In the Weight Watchers mindset yet again. Not a bad place to be. It makes one think about reasonable food choices, and leads to real eye-opening discoveries like the 35 point count value for the Caesar Salad I was considering at a local restaurant. Choosing sliced steak with double steamed broccoli got lunch down to 6 points.

The Big Guy and I are a team this time using the online version. All necessary information is readily available on his iPhone. I’m much more casual about staying pretty much on track. He’s calculating and documenting every point. He’s never done this before and is viewing it as a challenge. He’s also more determined to lose weight than I am. But going along for the ride and being careful about what is being cooked around here is good for both of us.

My kitchen scale has really been invaluable to weigh amounts, and the Spiralizer has resumed its spot on the counter. Last night, instead of automatically tossing a half pound of pasta into a pot of boiling water, I weighed out four ounces, and spiralized a zucchini with the “spaghetti” blade. I put the zucchini strands in a colander and when the pasta was done, I poured it, water and all, over the zucchini strands.

The sauce was vegetable (point free!) based as well. So simple and really good. Saute a chopped onion and a couple of cloves of garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and some red pepper flakes. Add a can of rinsed and drained artichokes. Add a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes that you’ve crushed with your hand or a fork. Toss in some basil and let the mixture cook down for about fifteen minutes or so.

Add the pasta and zucchini strands to the sauce, and stir to combine. Sprinkle a serving with about a teaspoon of grated Parmesan. If you limit yourself to a teaspoon, this adds flavor without additional points. This recipe produced plenty for the two of us with enough left over for a lunch. My resident points calculator rang it in as a very satisfactory six point meal.