Monday, 22-05-23

Morning, everyone!

Yesterday's meal photos:

The sweet omelette was delicious.  I used a strawberry yogurt and strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.  Really nice.

Good old Sunday roast!
Now I have a lovely pile of leftover meat plus a delicious smelling stock which I need to deal with this morning.  It (the stock) will go in single portions into the freezer.

I had a fair bit of fruit through the afternoon.

This was dinner/tea.  I wasn't feeling great and, while it didn't affect my appetite, I did mean I was disinclined to spend much time prepping food.

This was lovely!

Today's plans:

B:  oat and seed smoothie bowl

I will start by admitting that this is a SW 'tweak' because of the blended fruit . . . see below for my personal (and it is just personal) thinking.

The idea is to use 20g of my healthy extra B oats with a mullerlight or 0% Greek yogurt and various fruits and blend it all down to make a thick smoothie which I will pour into a bowl to rest in the fridge so the oats sort of thicken.  I will then add some fruit and some seeds and enjoy.

SW:  half a healthy extra B one syn for a level tsp mixed seeds (they go a long way and one tsp is loads) and half a syn if I use a Mullerlight

L:  melon (and chicken) panzanella salad; fruit

The recipe for melon panzanella salad is in the SW's Taste the Sunshine recipe book and I am adding some cooked chicken to it.
Here's the link to the recipe:  https://bestslimmingworld.com/slimming-world-salad-recipe-melon-panzanella/

I will use wholemeal bread for the croutons for the rest of my healthy extra B and, probably, more olives than it says (I love olives and - healthy oils, right?).  Also, I have a melon that's starting to shout 'Use me, use me!'
(and I will skip the basil - urgh)

SW:  half a healthy extra B for one slice wholemeal and 25g black olives is one and a half syns

D:  huli huli chicken bake with pineapple salsa, side salad; yogurt

Another from Taste the Sunshine and I will have to adapt it somewhat to work with what I have got - sorry, I can't find the specific recipe online.

I don't have pineapple juice  but I could use some orange or lime juice instead - probably lime.  I don't have coconut milk but I do have some dried coconut powder to reconstitute  and I won't need much as these recipes always ask for more rice than I want (90g dry rice?  No way - half of that is loads!).

And the chicken will already be cooked.

It's just as well I am used to adapting recipes, isn't it.  One of the big SW survival skills!!

SW:  one  level tsp of coconut milk is two syns and I'm allowing two tsps so that's four syns.  I'm pretty sure the rest is syn free.  Oh, and half a syn for a Mullerlight

Ex:  Circuits at Shimmy Studio

Summary:

no healthy extra As (ooops)
one healthy extra B

seven and a half syns

This whole thing about synning fruits if they have been blended or cooked is not one I subscribe to.

The idea behind it is that it is just too easy to overdo the fruit in a smoothie or when cooked down, it loses some of its 'filling' value and that it is too quickly glugged down without fully satisfying.
It takes a lot longer to eat a piece of fruit whole than it does blended down in a smoothie.

While I get that to a certain extent, it really doesn't apply to me.

As I always prep for just me, I am fully aware of what goes into my smoothies and I know it is no more than I would have if they were whole on pancakes, waffles or omelettes or in a fruit salad.

I tend to use fruits like berries, where the seeds remain textured in my smoothies and I also add some oats for extra fibre and part of a B choice.  It is certainly not easily 'gluggable', nor would I wish to - what a waste of a flavour experience!  

Leading on from that, I use a small spoon!  As simple as that.  Using a spoon makes it so much harder to consume it too quickly and finish it before the full feeling starts.

I think awareness is the key to all this.  Just be mindful  of the possible pitfalls, just as with every food choice you make.  The more aware, the less likely one is to trip up.   Just use common sense!

And, finally, it is not applied to vegetables.  Why not?  Why not say you have to syn the vegetables in a soup if you blend the soup to smooth?

And that is why I don't syn the fruits in my own, home made smoothies.