What Did You Just Call Me? A Great Lowfat Soup Recipe.

     This is me. Well, I should say, this is Mii. This is my second week as the proud owner of my first video game system since the original Nintendo. I bought a Wii and Wii Fit. I started using them last Monday. For those who don't know anything about the Wii (I was one of them) the first thing you do is create a Mii character. I did that, complete with short dark hair and glasses (although my glasses hopefully look better than these)! I even picked out my red shirt. I think I look a bit like a female Harry Potter.The next thing I did was start my program on the Wii Fit. You type in your age and height and it weighs you. I knew I needed to lose a few pounds. I, like many women, have 2 sizes of clothing in my closet. The size that I like to wear, and the size I creep into if I gain 10 pounds or so. Well, I'm in that larger size which is how I know that it is time to do something about it. Would most people call me overweight? No, they wouldn't. I feel better 10-15 pounds less than I am now, but I'm a few sizes below the national average...so no big deal...right? Wrong.

     You notice how my Mii's t-shirt doesn't quite meet her pants? See that bit of bulge below the belt? My Mii was quite put together until I stepped on the Wii Fit board and it registered my weight. I watched in horror as my stomach puffed out and my shirt grew shorter. Not only that, it called me names. Fat names. It told me my BMI (body mass index) needs to be 22 and that means I need to lose a few more pounds than I planned. Okay, I get it...just pull my t-shirt back down! I've used the Wii Fit every day but one. It yelled at me the day I skipped and I yelled back that I simply used a different Wii game for my exercise that day! I actually gained weight the first 3 days and believe me...Wii doesn't like it when you gain weight, it wants to know why??? There is no box to check that says, "I'm middle aged, I retain fluid, I didn't do anything wrong!"

So, I've pulled out the old standby, counting Weight Watcher points. When I feel I've gained a few pounds, counting points works for me. I don't go to meetings. You can really find all the information online these days. I just aim for 23 points a day, stick with it about 95 percent of the time and it works. So, you will be seeing some healthy recipes coming from me for a little while...at least until my Mii fits back in her t-shirt!

Let me also add that I love the Wii Fit. I have never had this much fun exercising. It is a good workout, it gets me sweating and laughing at the same time. I've done at least an hour each day since Monday and most days I do another round late in the afternoon just for fun. I actually look forward to it. I have never felt that way about the gym.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup-Weight Watcher Style

Makes 4 servings-1 point each

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil

1 head cauliflower, broken in florets

3 cups low-sodium fat free chicken broth

3/4 cup evaporated skimmed milk

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with a sprinkling of dill, fresh chives or parsley

In a stock pot or large saucepan, saute' the cauliflower in the olive oil until it just starts to brown a little bit. You could also add a chopped onion at this stage, browning it with the cauliflower. This step took about 10 minutes.

Add the broth; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is very soft (you could mash it with a fork). Put the cauliflower and broth into a blender or food processor and puree. Be careful to hold the lid down on the blender. I was able to do it all in one blender "load" but you may need to do it in batches. 

Pour the puree back into the pan. Over low heat, stir in the evaporated milk, nutmeg, pepper and salt; heat to serving temperature, about one minute. Garnish.

This soup is surprisingly creamy and good. It isn't as thick as my regular (loaded with butter and cheese) cauliflower soup, but it is quite good and you could eat the entire batch for only 4 points! Enjoy!