Monday, 31-10-22

 Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday's meal photos:

I don't normally take a photo when it's this sort of breakfast but I did this time.  The new Mullerlight flavour is quite nice as Mullerlights go, I think.

Oh, this was lovely.  I'm very glad I hadn't planned to have a Yorkshire because, let's be honest, where on earth would it fit on the plate?

The beef was really nice and I'm so glad there's plenty of leftovers.

I don't think I had any dessert.

This was a really nice soft and squidgy sandwich and the hm chutney is lovely!

The day finished off with another yogurt.

Today's plans:

B:  bacon and mushroom omelette, mushrooms

SW:  half a healthy extra A for some cheese on the omelette

L:  cheese and onion toastie, salad; fruit

SW:  one and a half healthy extra As, one healthy extra B, half a syn for chutney

D:  leftover beef stroganoff, rice, veg; yogurt

Here's the recipe I intend to use.

https://www.effortlessfoodie.com/easy-leftover-roast-beef-stroganoff/

SW:  the Dijon mustard is too small a portion to register as even half a syn and lighter crème fraiche will be four syns while the yogurt is, as always, half a syn.

E:  circuits

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

five syns

Sunday, 30-10-22

 Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday's back to it Day one went fine until the evening when I had a lot of cravings.  However, I didn't give in to them so I'm very happy about that.  This morning, I feel 100% on it again and even managed to sleep a bit longer than usual which sort of 'absorbed' the time change.  It's nice not to have a longer day that usual.

I've agreed with Jen (SW consultant) to keep a diary for her for four weeks - no hardship on my part but brave of her - she knows how detailed my diaries are!!!

Yesterday, I made some red onion chutney in my slow cooker.  The recipe is syn free but I did add a bit of proper demerara sugar to the sweetener granules (which is negligible per portion) for the flavour it imparts and, right at the end, added some dried cranberries which, again, would be negligible per portion but I'm going to call it half a syn per portion.

Here's the recipe:

https://tastefullyvikkie.com/slimming-world-syn-free-slow-cooker-red-onion-chutney-3/

I made half amounts, one for the four tbsps sweetener was demerara and I added 50g (eight syns) of Whitworth dried cranberries (left over from making the Christmas cake).

It's quite sweet but really very nice.  Maybe, next time I will use just three tbsps sweetener, not four.

But for now, I have two full Bonne Maman sized pots of lovely, dark onion chutney to enjoy which I am calling half a syn per portion because I know I will get more than eight servings out of each jar.

Yesterday's meal photos:

Just an ordinary cooked breakfast but very tasty.  Some of the tomatoes are still from the garden.  I will so miss them when they finally stop.

Later on, I had an easy peeler.

The Welsh rarebit for lunch was really very tasty, much nicer than it looked.  I'll be making that again.

Dessert was an orange and later on I had an apple

The potato waffle pie worked very well and, given that the mince was cooked and portioned in the freezer, an absolutely doddle to make.

I added some peas to the mince and spooned it all into the dish  before sprinkling over the rest of my healthy A cheese and topping with a frozen potato waffle (I just had to trim the end slightly) and baking in the oven while the vegetables cooked.

Dessert was a yogurt.

Today's plans:

B:  yogurt and fruit

I have apple, orange, plum and blueberries plus whatever there is in the freezer.

SW:  half a syn for 2% yogurt

L:  roast beef dinner; fruit

With the roast beef, I plan to have roasties, roasted parsnip, carrots, sprouts and broccoli plus some horseradish and a bit of gravy.  Not Yorkshires though.

SW:  one syn for horseradish and two for gravy

D:  roast beef sandwich, carrot and celery sticks, onion chutney; yogurt

I'll use cheese triangles instead of butter.

SW:  up to one healthy extra A for cheese,  half syn on onion chutney and half a syn for yogurt

E:  a walk round some shops and some Lindsey exercises

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

four and a half syns

Saturday, 29-10-22

 Good morning, everyone.  

Thank you very much for giving me a bit of space.  I'm back now, recovering slowly from whatever virus it was that knocked me flat (it wasn't covid) both physically and then mentally, and ready to pick up the threads again.

At group yesterday, I was lucky enough to win the raffle.  three pretty little pumpkins, some Beanies coffee with pumpkin spice mix (one of the nicer ones, I think - there's quite a lot of Beanies I really don't like) and something else but I can't remember what.
The pumpkins look lovely as a display but I'm not that fond of pumpkin as a food so if you have any ideas of what I could make that isn't pie or soup, I'd be very grateful.

The meal photos will be up tomorrow.

Today's plans:

B:    cooked breakfast

I think it will be some bacon, some 'fried' bread, an egg and some mushrooms and tomatoes

SW:  the bread will link with what I have for lunch to make a healthy extra B

L:    Welsh rarebit (SW version), side salad; fruit

If you have access to the SW site, this is the recipe I will use, reduced down.  

https://member.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/welsh-rarebit

SW: the B as breakfast, one healthy extra A

D:  potato waffle pie, vegetables, yogurt

The potato waffle pie is just some cooked mince in the bottom of a small ovenproof dish, topped with some grated cheese and then a potato waffle on top, baked in the oven or, more likely, the Ninja until the waffle is done and the rest is piping hot.

SW:  two syns for the Birds Eye potato waffle (other kinds have different syns), half as healthy extra A fo4 some grated not parmesan and half a syn for the yogurt

E:  I'm still feeling a bit wobbly but will try some of Lindsey's homework - carefully!

Summary:

one and a half healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

two and a half syns

Tuesday, 25-10-22

 Hi, everyone.  Just to say I'm taking a few days out of blogging.  I'm fine and should be back by the weekend.  Take care, everyone.  xx

Monday, 24-10-22

Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday's meal photos:

The veg slice was just as nice reheated.  It is definitely on the do again list!

Roast dinners take a bit more time and trouble but they are worth it.  This was delicious!

In the evening, I was tired and couldn't be bothered to do another 'full meal' so I used the healthy extras and made a cheese and chicken toastie.  It cost me one and a half syns in onion chutney and it was tasty.
I thought I had taken photos but my camera says otherwise!

Today's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

SW:  speed and free as long as I use 0% yogurt.  If not, half a syn.

L:  murgh kari,  pitta, maybe a bit of salad; fruit

One of the delicious Simply Cook second portions from the freezer, couldn't be easier!

SW:  one healthy extra B, three syns

D:  chicken and sweetcorn lasagne, side salad or veg; yogurt

This is another from the wonderful Slimming Eats site and I note that Siobhan has another recipe book in the offing so I have it on pre-order.

I can use some of the leftover chicken from yesterday and some of the stock that I made from the carcass plus one of the tomato sauces I made on Saturday.  I'll make one sixth and, while it takes some working out, I think I am there as amounts don't have to be exactly exact!

I'm so tempted to make it lasagne and chips (yummy) but double carbs is not a good idea!

SW:  one A for a mix of cheddar and double Gloucester cheeses, the hm sauce is free, half an A for some milk, one syn for 5g not-parmesan and I will use mustard powder which is free.

Let's not forget the half a syn for yogurt too.

E:  there are no Lindsey classes this week so I will do one of her pre-records from YouTube.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

four and a half syns - that's good!

Sunday, 23-10-22

 Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday's meal photos:

Breakfast pancakes.  I spent one syn on adding 5g Options choccy drink powder and yummy - very nice indeed.  I'll do that again, for sure, maybe in sweet omelettes as well.  The yogurt was 0% and it had gone a bit 'funny', sort of grainy.  It tasted OK but, sadly, I've chucked the rest away as the texture wasn't great.  The topping was just plums well simmered  in sweetener and a bit of water.

Despite the yogurt, the whole thing was delicious.

The vegetable slice I baked for lunch was really rather delicious.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.  The lentils give it a much firmer texture and substance than an ordinary quiche and what you see in the photo is an eighth of the full recipe (I made a quarter because it quartered easily)

Here's the recipe link again - well worth giving it a go.

https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/vegetable-slice/

It was such a delicious day's eating and dinner did not disappoint.  I made just one portion of meatballs using pork mince but more tomato sauce as it's so useful to have some in the freezer.

The day finished off with a kvarg.

Today's plans:

B:  vegetable slice with brown sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms

I was going to have boiled eggs but have this left over from yesterday's lunch which I am more than happy to polish off for breakfast.  I think the brown sauce will go really well.

SW:  one syn for the brown sauce

L:  roast chicken, stuffing, roasties, veg; fruit salad
I found a small chicken at a reasonable price a few weeks ago and popped it in the freezer.  I'm really enjoying this 'have a roast on Sunday' vibe so looking forward very much to this.
The 'stuffing' is just a onion and rosemary sausage to which I might add some chopped sage from the garden and the veggies are parsnip, sprouts, carrot and broccoli - I love a good old plateful of vegetables and the last four are all speed.

SW:  two syns for some gravy, if I make some

D:  air fryer pizza sweet potato slices, coleslaw, salad; yogurt

Someone in our group posted about this on our Fb page and it looks really good so I thought I'd give it a go.  I can use some shredded chicken as part of the topping.

It's another Slimming Eats recipe.  There's a Facebook page for Slimming Eats, if you're interested, where there are loads of links to some great recipes.  

SW:  one healthy extra A, one syn for mayo or salad cream in the coleslaw and half a syn for the yogurt

E:  I'll see how I feel - maybe some of Lindsey's homework.

Summary

one healthy extra A plus cafe au laits and I might add to the cheese on the slices - I'll see.

no healthy extra Bs

four and a half syns

A week in meals

  . . . starting on Saturday, 15th of October.

Mains only, not desserts or any snacks.

Saturday

scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and mushrooms

leek and potato soup with croutons

mince and potato layer bake with veg

Sunday

fruit salad and yogurt

gammon roast dinner

the evening went rather ooops!

Monday

porridge with spiced plums

ham and veg pottage (and then fruit)

sticky chicken with Aldi sticky rice and broccoli

Tuesday

tomatoes on toast with mushrooms

ham and veg pottage

stir fry with sticky rice

No photos for Wednesday.  I wasn't well and things went wonky!

Thursday

baked beans

leek and potato soup with sweet potato crunches

jambalaya

Friday

bacon sandwich

jambalaya lettuce cups, salad

chilli con carne

And that's last week!

Saturday, 22-10-22

Good morning:

This last week, the main meals have more or less focused on two pouches of rice.  While that was going on, I found other recipes I wanted to try so this will coming will be all about them.
At the same time, I want lunches to focus on leftovers from the freezer (when possible but not over this weekend) so the daily syns total will probably be a bit higher than usual - but still within SW limits, of course, and the calories will also be fine

Fingers crossed.

By the way, both pouches of rice were really nice, not so much on their own but when mixed with the ret of the meal.  For two and a half syns, and 75p, that's not bad at all and I will be getting a few more next time I am that way.

Yesterday's meals

I had really wanted this and it didn't disappoint.  Yes, I know it should be thick white doorsteps, lathered in butter, but I happen to prefer it with spray fried wholemeal bread anyway.  Truthfully, I do, I'm not making the best of it.

I had just one tbsp. crucials brown sauce (that was enough) with it and the tomatoes are the dregs from the garden so tasted awesome!

You can't see that the rice is on lettuce leaf 'cups' but it is and it tasted great.  If I hadn't used up my B, I might have made a wrap basket for it although that would have been carb overload really.

To make this, I used the other half of the dirty rice and I jazzed up a portion of basic mince by spray frying onion and red pepper, adding garlic granules and dried chilli flakes and then adding in the portion of the basic mince from the freezer and, finally, some mixed beans, also from the freezer.  It was good!

Today's meal plans:

B:  pancakes or waffles, fruit and yogurt

It's Saturday, I'm feeling a bit better - why not celebrate!

SW:  a splash of healthy extra A, one healthy extra B, half a syn for yogurt

L:  lentil and vegetable slice, salad; fruit

I found this while searching for something else.  It's on the Olive site, here.

I'll use spray oil and roast the veg in the Ninja to cut both calories and fuel and make a quarter amount.  It's basically a sort of frittata/tortilla/quiche type recipe but sounds nice and should cook in the Ninja.

SW:  as I am using spray oil, this should be syn free unless I make some coleslaw in which case it will take one syn of the 70% less salad cream

D:  cheesy meatball pasta bake, side veg; yogurt

Another recipe from the fantastic Slimming Eats site.  Some people just have a genius for creating delicious and healthy meals.  This one looks fantastic.
I might use pork mince rather than beef mince - it really depends what comes to hand.

SW:  one healthy extra A, one syn (maybe a bit less) for a few breadcrumbs and half a syn for the yogurt

E:  Lindsey's homework.

Summary:

two healthy extra As (I will make up the second one with café au laits)

one healthy extra B

two syns

Friday, 21-10-22

 Good morning.

It's so annoying.  I've had a mostly good week and was looking forward to weigh in but the virus is still biting and I'm not going - not well enough.
Oh, well - all the more off next week!  

Yesterday's meal photos:

I know I sounds like a right little misery here but I just couldn't be bothered to do more than heat a can of baked beans.  So that's what I had.

Lunch was the other portion of the leek and potato soup and it was delicious.

Later on, I had a plum and then another plum!

Dinner was based around the other rice pouch, the dirty rice, from Aldi.

I spray stir fried onion, carrot, baby corn, green beans and red pepper with a bit of chorizo and some lean bacon.  I stirred in some jerk seasoning and then added the tomato sauce that I found in the freezer and let it simmer.  Finally, I added some of the pouch of rice and some prawns from the freezer and heated it all back up to piping hot.  It was really, really tasty and I have a bit left over for a lunch today.

It would have been nice with chicken instead of bacon or, indeed, most cooked meats - e.g. Sunday roast leftovers.

Today's plans:

B:  bacon sandwich with tomatoes and mushrooms on the side

I've been fancying bacon sandwich for several days so here it is as a Friday treat.

SW:  one healthy extra B for bread and one syn for some brown sauce

L:  leftovers of jambalaya in lettuce cups, more salad on the side, maybe apple and carrot coleslaw; fruit

Just what it says and I'm looking forward to it very much.

SW:  half a syn for chorizo in the rice mixture and half a syn for the rice itself, one syn for mayo in the coleslaw

D:  chilli con carne with dirty rice, veg on the side; yogurt

The other half of the Aldi dirty rice and I will jazz up one of my portions of savoury mince with some chilli and some mixed pulses.

SW:  one and a half syns for the rice, half a syn for yogurt, one healthy extra A for some grated cheese, half a syn for 2% yogurt and another half syn for fruit yogurt

E:  Lindsey has given us some exercises to do over next week when there are no classes (half term|)

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

six syns

Thursday, 20-10-22

Good morning.

Yesterday the cold returned with a vengeance and the whole day's eating went out of the window so today looks remarkably like yesterday, sorry.

Today's plans:

B:  beans on toast

I need something warm, easy and comforting and beans on toast fits the bill.

SW:  one healthy extra B

L:  leek and potato soup with ham, sweet potato crunches; fruit.

SW:  no syns

D:  'jambalaya', side veg; yogurt

On the back of the pack of Aldi Dirty rice, there is a serving suggestion to add sausage and prawns for an 'authentic jambalaya'.  While I very much doubt that claim, it sounds nice so I thought I'd try it with prawns, one little mini-chorizo sausage and a bit of ham (I have just a little bit left that needs to be finished off really) with some veg on the side.  Worth a go, anyway.

It might be rather dry - will be, in fact - but I found a little pot of hm tomato sauce in the freezer which I can jazz up and add.

SW:  one and a half syns for half the pack of rice, two syns for a mini chorizo and half a syn for a Mullerlight yogurt

E:  a rest day today

Summary:

no healthy As

one healthy B

four syns

 

Wednesday, 19-10-22

Good morning.

Yesterday's meal photos:

I tried to do a more 'arty' close up of breakfast and failed miserably. Never mind.  It was nice anyway and the tomatoes did indeed taste better than expected.

More of the soup - still delicious.

Later on, I had a pear, an apple and a plum.

The sticky rib rice from Aldi is very nice indeed and I will be getting more.  I spent a couple of syns on some ketjap manis, a sort of glorified soy sauce type thing and it worked really well.

Dessert was the frozen banana, yogurt and strawberry ice and that was also lovely.

Today's plans:

B: bacon and mushroom omelette, mushrooms on the side

I'll probably be lavish and have some cheese with this too.
SW:  one healthy extra A

L:  leek and potato soup with ham, croutons; fruit

From the freezer, should have had it Sunday but it's nice to have something quick and easy today.

SW:  one healthy extra B

D:  jambalaya, side veg; yogurt

On the back of the pack of Aldi Dirty rice, there is a serving suggestion to add sausage and prawns for an 'authentic jambalaya'.  While I very much doubt that claim, I thought I'd try it with prawns, one little mini-chorizo sausage and a bit of ham (I have just a little bit left that needs to be finished off really) with some veg on the side.  Worth a go, anyway.

It might be rather dry - will be, in fact - so I can make a spicy tomato sauce.  I have a basic sort of recipe and what I don't use can go in the freezer.

SW:  one and a half syns for half the pack of rice, two syns for a mini chorizo and half a syn for a Mullerlight yogurt

E:  circuits - it should be personal training but Lindsey can't make that today and gave me some options, of which I chose the small group circuit class this morning.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

four syns

Tuesday, 18-10-22

Good morning.

Yesterday's meal photos:

Porridge with spiced plums - a very good way to start off the day.

The ham and veg pottage was absolutely delicious.  Three more portions to go!

Later on I had a plum.

Sticy chicken with the Aldi sticky rib rice.  The rice was fine - nothing special on its own but it came to life when teamed with the rest of the meal.  The sticky sauce I used is equal parts agave nectar (or honey or maple syrup), balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and it bubbled down to a very delicious thing.
No room for anything else afterwards.

Today's plans:

B:  tomatoes on toast
I need to use up some tasteless tomatoes I bought a couple of weeks ago and, given that frying does seem to maximise the flavour, that is their fate.  I might add some garlic and some tomato puree - that will help - and fry them in a bit of olive oil.

SW:  I'm going to splash out on a tsp olive oil for two syns.  Also one healthy extra B for the bread

L:  chunky ham and veg pottage; fruit

From the freezer and the flavour should be good.  Perhaps I will have cheese.
I was going to have croutons but, given how much orzo I added, more starch is definitely not needed.

SW:  protein, speed and free

D:  chicken, ham and rice, side veg; banana, strawberry and yogurt ice

I have the other half of the sticky rib rice pouch to use up so I will just do some onion, mushroom, pepper, beansprouts, chicken and ham as a stir fry and add the rice.  If it's dry, I can add some soy sauce.  It might end up rather samey and I could add a bit of sweet and sour sauce perhaps - we will see.

I'll make the dessert by zizzing together frozen banana and strawberries and adding a bit of Greek yogurt and I have the syns for a bit of choccy sauce, if I fancy it, on top

SW:  one and a half syns for the rice and half for yogurt.  Any sauce will be no more than two syns

E:  Groove aerobics

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

up to six syns

 

Monday, 17-10-22

 Good morning.

While trawling around Aldi last Saturday, I saw some new rice pouches that I'm not noticed before so I bought one of each to try.

Here they are with apologies for the slightly fuzzy photo.

I looked them up on the SW app and they are each two and a half syns per pouch so I'll call it one and a half per portion.

There's a recipe suggestion on each pouch to make a very easy meal or you can do your own thing, obviously.
I do hope they are nice.  I'll report back.

Yesterday's meal photos:

Breakfast - fruit and yogurt

Lunch - a really nice roast dinner (look at all that speed) and afterwards I finished off the fruit salad.

It all crashed rather in the evening after a day of feeling very sorry for myself but not to worry - I'm back on it again this morning, feeling loads better and stronger again.

Today's plans:

B:  porridge with yogurt and fruit

I seem to have a lot of plums so the fruit will probably be some spiced plums (just simmer stoned and halved plums with a bit of sweetener and some sort of sweet spice mix - I have some hm apple pie spice mix that will do the job nicely!

SW:  one healthy extra B for oats and half a healthy extra A for milk.  I don't syn stewed fruit although I do syn any added sugar, obviously!

L:  chunky ham and veg pottage, carrot and celery sticks; fruit

I love a chunky soup with a ham stock base.  You do have to be careful that the stock isn't too salty and an unsmoked joint does better in this respect.  The quality varies anyway but this weekend's stock was really good.
This one has potato, sweet potato, squash, onion, carrot, peas, broad beans and corn to this, plus chunks of ham and way, way too much orzo, and I'm expecting it will do me a couple of days.  It's turned out more like a thick vegetable stew or a pottage than a conventional soup but that's fine - it's tasty, nourishing, packed with vegetables and SW free.  And I have a portion for today, three for upcoming lunches and I will also freeze the leek and potato soup that I didn't have yesterday evening - it is far too good to just chuck!
So - assuming I don't get bored with it, that's this week's lunches sorted out.  Lunch is the meal I struggle with - I have loads of ideas for breakfasts and dinners but not lunches.

SW:  this should be protein, speed and free with no syns

D:  sticky chicken, sticky rib rice, side veg; yogurt

The sticky chicken is a simple recipe from the SW site and is just chunks of chicken in a sticky sauce consisting of honey (I will probably use agave nectar as that's what I have), balsamic vinegar and soy sauce.  I will add some onion, mushroom and red pepper to the mix too.

The sticky rib rice is new in Aldi.   The bumph on the pack says that it is a sweet five spice flavour with soy, garlic and ginger.

I think broccoli on the side would work nicely with this.

SW:  the honey in the sauce will be one and a half syns for one tbsp. half the pouch of rice is one and a half syns (assuming I have as much as half) and the yogurt for dessert is half a syn

E:  circuits today

Summary:

one healthy extra A (I will top up to a full A with a couple of café au laits)

one heathy B

three and a half syns

Sunday, 16-10-22

Good morning.

Yesterday's meal photos:

Unusually, starting off with a 'snack'.  I did an early shop and made a positive decision to buy this and enjoy it.  
I really did enjoy it too - I love salt and vinegar flavour - and was happy to add six syns to my total (which was only half a syn before anyway)

I decided to keep both slices of bread for my lunchtime soup.  
It was a very tasty breakfast.

One of these decades, I will make a one portion soup.  In the meanwhile, I will be very glad that there's a second portion of this really lovely leek and potato soup for later on today.

The mince and potato thingy worked really well and I will add it to my list of 'things to make'.  Beef and potato layer bake!

SW would be proud of me - it may look a right plateful but around three quarters of it is speed veg when you take into account what's in the layer bake as well as what's on the side.

Today's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

I haven't had just this for a while and, as lunch is a big one, a lighter breakfast seems a very good idea.  I have blueberries, pears, grapes, apples, plums, oranges and bananas to choose from - no, I won't have all of them but I will probably turn it into a fruit salad and leave some for lunch.

SW:  half a syn for 2% Greek yogurt

L:  gammon, roasties, parsnips, assorted veg; fruit salad

I almost always have a Be Good To Yourself gammon available.  It's super-lean, tastes good and has a long fridge life.  I will be boiling this one as I want the stock to make soup with afterwards.

I think I will make a spiced apple sauce to have with the gammon plus all the usual veg.  I won't be synning the cooked apple but I will syn the demerara sugar I will use.

SW:  I can't imagine I will need more than one tbsp sugar for the sauce so that will be one and a half syns.  I think the rest will be free, protein or speed

D:  leek and potato soup with added gammon, croutons; yogurt

I was going to use the gammon stock to make soup for dinner but I have yesterday's leftovers of leek and potato so that stock will have to wait for another day!  I'll add some ham to the soup to give it a bit more substance, I think.

SW:  one healthy extra for bread and half a syn for yogurt

E:  A rest day today as I'm feeling quite rough with this cold

Summary:

no healthy extra As (but, thinking about it, I might add some cheese to my leek and potato soup)

one healthy extra B

two syns