 115g chorizo, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 x 400g tins black beans, drained and rinsed
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 750ml chicken stock, made with 1 reduced-salt stock cube
- 2 tsp lime juice
- ½ small avocado, peeled, seed removed and flesh chopped
- Handful fresh coriander leaves, larger ones chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
Hear the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion and celery, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened.
Add the chorizo, garlic, chilli flakes and paprika and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the chorizo is golden.
Add the beans, tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Set aside to cool slightly. Transfer half the soup to a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. Return to the pan and reheat over a medium-low heat until hot. Stir through the lime juice and season to taste.
Ladle into bowls and serve, topped with the avocado, coriander and chilli.
Greek yoghurt with oats & raspberries: 3 SmartPoints
Serves 2
- 100g raspberries
- 60g porridge oats
- 2 tbsp, 0% fat natural Greek yoghurt
PLACE 50g of the raspberries (or any berries you like) in a bowl and heat in a microwave for 30 seconds until they start breaking up and the juice is released.
Layer the heated berries in 2 bowls with 30g oats in each. Top with the yoghurt and the rest of the berries.
Cajun chicken salad: 4 SmartPoints
Serves 2
- Calorie-controlled cooking spray
- 2 x 165g skinless chicken breast fillets, flattened to a thickness of about 1cm
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- Juice of 1½ limes
- 40g Mexicana cheese (with hot flavouring), thinly sliced
- 40g mixed salad leaves
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- ½ carrot, grated
- 1 courgette, peeled into ribbons
- Handful cherry tomatoes, in quarters
- ½ 198g tin sweetcorn, drained
- 2 tbsp salsa
- 1 tbsp reduced-fat soured cream
- Small handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Preheat the grill to medium. Mist a non-stick griddle pan with cooking spray and set over a medium heat.
Next, mist the flattened chicken breast fillets with cooking spray, then coat in Cajun seasoning. Griddle for 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through, then place on a lined baking tray.
Pour two-thirds of the lime juice over the chicken, then top with the sliced cheese. Put under the grill for 1-2 minutes, until the cheese has melted. When cool enough to handle, cut the chicken into slices.
Meanwhile, toss the mixed salad leaves, onion, carrot, courgette, tomatoes, sweetcorn and remaining lime juice in a large bowl. Top with the chicken and serve with the salsa, soured cream and coriander.
Lamb stew: 9 SmartPoints
Serves 4
- Calorie-controlled cooking spray
- 400g lamb leg steaks, cut into chunks
- 8 shallots, halved
- 8 baby leeks, trimmed, cut into pieces
- 400g small carrots, halved lengthways
- 400g small new potatoes, scrubbed
- 1.2 litres vegetable stock, using 2 stock cubes
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 120g frozen peas
- 2 tbsp cornflour
MIST a large, heavy-based pan with the cooking spray. Add the lamb chunks a handful at a time and cook over a high heat until sealed and browned — about 3-4 minutes.
Add the shallots, leeks, carrots, new potatoes, stock and 1 tbsp parsley. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Add the peas to the stew, stir, and season to taste, then cook for a further 5 minutes.
Next, blend the cornflour with 3 tbsp cold water and add to the stew, stirring until thickened. Add in the remaining parsley, then ladle into 4 warmed bowls and serve.
Mushroom omelette: 0 SmartPoints
Many diets leave you with a rumbling tummy – and you despair that you’ll never keep it up. But by making it a tasty and filling zero SmartPoints breakfast like this mushroom omelette to start your day, you won’t suffer a bit…
Serves 1
- Calorie-controlled cooking spray
- 100g mushrooms, roughly chopped
- ½ garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp chives, chopped
- 3 eggs
Mist a frying pan with cooking spray. Cook the mushrooms and add the garlic and chives as the mushrooms colour. Beat the eggs, season and add to the pan.
Preheat the grill to medium. When the omelette is nearly cooked through, place under grill to set the top.
Many diets leave you with a rumbling tummy – and a despair that you’ll never keep it up. But Weight Watchers Flex couldn’t be more different – thanks to a bigger-than-ever list of zero points foods.
There are more than 200* – from succulent chicken to fresh fish, super-filling eggs to fat-free yoghurt, plus fresh fruit and vegetables. All this week, we’ll show you delicious meals you can create from them. First, here’s a tasty zero Points breakfast to start your day…
Mushroom and spinach risotto: 10 SmartPoints
Serves 4
- 10g dried wild mushrooms
- 1 litre hot vegetable stock, made with 1 stock cube
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 300g risotto rice
- 500g mixed fresh mushrooms (such as chestnut, oyster and shiitake), roughly chopped
- 150g young leaf spinach
- 30g vegetarian hard cheese
Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl, pour over the hot stock and set aside to soak for 5 minutes, then remove the mushrooms from the stock with a slotted spoon and roughly chop.
Strain the stock and keep it hot — you will need it for making the risotto. Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic, then cook for 2 minutes until soft.
Stir in the rice, three-quarters of the hot stock and the dried mushrooms. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the stock is almost all absorbed, try the rice.
If it is not cooked, add the rest of the stock and continue cooking until the rice is al dente. Heat the remaining oil in a separate pan, add the fresh mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes. Season to taste. Stir the spinach and grated hard cheese into the risotto, then serve topped with the fresh mushrooms.
Sausages with smoky baked beans: 4 SmartPoints
Serves 4
- Calorie-controlled cooking spray
- 8 reduced-fat pork sausages
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 400g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 400g passata
- 300ml chicken stock, using 1 stock cube
- 1 tsp English mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 200g Tenderstem broccoli
- 1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Mist a pan with cooking spray and cook the sausages, onion and pepper for 5 minutes over a high heat.
Add the garlic and paprika, and cook for a further minute, then stir in the cannellini and kidney beans, passata, stock, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Meanwhile, cook the broccoli in boiling water for 3-4 minutes until tender, then drain and stir through the sausage mixture. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Lemon-marinated salmon & couscous: 4 SmartPoints
Serves 4
- 4 x 125g skinless salmon fillets
- Zest and juice 1 lemon
- 160g wholewheat dried couscous
- 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 4cm cucumber, de-seeded and thinly sliced
- Handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- ½ small red onion, sliced thinly
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
Marinate the salmon fillets in half the lemon juice for 5 minutes. Preheat the grill to medium and line the grill pan with foil.
Grill the salmon, turning occasionally, for 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the couscous following packet instructions.
Fluff it up with a fork, season and add the lemon zest, remaining lemon juice and other ingredients. Serve one salmon fillet per person, with the couscous salad on the side.
Salted chocolate mousse: 6 SmartPoints
Makes 6
- 85g dark chocolate
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra to decorate
- ½ tsp instant coffee granules
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, whites only
- 1 tbsp light brown soft sugar
- 100g half-fat crème fraîche
- ¼ tsp salt
Place the chocolate, cocoa powder, coffee, vanilla and 4 tbsp water in a heatproof bowl. Bring a small pan of water to a simmer over a medium-low heat and set the bowl of chocolate over it, taking care not to let the base touch the water.
Stir until the mixture is melted and combined then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then add the sugar and whisk again until the meringue mixture is thick and glossy.
Stir 50g of the crème fraîche into the chocolate, then stir in one-third of the meringue mix and all the salt. Using a large metal spoon or spatula, very gently fold in the remaining meringue mix, taking care not to over-mix.
Divide between six bowls, cups or dessert pots and chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight. Serve, topped with the remaining crème fraîche and dusted with cocoa powder.