Tomato soup

"A world devoid of tomato soup, tomato sauce, tomato ketchup and tomato paste is hard to visualize. Could the tin and processed food industries have got where they have without the benefit of the tomato compounds which colour, flavour, thicken and conceal so many deficiencies? How did the Italians eat spaghetti before the advent of the tomato? Was there such a thing as tomato-less Neapolitan pizza?”
Elizabeth David (1913-1992)
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, 1984


I am currently addicted to tomato soup. It's delicious and low calorie/fat/point and it's a "filling food." WeightWatchers has a new twist to their "Momentum" system and that is this: they are now all about the filling foods.

A quick primer on WW. The cornerstone of the Momentum plan is the proprietary Points formula, which allocates each food a value based on its calories, fat, and fiber. Members are allocated a certain number of points each day based on their height, current weight, age, and activity level. Members are also allowed 35 optional Points each week.

The beauty of WW though is this: you can have whatever you want on the plan. This is why it is so successful. You want chocolate cake? Fine. You want nothing but cookies? Knock yourself out. You want pizza? Eat it every day. As long as you don't exceed your points, you can have WHATEVER you want. This explains why WW has such a high success rate: no limits on what.

The limit is on how much. If you eat all of your points in chocolate cake, you'll be starving by lunch. That's not gonna go well. For anybody. This is why you don't eat chocolate cake every day for every meal.

So, in addition to the points deal, WW has come up with the concept of filling foods. While WW certainly doesn't want to judge you or your food choices, they have developed this list of filling foods, which is all the stuff you're supposed to eat. The healthy stuff. The fruits and veg. The whole grains. Lean meats. And the great part about this stuff is that you get more bang for your buck! They're lower in points AND they keep you full!

(Yeah, they just marketed veggies to me in a brand new package. And I'm buying it.)

The good news is that Campbell's Tomato Soup is on the list of filling foods. (Not the soup with the cream. The one with water. Let's not go crazy with the awesome.) Campbell has made a bowl in the 15.4 oz size that's perfect for lunch. Four points for the bowl (which is technically 2 servings, but who are they kidding?)

Thumbs up for this filling food.