After a weekend of wanton excess, both at the Grapevine Texas Grapefest and visiting one of the best burger joints in the country, last night was all about light, healthy fare. Since my wife is using Weight Watchers, I figured I’d try for something she could eat to her heart’s content without guilt. This Weight Watchers zero point Asian soup is the result.
While this may have Zero Weight Watchers Points, it gets a full ten points from us when it comes to flavor and its ability to leave you feeling full.
The taste is rich, decadent, and robust. It’s loaded with veggies and there’s just enough heat in the background to leave you thinking that a glass of tea might not be enough, that you should go with milk instead. Even without added meats or proteins, the mushrooms give the soup a deep meaty flavor that lingers on the back of the tongue in a very pleasant way.
This modified version of the original Weight Watchers zero point Asian soup recipe still has no points as far as my calculations can find.
(OK, it has one point, but so does the original recipe when I run the numbers. The number refers to the fact that as far as Weight Watchers is concerned, these are all zero point foods, hence zero point Asian soup.) I’ve added bit more liquid so that one batch will last a good long time. Great for guiltless snacks and lunches. It also goes perfectly with perfectly steamed rice, if you can spare a little room for carbs.
Zero point Asian soup – 100 percent maximum flavor, no guilt whatsoever
And Now the Printable Recipe for Zero Point Asian Soup
Weight Watchers Zero Point Asian Soup Recipe
A guilt free, flavor packed soup that's rich, hearty and satisfying as well. Our Weight Watchers 0 Point Asian inspired soup won't let you down on flavor, and it will never leave you hungry.
Ingredients
- 2 cups bok choy, chopped
- 2 cups Napa cabbage, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh ginger root, thinly sliced and julienned
- 6 ounces. shitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups scallions, chopped
- 1 cup canned water chestnuts, sliced (8 oz can)
- 1 can bamboo shoots, sliced (5 oz. can)
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts or half of 1 can of bean sprouts, optional
- 2 cups snow peas, stringed
- 2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
Instructions
- Put boc choy, Napa cabbage, garlic, ginger root, shitake mushrooms, scallions, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, red bell pepper, pepper flakes and vegetable stock into a large soup pot. Stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partally covered for approximtely 10 minutes.
- Add bean sprouts, if using, soy sauce and snow peas. Cook for an additional 4 minutes. Stir in cilantro and serve piping hot.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 84Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 837mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 7gProtein: 6g
What I would have dine differently had I thought of it at the time:
If you are making this as a multi-day meal, it might be wise to blanch and shock the snow peas and scallions so that they keep their bright colors. Otherwise the soup turns a kind of sickly gray-green after about an hour, although it still tastes fantastic.
Consider also that since this is simply a radically flavored vegetable mixture, you don’t have to limit its use to soup only. It served me well as poaching liquid for fish later in the evening, and my wife poured it over long grain rice, declaring the result fantastic as well as completely vegetarian. I think it would also be great with a serving of cellophane noodles or soba noodles if you’re looking for something with a lot more weight to it.
Whatever your chosen method, try this dish! It’s worth it, really!
Links to other recipes like this:
- Weight Watchers Asian Zero Points Soup, from A Veggie Venture
- Weight Watchers Mexican Zero Points Soup, from A Veggie Venture
This looks delicious and satisfying, think I’ll try since I’ve been overindulging a bit myself:)
Hi Jerry,
For a second there I thought you made Assam Laksa – a spicy sourish broth made from fish and eaten with noodles. And because I thought it was Assam Laksa, I’m craving for some!
This is my first time posting on your food blog. I think I will dropping by more often :)
Cheers!
@Janine,
I highly recommend it! It was fabulous.
Elaine,
I’ve actually never heard of it, but I’m going to look it up in the near future!
Hey there Jerry,
Jess told me about this recipe this morning. I can’t wait to try it out now!! :o) Have a great day!! :o)
Kim
@kellypea,
Thank you, and thanks again! It really was incredibly good, I’m sure Hubbs would love it.
@kim
Give it a go, it’s definitely something that’s permanently on my go-to list
@Nate,
Fresh, I can’t stand dried shitake. However, if you enjoy them, cut the amount in half and have at it!
This is gorgeous, Jerry. We has soup last night, too, but mediterranean, and it definitely had points considering the pasta. I’d love to try this — my hunkster has lost 11 lubs eating less and doing cardio with some weights. I know he’d like this. Nice job on the photography!
For the shiitake, did you use fresh or rehydrated?
Hi, I found your blog on this new directory of WordPress Blogs at blackhatbootcamp.com/listofwordpressblogs. I dont know how your blog came up, must have been a typo, i duno. Anyways, I just clicked it and here I am. Your blog looks good. Have a nice day. James.
THis sounds amazing.. I will be making this real soon.. Thanks for sharring..
@Elaine aka The Expedited Writer : laksa’s main ingredient is made with coconut milk. the appearance is very contrast than the soup on this page. this soup is clear, comparing to laksa which has a “muddy” yellow or brown look.
This looks like something I would like to try on a cold winter day. The fact that there are zero points makes it a great choice.
@James,
Happy coincidences happen. Glad you liked the joint, we do work hard to keep the old girl up.
@PersonaltrainerChicago,
Give it a go, it can’t hurt you
@shasa,
Thanks for the information! Maybe I’ll need to try laksa as well!
@SaladRecipes,
It would be great on a cold winter day. Or a chilly Autumn day, or in spring. Or summer, or… Well, you get my point.
if you like spicy food you should try indonesian food! their food are most likely spicy and really flavorful.
i could give you lots of recommendation since its my favorite food : )
Made the soup today, with some chinese chewy rice cakes in it. Delish!
Glad you liked it! I know we love this particular version.
Wow cool. not only for weight watchers but I think the soup is good in general to everyone. Thanks for the recipe. Ill try it out tonight and see. Thanks you. Your blog is really awesome
Yum. I bet this would be great with soba noodles… and served cold.
I knew there was a yummier way to eat ‘diet’ food. This is just a good ol’ soup that happens to be healthy. That’s always the best.
Jerry,
I don’t care about the points, this soup looks terrific and I am sure the taste was phenomenal. With ingredients that good, how could you miss? I’m glad for more ideas on how to use the farm share bok choy and cabbage.
Thanks!
The soup looks perfect and since I am feeding 7 or 8 of us, it should be a perfect amount. I even have bok choy and cabbage in my crisper right now! This looks like a nice antidote to overindulgence. ;-)
Am I the only person on the planet who has no idea what Weight Watchers Zero Points means? Anyway, I’ve been thinking about making homemade ramen after visiting an amazing ramen shop in New York City and this looks like a great place to start. I’m sure adding the noodles will make it a non-zero points meal, but that’s OK with me.
Jerry, this look phenomenal. The flavors are wonder and such delicious veggies. Love it.
MMMM fresh ginger! I became addicted to it in Thailand about 30 years ago! That and steamed, very fresh, pure white flowering ONLY, Morning Glory, (the ones that have ANY trace of colour in in the flower at all can be poisonous.) But the Morning glory tastes like tiny asparagus. Cut off the last foot of new growth and trim it to nothing but the stem, then steam for only a couple of minutes, YUMMMMM! Wonderful foods there! Fresh, huge red grasshoppers – you only eat the thorax – briefly cooked over a charcoal brazier, then splashed with hot sesame oil and sea type salt. Like HUGE cashews! OH Lordy, lordy I miss the FOOD! LOL Can you tell?
Oh Oh Oh! or this soup over sweet potato noodles. They are a beautiful transparent soft pink and are like thickish spaghetti. Gorgeous and well as yummmmmy!
LOL, did I mention I LOVE to eat.. as long as it’s tasty and INTERESTING!
Super to meet you all! I am in the BC Canada interior the far left side of Canada :-)
I’ve made this soup several times. I bring it to work for my afternoon snack! My husband likes it with Asian noodles which I make seperately.
Awesome! It’s been quite a while since I’ve made this recipe, but I’m going to have to revisit it soon. Incredibly yummy.
Can you freeze this? It does make quite. It.
I’m sure that you could, but the veggies would probably get discolored and a bit mushy
This was a great soup. I added cayenne to get a spicy effect. Thank you for sharing this one.
You’re very welcome!
Is there a crock pot version of this? Looking forward either way.
While this could be cooked in a crock pot, I doubt that it would taste as fresh or as lively. I’d go with the stove top method.
This is just what we need after a few days of comfort food leftovers. Thank you for making it guilt free and tasty!
I have made this several times and it is satisfying and delicious, but I couldn’t get past the soggy, pale vegetables on day 2 and beyond. The method that works best for me is to add the ginger, scallions, garlic and soy sauce (I substitute coconut aminos) to the vegetable broth and store separately. I chop and combine all other vegetables then add a desired amount to a simmering individual serving of broth and blanch them so they remain bright and crisp. If I want to add a little protein, I toss in a couple of shrimp or a sliced scallop or two (both of which I keep in my freezer). Hope this helps!
Thank you ! I am single and doing it your suggested way helps me!