Challenge # 3 & A Fantastic Recipe

Seriously?  Week # 1 and I am already on to Challenge # 3?  Yup, you got it.  I am just a sucker for punishment - maybe I shouldn't have started this weight loss journey the day of my birthday.  Didn't I know that there would be celebrating?  

So, tonight was my birthday dinner with my family.  I call this Challenge # 3 because my Mom makes some awesome vegetarian dishes for me but, unfortunately, a lot of it is not very low in points (i.e. hashbrown casserole, broccoli/cauliflower/cheese dish etc).  Being the supportive Mom that she is, she asked me in advance what I wanted to eat for my birthday dinner.  It didn't take me long to decide on an old Weight Watchers' recipe that I had, eggplant parmesan.  She has made it a few times too and we all love it (except one of my children who I call "Miss Picky Pants" but that is another story for another day).  In addition to making me dinner, my Mom wanted to get a cake.  I politely told her that it was not necessary because I didn't need it (no one else really did either) and I would be fine with sticking a candle in my eggplant parmesan if they needed sing me "Happy Birthday"!

Luckily Challenge # 3 wasn't too difficult of a challenge, phew!  My sister did bring wine but I had figured that she would so I made sure to save a few extra points in the day for the glass of wine.  It was my birthday celebration so I think I deserved it.

Now, on to the recipe that I mentioned in the title.  I am sure you would have guessed that it would be the "Eggplant Parmesan" that I had for my birthday dinner.  That would be a very good guess but it is actually the wrong one (sorry).  I will share that recipe on another day when I have it in front of me and I can locate the nutritional information.  I wanted to share a completely different recipe with you instead because it is one that I decided to try today.  

I have been drooling over healthy soup recipes for a few years now and I had never made one, up until today.  A week or so ago, I found a delicious looking recipe for "Cream of Broccoli" soup that was low in fat, high in protein & fibre and low in points (bonus).  Seeing as broccoli was on sale for $0.99 at my local Farm Boy I decided now was the perfect time considering the recipe calls for 10 cups of broccoli!!  Here is the recipe:    

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

10 cups of broccoli

1 medium spanish onion, chopped

1.5 tbsp margarine

2 cartons of vegetable (or beef) broth

2 cans of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sautee onions and margarine in a pot until golden.

Add broccoli and broth and bring to a boil.

Cook until broccoli is tender.

Add salt & pepper to taste.

Add white kidney beans and cook until beans are warm.

Fill blender until about 1/2 full and mix on low.

Blend whole pot.

Freezes great.

Nutritional Info (per 1 cup serving):

Protein = 5gr

Carb = 10 gr

Fibre = 10+ gr

Fat = 1 gr

Points Plus = 1 point

A few notes from me:

I used low sodium vegetable broth and I found the soup a little bland.  Next time I may use regular sodium broth.  I will also add some garlic and celery to the onion while it is cooking to add some more flavour.

I was able to get 8 x 2 cup servings into containers for lunches at work. 

Enjoy!