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