18th November 2010 todays facebook email

For success, attitude is equally as important as ability. Harry F. Banks

Well it’s my last day of meetings for the first week on ProPoints losing and the Amazing Ashmore Park Angels did not let me down last night, they lost WHOOP WHOOP and double WOW, 147lb, how awesome is that, for those not fab at the maths, that's 10.5 STONE!!!! GO ASHMORE!! ;-) Running total this week 45.5 stone (634lb) OMG! How proud am I of all my members, probably even more so of the few that didn’t lose and have gone away more focused and determined to get a loss next week because attitude is everything!

Just for info there’s a typo in shopping guide Mullerlight Strawberry Fruit Corner is 5pp not 2pp (p103). Please if you check something using the packaging and it differs always go by the packaging as errors occur (of course they can occasionally occur on packaging too!) Let me know if you find any.

I think I realised last night that the one thing members need right now are meal ideas, menu plans and recipes so I’m working on it honestly and over the next few weeks I’ll have some stuff sorted. In the meantime here are a few zero point soup recipes to help you on these cold, damp days.

Asian-Inspired Zero ProPoints Value Soup

Makes 12 servings, ProPoints® value
0 per serving

Ingredients

140g pak choi, chopped
150g Chinese cabbage, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
20g fresh ginger root, thinly sliced and julienned
100g oyster mushrooms
100g spring onions, chopped
140g canned water chestnuts, sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1440ml vegetable stock
70g beansprouts
200g mangetout

2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

25g coriander, finely chopped

Instructions

Put pak choi, Chinese cabbage, garlic, ginger root, oyster mushrooms, spring onions, water chestnuts, pepper, red pepper flakes and vegetable stock into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes. Toss in beansprouts and mangetout during the last 3 to 4 minutes of simmering. Add soy sauce and coriander. Serve.

Italian-Inspired Zero ProPoints Value Soup

Makes 12 servings ProPoints® value
0 per serving

Ingredients

40g chicory, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
160g onions, chopped
30g baby spinach
2 small courgettes, cubed
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1440ml vegetable stock
800g canned chopped tomatoes
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
25g fresh parsley, chopped
25g fresh basil

Instructions

Put the chicory, garlic, onions, spinach, courgette, red pepper, fennel bulb, vegetable stock, chopped tomatoes, red pepper flakes, thyme and oregano into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

Stir in salt, black pepper, parsley and basil. Serve.

Mexican-Inspired Zero ProPoints Value Soup

Makes 12 servings ProPoints® value
0 per serving

Ingredients

200g sugar snap beans, cut into bite-size pieces
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 small courgettes, cubed
120g tomatillos, chopped (optional)
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
400g canned chopped tomatoes
25g green chilli
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp fresh oregano
1440ml vegetable stock
2 roasted peppers, pureed with …
1 Tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
¾ tsp salt
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
25g fresh coriander, chopped

Instructions

Put sugar snap beans, garlic, courgettes, tomatillos, jalapeno, chopped tomatoes, green chilli, onion, green pepper, cumin, oregano and vegetable into a large soup pot. Puree roasted peppers with chipotle in adobo sauce in a blender or food processor, and add to soup. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

Stir in salt, lime juice and coriander. Serve.

So no excuses and no need to buy ready made soup! I bought a fresh carton from Tesco garage the other day that was 11pp for the carton – ouch! Won’t be doing that again.

If the ingredients in those soups are too fiddly, just remember you can use any veggies, any herbs or just stock cubes and water, it'll still taste good.
Good look to all my Bloxwich Babes today, let’s take the roof off!

Remember life starts now?

Are you living yet?

You’re not alive unless you’re living!