Freestyle Check-in

Well...Freestyle seems to be going ok with regard to staying within my points each day but my total loss for January so far is only .8 and I was hoping for more like 4.  Looking back in my tracker I think I might be overdoing some of the free stuff so this week I will be pulling back a little and measuring more closely.  I'm also going to leave the granola off my morning yogurt and stop eating eggs like they are going out of style.  I need to remind myself that just because so many things are zero points that doesn't mean they are zero calories.  It still comes down to calories in and calories out.  Another change I am going to make is that I am going to serve fish and veggies more often.  It seems like when I eat fish and veggies I do so much better in the weight loss area.

I'm still fighting my twisted ankle from back in December so I haven't done much movement either but I realize that I need to quit using that as an excuse to keep other parts of my body from getting movement.  True I can't do things that create much weight bearing or twisting actions (that means dance class is a no-no) but I can do other things like riding the stationary bike and using the weight machines on my other parts.  I also realize that I really need to strengthen my muscles.  I've been noticing that I'm having a hard time getting up off the floor (even before the twisted ankle) and when I just crouch down I can't get back up without something to pull on.  This led to a very embarrassing tip-over at a museum in Ft. Lauderdale back in October.  I crouched down to get a picture of an otter swimming in a cool display and when I went to get back up I fell backwards onto my butt instead.  It was like my thigh muscles stopped working.  I've also noticed it's hard to clean my house.  This is not going to work!!  I'm only 51 so I should be able to do all these things with ease.  Enough is enough!!!

While I've been thinking on these things in the back of my mind, an amazing video came across my subscription feed on YouTube.  The video is by Brianna from Diva and the Divine and it really spoke to me - almost like she was in my head!  She talked about how you just need to get out there no matter how much you don't want to - "suck it up anyway!"  She said you need to get into the habit of getting there before the desire will come naturally - believe me, I HATE exercise in all its forms!!  I think I'd rather scrub toilets than go to the gym.  But...I know that scrubbing toilets is not going to get me where I need to go.  I'm so glad that Brianna shares like she does!!  She inspires me so much because she's so real.  She shows that she struggles with the same things we all do but that she gets up and dusts herself off and gets right back into it.  Here's the link to the video - I highly recommend it!  https://youtu.be/39vrZRnBveE

Weight Watchers Freestyle | Chicken Taco Soup | Power Pressure Cooker XL

Wow!  It's really been a while since I posted.  I'm still plugging along with Weight Watchers but the new change to Freestyle has really infused me with renewed excitement so we shall see if that excitement finds its way on to the blog as well.  I'm having fun finding recipes and meal ideas that are zero (or close to it) points.  It's amazing the fun treats you can enjoy when the rest of your meals are zero points!!

I recently Frankensteined a taco soup recipe and I'm really enjoying it.  I read so many other recipes just to get an idea of what they do and then I pulled this and that into a pot to create my own version.  If you want to see an original version, just google "Zero Point Weight Watchers Taco Soup" and you can figure that I probably read the first six or so recipes to get the ideas flowing in my head.

My version comes out to zero points and the first time I ate it I added 4 points worth of shredded cheddar cheese (1/4 cup of the real stuff - life's too short to only eat fat free cheese!) but to tell you the truth the soup is so tasty that I really couldn't tell the cheese was in there.  I left it out when I had left overs and it was fantastic!  I also tried something new and topped it with plain fat free Greek yogurt and I did NOT miss the sour cream at all and I certainly didn't miss the points I would have had to count.

Here's my version:

No precooking, sautéing, blanking, or any of those other hoity-toity cooking methods needed - just dump all this stuff in your electric pressure cooker (I have the Power Pressure Cooker XL) and push the soup button (I'm pretty sure the Instant Pot also has a soup button that should work very similarly).  If you don't have an electric pressure cooker, I won't shame you (much) but I'm sure you could put this on the stove and cook it on medium until the chicken was fully cooked and tender.

• 2 chicken breasts - I used these monsters from Sams that I didn't trim but don't be like me - trim those girls of all visible fat (trust me you will be glad you did!)
• 1 sweet onion - diced
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can whole kernel corn - do not drain the juice just dump it all in the pot
• 2 cans diced tomatoes - again, no draining
• 1 can chopped green chilies - yep, broken record - do not drain these guys
• 1 can each black beans and kidney beans - these you want to drain and then rinse them really well
• 3 tablespoons taco seasoning (I love the Penzey's brand but any type will work or you can just dump in one of those packets of pre-made taco seasoning mix)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin (does anyone else think this smells like BO?  My hubby mentioned it one day and now its all I can smell but oh, it tastes so good!)

After your pressure cooker has finished cooking just let it do a natural release for about 15 minutes.  Pull your fully cooked chicken breasts out and shred them with two forks.  Put the chicken back in and give it a few stirs.  I ended up with six good size servings and the leftovers are even better than the first meal!  I put a couple dollops of the Greek yogurt on top and it was fabulous!  So filling and it's zero points!!!