Tuesday, 31-10-23

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to my maintaining on Slimming World blog where I talk about the meals I enjoy while maintaining my target weight and keeping a healthy balanced diet.

A little while ago I got two advent calendars from Just Spices.  I meant to just get the big one but there was a special on and I had a discount code and maybe my mouse slipped a bit.  They're much of a muchness except that the little one has sachets of different spice mixes while the larger one has little pots.
They come with recipes but I won't be able to access the recipes until December so I will have to be inventive.  I wasn't to use them as much as possible.

As I will be away for Christmas, Dec 20th is the last day I can do an Advent calendar.  So I counted back 25 days and then another 25 days and it got me to November 1st.  So Mini Spicemas starts tomorrow.  🎄🎄🎄

Yesterday's meal photos:

Looks like a burnt offering, doesn't it?

The egg was definitely overcooked but still nice - I don't mind solid yolk, I just prefer runny yolk.
The bubble and squeak waffles looked burnt but weren't, they just went that colour.

The tomatoes were, unfortunately, a bit scorched.  But I still ate them.  A bit of charcoal is good for the bowel, my dear dad used to say.

Very simple and very tasty.

And I had a brainwave.  I used half of the can for lunch and I rinsed the other half well and used it for the evening Jack Monroe burgers instead of kidney beans.  It worked really wall.

I though I had taken a photo of dinner but there wasn't anything on the camera so obviously I didn't, did I?

More unfortunately, after days of resisting biscuits, I crashed and made great inroads into them.  Oh, drat!
So today's meals are very light, probably lower in calories that I would want them to be, but I can do this.  It's not something I would normally wish to do - over eat and then under eat - but once in a blue moon won't hurt and my meals will still be delicious, nutritious and home made.  

Today's meal plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

SW:  syn free

L:  tomato and roasted red pepper soup; fruit

My favourite recipe!
SW:  should be syn free

D:  cheesy pasta bake, veg; fruit/yogurt
One of those wing it, use what you have, recipes
SW:  one healthy extra A for grated cheese on top

Exercise:  Groove

Summary:

one healthy extra A

no healthy extra Bs

syn free - and NO BISCUITS!

For information:

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

w.b. 21-10-23: dinner photos

 A photographic resume.

Saturday:  chicken and veg traybake

Sunday:  spaghetti amatriciana

Monday:  cheesy corned beef hash with sprouts and broccoli

Tuesday:   salmon curry in a hurry, rice

Wednesday:  cheesy corned beef pasty, baked beans

Thursday:  steak, roasted veg and mushrooms

On Friday I didn't feel that well so didn't have a proper dinner.

w.b. 21-10-23: lunch photos

 A photographic resume.

Saturday:  chutney, apple and cheddar open toastie, salad

Sunday:  lamb leg steak with roasted veg (sweet potato, courgette and carrot) and steamed veg (sprouts, broccoli and cabbage)

Monday:  country veg soup

Tuesday:  quesadilla waffles with a side salad

Wednesday:  nothing - out.

Thursday:  mushroom and butterbean soup with croutons.

On Friday I wasn't feeling well so didn't have a proper lunch.

w.b. 21-10-23: breakfast photos

 A photographic resume.

Saturday:  waffles with pears and yogurt

Sunday:  avo bagel with scrambled eggs and a garnish of watercress and tomatoes

(half eaten before I realised I hadn't taken a photo.)

Monday:  toasted English muffin with warm spiced fruit, yogurt and agave nectar

Tuesday: a cooked breakfast of bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and brown sauce.

Wednesday:  h m hash brown waffles, egg, mushroom, tomatoes

Thursday morning was really busy what with workmen arriving, etc, so I didn't take a breakfast photo.  It was plums and yogurt.

Friday:  bacon and eggy bread sandwiches

Monday, 30-10-23

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to my maintaining on Slimming World blog where I talk about the meals I enjoy while maintaining my target weight and keeping a healthy balanced diet.

Yesterday's meal photos:

I couldn't be bothered to faff around with a wrap and fillings, I just went for an omelette - and it was really nice so no regrets.

I do love an old fashioned Sunday roast and this one was delicious.  A right plateful, sure, but loads of vegetables.

I'm sure I asked the lady behind the deli counter for two slices of beef but when I unwrapped them, there were three.  Not to worry, I scoffed the lot.

The roasted veg were sweet potato, squash, parsnip, carrot, broccoli stem and baby onions.  The steamed veg were sprouts, broccoli, green beans and I also had cabbage but there was no room on the plate for it.

Finally, the Yorkshire platter worked really well.  It stuck a little bit but I was able to unstick it.

Later on, I had the last pear and three small plums.

Just as nice the second time as it was the first.   Toast, chutney, apple and cheese on top, popped under the grill.  So good and surprisingly filling too.

I had the other half of the apple for dessert.

Today's meal plans:

B:  bubble and squeak patties (or waffles?  Might give that a go), egg and tomatoes.

Leftovers - deliberate ones - from yesterday's Sunday lunch.  I've already mushed it all together and just need to add the cheese.  I'm really not sure if it will hold together in the waffle maker but let's give it a go, eh?  You never know.

SW:  half a healthy extra A for cheese in the patties/waffles

L:  sausage and beans on toast; fruit

Not from a tin - well, the beans are but I will cook the sausages first.

SW:  four syns for two cumberland chipolatas and one healthy extra B for bread

D:  Jack's carrot, cumin and kidney bean burger with added halloumi, chips, side salad, chutney; fruit/yogurt
I dug this out of my brain because I fancied something burger-y but not meat based and I remember really loving these when Jack Monroe was just becoming a Famous Person with a brilliant frugal food blog.  I still miss that blog although I am glad the necessity no longer exists for her.
I'm adding grated halloumi to the mix because I have some to use up and I think it might be really delicious.

This recipe makes four quite large burgers so I will use a quarter of the mix and freeze the other quarters separately so I can shape them as I wish when I use them.  They would make nice falafel shapes or not-meat balls.

SW:  one and a half syns for flour, one healthy extra A for grated halloumi, one and a half syns for chutney

Exercise:  Lindsey's classes resume so it's back to small group circuits today.

Summary:

up to two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

seven syns - actually, it will probably be less because I've counted syns for more than one portion; oh, well, never mind.

For information:

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

Sunday, 29-20-23

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to my maintaining on Slimming World blog where I talk about the meals I enjoy while maintaining my target weight and keeping a healthy balanced diet.

Yesterday's meal photos:

A good start - waffles with spiced plums and apple and some yogurt.

It carried on being good . . . and my lemon mayo was so lovely with the chicken strippers.

Dessert was an apple and an easy peeler.

This was so good too.  Cheesy macaroni with bacon and veg and very yummy.

I finished off the day with a couple of easy peelers.

Today's meal plans:

B:  breakfast omelette wrap

I'll do a mix of veg to fill this omelette wrap - onion, yellow pepper, tomato and mushroom and, maybe, some bacon too.

And you have to add a bit of cheese, don't you?

SW:  half a healthy extra A

L:  roast beef dinner; fruit

The roast beef is two slices of topside from Morrison's deli counter so a bit of a cheat but it works really well for one.  I did look at the joints but ouch - and I didn't want lots of leftovers this week.
In the interests of never giving up, I'm going to try a PoN yorkshire pudding wrap thingy as a platter again, but do it properly in the oven instead of trying to get round having to turn the oven on.  That means I will do some roasted veg in the oven too because it will be on.
Veg will be roasted squash, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip and onion and I will probably steam some cabbage, sprouts and broccoli.  If I aim for leftovers, I can make some bubble and squeak for tomorrow.
SW:  two and a half syns for plain flour, three syns for half a tbsp oil and the milk will be part of a healthy extra A.  Also one and a half syns for 10 ml horseradish sauce

D:  cheese, apple and chutney toastie, salad; fruit/yogurt

I had this last week and it was so, so tasty, I'm having it again.

Lightly toast some bread.  Spread over some chutney of choice, then some sliced apple and finally some grated cheese of choice.  Pop under a medium grill until the cheese melts and it's all warmed through.  Serve with salad veg of choice.

SW:  up to one and a half healthy extra As (remembering the milk from lunch), one healthy extra B and one and a half syns for the chutney

Exercise:  a Lindsey pre-record class

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

seven syns

For information:

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

Saturday, 28-10-23

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to my maintaining on Slimming World blog where I talk about the meals I enjoy while maintaining my target weight and keeping a healthy balanced diet.

I was pleased with half a pound off yesterday.  Well done, me, and another star on the Christmas Tree chart!

(If you remember, I used clipart, etc, to put together a Christmas tree with white stars labelled with SW meeting dates up to the last meeting I can get to before Christmas and for every week I remain in my target range, I stick a gold star over the relevant white one.  Two down, seven to go.)

Not so great is that, while I felt fine yesterday morning, by lunchtime I was feeling decidedly yuck so gave lunch and then dinner a miss.  I had some fruit, nuts and a bit of cheese so I didn't fast and I feel more with it again this morning, thankfully, just a bit fragile and dizzy.

The workmen won't be back until Monday so I can rest up and take things quietly which is nice.

Yesterday's meal photos:

I know it looks a lot but, actually, it wasn't as the slices of bread are small and halved.

Very nice, made with eggy bread.  I'll remember that.

That's all the photos I have, sorry.

Today's meal plans:

B:  pancakes or waffles, yogurt and fruit (probably apple and plums)

I'll probably add some apple pie spice mix to both the pancakes/waffles and the fruit.  It should be very tasty.

SW:  half a healthy extra B for the waffles/pancakes

L:  chicken stripper, salad and lemon mayo; fruit

As I had thawed the chicken and the cheesy breadcrumbs, I cooked the strippers (surely, the only difference between nuggets and strippers is the shape, right?) so all I have to do is blast them in Nellie for a short while.

SW:  three syns for the breadcrumbs and one for mayo

D:  bacon and broccoli cheesy macaroni; fruit/yogurt

This isn't exactly macaroni cheese, not quite.  The idea is to cook the macaroni (or other pasta), the bacon (chopped) with some chopped onion and some broccoli. mix together the bacon, onion and broccoli in an oven proof dish, add some Seriously Cheddar light to the macaroni to melt, spoon the cheesy macaroni over the bacon and veg, sprinkle over a bit more cheese and bake, either under the grill or in Nellie.
It should work, shouldn't it?

SW:  Up to two healthy extra As

Exercise:  Perhaps a walk this afternoon and I need to do some gardening.

Summary:

up to two healthy extra As

half a healthy extra B

four syns

For information:

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

Friday, 27-10-23

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to my maintaining on Slimming World blog where I talk about the meals I enjoy while maintaining my target weight and keeping a healthy balanced diet.

Weigh-day today!  Will I find I have made inroads into my wee gain of last week?  We will see but I don't think I will have gained.

Or is that Famous Last Words?  😀

Yesterday's meal photos:

I did it again.  The project manager for my garden room was asking questions and I just forgot to photo breakfast.  Please imaging a bowl with some sweet and spiced purple plums and a good dollop of Greek yogurt on top.  It really was very nice.

Later on, I had a pear - nearly finished them now and they are really nice and juicy but getting close to too mushy.

Sorry about the wonkiness!

The butterbean and mushroom soup freezes very well, the flavour improved and it was so yummy.

Later on, I had an apple.

I do like a good steak and this was indeed a good steak.  On a bed of roasted sweet potato, parsnip, carrot and onion and topped with some sliced mushroom.

Dessert was a pear.

Today's meal plans:

B:  bacon eggy bread sandwich

Just what it says.  I might have some mushrooms or something too

SW:  one healthy extra B

L:  chicken nuggets, chips, salad; fruit

Sounds naughty, doesn't it, but they will be home made using what's left of the cheesy breadcrumb mixture I made last week, popping the unused part in the freezer.  I'll do them in the air fryer, I think, with the chips doing in the other side.

SW:  up to three syns for the breadcrumb mix and up to one for mayo

D:  potato and smoky bacon gratin, sprouts, broccoli; fruit/yogurt

This is a Slimming World recipe and here's the link to a YouTube video that shows it being made.  I will add some cheese on top at the end because - you know, cheese . . .  mmmmmm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4JaG34l5RY

I'll cut the quantities down to one to work for me.  It's one of those recipe where you can.

Instead of a side salad, I think I will have my favourite sprouts and broccoli - I love those vegetables.

SW:  up to two healthy extras for cheese

Friday treat:  probably mixed nuts.  I do love them.

Exercise:  a walk and a Lindsey Shimmy class.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

four syns plus my Friday treat

For information:

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.

Recipe: savoury hash brown waffles

My recipe is at the end but I am not claiming any creativity here.

This is the original recipe :

Ingredients:

100g grated cheese

2 large Russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
2 tbsp snipped chives

1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper

Method

Lightly grease the non-stick coated plates
Preheat the waffle maker
Using 2-3 payers of kitchen towel, firmly squeeze all excess liquid from the potato.  

In a large bowl, mix together the potato mix into each of the non-stick coated cooking plates

Carefully close the lid and cook for approx. 15 mins until crispy and brown.

Tip:  Serve with poached eggs and cooked sausages.

What I did:

I used a medium-ish Maris Piper that, before peeling, was about 220g.  That wasn't quite enough to fill all four compartments so I reckon about 220g AFTER peeling so go for a larger spud.  You need  a potato like Maris or King Edwards, not a waxy potato.

I finely chopped a small onion and softened it in the microwave with a spray of oil

I used 40g strong lighter cheddar.

Salt and pepper, of course, but I remembered the cheese is salty.

My concerns were:

- that 15 mins was too long and it would burn

- that the inside would still be raw - and raw potato is not nice

- that it would stick to the plates and make a right mess.

but 15 mins was perfect for a nice, crunchy outside, the potato was soft and delicious and it came off the plates easily.

The only problem - not a problem really - was that there wasn't quite enough to cover the base plate.  But given that I made pretty much half amounts, that wasn't a problem.

So, my recipe

Ingredients to make four sections (but remember waffle makers differ in size and shape)

Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes enough to give around 200g when peeled, grated and squeezed.

40g strong lighter cheddar (one healthy extra A)

Some finely chopped and microwave softened onion

seasoning of choice - I used salt and pepper

Method.

Preheat the waffle maker

Soften the chopped onion.

Peel and grate the potato and squeeze in a cloth or with kitchen towel to get rid of excess moisture.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Spray oil the plates (I am assuming they are non-stick!)

Spoon onto the lower plate, spreading it out evenly.

close the lit and cook as per your machine's instructions for fifteen minutes.  I carefully checked after ten but it was definitely better with fifteen.

While they're cooking, prepare whatever else you are having.

Carefully remove from the plates, cut into sections and serve.  I are two and froze the other two.

And they were delicious.

I'm going to try different seasonings (garlic, perhaps, and nutmeg might be nice), different cheeses or adding things like chopped bacon or chorizo.
Or they would work just as hash browns baked in oven or air fryer or in a pan.

Thursday, 26-10-23

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to my maintaining on Slimming World blog where I talk about the meals I enjoy while maintaining my target weight and keeping a healthy balanced diet.

Today sees the start of work to change my garden shed into a garden room with a sheddy bit on the side.  It's a long planned for, hoped for and saved for project so pretty exciting but I am sure the day will bring some challenges, not the least of which is having biscuits in the house for the lads.
Please send 'I-don't-like-biscuit' vibes in my direction, if you have any to spare . . .  ta!

Yesterday's meal photos:

Well, the hash brown waffles were an outstanding success.  I had a couple (half) and the other two are now in the freezer.

I think it is worth posting the recipe as a separate post because I know I will be making these again and again.  I can think of plenty of variations and they would be lovely with baked beans.

The main thing I was concerned about - well, two things, really were:

- will the potato be cooked?  There's nothing worse than not-quite-cooked potato

- will it stick on the waffle plates. 

And the answers are - yes, it was, totally, with a bit of crunch on the outside and no, it didn't stick.

I was out at my lunch time (2:00), at a Everyman cinema watching a film of the live performance of Prince of Egypt with Beth and Alex.  I forgot to take a couple of apples with me so I got a 'small' container of salty popcorn and, shared three ways, and instead of lunch, that shouldn't have done any harm at all.

Ooops.  I was going to cut this wrap pasty in half and display it nicely but it stuck to the baking tray so the underneath isn't terribly pretty and I didn't bother.
The inside is corned beef, softened chopped onion, finely grated cheese and brown sauce, all sort of mashed together - and it was really delicious.  I might try it as a sort of quesadilla type product - lighter on the corned beef and therefore more economical.

I was hungry so I had baked beans and it all went together really well as well as being filling and comforting.

Dessert was a couple of pears.

Today's meal plans:

B:  warm spiced fruit and yogurt

Like I had on Saturday but without the toasted muffin and butter

As I have often said, one of my non-compliant with SW things is that I don't syn cooked fruit which will be from the freezer rather than fresh.

SW:  should be syn free

L:  mushroom and butterbean soup, croutons; fruit

I made this soup a short time ago and popped it in the freezer.  Time to see how well it has frozen!

SW:  the soup is syn free, the croutons will be my healthy extra B

D:  steak, mushrooms, roasted vegetables; fruit/yogurt

I bit of a splash out, I know, but it's likely to be a bit of a stressful day (not in a bad way though) and a nice steak will provide a 'reward' feeling for having coped.  The roasted veg will probably be sweet potato, parsnip, onion and, maybe, carrot.

SW:  should be syn free

Exercise:  unsure but probably plenty of steps

Summary:

no healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
no syns - that's a bit unrealistic really; I'm sure a few will creep in.

For information:

The Slimming World structure:

While following the plan, you can have . . .

Any amount of speed and free food - BUT try to have a third of your plate as speed food as a sub for free food, NOT as well as . . .  Eat to satisfaction, not to stuffed-ness!

Two healthy extra As (calcium) and one healthy extra B (fibre) - details in the SW pack and on the SW web site/app.

Between five and fifteen syns-worth of synned food - again, details in the pack, site and app.  They are a limit to stay within, not a target to hit.

As a target member, I can also have . . .

Another two healthy extras each day
Another fifteen syns up to three times each week

BUT - only if I need/want to.  It's a limit, not a target

. . . with the ultimate aim of not needing to count healthy extras, syns, etc at all but just knowing and eating well instinctively.