Saturday, 18-02-23: low spend February

Morning, everyone!

Well, it was good news at Slimming World group yesterday - two and a half pounds off which means last week's little gain went plus a bit more.  I was very satisfied with that.

The curry evening was also good but for different reasons.  I was reasonably restrained with the food which I knew was as SW friendly as I could make it, but the wine was a different matter.  Oh, well, we all have to let our hair down occasionally and I have decided no more alcohol until either Dave and Anna come round again or my birthday, whichever is sooner.  That means at least a dry month (a bit like my mouth at the moment!!).

I'm straight back on it today and looking forward to what I've planned.

Yesterday's meals:

Breakfast was an apple and a banana - I didn't take a photo.

This was lunch.  Half a can of baked beans is quite a lot, isn't it.  How anyone can plough their way through a whole can at a sitting is beyond me although people do, don't they?

Anyway, with the nice bacon, it made a tasty lunch.

Then dinner was the curry evening.  There wasn't much in the way of useful bits left over although I did throw some into the recycling that, if I hadn't been tiddly, I might have tried to do something with but it wasn't that wasteful really and D and A had seconds of everything so that was nice.   Dessert was just some nice, fresh fruit so that was fine.

Today's plans

B:  fruit and yogurt

I may not even have that but I do need to rehydrate so I'll be drinking loads of water through the morning!

SW:  half a syn for the yogurt

L:  chicken tikka salad wrap or pitta, fruit

I made way too much chicken tikka - a spice mix, lemon juice, yogurt and chicken was about it - and it really was very tasty (one to do again, for sure) so I popped that in the fridge for today.

I'll probably just mix in some more yogurt, if necessary.

SW:  one healthy extra B for the wrap or pitta (decisions!) and half a syn to more than cover the yogurt

D:  peshawari-style baked chicken, rice, maybe a side salad; yogurt

This is a new one from the latest Pinch of Nom book, Enjoy (p. 112).  Jo Morgan, who has a SW based vlog on YouTube, recommended it and it really does sound lovely so I'm giving it a go.  I'm not sure if I have enough chicken thighs in the freezer but can always use a breast fillet or I think I have one sizzler left.  It's not syn free but easy to work out and the coconut milk can count as half a healthy extra A.  The rest of the milk (drink, not canned) can go into the freezer in those little bottles I bough for exactly that purpose.

SW:  half a healthy extra A plus six syns (for ground almonds and sultanas) and half a syn if I have a yogurt afterwards.

Ex:  nothing this morning - I'm not daft enough to try - but I will have a garden jog and do a Lindsey clip this afternoon.

Summary:

half a healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

seven and a half syns - that's OK

What do I mean by low spend?

February is a low spend month.

Through January, I spent very little on non essential food and other items.  The idea was to spend nothing on non food things and I didn't quite achieve that but I was happy with how it went, all the same.
I was so pleased to be able to make some charitable donations as a result; it's so nice to see positive outcomes.

'Essential' means  food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs and other essentials including things like cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter, plus anything necessary that comes up through the month

As for all other spending, there are a few items I need but not an awful lot so I'm really hoping it will also be low spend.

(Of course, all regular bills, direct debits, etc, will still be paid as usual)