Happy Monday all! Thanks for sharing your menu and recipes ideas ~ I have some new ideas to try! As for the fruit versus points+ discussion we had on yesterday’s post, I wanted to clarify my thoughts on it.
I personally think the whole concept of 0 points+ fruit is to encourage everyone indirectly to pick a healthy snack, i.e., fruit OVER something less healthy like chips, 100 calorie snacks and less nutritionally sound foods. I definitely think it should be used to supplement meals and snacks. I can honestly say I try to include it at least 1 serving (1/2 cup or 1 piece) of a fruit and/or veggie with each meal because it helps me feel satisfied and full. Ideally you should be eating somewhere between 5-9 servings of fruits AND vegetables each day as a general guideline.
That being said, I really think you need to be mindful in how you choose to use the 0 points+ fruit.
Are you using it to replace a less healthy option when you are hungry?
Are you eating all the 0 points+ fruit you can eat on top of what you are already eating? As in, you are eating the chips and having the fruit with it.
As much as I LOVE bananas, I also know that I cannot eat more than 1 or 2 a day or I will gain weight. Each persons body is different so you do need to listen and learn how your body will respond to each food.
I still stand by the fact that you can eat as much 0 points+ as you need to feel satisfied IF you are losing weight and losing at a rate that you are happy with. If, however, you are plateauing and/or gaining weight, looking at how much fruit you are eating, like in the example yesterday, might be the reason.
Does that help clarify? If not, please let me know and I will be glad to answer based on my opinion.
By the time I walked to the office from the train, I was STARVING! Breakfast started with a crisp pear.
Then, I moved onto the 2 Weight Watchers Egg, Cheese and Sausage Wraps. I LOVE that you can actually taste everything in them ~ the egg, cheese and sausage.
Dunked them in Sriracha (6 points+)
Despite having protein packed mini burritos, I was STARVING again like an hour later. I wish I knew the secret of days I am starving and days I am not.
Mid – morning snack ~ banana & Lite Sargento string cheese (1 points+)
Last night, I whipped up a batch of Butternut Squash Soup just so I could have it for lunches this week. I missed bringing any nuts with me for toppers (4 points+)
We also bought a big veggie tray at Sam’s Club just so we could have veggie snacks all week.
I portioned everything out into 6 containers so it’s a quick grab and go for veggies with 2 Tbsp light ranch (3 points+).
I was once again STARVING an hour later but I totally blame my lack of protein at lunch for that. After having a cup of coffee to see if that would work, I moved onto a 1/2 an oz of Salt n Vinegar Almonds. (2 points+)
I couldn’t wait for dinner tonight ~ maybe THAT was the reason I was hungry all day LOL. I actually made a feeble attempt at measuring out 3 ounces of BBQ pork loin ribs as you see here.
BUT, I actually ended up going back for the rest of the rib so I should’ve just put the whole thing on my plate to start.
5 oz Grilled Center Pork Loin cut into “rib” shapes, seasoned with sea salt & pepper, then, grilled with BBQ sauce. (5 points+)
Plus 3/4 cup Creamy Dill Mac Salad (4 points+) ~ I do not LOVE mac salad, but, there is something so completely delicious about the dill in this salad with the crunchy veggies that make this tasty “ranch” like mac salad.
Plus the BEANS that The Husband picked out to go with our “Que”.
1/4 cup Bush’s Bourbon Brown Sugar Baked Beans ( 2points+)
It’s pretty funny to me now to see my 1 oz of pork rib on the plate ~ hindsight 
We actually made up side salads, but, honestly, I’ve reached my fiber limit for the day. I do not think I could stomach any more veggies LOL….
So, this salad will show up at lunch tomorrow!
I am so glad our spring weather is back so I can get out and get my walk on!
Night all!
I think some fruits are better than others – for example a serving of berries has a lot less calories & sugar than bananas. I definitely think people who are trying to lose weight should not eat more than 1 banana a day and shouldn’t eat endless amounts of fruit. There are a lot of other places to get healthy carbs/fiber.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who experiences “hungry days.” Great post!
Good post yesterday. It made me *think*. You can’t overload on 0 pts food (like fruit) and still lose weight if you aren’t following the plan in other areas. Thx!
Danica,
I am amazed that there is so much confusion and wrong information regarding Fruit and the pts plus program. You did explain it well fruit in place of high caloric snacks is preferred however; high caloric snacks AND fruit is the plan for weight gain.
There is a leader inside of you Danica….I will be waiting to sign you up!
Why oh why did I buy a Yonanas! To be honest though, when I make our frozen fruit treat (2 bananas plus some other fruit) we usually split 3 ways and it is instead of cookies or some other snack (though I do like to drizzle chocolate on some combinations).
Hi there, I am a fellow WW member (never been lifetime – but I have lost 68 lbs so far!)
I would love to know how you make your butternut squash soup! I have tried out a few recipes and they always taste “blah”.
Love your blog!
Hi Sarah,
It is SO easy to make this butternut squash soup that it is the ONLY way I ever make it. The caramelized onions and ginger really add an amazing flavor. I LOVE topping it with roasted nuts for crunchy or serving it over veggies, but it is also delicious straight up.
http://danicasdaily.com/recipage?recipe_id=6001409
Enjoy!
Danica
Interesting about the fruit! I’m currently eating as much as I want and still losing fine, but I can imagine that if I stopped losing, I might take away daily points before I take away “free” fruit. I find that when I think of a snack as 1-3 points of something with protein plus a serving of fruit or veg and eat a bunch of those throughout the day, plus a bigger dinner, I just feel awesome, so I’d be reluctant to take away the fruit.
I loved this post Danica – the key word is “satisfied.” If you are binging on fruit all day long because you are an emotional eater, those calories do add up.
And I am the same with bananas – one a day for me is plenty!
I googled “burger salad” and actually found a blog post where you made a burger into a salad when you ate out last summer – totally gonna do that tonight!
I’m joining the fruit discussion late but as a WW veteran, I’m glad to see the fruits as 0 points now. With the old WW it was easy to pick a sugar free pudding or a light English muffin over a piece of fruit since they were all 1 point. Now, I eat fruit along with whatever snacks I plan for my day….almonds with an apple, a wedge of laughing cow cheese with a pear, a yogurt with an orange, a banana with breakfast. I’ve just started back on WW so I’m giving myself some leeway with the fruits for now….once I get into the groove I’m hoping the new habits will be established and I won’t look for chips and junky snacks anymore.
Danica! YOU make me smile! Sam’s Club Veggie Tray…veggies all week! Why didn’t I think of that! for what I got tonight in veggies (and it wasn’t that much), I could have definitely bought a Veggie tray and had great variety of quality veggies all week! Great idea!
A little late but just wanted to comment on the great fruit/veggie debate. I just joined WW and was delighted to find out that fruits/veggies were free. I tried calorie counting on another plan to lose weight, thing was since a piece of fruit could have as many calories as a junky snack, I reached for the junky snack. A calorie at that point was a calorie. So I join WW and hey I can eat that apple and not have to count it against my points or I can have that salad or those roasted Brussel sprouts and still have enough left for my grilled salmon! The mass confusion I think comes from the Recipe Builder, people put in their fruit salad or their roasted carrots and Brussel sprouts and it gives them points. The recipe builder is creating it’s total based on the nutrition of the items, it doesn’t know beer from broccoli. It just knows that you put in x amount of fiber, protein, fat and carbs. Even with WW zero points on fruit and veggies moderation is still key, be responsible for what you are eating and don’t over eat on anything!
How do you make your grilled BBQ pork ribs and legs so scrumptious looking
HI Lori,
The “secret” is cooking them without sauce over medium heat. Then, during the last 10 minutes I brush them with BBQ twice per side, every 2-3 minutes. Don’t be shy with the sauce.
Danica