“You had me at Bacon Bleu.”

Hey, hey! It’s me over here…just reading your mind.

Have you ever eaten anything that had both bacon and bleu cheese in it that you did not absolutely love? The other day, I saw a picture of potatoes with bleu cheese on them, and I was immediately inspired. I couldn’t wait to try this recipe out, and I have to tell you…it turned out EXACTLY as I hoped it would. Blue cheese melts and slightly browns on diced potatoes and chicken. Add some bacon bit, green onion, a little salt and oil, and you will have yourself a delicious dinner everyone will love! It’s perfect on all three of the MyWW plans too!  (for those counting points)

What is the deal with the green, blue, and purple points?

I got an email the other day from an MPM reader that said this:

“I don’t quite understand the colour system for WW. Can you please explain it to me?”

For anyone who is not going to WW meetings, or who is not involved in what is now called the MyWW program, here is a brief explanation of why I am giving “green point” values, “blue point” values, and “purple point” values, and what it means for you as you consider using a recipe on Meal Planning Mommies. (If you already know all of this, you can skip straight to the recipe here.)

WW (formerly Weight Watchers) is now offering their members three options of plans to choose from. If you’re just signing up for WW now, they will have you take a quiz, and WW will recommend the plan they think will work best for you. For those who are already WW members, you will be able to switch back and forth between plans in the app by going to Profile>Settings>Food Settings and then selecting the plan you’d like to use.

If you have been following Meal Planning Mommies for a while, you probably know that I used to share “FreeStyle SmartPoints” on here, and before that I shared “SmartPoints”, and before that I shared “PointsPlus” points. Each time WW rolls out a new program, I see the value in it for those who are coming to the blog, so I update the blog as a way of accommodating those who are on the program. I do not work for WW. I am just a blogger who happens to think that their programs are pretty great.

If you are considering starting WW and want to understand the plans first, here is a quick snapshot of how each plan works:

• Green: Offers the smallest list of zero point foods and the largest daily points budget. The lowest daily points total on Green is 30 SmartPoints. The zero point foods list is limited to fruits and non-starchy vegetables. This plan will feel very familiar to WW members who did the program a couple years ago before Freestyle was introduced, because it is extremely similar to the Beyond the Scale program (the original SmartPoints plan). If you choose this plan, you’ll have less zero point food options, but more daily points to spend on whichever foods you like.

• Blue: This is the plan formerly known as Freestyle and is now the middle-of-the-road plan. The lowest daily point allowance on Blue is 23 SmartPoints. In addition to fruits and non-starchy vegetables, the Blue plan adds some starchy vegetables like corn and peas, skinless chicken and turkey breast, eggs, fish and shellfish, beans and legumes, nonfat plain yogurt, tofu and tempeh to the zero point food list. If you choose this plan, you’ll want to incorporate the zero point foods into your meal planning, but you’ll also have a moderate daily points budget to use on other foods.

• Purple: Offers the largest list of zero point foods and the smallest daily points budget. The lowest daily points total on Purple is 16 SmartPoints. In addition to all the zero point food categories offered on the Blue plan, the Purple plan adds potatoes, whole wheat pasta and some other special pastas (like chickpea pasta), brown rice, oats, and other grains like barley and quinoa to the zero point foods list. If you choose this plan, you’ll base your meals around the longer list of zero point foods and have a smaller daily points budget to spend on other foods.

I have always been a huge fan of the way that WW (formerly Weight Watchers) offers a lot of flexibility for those who are trying to eat healthier and trying to lose weight, and I feel like this new update is the best one yet. For this reason, with each recipe I share on here, I will be calculating the green, blue, and purple points per serving for those who are on each plan. To find the points per serving, I am using the WW recipe builder that factors in all of the zero point foods on each plan.

For those of you who are not following the WW plans, I will continue to include nutrition facts on the recipes. Alrighty, let’s get to this recipe!

Here is what you need:

2 medium potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch pieces (approximately 1 pound)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
3/4 cup reduced-fat crumbled bleu cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 green onions, sliced, divided
2 tablespoons Hormel Bacon Bits, divided
4 (4 ounce each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper, to taste

Here is what you do:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large bowl, toss the potato pieces, 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup bleu cheese, salt, pepper, 1/3 of green onions, and 1 tablespoon bacon bits; set aside.

Using a basting brush, brush the tops and bottoms of the chicken breasts with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and set in the middle of a large cooking sheet or stoneware. If using a cooking sheet, spray with cooking spray before placing chicken on the cooking sheet, or cover with parchment paper.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Spread potato mixture around the chicken in a single layer.

Place cooking sheet in the preheated oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Flip chicken and potato pieces. Top chicken with remaining 1/2 cup bleu cheese, 1/3 of green onions, and remaining 1 tablespoon bacon bits. Put back in the oven and cook for 15 additional minutes. If you want the potatoes to be browned, you can remove the chicken and let them cook for an additional 5-10 minutes without the chicken.

Serve 1 chicken breast with 3/4 cup hash browns. Top with remaining green onion.

Makes 4 servings.
One serving is 1 chicken breast and 3/4 cup hash browns.
One serving is 8 green, 6 blue, and 3 purple MyWW points.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Bacon Bleu Chicken & Hash Browns

One serving is 8 green, 6 blue, and 3 purple MyWW points.

Makes: 4 servings

Calories: 311

Author: Alisha Hughes

Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch pieces (approximately 1 pound)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat crumbled bleu cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 green onions, sliced, divided
• 2 tablespoons Hormel Bacon Bits, divided
• 4 (4 ounce each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Cooking spray
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In a large bowl, toss the potato pieces, 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup bleu cheese, salt, pepper, 1/3 of green onions, and 1 tablespoon bacon bits; set aside.
• Using a basting brush, brush the tops and bottoms of the chicken breasts with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and set in the middle of a large cooking sheet or stoneware. If using a cooking sheet, spray with cooking spray before placing chicken on the cooking sheet, or cover with parchment paper.
• Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Spread potato mixture around the chicken in a single layer. Place cooking sheet in the preheated oven and cook for 10 minutes.
• Flip chicken and potato pieces. Top chicken with remaining 1/2 cup bleu cheese, 1/3 of green onions, and remaining 1 tablespoon bacon bits. Put back in the oven and cook for 15 additional minutes. If you want the potatoes to be browned, you can remove the chicken and let them cook for an additional 5-10 minutes without the chicken.
• Serve 1 chicken breast with 3/4 cup potato pieces. Top with remaining green onion.