Wednesday, 27-09-23

Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday's meal photos:

I enjoyed my boiled eggs and marmite toast for breakfast very much indeed

I used a cheap can of plum tomatoes to make the soup rather than what is left of the garden ones and, while it didn't quite have the intensity, it was still very tasty.  It's a good recipe.

I have a portion left so I will probably have that tomorrow.

Later on, I went for my Covid jab and had a bit of a reaction afterwards - nothing bad, just some tummy cramps and some tiredness and aches.  I had some nice fruit (unwise, maybe, but it's what I craved) and that was it for the day, so no evening meal photo.

Apart from a slight ache in my arm, I'm fine now so it's back to normal.

Today's plans:

B:  scrambled eggs on toast, tomatoes and mushrooms on the side

I might have some marmite on the toast, I'll see how I feel.

SW:  one healthy extra B for toast

L:  sausage meatballs in a tomato sauce, some kind of pasta, salad (maybe); fruit/yogurt

(because I didn't have it yesterday and below is copied and pasted from yesterday)

I used one Morrisons chipolata and one rosemary and red onion sausage, mixed together with some seasonings, a finely chopped bacon medallion and some softened onion.  I don't need the cheese because the sausage has some fat, that's why it is synned.   I mixed it all together, shaped six meatballs, spray fried, then added the sauce (I am using the other half of that jar I opened the other day), some veg and the cooked pasta and Bob's your uncle.

SW:  two syns for the sausage and two for the sauce.

D:  potato topped pie, veg; fruit/yogurt

I'll open a can of M&S chunky steak for the base and thin slice and par cook some potato for the top.  I have leeks to use up so I might layer some leek over the steak and gravy before topping with the potato .  I can bake it in Nellie.

SW:  the chunky steak and gravy are both syn free (cheers) so this should all be syn free

Exercise:  personal training

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

four syns

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

Tuesday, 26-09-23

Good morning, everyone.  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my SW maintenance meals and the recipes I find helpful online and in books as well as my own concoctions.

Yesterday's meal photos:

A very yummy breakfast indeed, enjoyed after some gardening.

The baked beans are home made.  There's recipes out there but basically it's any kind of tomato sauce, whatever you really like, plus some white beans (haricot or cannellini).

I suppose it was almost a frittata rather than a quiche and it filled the gaps after circuits.

I had a few grapes for afters.

I know this looks like sludge but it was absolutely delicious - chicken, onion, pepper, mushroom, courgette, basmati rice and a sauce made of fresh tomatoes plus some seasoning oomph and a dollop of cooling yogurt.

And I was full!

Today's plans:

B:  boiled eggs and marmite toast fingers

I haven't had this for absolutely ages so I'm looking forward to it very much.

As I have Groove first thing, I will eat an apple before it starts - I find I need that bit of extra energy it gives me.

SW:  one healthy extra B for toast

L:  tomato and roasted red pepper soup, croutons; fruit

My usual. home made version and using up some of the last of the garden tomatoes.  After this, it will be tinned again and not quite so nice but that's life!

The croutons will count as a bit more B but, as I'm not having any As, it will be fine calorie-wise, just not balanced according to SW.

SW:  half a healthy extra B

D:  sausage meatballs in a tomato sauce, some kind of pasta, broccoli and sprouts; fruit/yogurt

I plan to use one Morrisons chipolata and one rosemary and red onion sausage, mixed together with some seasonings and some softened onion.  I don't need the cheese because the sausage has some fat, that's why it is synned.   Mix it all together, shape as many meatballs as the mixture provides, spray fry, then add the sauce (I am using the other half of that jar I opened the other day) and Bob's your uncle.

SW:  two syns for the sausage and two for the sauce.

Exercise:  Groove class

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one and a half healthy extra Bs

four syns

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

A week of maintenance meals on Slimming World

  These photos are a resume of most of the meals I have had over the last week, mostly excluding desserts, snacks, naughty things, etc. It starts on Saturday and goes through to the following Friday because our group meets on Friday mornings.

Slimming World - restrictive?  Few choices?  Going without?   Absolutely no way!  To ne fair, I'm looking to maintain now I'm at target but I'm not changing much and I'm certainly sticking to the SW structure of healthy extras, free foods and syns because it suits me pretty much perfectly.

For details, please go to the relevant entry.   

Saturday, 16-09-23
B: fruit and baked egg custard
L salmon, lemon mayo salad
D: burger, tomatoes and chips.

Sunday, 17-09-23

B:  Autumnal fruit and yogurt

L:  roast chicken dinner

D:  cheesy chicken toastie, tomatoes

Monday, 18-09-23

B:  avocado on toast, egg, tomatoes

L:  greek style salad

D:  sweet potato curry with onion bhajis.

Tuesday, 19-09-23

B:  hm baked beans on toast, mushrooms

L:  chicken caesar salad

D:  chicken and sweet potato curry, onion bhajis

Wednesday, 20-09-23

B:  sausage bagel, baked beans, tomatoes

L:  tomato and roasted red pepper soup, croutons, salad

Dinner was penne arrabbiata and I totally forgot to photo it, sorry.

Thursday, 21-09-23

B:  fruit and yogurt

L:  toastie, tomatoes

D:  at a friend's so no photo.  It was salmon, new potatoes and veg

Friday, 22-09-23

B:  fruit platter

Lunch was out with a friend and dinner was ooops so no more photos.

And that was that for the week.

Monday, 25-09-23

Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday's meal photos:

This never disappoints.  So good!
I had strawberries in the fridge, bought a few days ago, but already they had gone beyond manky.  I won't be getting any from Morrisons for a while to come.  M&S, maybe . . .

So I salvaged what I could and added some plums.

It's amazing how flattening out two little bits of chicken and adding some breadcrumbs can make such a tasty thing.

Afterwards, I had a plum, a pear and a few grapes.

The quiche was very tasty and I decided to fry some tomatoes to have with it.  The weather has definitely turned autumnal and makes one think of warmer foods.

After that, I was full up so didn't have anything else.

Today's plans:

B:  sausage, beans, tomatoes and mushrooms

I have one portion of my home made baked beans in the freezer so I'll finish that off and the Morrisons best Cumberland chipolatas are really nice, I think, and pretty SW friendly so . . . why not.

SW:  a bit high in syns - two for the baked beans and four for sausages, but OK if I keep the syns low for the rest of the day

L:  crustless quiche, salad or cooked tomatoes; fruit

The quiche is leftovers from yesterday and I will decide what to have with it when it is lunch time.  Both choices are syn free anyway.

SW:  one healthy extra A for cheese

D:  chicken casserole with veg; fruit/yogurt

I will make the casserole using tomatoes, onion, mushroom, pepper, bacon and chicken - the usual culprits, in fact - plus some herbs and I think I'll make it a one pot by adding either a small amount of orzo or rice which will thicken the sauce up nicely.  I shouldn't need anything else with it at all

SW:  this should be syn free

Exercise:  small group circuits

Summary:

one healthy extra A

no healthy extra B

six syns

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

Sunday, 24-09-23

Good morning, everyone.
After two 'erratic' days, I am back firmly on plan for the next few days to re-establish the healthy habits!

Yesterday's meal photos:

I was out on a coach trip all day so meals were not on plan.  Well, breakfast was - apples and a couple of hi fi bars (for one B).  For lunch, I popped into a M&S and had a sandwich and crisps in their cafe - not ideal but I resisted the millionaire's shortbread so a pat on the back there!

This was dinner - pasta bolognaise with cheese on top.  It was what I made on Friday and didn't have and I was trying a jarred sauce I had bought from Just Spices.

It wasn't as nice as if I had used my garden grown tomatoes, but it was very nice, all the same and, as a substitute for tinned tomatoes, etc, it worked well.  I just used the plain tomato one and have half the jar left so that needs either freezing or using up soon.

Anyway - nice dinner, tasty and filling.

Today's plans:

B:  Sunday pancakes, fruit and yogurt

I didn't have them yesterday so today it is!

I have strawberries that need using up so that'll be the fruit.

SW:  half a healthy extra B for 20g wholemeal SR flour

L:  chicken escalope, corn on the cob, sweet potato fries, sprouts, broccoli; fruit

I fancy something a bit different today instead of a roast so I will use half a chicken breast fillet (the last lot I bought were so big, I cut them in half before freezing them) hammered flat, egg and breadcrumbed and spray fried (or baked in Nellie, maybe).  If it doesn't flatten that well, I can goujon them instead.

SW:  half a B for breadcrumbs, half a syn on brown or BBQ sauce and one syn for half a tsp oil on the fries.

D: crustless quiche, salad; fruit/yogurt

I know I will have sweet potato left so that can go into the quiche plus some courgette, mushroom and, maybe some roasted red pepper.

SW:  one healthy extra A for cheese (I will use two As but half the quiche will be for another day.

Exercise:  rest day

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

one and a half syns

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

Saturday, 23-09-23

Good morning, everyone.

One pound on.  I was a bit 'Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' until common sense reasserted itself.  There is NO WAY I have over eaten by around 3,500 calories over the last week so it is Just One Of Those Things, that's all.

Yesterday's meal photos:

Breakfast was this fruit platter - peach, apple, plum, easy peeler and some grapes and very nice it was too.

I bought a box of HiFi bars at group, mainly for today, and nibbled two so that was my healthy extra B.

No lunch photo because I ate out with a friend.  I had a salad (no dressing) with falafels and avocado and it was lovely.  The avocado would have attracted some syns, about seven, according to the SW site, but what they calls 'savvy syns' and the falafels tasted baked, not fried, so I reckon the meal was on plan.

No photo of dinner because - er - I had a slip up. Won't go into it here.  

It does mean that I have a nice portion of bolognaise for when I get back this evening, doesn't it?  Something to look forward to.

I Will Do Better!

Today's plans:

I'm out on a coach trip today.  We're off to Windsor.  I've got some fruit and four HiFi bars (two healthy extra Bs) in my bag in case I can't find anything suitable but I bet I will be OK.

D:  spag bol; fruit/yogurt

Exercise:  I reckon walking around the castle and town will be plenty of exercise.

Summary:

unknown today

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

Friday, 22-09-23

Good morning, everyone.

Slimming World group today and my first weigh as a target member.  It will be interesting to see what, exactly, the scales say.

It's felt odd at times this week - almost as if the ground is shifting beneath my feet.  The SW plan is very far from being rigid, but it is very supportive and foundational (I have found it to be, anyway, I am sure others may disagree) and I'm thankful that the 'good' habits it has taught me are remaining firm.

What I have done this week is up the syns a bit with healthy oils/fats (avocado, olive oil) and relaxed a bit with the healthy extra Bs (I'm not adding syns if my slice of h m bread is a bit heavier than the standard, for example).  The Slim for Life book suggests that you take it slowly and carefully in 'relaxing' a bit and that's exactly what I am doing, I think.  Last time I was at target (during and post lockdown), I think I might have gone a bit bonkers and family troubles and stresses knocked me sideways as well.  I hope I've learned from that!

Yesterday's meal photos:

Breakfast was a bowl of plum, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry with a dollop of baked apple yogurt and, extra treat, a drizzle of salted caramel syrup for another one and a half syns.  So good!

A good old toastie for lunch.  I had planned bacon as well as cheese and chutney but, when it came to it, I couldn't be bothered!!

A bit later, I had a plum and a few grapes.

Dinner at Val's was lovely.  Salmon, new potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrot and some fruit for afters.
Thanks, Val.  x

Today's plans:

B:  fruit

Nothing more because . . . 

L:  eating out with a friend

We're meeting at a little place called The Secret Garden where you can get some lovely breakfasts and lunches.

https://secretgardentearooms.co.uk/

At the moment, I fancy their salad with one of their fillings on top but that might change.  I'm not just being 'good', I really do fancy it.

That means no lunch photo tomorrow, of course.  So sorry!
SW:  unknown

D:  spaghetti bolognaise

I have some jars of pasta sauce from a company called 'Just Spices' that I thought I would try.  This seems to be a good opportunity.

It is hard to work out the syns because so much of the content will be free or speed so I can't go by the calories and it isn't on the SW site but I think I'm going to apply a blanket syn value across the board and hope that is OK.

They also do spice mixes and they ARE on the SW site so maybe it won't be long before the sauces are there too - let's hope so.

SW:  two syns for the pasta sauce, one healthy extra A for some grated cheese

Exercise:  'rest' day

Summary:

unknown today

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.