Sunday, 29-01-23: low spend/no spend January

Morning, everyone!

Most SW consultants will tell you that one of the keys to making SW work is to plan, plan, plan!

For the first four weeks, you have to either fill in a planning sheets you are given or (what I did, being a bit independent/awkward) make your own template and fill that in.  It's changed a bit over time but is still, essentially, a grid.  If it's for handing in, I go into all the details on the grid - As, Bs, syns are all recorded.

Nowadays, I have the grid for the next two weeks started off because so often I come across a recipe and think 'yes!' but then don't remember what or where it is.  So I just jot it down in the grid, complete with link, if appropriate and, a few days before, I can fill any spaces for the next day.
All the As, Bs and syns are recorded in this blog.

It sounds a bit long winded but it really isn't.  It's all on screen, saves paper, meals are easy to shift around and - well, it just works well for me.

Do you plan much in advance?

Yesterday's meals:

Breakfast was just a couple of little apples - I didn't take a photo of two little apples!

I know it looks like breakfast but I had it at lunch time - my lunchtime, which is around two p.m.

I'd planned bacon as well but when I opened the container, it smelled decidedly iffy so out it went.  Ouch!

A bit later, I had three little easy peelers.

The Simply Cook Balinese chicken was so good.  As planned, although I didn't add any more chicken (what the recipe said was plenty for four of my portions), I did add red pepper, mushroom and baby corn to bulk it out and it made not three but four portions.  I'm going to call each portion six syns - an estimate but I don't think I am that far off.

So that's one last night, one for lunch tomorrow and two for the freezer.  Poor freezer!

I made some sugar free jelly and added blueberries and raspberries.  For a topping I mixed Greek yogurt with vanilla essence and sugarly and it tested a bit custardy.  A nice dessert for half a syn.

Today's plans

B:  fruit and yogurt

I really like this as a default breakfast.  It fills me, satisfies me and is good for me.

SW:  I've finished the 0% Greek yogurt and am on to the 2% so half a syn

L:  roast pork, roasties, veg; fruit

Beth and Alex are round for lunch today which gives me a jolly good reason to use up one of the joints in the freezer as well as one of the vegetarian things.
With it, I will; make apple and onion sauce (one has to, right?), roasted potatoes, parsnips and sweet potatoes, carrots and sweet corn.  Dessert is apples and oranges

SW:  I won't be synning the apple sauce as I will use sugarly, all the roasted veg will be in spray oil and it looks as if this roast dinner is, therefore, syn free.

D:  pork and apple wrap, finger salad; jelly and yogurt

This is leftovers, of course.  I'm hoping Alex will take home most of the leftovers, leaving me just enough for this meal.
I haven't decided whether to add coleslaw in the plate or in the wrap - maybe in the wrap because I like adding apple to coleslaw.

SW:  one syn for the dessert - half for the jelly (the pack made four portions) and half for the yogurt

Ex:  More or less a rest day today - just a short stretch session and, perhaps, a walk.

Summary:

no healthy extras

one and a half syns

What is low spend, no spend?

All I will buy through January is essentials - and by that I mean food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs.  All other foods will come out of my existing supplies and, to be honest, that may not be much of a challenge.  Also included in any low spend essentials are cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter.  
Also anything else essential that I won't think of until it lands!
That is the low spend part.

Everything else, unless it is either a regular bill/payment/commitment, will not happen.  No sneaky little Amazon purchases, no 'bargains' from the supermarket, certainly no clothes . . .
That's the no spend part.