Sunday, 31-01-21

 Morning.  I forgot to mention earlier, it seems I was Slimmer of the Week this week.  That's nice.

I have a new toy!  Earlier in January, I made an online order for various Lakeland stuff (the shop in town is closed at the moment) such as poly bags, easy leave, foil, cling film, etc.  I was just trawling through their new stuff, as you do, and saw this . . .

Ooooh, thought I, interesting.  Before you ask, it's a 'Personal Ice Cream Maker'.  As with a lot of ice cream makers, you have to keep the bowl in the freezer and I never have enough room for such a thing.  However - this one is the size of a large mug and fits nicely in a little corner.  You just put in the mixture, whatever it is, insert the paddle into the lid (the white bit), place both in/on the bowl and switch it on and about twenty minutes later (just time enough to eat your first course), hey presto!
I'm not sure the mug is necessary but the spoon is useful.

As its name implies, it makes single portions so perfect for me and I already love it.  So when you see I have planned for yogurt ice, that's what it is - either a Mullerlight or some natural yogurt flavoured with skinny syrup or flavouring, churned in my new toy!  I think it's going to be a really helpful addition to my healthy eating tools.
Here's a link.
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/63484/Lakeland-Personal-Ice-Cream-Maker-

Yesterday's meal photos:

After quite a long time, it was really nice to have waffles again and I really enjoyed this breakfast.  I flavoured them with some home made apple pie spice mix and the fruit was grapes, strawberries and persimmon/Sharon fruit which I don't think I have ever knowingly had before.  It's lovely and I will definitely buy some more pretty soon.  It is free, not speed, on Slimming World.

Lunch was a small curry and rice from the freezer and I also spray fried peppers, onion and mushrooms to which I added a bit of roasted curry powder.  The fruit for dessert was the rest of the persimmon, a few grapes and a kiwi.  Nice!

In the afternoon I had three babybel lights for a healthy A choice.

The sweet and sour recipe (from the SW site) was good.  I left out the noodles and had extra stir fry veg instead.  It was most satisfying.

Instead of yogurt for dessert, I got one of the portions of rice pudding out of the freezer.  The syns in that (which were from the milk content, plus the milk I had for cuppas, made my second A choice.

So that sorted out yesterday's healthy extras nicely!

Today's meal plans:  

B:  porridge with fruit and yogurt

Just the usual - 40g oats and 125ml each of water and milk plus fruit and something to sweeten.

SW:  one healthy extra A and one B

L:  pork steak, pulled pork sauce with roasties, sprouts, parsnips and broccoli; fruit

Just what it says on the tin!  I will slow roast/bake the pork steak and the sauce is from when I made pulled pork in the slow cooker and it's half a syn

SW:  two syns for some oil for roasties and parsnips and half for the sauce

D:  Slimwell chicken saag, rice; yogurt

Another of the Aldi ready meals.  I have to say that from what I have tried, the Slimwell meals are head and shoulders above the SW meals from Iceland, around half the price and, generally, there's enough for two meals.  I'll probably make use of my new toy and turn the yogurt into ice cream.

SW:  two syns for the chicken saag and half a syn for the yogurt.  

Body magic: day 7 of the 100 day challenge:  some bouncing on the rebounder and some step.  Maybe a walk too.

Summary:

one healthy extra A lus some for milk in teas

one healthy extra b

five syns

Saturday, 30-01-21

 Good morning.

Some days ago, our SW consultant, Jen, started a side by side thread in our SW group and I posted this.

The first photo was taken before my gall bladder crash and the second in early October last year.  If I ever need reminding how far I have come, I look at this.  My tension in the first photo is palpable, isn't it?  I hated having my photo taken.

Yesterday's meal photos:

When it came to it, I really wasn't hungry all morning, so I didn't bother with the fruit for breakfast.

Lunch was lovely.  Very cheesy and flavoursome.  I dearly love a cheese toastie.

Dinner was simple but delicious.  I found some JD chips and wedges seasoning so added that to the actifry and I will definitely be using it again.  Just a touch of spice and it brought out the potato flavour very well.  For the salmon, I just drizzled one tbsp Crucials Caribbean sweet chilli sauce over, wrapped it in a foil parcel and baked it for fifteen minutes at 180C

And then - dessert.
I didn't have the planned three syns worth of milk (one cuppa, 15 mls was all I had) so I swapped them for two and a half syns worth of squirty cream (I know that's not really the idea at all!) on top of my frozen toffee Mullerlight to which I'd added some more Greek yogurt and a bit of toffee syrup before freezing.

So good, perfect for a Friday evening dinner.

Today's meal plans:

B:  waffles, fruit and yogurt
I haven't had waffles for quite a while so it's about time they made a re-appearance.
SW:  one healthy extra B for 40g wholemeal flour (a bit of a cheat but the fibre and the calories fit so why not?)

L:  a small chicken curry, rice, side veg; fruit

A funny old mix really but I found a small portion of chicken curry and rice in the freezer and it's about time it was used.  I'll probably spray fry some peppers and mushrooms as a side and for speed.
SW:  it should be all free and speed

D:  Chinese sweet and sour chicken with stir fry vegetables; yogurt

It's a SW recipe and should really be pork but I think I'll change it to chicken.

SW:  half a syn for cornflour in the recipe and I will use some toasted sesame oil for another two syns plus half a syn for dessert

Body Magic:  day 6 of the 100 day challenge:   I rather fancy a good old Rosemary Conley salsacise video today.

Summary:

no healthy extra As planned although I will use some milk in cups of tea

one healthy extra B

three syns

Friday, 29-01-21

Good morning!  I can't believe it is nearly the end of January.  Just a few more days to go before we hit February - incredible. 
At the start of January I thought I would lose the Christmas poundage by the end of the month.  I'm not quite there but I will be.  I am quietly confident of that.  I will get there and I know I will because I have already done it before.

Yesterday was weigh day and . . .

Really can't complain about that, can I?  Eighty nine pounds altogether is - well, pretty good, all things considered.  I'm already a pound below what was my first target and I don't regret dropping it one bit.

Yesterday's meals:

I didn't take a photo of breakfast.  Just imagine an apple, a pear and an orange and you're pretty much there.

Lunch was really filling and, yes, that is a bite out of a white (gasp - naughty) ciabatta roll!

Dinner was off plan.
Sainsbury's has brought out three pizzas that are under 500 calories.  The one I bought was 402 calories the lot (and I had the lot).  I mixed one tsp spread with some garlic puree, spread over the other half of the roll and 'toasted' in my microwave toastie maker and it was lovely.

Back on plan tomorrow but going off plan in a structured way worked well for me.  

I'll get some more of those pizzas in due time - yes, I ate the lot but, to be honest, half would have been plenty and half, with a salad, would be a low calorie meal, strange as it sounds.

Today's plans are . . .

B:  fruit platter

I have various fruit in the fridge so should be able to make a nice meal from them.

SW:  speed and free

L:  cheese and onion toastie, coleslaw, salad; fruit

I'm intending to use all my healthy extras for the toastie so it is nice and cheesy!  The coleslaw is a tiny bit of leftovers from yesterday evening.

SW:  two healthy extra As and one B, half a syn for a bit of salad cream in the coleslaw, half a syn for a tbsp crucials bbq sauce in the toastie

D:  sweet chilli salmon, chips and peas; yogurt ice

Just what it says really.  Pretty simple and tasty.

I may use a Mullerlight for dessert or I may use 0% Greek yogurt and flavour with some skinny syrup.

SW:  half a syn for a tbsp sweet chilli sauce, one syn for half tsp oil for the chips and one syn for two tbsp super light mayo for chip dunking plus half a syn if I use a Mullerlight

Body Magic:  day five of the 100 day challenge:  I'm hoping to do some step and some bouncing, both to YouTube videos

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

four syns for the meals and another three for milk for cuppas, seven in total

Thursday, 28-01-21

 Good morning.  Really sorry this is so late but it's been a busy morning.

I wonder if anyone can advise - I've looked everywhere for short grain rice (for rice pudding) and nowhere seems to have it.  I'm guessing it's fine but has anyone used risotto or arborio rice instead?

Yesterday's meals looked like this.

I was surprised how nice the marmite toast and sausages were.  I'll have that again.

Lunch was the other half of the Pinch of Nom risotto with a but of extra cheese.  Very tasty.

Dinner was the SlimWell spicy bbq chicken which was really tasty.  I had half of it and the other half is in the freezer for lunches.  The stir fry veg were also very nice and it all went well together.

Today's meals:

B:  fruit - apple, orange and pear

SW:  speed

L:  tomato and red pepper soup; fruit

From the freezer and it's the last portion so I need to make some more sometime.

SW:  speed and free

D:  I've been very sparing for breakfast and lunch because I intend to go off plan to have something that I've been craving but in a controlled way - Pizza.  Sainsbury's has some thin crust pizzas that are very reasonable in calories - the one I've got is 402 calories for the whole pizza.  It doesn't work with Slimming World but it's fine for calories so . . . 

SW:  absolutely no idea but I don't think I'll be much above syns, etc.

Body Magic:  day four of the hundred day challenge - a step class and some rebounding.  If you're taking park, how's it going?

So - not a good SW day but it will be fine and I will right back on it again tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, 27-01-21

 Good morning.
For the first time in ages, it was a 'hungry' day yesterday.  Not that I felt hungry, I just wanted to eat.  I'm glad to say I didn't go over any limits but I did have a few afternoon snacks..

Yesterday's meals:

A nice, straightforward breakfast, more filling than it looks in the photo.

Lunch was four meatballs (which you can't see) in tomato sauce topped with cheese followed by a lovely, sweet and juicy orange.

Later on I had another orange and made up my healthy extra B with 20g muesli which I just nibbled on.

And dinner filled me nicely.  I cut the chips extra thin so they look more and they and the steak are on a dessert plate so not as much as it looks.

I'm glad I survived a hungry day!

Today's meal plans are . . .

B:  sausages, baked beans, marmite on toast, maybe an egg
The sausages are the Linda McCartney ones, the baked beans are leftover from yesterday and one slice of toast.  I may make a sandwich of the toast and sausage - no need for sauce with the marmite.
SW:  half a healthy extra B and one syn for spread

L:  chicken, bacon and mushroom risotto; fruit
The risotto is leftovers from last week and from the freezer and I may add 15g grated cheese for a healthy A choice
SW:   the risotto has half a healthy extra A of cheese plus another half A for more cheese

D:  smoky bbq chicken, stir fry veg; yogurt
This is another SlimWell meal, one I have had before and know I enjoyed.  If I remember correctly, half will be plenty, especially when I add some stir fry veg to the mix.
SW:  one syn max for the bbq chicken, two syns for a tsp toasted sesame oil for the veg and half a syn for dessert.

Body Magic:  day three of the hundred day challenge - an hour of personal training and, maybe, some rebounding.

Summary:  
one and a half healthy extra As (including half for milk)
half a healthy extra B
four and a half syns

Tuesday, 26-01-21

Morning.
Finally, at long, long last (several weeks anyway), I've sorted out the upright freezer.  It was the perfect day - very cold but dry and sunny so I emptied out all the shelves, aimed the hot air heater into the body of the freezer, set the drip tray at the bottom and then set to sorting and tidying each of the shelves.  There was very little to chuck but there were some fag ends of loaves of bread, three healthy extra Bs-worth in total.  I let them thaw, zizzed them in the Thermomix and set them on the side to dry out a bit.  This morning I will zizz again, weigh the lot and divide it by eighteen to give me the syns (allowing six syns for each B).  Then into a bag or a plastic container and back into the freezer they go.

They will be very useful for bread-crumbing things that I can then spray and bake or actifry, without breaking into a healthy extra.  I never use as much as that anyway.  I feel a fish and chips meal coming on at some point soon and, maybe, an escalope or two or a cheese and breadcrumb topping.  Nice!

What I ate yesterday:

This felt a great way to start the week.  Really fresh and a good mix of savoury and sweet.  Filling too!

Lunch was the other half of the SlimWell chicken and chorizo style sausage paella and it was just as nice as it was the first time.  The added cheese was a mix of cheddar and mozzarella, one for flavour and the other for melting qualities.

I'm tempted to get another next time I go to Aldi but I have others to use up so it will have to wait until they have gone.

Dinner was absolutely gorgeous.  Slices of roast beef with a Yorkshire, mini roasties, sprouts and cabbage plus some horseradish and some gravy, synned where necessary.

And then dessert was something I haven't had for simply ages - rice pudding, made with vanilla skinny syrup instead of sugar and none the worse for that.  I did enjoy it.  There's three more portions in the freezer and when they are gone I shall make some more.

All in all, a super day's eating.

Today's meal plans are . . .

B:  ham, cheesy beans on toast
I will use just one slice of toast for half a B choice.
SW:  half a healthy extra B and one A plus one syn for spread

L:  meatballs in tomato sauce, protein noodles; fruit
The meatballs are from the freezer and the noodles are left over from Sunday.  I think I will add some burger sauce to the mix too for extra flavour.
SW:  half an A and four syns for the meatballs, one syn for the noodles and one and a half syns for one level tbsp sauce

D:  steak, chips, salad; yogurt
Something nice and simple tonight with just a very few chips and plenty of salad.  Maybe I can cut the chips thinner than usual to make it look like more.
SW:  one syn for two tbsp super light mayo and half a syn for dessert

Body Magic:  day 2 of the 100 day challenge - some rebounder and some step.  There's a long way to go but at least I've started.

Summary:
two healthy extra As (the last half is milk for teas)
half a healthy extra B
nine syns - higher than it's been for a while

Monday, 25-01-21

 Morning, all!
I braved the cold yesterday morning, went out to the shed and sorted out the top two shelves of the front-opening freezer, the ones that contain the home made 'ready meals' and batch cooking.
I just have one more to sort and I'm intending to use what's there for lunches or dinners over the next few weeks or so.

What I had yesterday:

Breakfast - a chopped pear underneath some yogurt with muesli and more fruit on top.  So delicious.

Lunch looks huge but most of it was vegetables - carrot, cauliflower, broccoli and sprouts - and most satisfying they were too.

This was the SW recipe for Chinese style banquet rice.  What I made was supposed to serve two but it made enough for four (I didn't eat the full bowlful) although, to be fair, I did add extra vegetables.  That's a few more lunches sorted out, isn't it?

It was nice but, somehow, a bit lacking.  Perhaps I should have used more garlic, ginger and spice.  It's actually a very simple recipe, despite the time it all took, and very adaptable, being basically a savoury rice with Chinese seasonings, so I will make it again at some point and up the ooomph.

Today's plans are:

B:  fruit salad and Greek yogurt, toast and marmite
While I was planning yesterday, I thought I'd go for a cooked breakfast but now it's the day, fruit salad sounds much more what I actually fancy.
SW:  one healthy extra B and two syns for two tsp spread

L:  The other half of the chicken and chorizo style sausage paella; fruit
I have a number of 'other half' meals in the freezer and I'd like to get them eaten this week, if possible.  This is one of them and I'll probably add 30g grated cheese for a bit of extra yum.
SW:  half a syn for the paella and one healthy extra A

D:  roast beef dinner; rice pudding and fruit
While I was tidying the freezer, I found a small bag with some slices of roast beef so that's my dinner.  To the beef I will add one Yorkshire pud, some mini roasties and some veg.  
I made a rice pudding using vanilla skinny syrup instead of sugar and it came out really nice.  Four portions of delicious sweetness, yum.
SW:  two syns for the Yorkshire, a couple of syns for some gravy, half a syn for a tsp of horseradish and the rice pudding is half a healthy extra A and one syn.  I will use spray oil for the potatoes, probably.

Body Magic:  a rebounder video on YouTube, maybe some balance
Some YouTube vloggers are doing a hundred days of exercise challenge thingy.  I don't vlog so can't join in with that but I thought I might challenge myself to do something every day for a hundred days.  It doesn't have to be anything specific, it can be short and simple, but specific exercise such as a walk, a jog, an online class etc.  What do you think?

Summary:
one and a half healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
eight syns

Sunday, 24-01-21

 Good morning!
It was another good day yesterday with lovely food and no 'naughty' snacks.  I say naughty but, in fact, pretty much everything is fine in balance and the problem for me is when certain things start cravings and it becomes a real battle.  I expect I'm not the only one by a long shot.

Yesterday's meals:

Breakfast - very filling.

The smoothie was 20g oats, two pears and one banana, all going over, several dollops of 0% Greek yogurt and about 80 mls of milk plus some peanut cup flavoured skinny syrup.  It made that big glassful plus a smaller glassful that I had mid afternoon.  Lovely!

I spread the marmite on the toast first and then the cheese triangle as the other way doesn't work so well - the marmite doesn't spread properly.

I can thoroughly recommend the Aldi SlimWell  chicken and chorizo style sausage paella which I had for lunch.  I thought it was absolutely delicious and half of the portion was plenty for lunch, especially with a fruit platter for afters.  Full of flavour and enough heat to just tickle the tongue

The other half is in the freezer for another lunch next week and I am definitely going to get it again.

Dinner was fine.  Nothing different. I've made it loads of times and will again.  Satisfying and filling and I didn't want any dessert.

Today's plans are . . .

B:  very nutty muesli with yogurt and fruit

It was a toss up between that and porridge on such a cold day but the muesli won - but it might change by the time I actually have my breakfast, mind you.
SW:  one healthy extra B (40g of oats or muesli)

L:  steak and potato topped pie, assorted veg; fruit

I made this a couple of weeks ago, using a can of M&S chunks steak and some cheesy mash, eating half at the time and freezing the other half.  It's Sunday so I'd like something a bit more 'Sunday dinner' but can't be bothered with a roast.  I've prepped four veggies, carrot, cauli, broccoli and sprouts, and it will be lovely!

SW:  one healthy extra A for cheese in the mash

D:  Chinese style banquet rice; yogurt

This is an Iceland Slimming World ready meal but I'm using the recipe, found in Lifeline Online, to make it from scratch.  I've had to reduce the amounts as it serves four.  I'll probably make a two portion amount and freeze one for later on in the week.  

It looks pretty easy to do and I can get most of it ready well before which I prefer to do.

If you can access Lifeline Online, here's the recipe and I think I will most likely stick to it.
https://member.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/chinese-banquet-rice

SW:  the recipe is SW free but I'll probably use a couple of tsps of toasted sesame oil for extra flavour which will come to two syns per portion, half a syn for dessert

Body Magic:  step, balance and bounce

Summary:

one and a half healthy extra As (the other half is for milk)

one healthy extra B

two and a half syns

Saturday, 23-01-21

 Good morning

Thanks for all your comments yesterday.  There's so many ways of doing things and nothing is better than the way that works for you.

Another strategy that really works for me is my preparations first thing each day.  As I don't break my fast until around eleven, usually,  and wake fairly early, I use some of that time going through the day's plans and getting things as ready as I possibly can.  That means prepping the veg, getting out jars, cans, etc, getting things out of the freezer, etc.
I'd had breakfast when I took this photo yesterday but it shows what I mean.

Pretty much the only thing that is not there for the day is salad and parsnip chips in water to keep them white.  I usually prep the salad while other things are cooking and I did the parsnips in the afternoon.

For me, what it means is that I don't have to make as much effort later on when I'm more tired and more in a 'can't be bothered' frame of mind, it means that if I don't follow through, some food stuffs will be wasted (and I hate that) and it keeps me out of the kitchen at times when I might be more vulnerable to the odd nibble here and there.

Works for me!

Yesterday's meals.

This is how I like an omelette.  Made a bit thicker than a wrap (same amounts, smaller pan) and the filling of bacon, tomato, onion and some bbq sauce went together perfectly.  It was lovely!

Lunch was the Pinch of Nom risotto recipe, found here.  

https://pinchofnom.com/recipes/chicken-and-mushroom-risotto/

I added some pieces of ham, some bacon and some red pepper to the recipe and it really was delicious.  It made loads; you'll be relieved to know I didn't (couldn't) eat the lot.  Half of it is now in the freezer for another meal sometime.

Dinner didn't end up as expected.  Beth, daughter and support bubble buddy, got a late booking for a vaccination (she works for the NHS) and, as parking at Broomfield Hospital is notorious, she asked if I would take her.  Obviously, I said yes.  By the time I got home afterwards, it was seven thirty and I really couldn't be bothered to fuss around with parsnip chips, so I just had the cheeseburger and very nice it was too.  

I will blanche the parsnip chips and freeze them for another time.

Today's meal plans:

B:  banana, pear and oat smoothie; marmite on toast

What it says on the box!  :-)

SW:  20g of oats and one slice of bread will make my healthy extra B and 125 ml milk will be half a heA plus one and a half syns for a cheese triangle (instead of butter)

L:  chicken and chorizo style sausage paella

This is a Slimwell frozen meal and I'll let you know what I think of it.

SW:  one syn (I'm so glad SW has decided now to syn these Slimwell meals)

D:   pulses in tomato sauce with protein noodles, veg; yogurt

The beans in tomato sauce are already made and in the freezer, to come out shortly.  If I fancy a bit of meat, I have some slices of cooked ham frozen so will chop one up and add it to the mix.

SW:  protein noodles are one syn, 30g grated cheese is a healthy extra A and half a syn for dessert

Body Magic:  balance and bounce

Summary:  

two healthy extra As including milk for cuppas
one healthy extra B

four syns

Friday, 22-01-21

 Good morning!
The weigh in was fine and I though I'd make use of this little plaque to announce my results from here on.

Phew!
The Zoom meeting was fun   I do like these online arrangements - it makes such a difference to see others and chat to them.  Lockdown would be very tough without them.

I find myself falling into a new pattern of planning nowadays.  No longer do I plan for the whole week; instead, I plan the day before, as I find that often I think 'I really fancy x,y or z' and this way I can put it down straight away for the following day.  It also helps that I have an up to date list of everything in the chest freezer to add to the fridge and cupboard stores so I know what is possible.  No nipping round the corner to Morrisons for one or two things at the moment, is there.
Within that, my 'fancy' is almost always lunch or dinner, I get those two planned and see what I have left for breakfast in the way of the healthy extras.  I always feel slightly 'guilty' when I don't have enough healthy extras because - well, calcium and fibre, necessary things.  Guilty, perhaps, isn't the right word, maybe concerned is a much better term because I'm finding that generally the Slimming World structure makes for less guilt and more freedom of choice within what I, personally, consider a healthy approach.  And 'healthy approach' is one of the things that really matter to me.

How do you do your planning?

Yesterday's photos:

This was nice - strawberries, banana and lychees and I added a bit of butterscotch syrup to the yogurt.

It was very much worth using both As as cheese in the toasties for lunch and 'buying' a bit of extra milk for cuppas with my syns.

I never thought I'd say this but - too many chips.  Not in the SW sense but in the sense of balancing amounts for the palate sense.  Something to remember.

I'd planned to have peas but changed my mind, remembering the garden grown corn on the cobs I have in the freezer.  Two left now!  I wrapped it in foil and baked it alongside the salmon and it was great.  I never have butter - I like it better without.

Today's meal plans:

B:  bacon and tomato omelette; fruit

Not a folded one today, just a fold over one and I will add either some bbq sauce or some brown sauce for either one or two syns.

SW:  up to two syns

L:  chicken, ham and mushroom risotto; fruit

This is a Pinch of Nom recipe and, like all SW friendly risotto recipes, it has been 'optimised' so no wine, no butter and not so much cheese.  That's OK by me.  What attracted me to this particular one was that it has a Thermomix method alongside the pan method which means I can bung everything in and leave it to stir away as it cooks.  Must remember to use reverse or it will chop everything to pieces!

A nice thing about Pinch of Nom recipes is that you can change the portion amounts and the ingredients also change accordingly.  So useful when it's just one, even though some amounts are rather daft - 0,1 of an onion, anyone?

SW:  half a healthy extra B for some not-Parmesan

D:  cheeseburger, parsnip fries, salad; yogurt

You HAVE to have chips with a burger, don't you, so I looked up the respective calories of parsnips and potatoes (I like both) and parsnips won by twenty calories per 100g.  Not a huge number in the wider scheme of things but I'd like to lose two pounds this week so where I can reasonably save, it makes sense to do so.

SW:  one healthy extra A for cheese, one B for a wholemeal roll, I will use spray oil for the parsnips, two syns for a bit of burger sauce (made with half a tbsp each of mustard ketchup, mayo and tomato puree), half a syn for dessert

Body Magic:  step, balance and boing!!

Summary:

two healthy extra As (the other half is 125 mls milk for cuppas)

one healthy extra B

four and a half syns