Weight Watchers Under 20 Cookbook Haul

With the new Simple Start Weight Watchers plan rolling out, that means new products … and new cookbooks!  I’m a sucker for Weight Watcher cookbooks. So when I saw the new Under 20 at my meeting, I wanted to give it a go.

The cookbook is geared more towards Simple Start, which for those who’ve been members prior to this new roll out – it’s ultimately Simply Filling recipes. I’ve wanted to try simply filling in the past, but for one reason or another - the idea of making simply filling meals that my family and I could enjoy collectively was always mind boggling. I’m not sure why, but something about looking at a list of foods (power foods) and trying to come up with a meal was daunting. Not sure why, but it was.

So, I picked up the cookbook to jump start me into getting my thinking cap on tight. Seeing these meals ultimately made things “simpler” in my mind. Plus having a meal on the table in under 20 minutes is sometimes the way I like to roll!

The book has 200 dishes in it, which range from meats (beef/pork/etc.), to poultry and fish, to vegetarian dishes and even small plates (tapas). Ideally there is something for everyone in the book and I’m looking forward to giving a few of the recipes that caught my eye a go. Once I do try those out, I’ll gratefully share my thoughts/review on it.

QUESTION:

Have you purchased the new Under 20 cookbook in your Weight Watchers meeting?

Jamaican Jerk Pork w/ Carrots & Roasted Butternut Squash

Whenever I have a pork roast out to cook … it ultimately means one thing: Jamaican Jerk Pork. I can’t think of making anything else with it (I mean I could, but pork roast and jerk seasoning go together like flour and water in my book) and it’s one of those dishes that I love and enjoy quite a lot.

For my plate, I decided to cut out the carb (rice) so I went with fresh steam carrots and a roasted butternut squash, which I seasoned up with some spray butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar.

The whole dish was perfect. Filling, fresh and packed with flavors.  I’ve learned the trick with jerk pork or chicken is to use a very small amount of seasoning (incase you’re wondering I use the Mild Grace Jamaican Jerk Seasoning). The seasoning itself is packed with flavor and spicy pepper so a small amount will pack on the flavor but not make it too hot to handle.  The sweet squash helped balance out the flavors. Ultimately it was a wonderful dish and a perfect dinner.

The greatest part it was only 7 points plus values (1 for the brown sugar, 6 for 4 oz of pork)!