Christmas Challenge, day 5

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to my Christmas Challenge, 2024 where I try to give as much festive vibe to my everyday food as I can with the aim of staying on my healthy Mediterranean focused meals so that weight gain is minimal and I remain healthy.

Weigh in tomorrow and I am not confident but I missed last week's so really ought to do tomorrow's.  Ho hum!  
Why is it that when you feel unwell, you nibble on unhealthy stuff?

Re yesterday's extra bit, I located buckwheat groats on Amazon, ordered yesterday and they arrived this morning.  Cheers!  Now to locate recipes that will work with SW and the Mediterranean vibe.

What I ate today:

I was short of time to have a breakfast so I had an apple and a pear - no photo and syn free.

I had a friend round so this is just a quick snap of the table.  It was a soup from the freezer with grated cheese, croutons and seeds and it was lovely.

Dessert was an easy peeler.
One healthy extra A, one healthy extra B and one syn.

Later on, I had another couple of easy peelers.

The steak for dinner was delicious.  I have to say, Aldi does a lovely steak.

No room for dessert.

One healthy extra A, three syns for dressing and one for mixed seeds.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

five syns

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  buckwheat cinnamon 🎄waffles, fruit and yogurt

(after the success of the pancakes, I have to try this, don't I?

L:  soup from the freezer, chestnuts crumbled over 🎄; fruit

D:  festive afternoon tea 🎄 with Shimmy 'n' Groove

Exercise:  none

Christmas Challenge, day 4, a couple of recipe ideas and about buckwheat flour

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to my Christmas Challenge, 2024 where I try to give as much festive vibe to my everyday food as I can with the aim of staying on my healthy Mediterranean focused meals so that weight gain is minimal and I remain healthy.

What I ate today:

Cranberry and cinnamon pancakes for breakfast.  I use buckwheat flour for the first time and they were delicious.  There's definitely a difference between flour and oat based pancakes.  The former cook faster for a start!

I think I have found my Christmas morning breakfast!

I am calling the 20g buckwheat flour I used as half a healthy extra B.  See the Extra Bit below for details of why.

The cranberries were the dried kind so three syns for what I had - bit of a shock, that!  I'll try the frozen kind next time and see if that works OK.

The recipe for the pancakes is:

20g buckwheat flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

one medium egg

50g Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp sweetener

cinnamon to taste

splash of water

20g dried cranberries

Mix it all together and give it a good old whisk.

Cook as one normally cooks pancakes. Today I used spray oil.

I changed from a bagel to a slice of toast and it was lovely.

I had some grapes for dessert.  

Half a healthy extra B for the toast, two syns for the avocado and one syn for the salad cream.

Later on,. I had an apple.

Dinner was delicious.

The roasties and veg were same as usual and this is how I did the chicken.
I used half a breast fillet (I always halve them now before freezing them) and hammered it out a bit with my steak hammer.  I sprinkled over some Montreal steak spice (quite chilli-ish) and then spray fried it in a pan.  Then I put it in an oven dish, spread a tbsp cranberry sauce over and then covered it with 30g grated cheddar and popped it in the air fryer top keep warm and melt the cheese.

It was so delicious.
I'll try it again but with stilton instead of cheddar.

One healthy extra A and one and a half syns for the cranberry sauce.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

seven and a half syns

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  breakfast wrap

(ringing the changes just a bit)

L:  soup, seeds, bread; fruit

I have a friend round, a SW friend so all good.

D:  steak, stilton and salad

A treat!  Stilton isn't a healthy extra A but I am going to call it so.

Exercise:  none

The Extra Bit:

About buckwheat and buckwheat flour.
(Mostly copied and pasted from various places as it says it much better than I could)

Important edit:  buckwheat itself is gluten free but buckwheat flour (such as Dove flour) may contain traces of gluten if it has been milled in a non-gluten free environment so be careful if this is important to you.
Many thanks to June for pointing this out in the comments below.

When I started eating more in the Mediterranean way, I kept coming across buckwheat and buckwheat flour praised as a super healthy product.
I bought a bag of flour (Dove does it) but never used it so it is about time I did, isn't it?

So I did a bit of Googling and found put that . . .
Buckwheat is grain-free, gluten-free ((see above and comments) and adds nutty flavors, tender textures and darker shades to dishes, such as noodles, cookies and bread.

 
It is packed with fiber, protein and other minerals. Not only can buckwheat add an earthy flavor infusion and darker hue to your recipes, but it can be a healthier alternative to regular flour or wheat flour.

Buckwheat flour can be made by milling or grinding buckwheat groats  and you can do it yourself if you have the right equipment.

As it is gluten free, it can result in a heavier texture and it's best to use it with other flour if you want lightness.

Gluten- and grain-free, organic buckwheat flour (see above and comments) has more protein, dietary fiber, and B vitamins than an equal weight of oat or whole wheat flour, and is an excellent source of potassium and essential amino acids.

This last caught my attention so I looked up calories and fibre for 20g buckwheat flour and 20g oats.  Guess what - there's not a lot of difference.

As far as the quality of the fibre is concerned, buckwheat contains a decent amount , which your body cannot digest. This nutrient is good for colon health.

By weight, fiber makes up 2.7% of boiled groats and is mainly composed of cellulose and lignin (2).

Fibre is concentrated in the husk, which coats the groat. The husk is kept in dark buckwheat flour, giving it a unique flavour. (This is the flour I have)

All in all, it is a Jolly Good Thing to include in a healthy diet. and I would really like to get some buckwheat groats and blend them to flour as needed.  Must look around for some.

As far as Slimming World is concerned, buckwheat is a free food but buckwheat flour is not.

However . . .

Healthy extra Bs are all about fibre.

Buckwheat flour contains as much fibre, possibly a little more, than oats.  The calories are pretty much identical.

Therefore . . .

As with wholemeal/wholewheat flour, I am perfectly happy to use buckwheat flour as a healthy extra B

. . . because I can't see why not.

It's definitely not SW canon though, so be careful and, if you do what I do, use it mindfully and sensibly!

Christmas challenge, day 3, a pesky cold and a coffee review

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to my Christmas Challenge, 2024 where I try to give as much festive vibe to my everyday food as I can with the aim of staying on my healthy Mediterranean focused meals so that weight gain is minimal and I remain healthy.

What did I say about staying healthy?  There's no arguing with a cold, is there.  You feel yucky but it's not a dangerous thing (for most of us) and fairly soon over.  I opted out of Groove today and personal training will be on Saturday - thank you, Lindsey.

What I ate today:

I started on the other Christmas themed Oat Pantry oats today, cinnamon bun flavoured, for my overnight oats, adding yogurt, a splash of milk, some spiced cranberry skinny syrup and fruit (blueberries, raspberries and grapes) plus my mixed seeds.

Half a B for 20g oats and half a syn for the splash of milk

To make the smoked salmon pate, I simply blended some smoked salmon bits with some light soft cheese (which I am calling half a healthy A but that is unofficial so be careful) plus some lemon juice and zest and a pinch of dill.
I toast bread, remove the crust, then split in in half through the slice and pop the thin slices in Nellie to dehydrate.  I have to fasten them down or they fly up and burn.

Half a healthy extra B for one slice of toast and half an A for the soft cheese plus four syns for the evoo in the salad dressing and one syn for mixed seeds.

Later on I had a pear and a couple of easy peelers plus a chicken bouillon drink (which is free) because I wanted something very flavoursome.

I changed dinner plans a bit as I decided I didn't really want pasta so it was just a bean and olive bake.  I softened some veg including tomatoes in evoo, added some mixed beans, olives and Mediterranean herbs, stock and tomato puree plus a bit of marmite, added some grated cheese on top and popped it in Nellie for a short while to melt the cheese a bit.  Very easy and very tasty.

Two syns for olives, two syns for some evoo, two healthy extra As for cheese.

And that was me done for the day.

Summary:

two and a half healthy extra As

one and a half healthy extra Bs

eleven and a half syns - a bit high but not to worry!

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B: buckwheat, cranberry 🤶 and cinnamon 🤶 pancakes with fruit and yogurt

L:  avocado bagel with smoked salmon 🤶, salad; fruit

D:  chicken with cranberry sauce 🤶, veg; fruit

Exercise: lovely Lindsey has rescheduled personal training for Saturday morning so it will probably be a rest day.  

The Extra Bit:

Another review.

I love my coffee but I am in no way a coffee expert and I'm not, as a general rule, that keen of flavoured coffee.

However - this is delicious and I'm happy to own up that every time I have been to Morrisons, I have picked a box up.

It's just under £3 for ten so 30p per coffee which is a lot more than the wonky pods I usually buy but not in terms of paying for one at Starbucks.  And it is syn free!

I'm looking upon it as a December/Advent treat and am happy to recommend, if that's your thing.

Christmas Challenge, day 2, about chestnuts and a product review

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to my Christmas Challenge, 2024 where I try to give as much festive vibe to my everyday food as I can with the aim of staying on my healthy Mediterranean focused meals so that weight gain is minimal and I remain healthy.

I looked up chestnuts on the SW site, seeing as I am likely to eat a fair number this month.  It told me that I need to count them as one syn each and seven for a healthy extra B,

I looked up calories on Nutracheck and they are 176 calories for 100g
(for the kind I have which is Merchant Gourmet vacu packed)

Then I asked Google if chestnuts were 'healthy'.  Yes, they are, said Google.
They contain lots of vitamins, minerals and fibre and are helpful in stabilising/reducing levels of 'bad' cholesterol in the body and their comparatively high levels of potassium help to lower blood pressure.  They contain very little fat.

All in all, a festive package that really delivers on the health front.  Great!

What I ate today:

Baked oats using the mince pie porridge oats - absolutely scrummy!

Half a healthy extra B for 20g oats

I changed my mind and decided to save the festive chutney for dinner.  Instead, I used marmite with the cheese (delicious) and made it open rather than a toastie.  Blimmin' gorgeous!!

One healthy extra A, one healthy extra B and two syns for salad dressing.

Later on, I had three small easy peelers.

So here's dinner - I made the chestnut, potato and parsnip patties by softening some chopped onion and adding it to mashed potato and parsnips, crumbling in three chestnuts, adding some nutmeg, some black pepper and a pinch of chilli flakes plus a little bit of Seriously Lighter cheese spread to bind and spray frying the three patties it made. and served with a tbsp festive chutney on top.  So tasty!

Half a healthy extra B for chestnuts, two syns for the cheese spread, two syns because the potato and parsnip were pre cooked and contained some syns and two syns for a little blob of butter on the veg before they were heated.

And that was filling enough not to want any moe.

.Summary:

one healthy extra A

two healthy extra Bs

(the wrong way round but it's OK)

eight syns

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  mince pie overnight oats 🎄with fruit and yogurt

L:  smoked salmon 🎄 pate, hm melba toast, salad; fruit

D:  bean and olive pasta bake, veg; fruit

Exercise:  groove and a walk there and back.

The Extra Bit:

I thought I would do an occasional product review this month, as and when.
I'm starting off with this Festive Chutney that I got from M&S.  Reading the label, it does sound very seasonal and evocative and the list of ingredients show plenty of the good stuff and nothing that would lead one to think ultra processed.  So that's good.

If you like a sweet chutney, you would like this.  It is strongly reminiscent of mincemeat; one could almost use it for mince pies, were it not a rather expensive way of making mince pies!!

The sweetness hits first with the cinnamon strongly to the fore but there's a lingering spiciness after the initial sweetness that is good.  I think I would prefer more spice up front and it would have been nice to have some cranberries included in the mix but it is very palatable for this time of year.

It was very tasty teamed with applewood cheddar and a seeded cracker and was absolutely delicious on the patties for dinner as the heat of chilli flakes in the patties was well balanced by the sweetness of the chutney.

Would I buy this again - yes, I think I would.  It wouldn't go with everything but. carefully partnered, it is very tasty indeed.

Christmas Challenge, day 1 and a helpful December planner

 Good evening, everyone.

Day one went fine until the cold I have been brewing really started to bit.   This evening was really a bit miserable and I've nibbled at this and that.  Oh, well . . .

Today's meals:

The mince pie porridge is amazing, really delicious.  Afterwards I had an apple.

Not quite what I had planned.  I used leftover potato and parsnip plus onion, pepper, mushroom and tomato plus some chestnuts and mixed seeds and grated cheese.
Really nice.

And that was that as far as the healthy stuff went.   Fingers crossed I feel a bit better tomorrow.  xx

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  Mince pie baked oats 🎅, fruit and yogurt

L:  cheese and cranberry 🎅 toastie (assuming the visit to the dentist wasn't too ouchy or it might be soup), salad; fruit

D:  Potato, parsnip and chestnut 🎅 patty with salad; fruit

Exercise:  circuits and advent calendar activity 🎅

The Extra Bit:

Our SW consultant, Heidi, posted this the other day.  I asked and got permission to share.

I'm going to use it as a way of tracking how December goes.  I will write in all the stuff going on but, also, I'm going to colour code each meal - green for on plan, etc.

Here it is, in case you would like to use it too: I don't think the spaces are big enough to use as a planner - not with my handwriting anyway - but useful in other ways..

Saturday evening, 30-11-24 and about my Christmas Challenge

(Pretty much written on Saturday but I was too tired to down and then upload the photo - please imagine this as sent Saturday evening.  Thank you) 

Good evening, everyone.

Do you remember that for the past three years I have had a Christmas Challenge where I challenged myself to make something with a festive vibe each day through December until Christmas Eve evening?
It was fun (for me), made me think a bit and kept things interesting.

(This next bit is copied from today last year as it still applies)

What constitutes 'festive'? Well, I decided . . .
anything from a Christmas Special magazine
anything categorised as 'Christmas' on recipe sites
anything from a Christmas recipe book
anything 'party-ish' - canapés and the like
anything containing cranberries, chestnuts, turkey, ham, smoked salmon . . .
etc, etc, etc
Oh, you get the idea, I'm sure. A very wide interpretation!

I'll still be following these strategies when possible (it won't always be possible)

1.  focusing on heart healthy, cholesterol lowering foods as much as possible

2.  Using intermittent fasting meal times - 8:14, so between eleven am and 7pm

3.  Following Slimming World structures, obviously - this doesn't change.

🎄🎅🤶🎅🎄

(I'm thinking I might use one of these cute 'special characters' to mark the festive bits)

I've already started using my Festive china, etc. I mean, what's the point of having anything special if you only use them a couple of times each year. I do have special tableware and I intend to get value from it all.
December can be very dull, dark, cold and gloomy so anything the brightens things up is a Very Good Thing.

So, tomorrow, My Christmas Challenge starts

Today's meals:

Breakfast and lunch were both fruit and, if I am totally honest, quite a lot of nibbles as I prepped the buffet.  Ooops!

Here we go - out Christmas Tree Day buffet and it was very much enjoyed.

Absolutely no SW facts for this but it was semi-Med friendly.

Totally back on it tomorrow with something to help me track one plan/off plan meals.

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  mince pie porridge 🎄, fruit and yogurt

The first taste of the Oat Pantry Christmas limited edition (oooh - posh) porridges.

L:  Mixed bean hash with chestnuts 🎄; fruit

I have potato and parsnips left over from Friday night so I will add some speed veg and mixed beans and turn it into a hash.  I'll probably sprinkle over some grated cheese too.

D:  smoked salmon 🎄 and mixed bean salad; fruit

I will have some mixed beans left over to turn into a nice salad with some bits of smoked salmon from the freezer

Exercise:  I have plenty of housework and some washing/drying/ironing to keep me busy plus the start of Lindsey's advent calendar.  Yay!

The Extra Bit:

Just to say the oats and seeds crackers went down a real treat at the buffet - I am definitely making more.

Here's the link again, if you missed it the other day.

They're quite filling.

https://loveandflourbypooja.com/oats-and-seeds-crackers/

Friday evening, 29-11-24, and an oats and seeds crackers recipe

 Good evening, everyone.

As I decided, I didn't weigh today but I went to group anyway and it was great.  

Today's meals:

I remembered this morning!  The fruit crumble and custard oats are getting low in the jar - but I have the two Christmas flavours in containers, all ready for Dec 1st.

One healthy extra B and half a healthy extra 

My light lunch - and it was lovely.

Syn free.

Dinner is steak pie with veg and a lemon cheesecake.

I won't be posting a photo of it so I will get this live now or it won't get done until tomorrow.

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  porridge, fruit and yogurt

L:  fruit salad and yogurt

D:  Christmas Tree Day buffet

Exercise:  does decorating the Christmas tree count?

The Extra Bit:

I haven't done an Extra Bit for a while because there wasn't anything but I've just found (and made) this recipe.  I wasn't expecting much, to be honest, but it was so good and so easy, the main issue being the time it takes to bake but if you have a big tray air fryer I am sure they would do fine in that.

The recipe is for oats and seeds crackers, very useful at this time of year.

https://loveandflourbypooja.com/oats-and-seeds-crackers/

I made the recipe straight apart from using real oats that I blended to a flour rather than instant oats (which I don't have).

In SW terms, it carries syns but in Mediterranean terms it's absolutely great.  There isn't an unhealthy ingredient in the recipe unless you count the honey and, as I said, they are absolutely delicious.

One caveat - I had the oven a bit cooler (around 150/140C) and gave it a fair bit longer and they came out totally crunchy.  Great mouth-feel.

I'll post a photo when I have one.