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PHO!

April 12, 2010 by DanicasDaily 17 Comments

Today was such a Monday to start…I hit snooze 4 times and missed my AM workout :(  I blame the rainy weather because it makes you wanna stay in bed :)  My day definitely improved when I got home with some garden surprises and a little bit of PHO goodness.

Nothing sounded good for breakfast so I went with my usual stand by of what sounds good when nothing sounds good 🙂

2 slices Trader Joe’s Fat Free Multi-Grain Bread topped with 1 heaping Tablespoon of Nut Barn Almond Butter (4 pts).  I LOVE how the hot toast melts the almond butter.

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Plus some “banana chips” for dessert (1 pt).

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I decided to break out a new flavor of the Alouette Spreadable Cheeses today.  This is part of the 3-pack I bought at Sam’s Club awhile back.  I LOVE this cheese because it’s like having flavored Laughing Cow & it has the same stats (2 Tbsp = 2 pts, 1 Tbsp =  1 pt)

http://www.alouettecheese.com/products/spreadable-spinach-artichoke.aspx

I topped 6 Olive Oil & Rosemary Triscuits with 2 Tbsp’s (4 pts)….Crunchy, salty, creamy & just plain delicious!

I liked the Spinach Artichoke Flavor, but, I still think Garden Vegetable is my favorite to date.

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I LOVE Triscuits because they keep me full for hours.  4 hours later I had lunch.

I started off with 5 Homemade Chicken Pot stickers (Recipe coming tomorrow).

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Mixed Greens & Broccoli Slaw topped with 1 1/2 Tbsp’s Trader Joe’s Low-Fat Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (the BEST dressing ever!)

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Super fast, super good, super cheap in points ~ 4 pts!

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I also had a 1 point Cabot Cheese square because I wanted to make sure I saved room for my afternoon snack.

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My Co-Work made Smitten Kitchen’s Dark Chocolate Dark with Gingersnap Crust ~ doesn’t it look beautiful?!

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I quickly calculated the stats and determined I could have a small sliver (1/20th) of the tart for 5 points.  Yup ~ completely worth EVERY BITE ~ totally rich and decadent.  I LOVED the combination of butter plus ginger snaps in the crust!

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When I got home, I check on our garden to see how it weathered the storm we have had the past two days.  I had the COOLEST surprise when I walked out.  We already have baby tomatoes!!!!

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My basil is growing like crazy.

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But, I don’t think the burpless cucumbers are going to make it :(  One out of all of them not making it so far, isn’t bad, right?

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Our dinner plans changed last minute when The Husband and I decided to get PHO from The Noodle House!  I should say, he decided to go with me…I LOVE PHO and totally crave it! It’s healthy, spicy and LOADED with fun flavors.

We started off with some Fresh Spring Rolls dipped in gobs of crunchy peanut sauce (the best part!)  Each roll is only TWO points when you get them steamed versus fried.

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PHO is a gigantic bowl of steaming hot broth that cooks your food as they add it….They add rice noodles, onions, cilantro, green onions and your meat of choice ~ I picked chicken and shrimp.  Everything is steamed in the broth as it cooks which makes it relatively healthy if you pick lean cuts of meat or Tofu.

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You get a side plate of crunch and spice ~ Jalepeno’s, sprouts, cilantro and a lemon or lime.

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I dump everything in except the lemon.

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Topped with Sriracha Hot Sauce & Hoisin/Plum Sauce (sweet/spicy/salty)!  I make up a side plate of sauces that I dip things in as I eat it.  It’s not graceful, but, it’s delicious and perfect for a cold, rainy day like today.  I managed to eat about 1/2 my bowl (all the meat, veggies and 1/2 the noodles) for 6 points.

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If you’ve never had PHO, I highly recommend you try it ~ you might be surprised by how much you like it.  Some places make it better than others, but, the cooking philosophy is still the same.  It’s lean, healthy, a little high in sodium (Asian food always is), but, absolutely tasty!

Be on the lookout tomorrow for my Healthy Homemade Chicken Pot Sticker Recipe ~ you get 8 of them for FOUR points (242 calories!).

Q: Have you ever tried PHO or made your own?  How do you like yours? 

I usually order it out, but, I did attempt to make a PHO type soup a little while back with pot stickers 😀

Off to actually pay attention to the movie The Husband picked out 😀

Night all!

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Filed Under: Project ~ House, Restaurant Reviews

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Comments

  1. 1

    Jessica Lee says

    April 12, 2010 at 10:52 pm

    I was instantly excited when I read the title. I LOVE pho!! I always get spring rolls and a small bowl of pho. And small is no small – its like a “normal” size and then the large is just ridiculous.

    Reply
  2. 2

    Lynn (The Actors Diet) says

    April 12, 2010 at 11:13 pm

    i love pho! i have a great recipe on my site:
    http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/lynn-phigs-and-pho/

    Reply
  3. 3

    Jaclyn says

    April 12, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    AM workouts are always so much harder on Monday mornings, no?!
    I love LOVE that you are growing your own veg/herb garden! I wish I could have one at school but my urban/college lifestyle doesn’t exactly facilitate growing organic veggies haha. Have a great week 😀

    Reply
  4. 4

    Lauren says

    April 13, 2010 at 3:45 am

    I am dying to try Pho. I can’t believe I have never had it, what with my apparent obsession to asian cuisine. LoL. Must get on that! 🙂

    Glad you had a great Monday! 🙂

    Now here’s to a fantastic tuesday!

    Reply
  5. 5

    Melissa S. says

    April 13, 2010 at 4:39 am

    what were in your spring rolls? i have the wraps just have yet to make them! i even have glass noodles too! i almost got some last night when i went out to dinner but decided i could do it at home…

    Reply
  6. 6

    Kristin (Cook, Bake and Nibble) says

    April 13, 2010 at 5:08 am

    YUM! I love Pho but have never made my own. However I hear we are making it in class in advanced! So excited to learn =D

    Reply
  7. 7

    Erika @ Dr.TriRunner says

    April 13, 2010 at 6:16 am

    Pho is my FAVORITE!!! I got hooked on it when I was out at school in Boston, but now that I’m back home in Minneapolis, I think I’m even luckier here! We have tons of super yummy authentic vietnamese restaurants!! Hahah that’s exactly my typical order: spring rolls and pho! Looking forward to this potsticker recipe!

    Reply
  8. 8

    Katie @ Health for the Whole Self says

    April 13, 2010 at 7:02 am

    I’ve actually never tried Pho but have been wanting to for quite some time! I was surprised when I looked it up and learned that it’s pronounced “fuh”!!!

    Reply
  9. 9

    Kate says

    April 13, 2010 at 7:37 am

    I love Pho! How did you figure out the points? Is it 6 points for half a large bowl or small bowl?

    Reply
  10. 10

    tj says

    April 13, 2010 at 7:42 am

    I want to eat EVERYTHING! Yeah Id eat the PHO…looks delicious! 🙂

    The garden looks great! 🙂

    Reply
  11. 11

    Me-Linh @ Sweet and Sweat says

    April 13, 2010 at 9:25 am

    Pho is the best! You should try squeezing a little of the lemon in, it makes a lot of difference!

    Reply
  12. 12

    DanicasDaily says

    April 13, 2010 at 10:51 am

    Hi Melissa,

    These rolls had the rice noodles, lettuce, sprouts, BBQ pork & Shrimp but you could use tofu) and sometimes they add cilantro or mint. They are amazing dipped in a sweet peanut sauce that I think you could easily create or even use a peanut satay sauce.

    Another version of the favorite rolls I’ve bought at the AVOCADO ROLLS – you can see them and everything in them in this post.

    http://danicasdaily.com/treadmill-games/

    They are amazing dipped in a spicy sweet chili sauce.

    If I was making my own, I’d add carrots and ginger soaked in a little rice wine vinegar with crushed red pepper flakes, lettuce, rice noodles, AVOCADO, cucumber and maybe cilantro. I am not even sure if I’d add a protein, but, you could.

    I think they are pretty easy to make – I’ve watched them make them a few times of the Food Network and it ALWAYS makes me want to make them.

    Good luck, I cannot wait to see how yours turn out.

    Danica

    Reply
  13. 13

    DanicasDaily says

    April 13, 2010 at 10:58 am

    Hi Kate,

    I ordered the small bowl of PHO and then broke down the components of what I ate to get the best estimate.

    I figured I had about 2 points of protein between the chicken (about 1 oz) plus 3 shrimp.

    Then, I calculated that I ate 1/2 or about 1 cup of the rice noodles which are 4 pts per cup.

    The broth, veggies and sauces are FREE…The hoisin you need to have 1/4 cup for it to count which I know I didn’t.

    Does that help? Sometimes you have to go with your best estimate of what is in the bowl by breaking it down.

    Thanks for asking, always glad to share and feel free to tell me if you think my points are off because I know I am not perfect.

    Danica

    Reply
  14. 14

    Kate says

    April 13, 2010 at 12:19 pm

    Hi Danica! That does help, feel like a piggie because I polish off a small bowl of Pho. I didn’t think it was 12 points, ouch I better be careful. Love your blog, you are so cute!

    Reply
  15. 15

    Danica says

    April 13, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    Hi Kate,

    I am pretty sure I could polish off the entire bowl if I didn’t have the Spring Rolls too. I’d estimate the entire bowl to have about 2 cups of rice noodles (8 pts) and give or take on the meat….there isn’t always that much in there – so max probably 10 points. It really varies by restaurant, amount of noodles, etc. Just do your best to guesstimate based on what you see in your bowl 🙂

    Glad I could help – thanks for the compliment 🙂

    Danica

    Reply

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About Danica

Whether she’s enjoying a dish at a local restaurant or whipping up a crowd-pleasing, nutritious meal at home, Danica has a passion for all things food. She believes in and follows the Weight Watchers principle of “all things in moderation” and chronicles her culinary adventures here. Besides sharing her daily eats and tasty, nutritious recipes, Danica connects others seeking a healthier lifestyle on her site and shares her travel adventures around the world.

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