Do you ever feel hangry?
You know, it’s those times when you are so hungry that you start to get angry and accidentally take it out on everyone you love? You’ve probably heard of the term before, and I am guessing you have felt the feeling before as well.
One thing I hear from other MPM readers that are on the WW program is that they eat “all their points” and are left hungry by afternoon with no points left. Of course, a great breakfast can really help with this, and WW has a thing called weeklies, but some days you just need a big, hearty dinner that you can feel good about and that will keep you from snacking endlessly all night long.
If you are having a hard time sticking to your plan because you are feeling hungry all the time, this recipe might be just what you need!
You get 8 full cups of this yumminess, and each cup is just 1 WW FreeStyle Smart Point, so you could literally eat until you were stuffed and not have to worry too much about your points. Speaking of points, the points in this recipe are in the pasta. You really don’t need much pasta, though, because it bulks up as it cooks so a little goes a long way. In fact, you could even just leave the pasta out if you wanted and still have a great meal.
About the pasta.
I chose to use Campanelle pasta because I thought my kids would think it was fun, but you can swap it out with a different pasta if you have some in your pantry that you are wanting to use up.
How the points measure up.
If you eat 2 cups, it will be 3 WW SP.
If you eat 3 cups, it will be 4 WW SP.
If you eat 4 cups, it will be 6 WW SP. (I know, I know… 4 cups is a lot. I am sure you won’t eat that much, but I just wanted you to understand why this is a great meal to save for a day when you feel super duper hungry but don’t want to blow your whole day/week on one meal.)
How about a little cheese?
If you have the points and want to add a little more to this meal, we topped our servings with a little shredded cheddar cheese that we let melt over the top, and we loved it. The cheese is not necessary though.
Are you ready for a Southwestern hunger-busting recipe?
Here is what you need:
3 ounces uncooked Campanelle pasta (about 1-1/4 cups)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 pound 99% lean ground turkey
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Pepper, to taste
Here is what you do:
Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain pasta.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Cook garlic over medium heat for 30 seconds.
Add onion, zucchini, and corn to the skillet. Sauté, covered 8-10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and zucchini begins to brown a little.
Transfer vegetables to a bowl or plate and set aside.
Cook ground turkey in the same skillet the vegetables were in for about 8 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
Once turkey is fully cooked, add in the black beans, Rotel, tomato sauce, salt, cumin, and chili powder.
Add vegetables and pasta back in with the rest of the ingredients and allow to cook 2-3 minutes, tossing the flavors and ingredients together as it cooks.
Salt and pepper, to taste. Serve warm.
Makes 8 servings.
One serving is 1 cup.
One serving is 4 Green, 1 Blue, and 1 Purple point.
Southwestern Turkey & Vegetable Pasta Dish
Ingredients
- 3 ounces uncooked campanelle pasta (about 1-1/4 cups)
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 pound 99% lean ground turkey
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (10 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain pasta.
- Heat oil in a large skillet. Cook garlic over medium heat for 30 seconds.
- Add onion, zucchini, and corn to the skillet. Saute, covered 8-10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and zucchini begins to brown a little.
- Transfer vegetables to a bowl or plate and set aside.
- Cook ground turkey in the same skillet the vegetables were in for about 8 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
- Once turkey is fully cooked, add in the black beans, Rotel, tomato sauce, salt, cumin, and chili powder.
- Add vegetables and pasta back in with the rest of the ingredients and allow to cook 2-3 minutes, tossing the flavors and ingredients together as it cooks.
- Salt and pepper, to taste. Serve warm.
*MyWW® points calculated by Meal Planning Mommies; Not endorsed by MyWW (formerly Weight Watchers and WW). All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. MyWW® green, blue, and purple values calculated without WW Zero Points foods using the WW Recipe Builder.
Love all of the recipes and encouragement you send. I love the Ree style program! Would the points be different in the above recipe if I kept the black beans out? I am not a fan of those. Thanks again for sharing!
Beans are zero points, so it would not change the SmartPoints. The only thing that would change is the size of each serving, so you would want to measure the whole and then divide it to know how much one serving is. Hope you like it! 🙂
Do i add those points and add those in as my dinner?
Im trying to understand how this works.
This sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it !
Alisha, I tried this tonight. It is really good!! It was my dinner and 2cups filled me up! I hope it freezes well. It’ll become a quick go-to dinner. Great job!
Oh good! So glad you liked it. 🙂
How much would the points be if u used 93% ground lean turkey
3 WW FreeStyle SP per serving. 🙂
Can you used other pasta like elbow noodles , penne noodles or spiral noodles instead of uncooked Campanelle pastafor this recipe? And wil the freestyle point be the same?
Hi AnnaMae, it looks like it would be 2 WW SP if you swapped out the 3 ounces of Campanelle pasta with 3 ounces of any of the other pastas you mentioned. If you are wanting to keep it at 1 WW SP you could use 2 ounces of one of the other pastas you mentioned and it would work out to just 1 WW SP per serving. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hard to believe this was so low in points and filling! It was a bit bland for my taste but a little grated parm added some richer flavor for me. Delish!
Yes, this recipe is packed with the good stuff so it is satisfying and low in Points. Great idea adding in some Parmesan cheese. ?
Would the points change if I used Whole wheat pasta? New to WW.
Thanks
The Smart Points would not change.
Im still not understanding the points before the blue ect. Does it mean i add the points?
This is one of the best dishes I’ve ever made! Seriously so good. Could definitely add some more veggies if you wanted to make the servings a bit bigger with no remorse.
Recommend putting Lawry’s salt or other seasoning on the turkey when cooking. Makes it have some flavor.
Just started WW and tried this recipe tonight. It is an easy, low point meal that is delicious! Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing it.
sometimes I think about making this again after meal prepping it probably 4 times last winter. It was so good and I ate it so much that now the thought of it makes me nauseous. Would recommend in moderation. Don’t eat nonstop for weeks.