Saturday, 31-07-21

 Good morning.  
Weigh in yesterday and I was so pleased to have lost two pounds.  So much for 'feelings', eh?  Now on to a new week.

I bought the summer edition of BBC Easy Cook.  I really like this magazine; it's what the BBC Good Food mag used to be like before it turned all arty farty and gastro to keep up with Delicious and Olive.  Anyway, there are always several recipes that are unintentionally SW friendly as well as others that can be adapted very easily so that's another source of ideas!

Yesterday's meals.

These strawberry pancakes were lovely, very satisfying.  I added skinny syrup and some chopped strawberries to the batter which made it a bit runny so they came off the teppan oddly shaped..

I had already had a banana that I took with me to SW.

Breakfast, including the banana was 357 calories

The cheg wrap was also nice although lo dough can be a bit like eating cardboard.  I think one needs to spread some kind of sauce all over before wrapping - I could have spread the cheg and then rolled or wrapped - I'll do that next time.

Lunch finished off with an apple.

It was around 400 calories - I forgot to weigh the salad bits.

I'm quite annoyed to find that I don't have a photo of dinner on my camera - I could swear I took several but maybe not.
Anyway, I did go over both syns and calories with a fruity gin or two but it was a planned going over, not a crash so I'm happy with that.  The steak was lovely and the chips also.  I've discovered that if you remember to take the paddle out of the actifry for the last ten minutes, the chips don't get bashed up quite so much.
I had some ice cream for dessert.  Planned so not naughty and I enjoyed it with a clear conscience.

Today's plans:

B:  beans on toast
My mind was a blank about breakfast so I thought 'what do I really fancy' and my brain dredged this up.  Lovely, simple, tasty beans on toast.  With grated cheese on top.  Delicious!
SW:   one healthy extra B for one slice of wholemeal, one syn for a tsp lower fat butter (so called) and one healthy extra A for 30g cheddar.  If I add a tbsp bbq sauce to the beans, that's half a syn.
One slice of the wholemeal I use should be half a B but I am using the crust which is heavier and very close to the equivalent of two slices.

L:  mini quiches, salad; fruit
It was a recipe from the aforementioned Easy Cook mag that reminded me of this.  I have a lo dough to use up but didn't want to have another wrap.
Using the biggest pastry cutter I can, I will cut two rings out of the lo dough and push them into a muffin tin.  Then beat eggs, soften onion and whatever and add to the egg mix, add cheese and pour into the cases, sprinkle cheese on top and bake.
There will be leftover bits of lo dough and I will pop them in the oven too, to crisp up and have on the side.
This is the link to the original recipe but I will be adapting it quite a bit.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/mini-pizza-quiches
SW:  two syns for the lo dough (I still think these should be free - when you consider that pasta and rice is free . . . ), one healthy extra A for the cheese and whatever syns my salad dressing of choice uses - it won't be more than one syn.

D:  crispy chilli beef, konjac noodles; yogurt
I found this recipe yesterday while searching for something to use up the other half of the steak I had yesterday as it was an absolute whoppa of a chunk of meat.  This is a SW recipe so I will post the link for those of you that have access to the site.
https://member.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/crispy-chilli-beef
I'll use konjac noodles instead of egg noodles.  It's a great long list of ingredients but, fortunately, I have everything in so it's a goer!
SW:  it says one and a half syns per serving and I'm guessing that's for the cornflour and brown sauce.  Dessert will be half a syn.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

six and a half syns

Pretty much the perfect SW day!  :-)

Friday, 30-07-21

 Good morning.
Slimming World meeting this morning so weigh in.  Again, I am doubtful.  I don't feel any lighter at all and I honestly haven't a clue as I have kept off the scales all week.  However, the last time I said this I lost and the time before (in other words, every week), I maintained so . . . who knows?

Yesterday's meals:

Overnight oats never look all that pretty in the bowl but they were nice, all the same.
275 calories

BLT salad, a SW recipe.  Really tasty.  If you have the new book, Happy Days, it's on page 30.
Then I had some strawberries for afters.

Lunch was 388 calories

Later on I had a banana and an apple (included in the lunch calorie count.

Dinner was some chilli from the freezer, some new potatoes, cooed and then browned off with cheese over, some baby corn (allotment!) and some steamed mixed veg, followed by a yogurt.

I have no idea how many calories as the chilli was from the freezer.

Such a messy plate - sorry.

Then I finished off with my yogurt.

I have no idea of the calories.  Nutracheck gives home made chilli a stupidly high count but I know it couldn't be as much as that.  Low meat, high veg, fat free . . .

It doesn't really matter; it was a good SW day and that is the important thing

Today's plans:

B:  pancakes, strawberries and yogurt
I won't be having breakfast until after SW meeting and PT and, as I went strawberry picking yesterday, I though this would showcase the very delicious berries very well.
SW:  one healthy extra B for the wholemeal SR flour and I think that's it as I will be using natural yogurt flavoured with skinny syrup.

L:  cheg mayo wrap, side salad; fruit
Cheg is short for cheese and egg.  Hard boil an egg, fork mash it adding 30g grated cheddar and some super light mayo plus whatever seasonings you fancy.  I will probably pick a few chives and just use pepper and a bit of salt - not a lot as the mayo and cheese are salted already.  
The wrap will be lo dough as I've already had my healthy A
SW:  the cheese will be one of my healthy extra As, the lo dough is two syns and the mayo will be one syn.  Also half a syn for the M&S fat reduced dressing I found in the fridge yesterday which is rather nice.

D:   steak, chips, coleslaw, salad; yogurt
I had a whopping big sirloin steak in the freezer - 400g - so will probably cook half and thin slice the other half of it for something for lunch tomorrow - or dinner, maybe.  Any ideas?
SW:  one syn for the mayo in the coleslaw and two syns for some onion chutney which is so good with steak.  Oh, and half a syn for yogurt.

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

Thursday, 29-07-21

 Morning, everyone.

Well, yesterday I deliberately set the bar low (or do I mean high?) in that I wanted to make it as low calories as possible without feeling hungry or deprived to try to compensate for Wednesday evening's crash.
Did I succeed?  Let's see.

Yesterday's meal photos:

My breakfast fruit platter.  I didn't have the planned yogurt in the end.

It was satisfying although just before lunch my tum started rumbling a bit.

179 calories

A really nice lunch, even though it was raining cats and dogs outside.  All the cucumber and all the tomatoes were from the garden and tasted fab.

This was 176 calories.

At around four thirty, I had a nectarine for 53 calories (SW speed)

Dinner was amazing, especially the cheesy butternut squash chips.  I really ought to have them more often.  I cut the squash into chips and actifried them with some chip seasoning and spray oil.  I possibly gave them a bit too long as they started falling apart a bit or maybe, next time, remove the paddle towards the end.
I was very full afterwards, so no yogurt.

The whole lot was 528 calories

And the day's eating was 936 calories.  Way too low but this was a claw back attempt and I think I succeeded in that.
I didn't feel deprived once, the meals were all delicious and most satisfying and it just goes to show that plenty of fruit and veg really does help.  Nutracheck recorded my F&V portions as 16.4 (!) so I doubt I will miss the fibre from the healthy extra B I didn't have!

Today's plans are:

B:  overnight oats
I haven't had these for ages.  35g oats, a Muller light and assorted berries.  Nice.
SW:  one healthy extra B and half a syn

L:  BLT salad; fruit
The salad is from the new SW recipe book, Happy Days.  It makes an interesting sounding salad dressing which I will try, and let you know.
On investigating my cupboard/fridge, I have to make a few changes.  Instead of cannellini beans, I have cooked some allotment broad beans and they are currently cooling.  I don't have any sugar snaps so will use cucumber which is not an effective sub but will still be tasty.  I don't have fat free salad dressing but I do have some M&S fat reduced French dressing which is pretty nice.

SW: the original recipe is free but I have to count half a syn for the French dressing.

D:  chilli with new potatoes and either veg or a side salad; yogurt

The chilli is from the freezer so I have no idea of calories.  I'll weigh it and use a generic chilli calorie count.  I want new potatoes instead of rice because - guess what - I have some from the allotment.  I'll have some grated cheese on top and it should be delicious!

SW:  one to two healthy extra As, the chilli is free (it said so on the container!) and the yogurt is half a syn

Summary:

one to two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

one and a half syns

Wednesday, 28-07-21

 Good morning!

I had a bit of a crash yesterday evening.  Let's just say i caught up with my healthy extra As in one fell swoop.
I think I will defer the planned Hello Fresh risotto.  The squash and the bacon can go into the freezer and all the other stuff will keep or be easily replaceable (e.g. onion)
Or I could make it up and then freeze it.  A couple of options there.

So no perfect week on plan this week but never mind, it was one evening on one day in one week, that's all.

Yesterday's meals:

Nice breakfast with home grown raspberries and blueberries.  I had a nectarine earlier in the morning and the lot was  SW free and 172 calories

The tuna and corn fritters were absolutely delicious.  The mixture made six fritters, enough for two lunch portions.
Half a healthy extra A, half a healthy extra B and one and a half syns for milk.
239 calories the lot.

I've posted the recipe here.

And then it all crashed in the evening so no evening photo.

Today's plans:

I'm going to have a low calorie day today to make up for yesterday, filling up on loads of speed foods, of which I have plenty.  

B:  fruit platter and yogurt
The fruit is lovely at the moment so I intend enjoying it all.  I'll probably have a kiwi, a nectarine, a banana and some berries
SW:  speed and free apart from half a syn for yogurt

L:  ham and salad
Nice and simple and I might make a coleslaw to go with it.
SW:  speed and free

D:  fish and chips, peas or steamed mixed veg or salad; yogurt
The fish will be salmon and the chips will be butternut squash chips (lovely), using spray oil and the actifry.  I might melt a little bit of cheese over the top to make them like cheesy chips.
SW:  all protein, free and speed apart from half a syn for the yogurt

Summary:
one healthy extra A
no Bs today
one syn

Recipe: tuna and sweetcorn fritters

 

Ingredients to make six fritters (two portions)
35g wholemeal SR flour (which I count as a healthy extra B)
one large egg
30g hard Italian cheese, finely grated
40g drained sweet corn
60g well drained tuna (in water/brine)

50 mls milk (I used semi skimmed)
seasonings - I used garlic granules, onion granules, chilli flakes, salt and pepper

Method:
Whisk together the flour and the egg and add half the milk.
Stir in the cheese, corn and tuna.  Then add more milk if necessary to get to a dolloping consistency.
Spray a large pan with spray oil  and heat to a medium heat.  Add dollops of the mixture with a spoon and flatten gently.  Allow to cook on one side and when they're not too 'floppy' turn them over and cook the other side.  If they are browning too fast, turn the heat down.
Serve straight away.

I have no idea if they will freeze - I'm about to try it with the three left over.  I'm guessing they will be OK and can be warmed up in the oven once thawed.

The cheese is half a healthy extra A per portion
I count the flour as a B choice so that's half a B per portion
The milk is one syn per portion (or part of a second A choice
The rest is free food

Or, according to Nutracheck, 223 calories per portion

Tuesday, 27-07-21

 Good morning, everyone.
3/7 on plan so far.  Can I make it 7/7 this week?

Yesterday's meals:

This breakfast burger went down very well.  I think I planned to have some cheese on it and I forgot but I don't think it was necessary anyway.

It was 436 calories in total

Lunch.  I was really pleased with this because the tomatoes and the cucumber were both fresh from the garden.  The curry definitely improved overnight too.
I had a nectarine and an apple later on and the whole lot came to 551 calories

Dinner:  marinated chicken with lots of veg and potato salad.  The cucumber was from the garden and the potatoes from the allotment - scrummy!  This was really tasty and cooked so quickly on the teppan.

I finished off with a Mullerlight strawberry yogurt and it all came to 385 calories

So the whole days eating worked with slimming world (no As though - again) and was 1372 calories which is just fine (I aim for between 1300 and 1400).
And it all tasted just great!

Today's food plans

B:  fruit and yogurt
I have plenty of blueberries and one strawberry to pick from the garden, six raspberries from the allotment and plenty of fruit in the fridge so why not.  I'm looking forward to this very much.
SW:  the yogurt will be protein and the fruit either free or speed.

L:  corn and tuna fritters, salad; fruit
I thought I'd have a go at these - I will call the 35g wholemeal flour I will use my B choice and make a thick batter with one egg, some finely grated cheese and, possibly, a splash of milk.  I can add various savoury seasonings plus some tuna and some sweetcorn before spooning portions into a pan or on the teppan.  With a side salad, that should make a good lunch.  I wonder how many fritters I will get - enough for two portions, perhaps?.
SW:  one healthy extra A and one B.  Possibly one syn for some mayo, I will see

D:  Hello fresh bacon and butternut squash, perhaps a side salad; yogurt
The last of my Hello Fresh meals.  The other three have been most successful so fingers crossed this one will be just as nice.  It ought to be.
I will have sweet corn left over from lunch so I might add that to the risotto - I'll see how it goes.
SW:  four syns for some streaky bacon and a healthy A for Italian cheese.  Also half a syn for dessert

Summary:
two healthy extra As (phew)
one healthy extra B
five and a half syns

Monday, 26-07-21

 Morning.

Today should be the last of the Hello Fresh meals but I have an abundance of salad ingredients so will have something home sources and do the HF meal (butternut squash and bacon risotto) tomorrow instead.

Yesterday's photos:

Not the best dressed plate in the world but so very delicious.
35g wholemeal SR flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, one egg, about a third of a pot of Mullerlight banana and custard yogurt and water to slacken.  Whisk well.  Cook as per any pancake, using spray oil.  Serve with the rest of the yogurt and some fresh strawberries.

320 calories

I really enjoyed this.

I enjoyed this too.  Sweet and sour chicken with konjac rice, left over from yesterday.

269 calories

Late afternoon, I had a nectarine and a small soft tortilla, the latter because I had a pack left over from the last Hello Fresh order, out of date, so I wanted to see if they had gone stale.  They hadn't, so the remaining five are now in the freezer, individually wrapped.

170 calories total and I had no idea about the syns so looked it up and it was six syns, ooops.  That puts me over syns but under calories.  However, no A choices today so I guess it all balances out calorie wise, if not nutritionally.

The Bombay style lamb curry with green beans and potatoes.  I wasn't sure if I was going to like this but I did, very much.  It was flavoursome and quite spicy because I used the whole chilli.

425 calories

I was too full for the yogurt!

So today is high in syns, low in healthy extra As and 1267 calories - that's closer to my target of 1300, much better.

Today's plans:

B:  breakfast burger
I'm removing the skin from two skinny sausages and molding them both into one patty which I will have in a wholemeal bun with bacon and 30g grated cheddar.  Tomatoes on the side to provide speed but mostly because I love them!
SW:  one healthy extra A and one B plus one syn for bbq sauce, if I have it.

L:  Bombay style lamb curry with green beans and potatoes; fruit
The second portion of the curry I made yesterday.
SW:   five syns for the lamb, one and a half syns for mango chutney 

D:  chicken with griddled peppers and mushrooms and a salad; yogurt
I've been a naughty girl and treated myself to a teppanyaki.  To be fair, it wasn't all that expensive.  One of the things that drew me to it was that I can cook all my pancakes at the same time while another is that I can cook outside (I have a socket on the outside of the shed).  I tried it out yesterday with the breakfast pancakes and got the temp a bit wrong so the underneaths were a trifle overdone, but you live and learn and now I know.
Anyway, I will slice the chicken thinly, marinade it in a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, tomato puree and whatever else comes to hand - ginger, maybe, and garlic - before quickly frying it on the teppanyaki*.  If the weather is anything like, I might do it outside.  Ditto for the veg, minus the marinade.  I have to start somewhere, after all.
I dug up some new potatoes from the allotment yesterday so I might make a potato and chive salad as well, just a little one
SW:  unless I add honey or something to the marinade it will be free plus one syn for mayo in the potato salad and half a syn for the yogurt

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

* After reading up a bit, I gather the appliance is called a teppan and the 'yaki' bit refers to the cooking itself.

Sunday, 25-07-21

 Good morning.

Yesterday's photos:

A very Saturday kind of breakfast and delicious too.

This was 272 calories, according to Nutracheck.

Oh, my!  This was so good.  The burger was nicer second day as most spicy things are.  As I had no As planned, I topped it with 30g cheddar (so much nicer than the Monterey Jack Hello Fresh provided).
This, and the half melon I had later in the afternoon was 453 calories.

Burgers are so very easy and so adaptable - I ought to have them more often.

Dinner was the Hello Fresh sweet and sour chicken.  The sauce was really nice and definitely one to remember.  It's roughly one part ketchup to two parts ketjap manis (you can get it in M&S next to the soy sauce) and about three parts rice wine vinegar.  The chicken had been tossed in cornflour so that was the thickener.
The spring onion on top was OK but a few scattered cashew nuts would have been lovely and maybe less onion and some mushrooms would be good too.
It was filling and I'm very glad I have the other half left for lunch tomorrow.
The calories, including the yogurt, came to 347 (I subbed konjac rice for the basmati rice which brought it down)

I finished off the evening with an apple, speed, 47 calories

So total calories for a very delicious day came to 1119 which is not great but I was really full up and had no room for anything else.  What can you do?

Today's meal plans

B:  pancakes with fruit and yogurt
Yes, I had pancakes not so long ago but this is Sunday and pancakes with a cafetiere of fresh coffee feels just perfect.
I was wondering why I hadn't had waffles and pancakes for a while and maybe it was partly because, to me, they feel like a weekend treat and I was often at Dad's on Saturdays and Sundays once allowed again.  
SW:  one healthy extra B for 35g wholemeal SR flour  and half a syn for yogurt

L:  sweet and sour style chicken with peppers and konjac rice; fruit
This is the other portion of yesterday's dinner, all made up and ready to reheat.  It was delicious and I am really looking forward to it.
SW:  as yesterday, one syn for cornflour, two for ketjap manis, one and half for ketchup plus one syn for the konjac rice

D:  Bombay style lamb curry with potatoes and green beans; yogurt
I think, looking at the ingredients, etc, I will stick to the recipe on this one, the third of my Hello Fresh meals for this week.  In the picture, it does look lovely and fresh.
As I'm making it straight, I'm going with the 425 calories the recipe says.
SW:  I don't know how fatty the minced lamb is.  It looks OK but SW says to count it as five syns so who am I to argue?  One and a half syns for mango chutney and the rest seems to be free or speed.  Also, half a syn for yogurt

Summary:
no healthy extra As - not brilliant although I am having yogurt
one healthy extra B
thirteen syns - a bit high but if I'm cutting the healthy As, that's twelve syns-worth of calories paid pack, so to speak.

Saturday, 24-07-21

 Good morning.

Weigh in results first.  Well, you could have knocked me down with a spring onion - two pounds off.  How that happened is anyone's guess but I'll not say no.  :-)

During the morning, the Hello Fresh box arrived.  The four meals I chose are all from their 'under 600 calories' range, and are:
cheesy naked Mexican style burger with shallot relish, baby gem salad and wedges
sweet and sour style chicken with pepper and rice
Bombay style lamb curry with potatoes and green beans
bacon and butternut squash risotto with chilli and cheese

The first thing one must do is open everything, take out the recipe cards and check that all the ingredients are there - which they were.  I actually tick them off on the card.
Then I check the dates of any meat and dairy products because that might determine when you have each dish.  This time it was all fine.
Then put everything away (obviously) and recycle as much of the packaging as you can.

I decided to have the burger first.  I changed some parts - I didn't make the shallot relish, for a start, I just couldn't be bothered - how lazy is that!  Nor did I use the coriander - I hate that herb with a passion.  Also, I didn't make the salad dressing - I preferred to use some of the spray dressing I have,
And what was very puzzling was that the sachet of Mexican spice had vanished.  I know it was there, I ticked it off but . . . nowhere to be seen.  Not to worry, I Googled  and knocked together my own spice mix which was really nice.
All I had to do was start off the wedges in the actifry,  Mix the mince with breadcrumbs, water and the Mexican spice mix and mix it all really well.  Shape it into patties and fry.  I enjoyed it very, very nuch indeed.

Yesterday's meal photos:

A whoppa of a breakfast for 446 calories and it kept me full for ages.  To be fair, I didn't get back in until nearly twelve so it was more lunch time than breakfast time anyway.

It came to 446 calories

Dinner was the Hello Fresh meal, cheesy naked Mexican burger with shallot relish, salad and wedges as described above.
I put what I actually had into Nutracheck and it came out as 619 calories - but that was because I had all the cheese, not half.  It made one healthy A.

The recipe is for two so I have another burger (I just made enough of the chips and salad) so that's sorted out lunch today.

That made a total of 1065 calories but I rather filled the calorie void with some nibbles of cheese and some home made fruity gin, naughty me.  It definitely took me over calories and syns but not above maintenance limits so I don't feel guilty.

Today's totally back on track plans:

B:  waffles, yogurt and fruit
Because it is Saturday, I'm treating myself.  Calling the wholemeal flour a B choice (not strictly SW legal but there is valid reasoning behind it) makes these waffles extremely SW friendly
SW:  if I use Mullerlight, it will be half a syn

L:  Mexican style burger with salad and coleslaw; fruit
Using the second burger which comes to 275 calories with home made coleslaw and salad - for which I have cucumber and five little tomatoes from the garden.  Lovely!
I have that half melon still to use up so that will be the fruit.
SW:  the mince in the burger will be two and a half syns and the panko breadcrumbs will be two syns.  Mayo for the coleslaw will be a maximum of one syn

D:  sweet and sour style chicken with pepper and rice; yogurt
I'm really hoping the sauce ingredients make a nice sweet and sour sauce, fingers crossed.  I'm subbing the basmati rice for konjac rice - has to be synned but the calorie difference is amazing.
SW:  one syn for cornflour, two for ketjap manis, one and a half for ketchup and half for dessert

Summary:
a bit low on the healthy As, but I did have a fair bit more than that yesterday!
one healthy extra B
eleven syns

(and I bet that Mexican spice mix turns up today!)

Friday, 23-07-21

 Good morning.

SW meeting today, more opened up now.  There's refreshments, we can remove shoes to be weighed and masks don't have to be worn (although they can be, of course);  I'm not sure whether I will or not.  No raffle or slimmer of the week hamper yet - that has to wait for a little while but it will come.

Because I really need to get to grips with this again now that my personal life has settled down again, I have decided to check calories alongside SW, just to get back on track.  There's no way I am abandoning SW, I like the structure very much and it suits a 'make it at home' foodie like me down to the ground.  Look upon it as a belt and braces approach.
I have kept my membership of Nutracheck so that's good.

Yesterday's food plans:

A perfect breakfast for weather like this - all the blueberries and one of the strawberries were from the garden.

It was 111 calories but filled me up more than that would indicate.

Lunch was quesadillas which contained 20g Crucials bbq sauce, shredded chicken and 30g grated cheddar.  It was lovely.

352 calories

Later on I had a pink lady apple (sweet and juicy) and that was SW speed and 50 calories

And here's dinner, the chicken risotto.  It was supposed to be chicken and bacon but I totally forgot about the bacon bit.  It also has onion, red pepper, mushroom and the stock was a real chicken stock - great flavour.  I did it the old fashioned way in the end because there's something very relaxing about stirring a risotto.

30g of rice was plenty and I was so full up I didn't have dessert.

The lot, including the salad was 397 calories

It all looks good, healthy, SW friendly, it certainly filled me up but - big but - the calorie total for the day was 910 calories which is nowhere near enough.  I'm glad I'm checking because I'd not have known otherwise.

Today's plans:

Timings are tricky today.  It's SW first, then personal training (not the usual hour of intensive puff but half an hour of combined calf strengthening and loosening plus massage) and then driving into town to pick up some meds.
I won't be eating much until later on this morning so I think I will plan a larger breakfast and a good dinner with some fruit midd-ish afternoon.

B:  a cooked breakfast - bacon, egg, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and 'fried' bread
 I fry the bread by spraying oil on one side and then browning that side in the pan.

SW:  no idea of the calories yet but using bacon with all the fat removed and the skinny sausages, this should be almost SW free although if I have some sauce, it might be up to one syn and two skinny sausages is one syn.  The bread will be half a healthy extra B

L:  fruit and yogurt

I have half a melon that really needs using up and I'll chop some strawberries to go inside it and with a dollop of natural yogurt on top.  Lovely.

SW:  all speed and free

D:  cheesy naked Mexican style burger, chips, salad; yogurt

I've indulged in a Hello Fresh delivery for the weekend and beyond, going for the under 600 calorie choices and this is the first meal of the batch.  The 'naked' bit means no bun.  

SW:  Looking at the list of ingredients, the cheese is going to be half an A choice, some panko breadcrumbs will be one syn, there's some red pepper and chilli jelly for which I have no idea so let's call it two syns (it's not a large amount), the mince is around two and a half syns and I think the rest is syn free.  The dessert is half a syn

The lot is 599 calories (it says)

Summary:

half a healthy extra A
half a healthy extra B

eight syns

Thursday, 22-07-21

 Good morning.  This week has been difficult for lots of reasons.  Very emotional, for a start.  I've tried but not done terribly well but that's to be expected and I will get back on track.  Yesterday things were going fine until the evening.    1/6 - not great!  Oh, well.

I'm not beating myself up about it.  It is what it is and now it is time to put it aside and make a real and concerted effort.  It is true that funerals give a sort of closure.  Now I move on.

Yesterday's photos:

Just some cherries and berries for breakfast.

Beth and Alex were here for lunch so it's just as general photo.  Ham salad.

The burger was rather tasty.  It was layered bread, bacon, burger, cheese, burger, bacon, bread and when I picked it up to eat it the whole lot fell apart.  Not to worry, it was delicious, all the same.

I used what I had left of some Slimwell frozen chips but I won't buy them again, it's just as easy to peel and cut a potato, much cheaper and twice as nice.

Today's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt
I have blueberries to pick and, maybe, a few strawberries.
SW:  if I use a Mullerlight, half a syn

L:  cheesy chicken quesadillas, salad, coleslaw; fruit
One chicken breast will do for both meals.  I will oven bake it this morning and then I can shred it.
SW:  one  healthy extra A (cheese) and one B (the wrap) unless I choose to use a piece of lo dough, in which case it is two syns instead.  Also I might have another 15g cheese which will be three syns - I do like a cheesy effect.  Mayo will be another syn and a half.

D:  chicken and bacon risotto, salad; yogurt
The risotto isn't a recipe, it's just a typical risotto (without wine and butter!) and I have some real chicken stock in the freezer which will be good to use.  I'll probably use Thermione; that way I don't have to stand over it, stirring and getting hot and sweaty,
After my last experience when 50g of rice made way too much, I'm cutting it to 30g.  I know that doesn't sound a lot but I don't want a lot, I just want one portion with room for a side salad and by the time I have added the chicken, the bacon and other bits and bobs of vegetables, it will be more than enough.
SW:  one healthy extra A in the form of Italian cheese and half a syn for the dessert

Summary:
two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
five and a half syns

Wednesday, 21-07-21

 Good morning.  Here's me, back on the wagon again after a necessary day off that saw a buffet for lunch (good old M&S) and a take away Chinese with my four (son and partner, daughter and grandson) back home after a warm drive back from Dad's.

The stats aren't looking great.  1/4.  Ooops.

So no photos of yesterday's food.

Today's plans are:

B:  fruit 
There's some strawberries and cherries left over from yesterday so I will polish them off.
SW:  free and speed, no syns

L:  ham salad; fruit
Ditto with ham, leftover from yesterday's lunch
SW:  protein, speed

D:  New York bacon burgers with Cajun wedges; yogurt
I meant to try this on Sunday and didn't so it is back on the menu for tonight.
SW:  one healthy extra B, I will add cheese for a healthy extra A and one syns for mayo plus half a syn for the yogurt

Summary:
one or two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
one and a half syns
That looks OK after a day well off plan.

Monday, 19-07-21

 Good Afternoon.
Another on plan day yesterday so 2/7.

As you may have noticed, the header banner is up again.  Thankfully, Blogger has repaired whatever it was that caused the problem so it looks nice and bright again.  All the photos are meals I have cooked myself as part of the Slimming World plan.

I didn't take photos yesterday; it was too hot to bother.

Today's plans:

The next two days are rather tricky as I'm off to Dad's almost straight away.  I should be able to stick to plan today but tomorrow will be trickier and I won't be posting.  

B:  fruit and yogurt

I'll have this when I get to Dad's.
SW:  half a syn

L:  I'm not sure, it depends what there is when I get there but, if all else fails, I should be able to have a cheese sandwich and fruit.

SW:  if I do, that will be all my healthy extras, two As and one B

D:  roast beef, broad beans and new potatoes; yogurt

The beef is the last of several short ribs (I think that's what it's called) that Dad bought, cooked, from his local excellent butcher and froze.  I'm trying to use up his food stocks when I'm there.
The broad beans and the potatoes are from the allotment and the gravy will be made from some real beef stock I had in my freezer.
SW:  up to two syns for gravy and half for dessert.

Summary:
two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

three syns

Sunday, 18-07-21

 Good morning.
First of all, while it is on my mind, just to say there will be no post on Tuesday, that being the day of Dad's funeral.  I should be posting tomorrow and then again on Wednesday.  Staying on plan on Tuesday will be a challenge but it is just one day.

Yesterday went according to plan so that's 1/7 under my belt.

Edited to add that they seem to have resolved the problem with banner photos.  Yay!

Yesterday's meal photos:

Breakfast was simply gorgeous.  The fresh picked blueberries were especially tasty - little burst of sweetness.

Later on, I had one and a half flat peaches (the other half had to be cut off and chucked)

Lunch - tuna filled roll with cucumber, celery, red pepper and tomatoes.  Perfect for the warm weather.

And later I had another flat peach - they're quite small.

A close up of the chicken fajita pasta bake as it came out of the oven.  I quartered the recipe and then reduced the amount of pasta but even so there was loads - no way could I manage either a side salad or a dessert.  Just as well there was plenty of speed veg in the dish itself.

Today's plans:

B:  pancakes, fruit and yogurt
A treat for a sunny Sunday morning.
SW:  five syns for 30g flour (I'm having a roll later on), half a syn for yogurt

L:  tuna potato salad; fruit
I have tuna left over from yesterday which must be used up so I'm going to cook some new potatoes (dug up yesterday) and mix them with the tuna, chopped spring onions, cucumber and pepper, stir in some mayo and dollop it on salad leaves.
SW:  one syn (maybe a bit more) for super light mayo

D:  New York bacon burgers with Cajun wedges, coleslaw; yogurt
This is another recipe from the SW site, found here if you have access.  The chips are potato ones but I have butternut squash to use up so I will sub.  I had more than enough chips on Friday to last me out.
Roasted butternut squash is gorgeous so I should enjoy these.
There's no cheese on the burgers but, as I have healthy extras to use up, I may add some.
Also, I still have some Southwold bacon in the freezer so that will give great flavour.
SW:  probably one to two healthy extra As for cheese, one healthy extra B for the roll and up to one syn for some super light mayo while the dessert will be half a syn.

Summary:
one to two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
around eleven syns - a bit higher than usual because I can't have two healthy extras!

Saturday, 17-07-21

 Morning!
Well, yesterday was a disappointment with just a maintain.  I know that they say a maintain is better than a gain and so it is but I've been on plan all week so hoped for more.  Mind you, I did say yesterday I didn't feel as if I'd lost anything so there you go.  I went a bit off plan yesterday evening so have finished the SW week with a 6/7 mark. 

What to do?  Well, I just continue on plan and see what next week brings.  If the results aren't better next week, I will look at portion sizes although I mostly use a small plate so the portions do look better than they really are - that's a strategy!
Jen thinks it might be because my emotions are all up and down (which they are) and my sleep patterns are awry.  Bless her, she trusts me when I say I've been on plan properly (which I have) and doesn't hint that maybe I am self deceiving.  I appreciate that very much.

I am enjoying being on plan again, there are some great recipes in the new SW mag and the new book that I want to try, so there's no temptation to go off track in any way at the moment.

And so we continue . . .

Yesterday's meals:

Breakfast was snatched between SW and a chat in the garden with Chris so no photos.  It ended up as a banana and two nectarines (which are delicious at the moment).

It was such a warm and sunny morning, I really didn't fancy boiled eggs so I had another wrap, this time ham salad.  I have slices of cooked ham in the freezer and used a bit of that.  I'm loving the garden cucumbers - at the moment I only have to blink and there's another one to pick.  Fortunately, the are not large ones, they're around the length of my hand.

Later on I got my healthy As in via some nibbles of cheese.  Nice.

And then - off plan.
Too many chips for a start and more onion chutney than planned, but I did have the syns for that.
No, what took me off plan is the few fruity gins I enjoyed through the evening, rhubarb gin made with allotment rhubarb.  It was really nice.

Straight back on plan now.

Today's plans:

B:  yogurt and fruit
Three days running, I know but today there's a reason.  In the garden, I have two strawberries, one raspberry and a scattering of blueberries ripe and ready to eat plus a melon in the kitchen that feels just perfect.
SW:  speed and free, no syns

L:  tuna Marie Rose and cucumber roll, side salad; melon slices
The roll filling is from the SW site - if you have access, you will find it here.  Basically, it is tuna, fromage frais tomato puree, lemon juice and dill.  I have loads of cucumber!
SW:  one healthy extra B, two syns for low fat 'butter' (ha ha) and some spray salad dressing for half a syn

D:  chicken fajita pasta bake, salad; yogurt
Another from the SW site and one I have made before and very much enjoyed.  I'm torn between making one portion or two, one for today and one for when I go up to Dad's for the funeral.
It's basically a dish I have been making for ever; the children used to love it when they were little.  It's loaded with all the veg I really love and I will add some mushrooms, just because.
Again, if you have access to the SW site, it is here.
SW:  one or two healthy extra As, half a syn for spray dressing and half for yogurt

Summary:
one to two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
three and a half syns

Fingers crossed, wish me luck!