At the beginning of this year, I got a bunch of questions from friends and family about what to make for dinner as people were transitioning to joining WW (PS, anyone want a to join & get a free month? Click this link!). I got the idea to post my meal plan for them. This then spiraled into me thinking of those inquiring minds who weren’t necessarily asking for it but found themselves curious or wanting inspiration. I also noticed that in my close circle of friends, we ask “what’s for dinner?” to each other almost daily, so I just know other people have to be asking that question, too.
Since I do take the time to meal plan, it makes so much sense to share it because I get inspiration from other people all the time since I constantly feel like I get stuck in food-ruts. I wanted to share because sharing is caring.
So, although WW’s official stance is that pregnant women are prohibited from participating in the program, and there is no program designed for pregnant women, WW is actually a diet/lifestyle that is entirely sustainable while pregnant. After several conversations with my doctor specifically surrounding my body, my baby, and my health & history, my doctor was entirely supportive of me continuing with WW, while being mindful of the cues that come from my body.
I had previously included the following “disclaimer” on my food-related Instagram posts because I wanted to make it clear that my posts and content is not specifically endorsed or sponsored by WW and that my approach to this pregnancy should not necessarily be taken as gospel or as an example for all women. All bodies are different and everyone has their own specific needs.
â¨WW does not have a program available for pregnancy, so I am not following the #myww program, but points are listed/included for those that are following the program! I was previously following the MyWW Blue đ program, so those are the #smartpoints values listed.â¨
So, what has this looked like for me? I increased my daily points “allowance” from 23 to 30 gradually over the course of my pregnancy thus far. 30 was entirely arbitrary for me; I just kept increasing until I felt like I was eating enough throughout the day. This has also helped me have a healthy, steady weight gain during this pregnancy. That being said, I still go over my points all the time & dip into my weeklies (and still go negative – a lot đ). But, in general, 30 feels like that healthy medium to account for the slight increase in calories suggested for pregnancy and still gives me the freedom to be responsible and mindful about what gets put in my body while not going completely off the rails.
This Week’s Recipe Bank:
- Tacos
- I will make tacos with 99% ground turkey (0sp) and serve with fat free refried beans (0sp). I’m still on a hard taco shell kick, so that’ll be 5sp for 2 whole grain corn taco shells. My toppings will all be 0sp. I will make the yellow saffron rice by Vigo Foods for 5sp (for 1 cup).
- This is a great meal for leftovers too! And my toddler LOVES tacos! Wins all around!
- Mongolian Beef Stirfry & White Rice
- I mentioned last week that I started checking cookbooks out from my local library. With that, I did decide to purchase Alex Snodgrass’s The Define Dish cookbook. I flagged so many recipes in this book that I decided it was worth it to own it. This recipe is from the cookbook, but I was also able to find it online!
- The substitutions I plan on making have this one clocking in at 5sp per serving. I plan on serving it with white rice (6sp for 1 cup).
- Depending on if I make it to Trader Joe’s (and if I decide I want to spend the points), I may or may not add a vegetable spring roll (3sp). I’ll steam up some pork gyoza (1sp per gyoza) or cilantro chicken wontons (1sp for 4 wontons) for my husband, too. (I really love a theme!)
- Turkey Burgers & Totchos
- I made this one a couple weeks ago and keep dreaming of it. It’s a lot of points (ended up at 17sp last time), but I’ll pretrack my day with all the toppings and stuff for my burger & tots so I can account for a higher point dinner. This is my usual MO anyway. The inspiration came from @little.dash.of.pepper on Instagram of this really perfect summer meal – a turkey burger (sans bun) and some cheese fries.
- I’ll use these Butterball Everyday Turkey Burgers (5sp) and some frozen tater tots (7sp for 25). I ended up going with Butterball over Jennie-O because they were one point less, and these are actually really good! Everyone talks about the frito cheese dip stuff on Instagram, so I will use that again on my tots (1sp for 2 tbsp) – and maybe I’ll use that cheese on my burger instead of spending a point for a slice of Velveeta, considering I did not use the full 2 tbsp on my tots.
- Last time, I added some caramelized onions (0sp), a slice of cheese (1sp), center cut bacon (3sp – used on both my burger and my tots), and the No Sugar Added BBQ Sauce by Sweet Baby Rays. It was delicious, and I’m already excited about reliving it again this week!
- Pea & Arugula Pesto Pasta & Chicken
- This pasta (7sp) has been part of my regular recipe repertoire since just about the beginning of my WW Journey. It comes from Eat Yourself Skinny, and it’s honestly so easy, and so delicious!
- I’ll serve this warm pasta salad with chicken marinated in my favorite easy-peasy shortcut – Kraft Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette (1sp for 1 tbsp).
- For leftovers, this salad is good warm and cold, although I do prefer it warm!
- Takeout
- FFY (Fend For Yourself)
- Leftovers
Drop a comment down below and let me know what you thought about this!! If you liked it, please share it with your friends & tag me @glimpseatgrace on social media!
