"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with string
These are a few of my favorite things" Maria Von Trapp - The Sound of Music
This week in the meeting were going to be swapping recipe ideas with each other and that got me to thinking about flavor and how we add it without adding any (or, at least, not too many) PPV... Here are some of my favorite flavor-full ingredients, enhancers and kickers:
1. Worcestershire SauceBASIC FLAVOR - Peppery
PPV PER TBSP - 0 PPV
STORAGE - Refrigerate after opening
USE IN - Soups, stews, meatloaf, hamburgers. Add to cocktail sauce, dips and use as a flavor enhancer at the dinner table for any beef or pork dish, including spaghetti bolognese and ravioli.
2. Fat Free Feta Cheese
BASIC FLAVOR - Tangy
PPV PER OZ - 1 PPV (and its a Power Food)
STORAGE - Refrigerate
USE IN - Salads, sandwiches, omelets, stuffed baked potatoes, spanakopita triangles stuffing for chicken breast, fish, vegetables, such as summer squash and beef rolls plus pasta and pizza.
2. Dijon Mustard
BASIC FLAVOR - Hot and Peppery
PPV PER TBSP - 0 PPV
STORAGE - Refrigerate
USE IN - Mustard is not just for spreading on sandwiches. It pairs well with any cheese dish you're making - try making a low PPV Mac n Cheese and put a good dollop in the cheese sauce (make with low fat content cheese and fat free milk), it really brings out the flavor. Mix with fresh herbs (dill, tarragon, sage or parsley) and coat swordfish, salmon or other stout fish before you place them on the grill; it protects from the fire and adds great flavor. Use in salad dressings, use in light cream cheese to spread on celery sticks for snacking or make dijon crusted roasted potatoes by mixing a good dollop with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a plastic bag, then cut new potatoes into golf ball (even) sized pieces, throw in the bag and shake to coat all the potatoes. Cook in a 400deg oven for 35-40 minutes in a shallow roasting pan, till soft inside and golden brown.4. Red and White Wine
BASIC FLAVOR - Acidic
PPV PER OZ - 1 PPV
STORAGE - Room Temp
USE IN - Stews, soups marinades, gravies. Adds a level of sophistication to cooked dishes.
5. Fresh Herbs
FLAVOR PROFILES - Parsley; grassy, Tarragon; licoriceish, Sage; smoky, Rosemary; floral, Basil; peppery and sweet, Chives and Scallions; oniony, Thyme; woody and robust, Cilantro; light lemon/lime and peppery flavor.
PPV PER OZ - 0 PPV
STORAGE - Store cut herbs in a jar of water in the refrigerator
USE IN - Salads, sandwiches, scrambled eggs and omelets, roasts, vegetable and meat casseroles, stuffings for chicken breast, fish, vegetables, beef rolls plus pasta and pizza. Makes a great sauce called "Ivory" which is basically a cheese sauce recipe with no cheese (known as bechamel) - finish the sauce with some fat free light cream and chopped herbs (try a mixture of parsley, chives and tarragon) and use as a sauce on grilled, broiled and steamed fish.
6. Sriracha Sauce
Named after a city in Thailand called Si Racha
BASIC FLAVOR - Sweet, sour, tangy and hot peppery flavors dominate.
PPV PER TBSP - 0 PPV
STORAGE - Refrigerate after opening
USE IN - In Thailand it's used as a dipping sauce for all kinds of foods including seafoods. In Vietnam it's used to flavor some types of noodle dishes. In the USA we seem to be using it three ways; as a flavoring in cooking (for instance in marinades), as a stand-alone dipping sauce for foods like chicken and meats (rather like you may use ketchup) or as an ingredient in recipes. I have used it in everything from scrambled eggs and omelets to sauce on chicken sandwiches to flavor in soups and stews to dollops on spreading cheese on celery sticks for a kicked up flavor.
7. Cabot Cheddar Powder
BASIC FLAVOR - Cheese and yummy
PPV PER 2 TSP - 1 PPV
STORAGE - Refrigerate
USE IN - Sprinkle on popcorn, steamed veggies, tacos, on salads and on top of pasta.
(I've had difficulty finding this in some stores. I have seen it online from some vendors such as Amazon.com). It's worth the effort.
THIS WEEK - please bring your favorite, easy, plan friendly recipe with you to the meeting. I hope to have a vibrant and valuable meeting swapping recipes.
Meeting topics in August:
This week (as I said above) Summer Recipe Swap
Week 2 - Sipping Surprises
Week 3 - "Your Unhealthiest Habit"
Week 4 - Return to Routine
DID YOU KNOW ... The cookies we have in the summer are scrummy and they're seasonal ~ meaning that they are only offered for sale in the summer ~ and the season is soon coming to an end?3 Flavors - Ginger Snaps, Chocolate Swirl and Iced Lemon, they're packed in three individual wrapped bags (3PPV per serving) per box for $2.95. Don't miss out - members love 'em!
News From Weight Watchers
Questions about missing info, lost favorites and more
The good news is that we transitioned to a new eTools database last week, adding over 100,000 food and meal items. The not-so-good news is that we encountered a number of unexpected issues that we’re now working feverishly to fix.
We hope you will accept our apologies, we certainly didn’t anticipate the negative impact that the transition could have, and we realize that you’re now facing some difficulties with your usage of the site.
In the meantime, we are doing our best to communicate known issues and their updates via the What’s New Blog. We encourage you to check this blog for updates. Below are some top questions and concerns:
The issue: Some branded products (including WW ones) are missing.
The fix: We will add these items back in within a week. Many Weight Watchers products are still searchable in the Tracker; other missing products will come shortly. If your have a question regarding a specific missing product, please email ReportAFood@weightwatchers.com.
The issue: Chicken thigh jumped in PointsPlus® values.
The fix: Many of our generic foods are based on data from the USDA. When they make updates to their database, we follow suit! One recent such update is that the average chicken thigh is now 116 grams or 4 ounces, resulting in a higher PointsPlus value. We updated our generic foods data—baked potatoes are another example—to reflect the current food market. We didn't realize that the changes were so extensive, but thanks to your feedback we can now identify the specific foods.
The issue: Favorites and frequently used items were lost.
The fix: We are adding back a number of Favorites that disappeared, including grilled chicken breast, carrots, and egg whites. If you need those foods now, please know that they are often still available in the database! The easiest fix at this time is to search for them and add them back into your Favorites.
The issue: New items do not show up in the Mobile App.
The fix: New items will be visible in the Mobile App after the next release, coming soon!
The issue: Some foods are greyed out.
The fix: Recipes with greyed-out foods still have accurate PointsPlus values, but you may wish to edit them, replacing the greyed-out ingredients with equivalent ones that are in the database. The greying out of ingredients happened when old entries were replaced with new ones.
The issue: Some PointsPlus values are incorrect.
The fix: Please send your specific concerns about incorrect PointsPlus values to ReportAFood@weightwatchers.com.
The issue: Basic items (e.g., Diet Coke) are difficult to find in the database.
The fix: We are addressing this in the coming week. In the meantime, try modifying your searches. Look for “Diet Coca-Cola” instead of “Diet Coke" or use the Find and Explore search button in our Plan Manager to seek out specific brands. Thank you for your patience as we make these upgrades!
Thank-you for your continued patience while we work through this project.
Items on Sale when you come to your meeting this week are:
All Baked and Popped Snacks - Usually $4.95 are $3.95 for the duration of the sale
Popped BBQ Potato Crisps
Popped Cinnamon Swirl Crisps
Popped Zesty Cheese Crisps
Cheddar Twists
Roasted Salsa Multigrain Crisps
Pinch of Pepper Pretzel Thins
All Baked 3PPV Snack Bars - Usually $4.95 are $3.95 for the duration of the sale.
Aloha! Almond Bars
Oh, So Nuts!
Berry-licious Cashew Chew.
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