Monday, 31-05-21

 Good morning, everyone.  Apologies for the last few days.  I stayed at my Dad's a bit longer than expected and meals were whatever he had in really.  So - draw another line and move on.
No photos, sorry.

Today's plans:

B:  yogurt and fruit
SW:  speed and half a syn

L:  scrambled eggs on toast; fruit
SW:  half a healthy extra B

D:  tuna, cucumber relish, chips; kvarg
I will cook the tuna like a steak, just for a short time, and make a relish with spring onion, cucumber, red pepper and tomato with lime juice and, maybe, some chilli flakes.
SW:  two syns for one tsp oil for the actifry and half a syn for dessert

Body Magic:  gardening down the allotment.

Friday, 28-05-21

 Good morning.

Straight on to yesterday's meals . . .

This was breakfast and very nice it was too.  I didn't have it until about eleven-thirty so skipped lunch.  The timing just didn't work with everything else I had to do.

Dinner was the chicken casserole with spicy Mexican rice and broccoli.  No photo because I was at my Dad's but it was jolly nice and there were three left-over portions to pop in Dad's freezer.

Today's plans:

B:  yogurt and fruit
I often have this at Dad's.

SW:  half a syn for a Mullerlight

L:  ham salad; fruit

Just what it says - I do like a good salad now and again.

SW:  probably free and speed; I don't think there will be any syns

D:  a sort of fry up

Dad said he really fancies this.  Bacon, black pudding, as sausage, a hash brown and I will also do some mushroom and tomatoes.  A bit naughty but I've not had my healthy extra calories and the syns for breakfast and lunch are low so I don't think too much damage will have been done.
SW:  no idea, sorry, as the sausage and the black pud are from the local butcher made to his own recipe.

Body Magic:  General walking around.  Maybe I'll go for a walk this afternoon, if Dad sleeps.  We will see.

Summary:

Really can't say.  It's off SW plan but should be OK for calories.

Thursday, 27-05-21

 Good morning.

What I are yesterday:

It looks odd, I know, but this semi frozen smoothie was lovely.  I'd have added fresh strawberries, had I any, but I didn't so made do with blueberries instead.  It was just some frozen fruit (a mixture) plus 250 mls of milk for an A choice and some coconut skinny syrup, all zizzed together.  Dead easy, much more sustaining than it looks and I will certainly do it again.

These are the cheesy tuna melts on a piece of lo dough and it was very, very tasty.  As mentioned, I cut the chilli out and the paprika too, because I'd just had dental surgery, but I enjoyed it very much indeed.
Yet another idea that lends itself to plenty of variation.

I then had a yogurt

A nice, conventional dinner but all soft as the dentist dictated.  I did this in my steamer pan - the potatoes and the peas in the water and the salmon, wrapped in foil, in one of the trays.
I spent a syn on some mayo to have with it.

No room for dessert!

Today's plans:

B:  sausage, egg and beans
The sausages will be Aldi skinny sausages and I might spray fry, scramble or poach the egg, I'll see how I feel when the time comes.
SW:  one syn for the sausages and the rest is free.

L:  jacket potato and cheese, probably the rest of the baked beans
It will just be a small jacket potato so 30g cheese will be enough.  I also rather love salad cream with a jacket potato!
SW:  the cheese with be a healthy extra A and two tbsp salad cream is three syns (I may not have that much)

D:  chicken casserole, rice, broccoli; yogurt maybe
This is a bog standard, tomato based chicken casserole of the kind Mum used to make and which my two enjoyed so much as children.  I'm using the chopped chicken from Hello Fresh, when they sent me a four portion meal instead of a two, do you remember?
All I do is spray fry bacon, onion, red pepper and mushroom, add the chicken and brown it off, then add a can of chopped tomatoes, seasonings to taste, some chicken stock powder and some tomato puree, cover it all and allow it to simmer until the sauce has thickened and everything is soft (take the lid off, if necessary).  Sometimes I add some peas of corn (or both) for the last ten minutes or so - you can add what you like really.

I made it yesterday and it tastes great.
SW:  the casserole is free, I'm heating up a pouch of fancy rice so two and a half syns per portion and the dessert is half a syn

Body magic:  More mowing down at the allotment.

Summary:
one healthy extra A
No B
seven syns

Wednesday, 26-05-21

 Good morning.
Yesterday was very easy eating indeed.  All delicious, all satisfying, all on plan.  Long may it continue.

What I had yesterday:

 Colourful and flavoursome.  I do like a 'bright' meal.

Not nearly so colourful but still delicious.  I had some strawberries afterwards.  Very nice.

The Swedish meatball recipe is in the May/June edition of the SW magazine.

Dinner was an adapted version of the SW burger in a bowl recipe.  I added chopped mushroom and red pepper to the mince, red pepper to the salad and used my own sauce - a tbsp each of sweet mustard ketchup, mayo and tomato puree, slackened with a little water (four syns).
The day's eating finished off with a kvarg.

Today's plans:
I'm going to have to be sensible today as I have some dental surgery first thing and I know I will have to be extremely careful afterwards.

B:  a thick smoothie
I saw this on one of the vlogs I follow, A Taste of Jess.  Basically she blended frozen fruit with milk and some xanthan gum and it came out all thick.  Anyway, I am giving it a go and I'll probably add some skinny syrup for extra flavour.

SW:  up to 250 mls semi skimmed milk for one healthy extra A, the fruit is speed and free and the xanthan gum is free while the yogurt is half a syn.

L:  cheesy tuna melt; yogurt
I found this on the SW site.  Basically, it's a tuna and cheese topper on toast but I'm swapping the toast for a piece of lo dough as that stays soft.   You mix tuna, egg yolk, onion, mayo, cherry tomatoes and jalapeno peppers in a bowl and mix well, pile in to the lo dough, add grated cheese and pop under the grill until the cheese is melting.
I'm not sure the jalapeno is such a good idea and may sub some roasted red pepper instead.  You are supposed to have a salad with it but we'll see.
And yogurt rather than an apple seems sensible too.
SW:  the cheese is my other healthy extra A and the lo dough is two syns, the mayo should be half a syn as is the yogurt

D:  steamed salmon, Jersey royals and peas; yogurt

Self explanatory really and all nice and soft so minimal chewing involved.

SW:  All free except for half a syn for dessert

Body Magic:  depending on how it all goes and how I feel, I might pop down to the allotment later on.  Lindsey said not to do personal training as she's sure the dentist would say no.  She's the expert!

Summary:

two healthy extra As

no Bs

four syns

Tuesday, 25-05-21

Good morning!
Thankfully, yesterday was back on track.  I'm very relieved.  I loved everything I ate and didn't crave any rubbish whatsoever.  Phew. 

I was going to monitor calorie intake for a while, just as a belt and braces thing, but I kept forgetting yesterday.   It's very restricting to have to measure/weigh everything, especially things like onion, veg, etc.  Sorry - I will try harder!

What I ate yesterday:

A nice, colourful breakfast that kept me going until lunch time.  It might not be usual to have soup for breakfast but - why not?

Dinner - lamb rogan josh with konjac rice and broccoli - went down a treat with just enough room left for an apple.

I know the curry was 229 calories because I had worked it out previously, the konjac rice was 15 calories and I have no idea of the broccoli or the apple (because I forgot).

And the burger was amazing.  Really delicious.  It looked good too - well, I thought it did, anyway.

I mixed the 12% mince with half an onion softened in the microwave, a few breadcrumbs from the freezer (let's call it one syn's worth) and half a beaten egg plus garlic granules, chilli flakes, salt and pepper.  

Here's a close up.  

Today's plans:

B:  bacon and sausage egg wrap, tomatoes, mushrooms

I quite like the egg wraps - they work for breakfast better than for lunch.  I'll use up the leftover half egg from yesterday dinner plus one more.  I came home with half a dozen extra large, extra fresh eggs so one and a half will be plenty.
It's just like making an omelette but a very thin one, more like a crepe in thickness.  It tears easily so be careful as you turn it; make sure it really has set all through.  I suppose, in a way, it's not necessary to turn it but I always do.
Then just spread over some bbq sauce, add the cooked bacon and sausage (or whatever) and fold it all up.

SW:  one syn for two skinny sausages and half a syn for a tbsp bbq sauce

L:  Swedish meatballs, konjac rice, broccoli; fruit

I have one more portion of the Swedish meatballs in the freezer, the rice is the second half of the pouch I opened yesterday and, yes, I have a lot of broccoli, but I love it
SW:  One and a half syns for the meatballs and one syn for the rice.

D:  burger in a bowl, chips; yogurt and fruit
This is a SW recipe from their site.  It's not really a burger, it's just mince, but it's nice.  The chips will be SW friendly and actifried.
You just fry the beef in spray oil;, mix up the sauce, make the salad, spoon the mince over the salad and top it with the sauce.
I don't have all the ingredients needed for the sauce (no fromage frais) so I will spend a few syns on making a really delicious sauce I learnt about when I was using some 'Do the Impossible' meals.  It is just equal amounts of mustard ketchup (which I bought after having that meal as the sauce was so good), mayo and tomato puree, slackened down slightly with water as required (although I am just wondering if balsamic vinegar might do the trick for better flavour).
I'll probably add some small chopped mushroom and ted pepper to the mince as well.

SW:  two syns for the 12% mince, four syns for the sauce (expensive but a price worth paying) and half a syn for the dessert.

Body Magic:  back to the allotment, weather permitting

Summary:  
no healthy extras today.  Hmmm - never mind.
ten and a half syns

Monday, 24-05-21

 Good morning, everyone.

It's all change at the top.  I made the new compilation of meal photos and changed the title while I was at it.  So we move on.

I start this newly entitled blog in rather false place as I am not actually maintaining right now. I am working to get rid of a ridiculous amount of holiday weight gain.  People might wonder how on earth one can gain so much weight in a week and a half but I can and do.  It's just me, the way things are for me and always have been.

Yesterday was a disaster from start to finish;  maybe it was post-holiday blues.  Anyway, that line has been drawn again and off we go.

Moving straight on to . . .

Today's plans:
(I have quite a lot of defrosted stuff from yesterday so that will keep me out of the kitchen anyway)

B:  tomato and red pepper soup; fruit
Perhaps an odd choice for breakfast but it has to be eaten up and, anyway, why not, eh?
SW:  all free/speed

L:  lamb rogan josh, konjac rice, broccoli
I chose this for lunch rather than dinner because it's actually lower in calories and, being mostly a reheat thing, quicker to put together.

SW:  the curry is speed/free, the rice is one syn

D:  hm cheese and bacon burger, salad, maybe some fried tomatoes on the side; yogurt

I'll make the burger with some of the higher fat mince as it makes a much nicer product.

SW:  two syns for the mince, one healthy extra A and one B, one and a half syns for a tbsp caramelised red onion chutney and half a syn for some spray salad dressing.  Oh, and half a syn for the dessert.

Body Magic:  Allotment

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

five and a half syns

Sunday, 23-05-21

 Good morning, everyone.
I'm home, sitting in the usual place again, looking out on a fine morning and pondering on the name change.

I really like 'Deliciously maintaining on Slimming World' or 'Maintaining deliciously on . . . etc'.   I prefer the first - better rhythm - but does it sound as if I'm copying 'Deliciously Ella'? (which I'm not).
Is there a better word that 'delicious'?  Not 'tasty', that doesn't work at all.  
Help!!!  

Anyway - back to normality again.

What I ate yesterday.

Breakfast was a bacon roll but, as everything was packed away, no photo.

Not the healthiest of lunches but I had this in the cupboard, it's been there for ages and getting short dated so I had it.  It's just a reconstitute with water thing, the great, great, great [several more times] grandchild of those Vesta curries of the sixties.
I wasn't sure what to expect but, surprisingly, it was quite tasty.  If I have it again, I'd add some cooked veg and shreds of chicken to the mix.
Nearly 300 calories but just two syns.

There is some veg on the plate - mushrooms on the steak.
This was the steak I got in Southwold and, I have to say, it was very, very good.  The chips?  Disappointing.  Morrisons didn't have any Maris Pipers (how can you not have Maris Pipers?) so I bought a 'baking' potato and it was as I feared - lacking in both taste and texture and it didn't crunch at all.
Oh, well - some you lose.

Today's plans:
So . . . now I'm proper back on the SW wagon and I'm also checking calories, just to be sure.  For all my good intentions, this last week has been most enjoyable but neither healthy nor SW friendly and I need to reverse some of the damage.  I don't have a calorie target, I will do SW and just see where it takes me.
I'll work out the calories during the day (when possible) as I actually prep the food.

B:  bacon, egg and tomato

I forgot to get mushrooms yesterday, darn it, so I'll have to do without.  Not to worry.
SW:  speed, free and protein

L:  tomato and red pepper soup, croutons; apple
This is from the freezer so I can't work out calories.  However, it's not going to be very many, probably under 100.
SW:  one healthy extra B for the croutons, the rest is speed and free

D:  lamb rogan josh, konjak rice, broccoli; yogurt
Last week ended up very carb heavy so I'm going to watch that for the few weeks.  The rice is what I used to call 'protein rice' but I think konjak rice is a better description.  On SW you have to syn it but it's very little.
The lamb is, again, from the freezer and I did note the calories on the lid - 229.
SW:  one syn for the rice and half for dessert

If I get peckish, and I might very well given last week, I have strawberries, blueberries, apples and oranges to munch on.

Body Magic:  A walk to Morrisons to get some mushrooms and, fingers crossed, some Maris Pipers.  Then I'm down the allotment this afternoon.

Summary:

no healthy extra As - but I haven't gone short on cheese this last week

one healthy extra B

one and a half syns

Saturday, 22-05-21

 Good morning.
Meals were all higgledy piggledy yesterday, what with packing, sorting food out, etc, and I have no photos.  Today might be better so let's move straight on to . . .

Today's plans:
B:  bacon roll
Very simple.  Most of the stuff is now packed so I won't bother with mushrooms and tomatoes.  I don't want a heavy meal before a drive home so a bacon roll will do perfectly.
SW:  one healthy extra B

L:  I'm not so sure but I do have bits and bobs left over in the veg line so I might make soup.  Lentil and sweet potato, perhaps.
SW:  if I make soup, it will probably be speed and free

D:  steak, chips, salad; yogurt
I bought a steak from the Southwold butcher yesterday, intending to have it for dinner but didn't so that sorts tonight out.  I have missed my actifry chips so I'll enjoy this meal.
SW:  if I use a tsp oil in the actifry, that will be two syns and the yogurt will be half a syn.  Also, maybe, onion chutney will be three or so syns.
Note to self - make some more onion chutney

Body Magic:  this may have been a disastrous week for healthy eating but the exercise has been great.  Sand walking takes much more effort and is extremely satisfying exercise.  Today?  Probably up and down stairs unpacking and tidying away although, maybe, I will take a short walk this afternoon.

Summary:
no healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
around six syns

Friday, 21-05-21

 Good morning!
All this healthy eating plans took a huge nose-five yesterday and probably will again today but not to worry, it's been a lovely holiday!

Two of yesterday's meals:

Lovely bacon but the tomatoed weren't as tasty as I expected.

Very beige but absolutely delicious with bells on.  Yes, I did have the second half of the fish but some of the chops ended up in the bin.  They do give such mega portions!

Today's plans:

It's a bit tricky and, with the post beer munchies, I've already demolished some cheese.  Basically, it is whatever I have in the fridge and I'll probably make some soup for lunch.  I have to go to the butchers to get some of that lovely bacon to take home and I'll see what meat they have there.  Back to normal again tomorrow.  Phew.

Thursday, 20-05-21

 Good morning!

What I ate yesterday:

A bit low on photos.  I wasn't feeling in the least bit hungry so I skipped breakfast and I decided to have a nibble at Framlingham Castle so that just leaves dinner.

Even that isn't an amazing photo but, actually, it tasted really good.  The can of chicken in a white sauce was, of itself, quite bland, but I pepped it up with some softened onion, red pepper, mushroom and baby corn with some garlic granules and some chilli flakes and it worked a treat.  It would make a nice pie filling or eaten with pasta or some roasted root veg as a base.

My plans for today:
B:  bacon, egg  tomatoes and mushrooms
My standard cooked SW friendly breakfast and one I very much enjoy, especially when the bacon is so very tasty.
SW:  free

L:  cheese and ham roll, finger salad; fruit
As planned yesterday and not taken.
SW:  one A and one B

D:  fish and chips
Totally off plan and I won't regret a single mouthful.  The Little Fish and Chip Shop sells the best fish and chips ever and I am going to so enjoy this!
I ought to have it Friday but I want something alcoholic with it and I will be driving home Saturday morning.

BodyMagic:  more walking.  My legs ought to be stronger after this week and that's a fact.

No summary!  Well, would you?
SW has this crazy idea of how to make chippie fish and chips SW friendly.  Skip the chips and discard the batter, they say.   What!?  Not a chance.

One more day after today and then it's back on track.   I'm afraid there will be some ground to make up but never mind, I'm on holiday and I'm really enjoying myself.

Wednesday, 19-05-21

 Good morning!
There were no comments about a proposed name change so I'm assuming that is OK.  I know I don't get many comments (more would be lovely) but the statistics tell me people are reading so thank you very much for that!

Yesterday, as feared, ended up badly.  The little nips of gin at the tasting set off the nibblies and I ended up not having the planned dinner which is now in the fridge for this evening.  That's life!

What I ate yesterday:

A tasty fruit platter.   Yum!

Bacon roll with salad for lunch.

I'm not going to reveal what I had later on.   Suffice it to say it was unhealthy, un-Slimming World and I now wish I hadn't, but there you go!

Today's plans:

B:  fruit platter and yogurt
I have to finish off the pineapple today and various other bits and bobs as well.
SW:  half a syn for the yogurt

L:  ham, cheese salad roll, finger salad; apple
The cheese will be some cheese spread instead of the half fat butter I usually have.
SW:  one healthy extra A and one B

D:  chicken and veg in white sauce, jacket potato, broccoli; yogurt
Same as yesterday
SW:  one syn for the can of chicken and half for dessert

Body Magic:  strolling around Framlingham castle and a walk along the beach later on, weather permitting.

Summary:
one healthy extra A
one healthy extra B
two syns

Tuesday, May 18th

 Good morning, everyone.
I've been pondering a name change for this blog.  After all, it is hardly a frugal focused blog any more, not the way it has developed recently, what with Hello Fresh and steak meals! 
It's still going to be mainly about making the best of what I have in, but not totally, and the overarching theme will be about keeping this weight off and maintaining, using the SW plan at heart because it's healthy, it's varied, it gives me scope and it works.
I know some find it restrictive and I suppose it does restrict high fat/sugar stuff and loads of takeaways, etc, but, for me, that's just what I want and need.  An awful lot of vloggers have abandoned SW for calorie counting but I notice that for many of them their daily intake is becoming increasingly unhealthy.  Yes, they are losing weight (and well done to them) but not in what I think of as a healthy way.
A shame, but each to their own, I guess.

If I change it, I will call it 'Deliciously Maintaining on Slimming World' or something like that.

Yesterday's meals:

I didn't get a snap of breakfast but will just say that the bacon was absolutely divine.  Real, proper bacon with no nasty white bits coming out.  I may even stock up before I go home.

Lunch, all wrapped up and ready to go into my backpack.  Simple food tastes wonderful in the open air.

Dinner was a sort of Chinese curry using the Mayflower curry sauce.  I fried off some onion, red pepper, mushroom and baby corn, added the chicken chunks plus some chilli flakes and garlic granules, made up the sauce and added that and then finished it off with some fresh pineapple and some rice.  It was lovely and I'm afraid the seconds I would normally keep for the next day sort of vanished.  

I finished off with a kvarg and later on had an options choccy drink.  Lovely.

Today's meal plans:

B:  fruit platter and some yogurt

I still have some nice fruit to use up - pineapple, strawberries and blueberries as well as the usual.  Maybe I will have it as a fruit salad, I'll see how I feel.

SW:  speed and free and the yogurt will be natural and flavoured with strawberry skinny syrup - I brought one bottle with me!

L:  cheese and bacon butty, side salad; apple

I'm staying around Southwold today so I can eat at the studio.

SW:  one healthy extra B for a roll, one A for 30g cheese, half a syn for a tbsp bbq sauce

D:  jacked potato topped with chicken in a white sauce, broccoli; yogurt

In the afternoon, I am booked for a tour of the Adnams distillery (I did the brewery last time I was here) which finished with a gin tasting session!!  I expect I will be a little the worse for wear so need a meal that is very simple to prep.   I can get the potato ready to throw in the oven, jazz up the chicken and sauce (all out of a tin) with peppers, mushrooms and baby corn and have it ready in a pan to warm up.  Easy peasy.
SW:  the chicken is one syn the lot and the rest is free, speed and protein except for the dessert which is half a syn

Body Magic:  lots of walking again.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

two syns - plus whatever gin and tonic I manage to polish off in the afternoon

I can stick to restricted eating today too, which is nice.

Monday, 17-05-21

 Good morning.
Things went well yesterday although I've realised how much I take my well appointed kitchen for granted.  The one here is OK if you stick to beans on toast or ping meals but otherwise rather limited.  No complaints, I enjoy the challenge.

What I ate yesterday:

This was breakfast and it was delicious.  I didn't have the yogurt so that's half a syn paid back!

I didn't take a photo of lunch so here's a photo of what I was looking at while I ate it.

I had a cheese roll and a finger salad.  I didn't eat the apple.

Later on, back at the studio, I spread primula on the other white roll and ate that - so I had both my healthy extras and around seven more syns.

This was dinner, corned beef hash, and it was most satisfying.  Not in the least refined, just good, hearty, flavourful food.  Mind you, it nearly wasn't - I had a real struggle opening the can of corned beef; the key didn't work and the can opener here is pretty useless.  I should have brought my own from home but never mind, it could be worse.

I kept a couple of slices of corned beef back from the hash and that will be my roll filling tomorrow lunch.

I was too full up to want the yogurt.

So today I haven't had two yogurts and an apple that were planned and I had less corned beef but I did have the extra roll and I finished the day off with an Options choccy drink - I reckon the calories will balance, even if the nutrition doesn't.

Today's plans:

B:  a cooked breakfast - bacon, sausage, egg, tomatoes and mushrooms
I have tqken an early morning walk to the butcher and come back with bacon, sausage and chicken

SW:  all speed, free and protein except for the sausage and, really, I have no idea as it's made at the butchers.

L:  corned beef roll, salad; fruit

Another picnic, hopefully eaten at Orford Castle.  If the weather is bad, it might be in the car or even wait until I get back again.

SW:  the roll is my healthy extra B choice, two syns for spread and one syn for lean corned beef.  The rest is speed or free

D:  Chinese chicken and veg curry with wholegrain rice; yogurt

What it says really although I might add a few chilli flakes for a bit more ooomph.

SW:  three and a half syns for the curry sauce, one and a half for half a pouch of wholegrain rice and half a syn for dessert

Body Magic:  lots of walking

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

eight and a half syns plus the sausage

Sunday, May 16th

 Good morning!
Here I am in a 'garden studio' on Southwold, having totally bust the SW play yesterday evening and not regretting it in the slightest.  After all - first meal of the holiday - know what I mean!

What I ate yesterday:

Breakfast was a fried egg on toast (very nice) and some fruit while lunch was more fruit and a nibble of cheese.  No photos as I had packed the camera.

Dinner was as described plus plenty of naughty bits.  That's OK, I enjoyed it very much.  What you can see is steak (from Aldi and very, very nice), oven chips (bought ones, lacking in flavour, should have made them myself) and blue cheese sauce (crème fraiche, blue cheese, salt and pepper - nice but naughty)

My plans for today:

B:  fruit platter and yogurt

I have some nice fruit - pineapple and cherries as well as the more usual, so I'm looking forward to this very much.

SW:  the yogurt is half a syn and the fruit is free or speed

L:  cheese roll, salad, fruit

This will be a picnic along the sea front, weather permitting.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get any wholemeal rolls in the very small Tesco here (it was Saturday evening, to be fair) and I didn't want to buy a loaf.  An home I freeze loaves and they do me for weeks.  I managed to get a small two-pack of white rolls and they will have to do me for a couple of days.  I'm sure there's a bread shop along the high street and, hopefully, I can get some wholemeal rolls tomorrow.

SW:  I'm calling the roll a B choice (it isn't really it's an instead of!), up to two As for cheese, half a syn for some mayo, two syns for some spread and the rest is speed

D:  corned beef hash, broccoli and roasted parsnips; kvarg

Everyone has their own version of corned beef hash; mine is how my mum made it when we were little,

I will spray fry some sliced onion and some chopped mushroom, then add some cooked potato (either chunks or mash) and fry that until it's going crispy round the edges and then add chunks of corned beef to fry for just a bit longer.  All is spray oil, as will be the parsnips.  I actually didn't bring any 'proper' oil with me.

SW:  the whole can of lean corned beef is three syns and the rest is speed or free.  I might use a syn on some Crucials bbq sauce too.  dessert is half a syn.

Body Magic:  a nice long walk along the beach

Summary:

up to two healthy extra As

sort of one B

seven and a half syns

Saturday, 15-05021

 Good morning, everyone.
Yesterday was a bit of a dead loss in food terms.  I ended up not eating until about four when I had a pear and I had a proper dinner of hunter's chicken and chips (actifired so not greasy).  No photo, sorry.  It was just one of those days.

Today's plans are a little bit up in the air.
I'll probably have something eggy/toasty for breakfast as I have one egg left and follow it up with yogurt and fruit.
Lunch I have no idea about until I've sorted out the fridge.
Dinner is definitely steak, chips and salad, followed by yogurt as usual.
Body Magic will be covered by walking to and from the car and an evening walk by the sea front.

I'll be back tomorrow with proper plans again.

Friday, 14-05-21

 Good morning.
Sorry this is late; I've not been well.

What I ate yesterday:
I've done a collage thing of yesterday's meals.

For breakfast, I had the tomatoes on the omelette rather than at the side and I'll do it that way again; it was nice.

The burger made with the higher % fat was lovely so that is definitely the way to go, just with burgers, not for anything else.  A shame I slightly scorched the roll in the toaster.  :-)

Dinner was Alex's birthday meal and I had forgotten that Beth said she'd bring doughnuts.

Yes, I had - er - some!

Today's plans:

If it was the doughnuts that upset my tum, it was a case of serves me right!  However, I am making up for it because I've had no breakfast and won't be having any lunch.

D:  hunter's chicken, a very few chips, maybe salad; yogurt
There's a couple of portions of hunter's chicken.  One is in the freezer and I'm having the rest tonight, all being well.  There were also a few chips left which should warm up nicely in the oven

No body magic as I've cancelled PT, of course and no summary.  Today's a bit of a write-off really.

However, I do have some good planning in place for next week so that's good.

Thursday, 13-05-21

 Good morning.

Ove the last few days, I've been thinking about what I use for my meals.  For example, I always get the lowest fat mince I can find (I saw some  under 2% a few weeks ago) and 0% yogurt and have done for many years now, even pre-gallbladder.

Usually the less that 5% mince is absolutely fine.  When I make mince based dishes, they are packed with flavour from herbs, spices, vegetables and so on and that makes great flavour.  However, just occasionally, when you went the mince on its own, the lack of some fat is a distinct disadvantage.  Specifically, I'm thinking of home made burgers and similar.  When I make them with the really low fat mince, they can seem dry in texture and lacking in flavour.  Adding grated veg makes them watery rather than juicy.
So I've taken the (slightly) brave step of allowing some 12% mince to hop into my supermarket trolley.  My usual mince is 'free' on Slimming World while the 12% is two syns per 100g.
100g is plenty to make a nice burger for me, especially with added onion so I reckon two syns is a small price to pay IF I end up with a better textured, more juicy burger.

So I'm giving this a go today and will let you know if it works.  If not, I'll have to think again.  As summer seems to creeping a bit closer and I have a cute individual bucket bbq, I am on the lookout for things I can make and use that aren't going to end up too dry.
Fingers crossed.

What I ate yesterday:

Something went wrong with the boiled eggs; they weren't cooked properly when I bashed them on the head so I cracked them into a saucepan and finished them off that way.  Even so, they were still good.

The last of the chicken and butternut squash and it's one that will definitely appear on the menu again.  It was great.

I had no room for the apple afterwards.

To the Singapore rice noodles, I added some cooked spicy chicken - I forget what kind but it was SW free - and some prawns, plus one of the left over sachets of the sweet and spicy ketjap manis sauce.
I have one more portion of the noodles in the freezer- maybe I will try some gammon or bacon and some sausage in it next time.

Today's plans:

B:  bacon and mushroom omelette with - guess what - tomatoes on the side.

SW:  speed and free

L:  hm burger in a wholemeal roll, side salad, coleslaw; fruit
I'll keep the burger simple to start with.  I want to caramelise some sliced onion in spray oil and balsamic vinegar, long and slow.  Some will be chopped and added to the mince and the rest I will have on the burger.  I'll probably add a few garlic granules, seasonings and a bit of mustard powder too but nothing else, not first time.
I'll just have lettuce and a bit of bbq sauce in the roll.
SW:  one healthy extra B for the roll, two syns for 100g of the mince, one syn for some mayo in the coleslaw and half a syn for a few sprays of salad dressing

D:  hunter's chicken, hm chips, salad; yogurt

It was  grandson Alex's birthday last Saturday but, as he was deep into the first set of his finals, he decided not to celebrate until afterwards.  He has requested hunter's chicken, made the Pinch of Nom way and I am more than happy to oblige.  Beth is also very happy with breaded halloumi sticks.  We all love chips made the SW way in the actifry and I might see if I can find a nice spice mix online to add to them.
SW:  up to two healthy extras for the cheese on top, maybe half a syn for spray salad dressing, one or two syns for dipping mayo and half a syn for dessert.  I'm sticking to sugar free fizzies to drink.

Body Magic:  not really sure as I will be quite busy getting things ready for the holiday.  Maybe a walk at some point.  Even if it's just to Morrisons and back, it's better than nothing.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

seven and a half syns

Wednesday, 12-05-21

 Good morning, everyone.

When I did my early morning shop yesterday, I particularly looked out for that ketjap manis sauce in M&S and there it was, next to the soy sauce, less than half the price I'd have had to pay on Amazon.  So I got two bottles (they're not huge) and, having looked it up, will be paying one and a half syns per level tbsp.  I doubt I'll usually need that much; it's quite strong and intense.

What I ate yesterday:

A most satisfying breakfast.  Sometimes I fancy something less 'heavy' like yogurt and fruit and sometimes only bacon, etc, will to.  Yesterday it was the latter - two medallions, one skinny sausage, skin off and reshaped into a patty and a (spray) fried egg all in a toasted muffin with bbq sauce top and bottom.  Plus the obligatory tomatoes and mushrooms, of course.
I added a syn to the total because it wasn't an Aldi skinny sausage, it was a posher, 'low fat' kind instead.

This was lunch (plus an extra bowl of soup for Beth.  Yes, you've seen the photo before, I forgot to take one yesterday but it was exactly the same as Monday's lunch so I used that photo again.  The soup's all finished now and how we both enjoyed it!

Not a very good photo, sadly, but dinner was a good meal.  The sliced chicken is sitting on a bed of roasted butternut squash and onion with some oil and balsamic vinegar dressing and some crumbled feta. and has a bit more feta and dressing drizzled over.  It sounds simple and tasted wonderful.

Today's meal plans:

B:  boiled eggs and toasty marmite dippers; strawberries

Nice and simple, clean and tasty

SW:  one healthy extra B for the toast, two syns for two tsp of half fat butter

L:  chicken with roasted butternut squash, feta and rocket

This is the second portion of last night's meal.  I may have it cold but more than likely I will warm it up.

SW:  one healthy extra A for the feta and three syns for olive oil in the dressing.  The rest is speed/free/protein

D:  Singapore rice noodles with chicken and prawns, side salad; yogurt
I made the rice noodles last week, if you remember, and it made loads so I was able to freeze two portions.  I will warm up one of the portions and I have spicy chicken and prawns so will add them.  I'm also going to add some ketjap manis sauce - it might now be as much as a level tbsp, I will see.  I will have a small salad of mixed leaves on the side.

SW:  one syn for the rice noodles, up to one and a half syns for the sauce and half a syn for the dessert

Body Magic:  It is personal training today but, as I've got my second vaccine just after nine, I'll see how I feel.  Lindsey knows and will be fine if I need to cancel.  She's rather not have a poorly client over.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

eight syns