Monday evening, 21-10-24, an unofficial weigh in and Bean and Barley Soup

Good evening, everyone!  

It truly is very autumnal now.  The it's colder, damper, mornings are darker, the evenings start earlier and my thoughts turn to filling, delicious and nutritious soups.  I love soups - they are so very easy and you can just use what you have.

When I was working, I regularly made what I called either Saturday Soup or Fridge Rubble Soup which mopped up all the bits and bobs before I did my weekly shop.

Some were outstandingly delicious, some were - well, edible, and all were frugal and prevented waste.

It doesn't have to be Saturday nowadays - every day is a weekend day now - but in autumn and winter I still like to toss into my slow cooker vegetables, stock, maybe meat and maybe beans/pulses for protein, grains and seasonings so that five or six hours later I have a hearty and balanced SW friendly meal.

Sometimes I blend, sometimes I mash, sometimes I have it just as it comes out of the pot..  

Sometimes I have it several times in a row, sometimes I freeze portions.

It's always win-win!

Changing the subject completely, I got on my own scales this morning.  They are pretty accurate and I seem, to get identical results from the SW scales as from my own scales.
I have put on one pound from my last home weigh in just before my holiday which puts me slap bang on my target weight.  I am so, so happy with that and it has never, ever happened before. 

What I ate today

Fruit, yogurt and seeds as usual.  Two plums and a pear and it was delicious.

One syn for the seeds.

Lunch was bean and barley soup, made through the morning in my slow cooked.  It was warming, filling and made three generous portions!  Recipe is in The Extra Bit.

Syn free.

I had nothing else through the afternoon.

(apologies for the bad light)
For dinner, I made a pared down version of spicy chicken fajitas.

I used 2 tsp evoo for the onion, pepper and chicken - four syns.

The 'soured cream' was 0% Greek yogurt - free.

The guacamole was mashed avo with finely chopped onion. lime juice and avocado topping (Just Spices) - two and a half syns
The 'tortillas' were two of those Mission mini wraps, not officially a B but . . . one B and three syns.

I've just realised I forgot the cheese.  Drat.  Oh, well . . .

It was most satisfying anyway!

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

ten and a half syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit, yogurt and seeds

L: toasted bagel, egg, smoked salmon, tomatoes and mushrooms

D:  mushroom and broad bean carbonara (I have mushrooms to use up)

Exercise: Groove class and the walk there and back.

The Extra Bit

Bean and Barley Soup

Recently, two of my favourite vloggers, Roe and Nicky, featured pearl barley in a soup recipe. 

I can't find the exact link to Roe's specific vlog so have given you the general link to her channel instead.

I've made a big effort to widen the range of 'ancient grains' I use recently so I thought I'd have a go at including some barley in a soup too.  This is what I used and it is dead easy.

Ingredients:
one small to medium onion, chopped

one medium carrot, washed and chopped

one 400g can chopped tomatoes

one 300g can of mixed beans, drained but no need to rinse

two slightly heaped tbsps. pearl barley

salt, pepper, garlic granules, a pinch of chilli flakes, some Old Bay seasoning - actually, whatever you fancy!

a splash of water and some chicken stock - I used stock powder, ot use veg stock to make this meat free.

some cubes of frozen sweet potato, butternut squash and peas (or whatever you fancy)

A slow cooker.  Yes, it could be done on the hob but the glory of this is that you put it on overnight or first thing in the morning and there's your lunch!

Method:

Put all of the first group of ingredients in your slow cooker, mix it up well and cook for as long as you want  - I used the auto setting.

After about two hours, add the frozen sweet potato and squash (if using fresh, add them at the start).

Around half an hour before eating, add the frozen peas.

Check and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Enjoy!

(and the house smelled warming and delicious too)

This made me three very generous portions.  I had one and the other two are for another time.

If I had planned to have a hunk of bread and some grated cheese on top, It would have made four portions - what I had kept me full all afternoon.

I've scheduled one portion for Wednesday or Thursday and I think I will add a bit of bacon or some chorizo for a different flavour.

Perhaps, for the third portion, I could add some fish, maybe smoked fish.  Heat the soup to simmering, add chopped up fish and it will cook in about one to two minutes.

Watch this space . . .

Sunday evening, 20-10-24 and principles and guidelines, not rules.

Good evening, everyone!  

It is really so very good to be back eating in the way I enjoy the most.  It was nice to make a few changes while I was away but I feel so much better inside (despite the vaccination aches) now I'm back on the Mediterranean way.

I'm feeling a bit nervous about getting on those scales tomorrow but, as I always say, better to know than to worry about what it might be.  Fingers crossed, eh?  x

What I ate today

I decided I really fancied hot fruit with my yogurt so I simmered three plums and an apple.  I didn't add any sweet spice but it would be nice, maybe when I do my Blogmas posts.

Part of a healthy extra B for seeds  I don't syn cooked fruit.  My decision but remember that SW says that you should.  I just apply common sense!

(see below in The Extra Bit)

A very delicious roast beef dinner.  All very SW friendly apart from on tsp horseradish which was one syn, and the evoo which was two syns

Dessert was an orange and a pear.

This was a throw everything in salad.

Leaves, yellow pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, the rest of the beef cut into cubes, leftovers of roasted sweet potato, parsnip and onion all cubed, some seeds, some h m croutons and some salad dressing made with toasted sesame oil which is as heart healthy as evoo.  I had a zested orange so I segmented that too.  It was so good.

Four syns for the dressing, and the croutons and seeds plus the breakfast seeds came to one healthy extra B in total.

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

seven syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit, yogurt and seeds

L: bean and barley soup; fruit

D:  spicy chicken fajitas with salad

A pared down version but yummy!

Exercise:  circuits

The Extra Bit

Tip no. 5:  principles and guidelines, not rules

After all, they say 'rules were made to be broken' and when you think about why you break a rule, it is often full of issues and attitudes that really don't help with a weight loss/get healthy journey (the two go together in my book!).

Why do we break a rule?

It might be because we think it is silly or unnecessary in some way or perhaps it seems just plain wrong.

It might be because you don't like being told what you can/can't do or how you have to behave.  It's a form of rebellion.

It might be that we think it just doesn't apply to us.

I'm sure you can think of other reasons.
They are often for negative reasons, not positive ones and that can be quite unhelpful and self-damaging.

Some rules, of course, are non negotiable.  It's wrong to steal, to murder, to lie to get someone into trouble, to be deliberately unkind, to break the rules of the road.  (I think, anyway)  We need some rules for our own well being and security and for the smooth functioning of the society we live in.

Maybe some rules do need to be challenged though - otherwise how would we move on and improve or develop?  Think back to a hundred/two hundred years ago - we really wouldn't want to be following those same rules nowadays, would we?

However, when it comes to following a 'plan' or a style of eating, it can get a bit more foggy.  One person's rule is another person's guideline and I like that because, really, this is how you make any way of healthy eating work for you rather than the other way round.

Personally, I prefer to think in terms of guidelines and principles and I stick with Slimming World because it is easy to personalise within the basic  structure of free, speed, healthy extras and syns (still dislike that last term, mind you!).

I'm not an obedient SW girl - I don't syns things SW says I should because I have cooked or blended them, I count wholemeal flour as a healthy extra B (which it isn't really), I think the whole concept of 'tweaks' is rather silly - but then I try not to snack on anything other than fruit and vegetables.  Usually!  :-)

I ask why at group.  I argue at times.  Yes, I can be a perfect pain!

Just a work of warning though - in this context, going against a rule or guideline is OK as long as you have thought it through properly and know WHY.  

'I just fancied it' or 'because I wanted to' are not necessarily good reasons.
Be mindful, research, work out your reasons, analyse the outcomes, be prepared to change your mind if necessary, take your time and think in terms of guidelines and principles rather than hard and fast rules and you will be OK.

Saturday evening, 19-10-24 and a recipe - cheesy bean and bulgur bake

Good evening, everyone!  

I had to laugh - I was getting dressed on Friday morning and struggled to pull up my jeans, just like I used to before I got properly to target.  They went up so far and then wouldn't go up any more - you know what I mean, I am sure.
Oh, no, thought I.  Surely I haven't gained that much extra stuffing in four days!!

And then I looked down and . . . they were zipped up.  I had been trying to pull them up with the zip closed and the button done up!!

Phew - panic over.

What I ate today

Let's start with yesterday (Friday).  I didn't have the lunch I had planned because I fancied just fruit after having a plum for breakfast.  So I had an orange and an apple and that did me until around five.

This was 'dinner'; my favourite toastie with a salad.  So, so good to get back to normal again.

Now on to today - the usual.  The fruits were two plums and an orange and the yogurt is hidden underneath.

One syn for mixed seeds.

Lunch was avocado toast with smoked salmon.  Morrisons didn't have any smoked salmon as such but there were some lightly smoked salmon steaks so I bought a pack of two and, when I got home, I took off the skin and sliced them as thinly as I could before individually freezing.  It was just as good!

One healthy extra B for the toast and two and a half syns for the avocado.

Nothing else as I was full.  No fruit later on either.

I made up a cheesy bean and bulgur bake and will put what I did in the Extra Bit below.  It was really tasty!

Two healthy extra As, two syns for oil and one for seeds.

Again, no dessert.  I had my flu and covid vaccines middle of the day and was starting to feel a bit achey.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

six and a half syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:   fruit, yogurt and seeds

L:   a roast beef dinner; fruit

I have a very small 'length' of fillet of beef, beautifully lean, that will take no time at all to roast.  There might even be a few leftovers but it is very small so maybe not.

D:   either leftover beef and salad or some canned fish and salad - I have plenty of canned oily fish nowadays.

Exercise:   rest day

The Extra Bit

Cheesy bean and bulgur bake

I used:

one tsp garlic evoo (made myself) or use evoo and some chopped gsarl;ic

a shallot, peeled and sliced

a third of a pepper, chopped

some mushrooms, sliced

two good sized tomatoes, chopped (or use some from a can of chopped tomatoes)

some stock powder - I used chicken but if you use veg, it will be suitable for vegetarians)

pinch chilli flakes

some Italian all rounder spice mix (use whatever you fancy really)

a squidge tomato puree

some mixed beans

two level tbsp bulgur wheat

water, if needed

salt, pepper

50g Seriously Lighter cheese spread

30g grated cheddar

Method:

soften the onion in the garlic evoo, then add pepper, mushroom and tomatoes, bring to a simmer, cover and let everything soften.  The tomatoes should give out some juice.

Add the beans, stock powder, chilli flakes, spice mix and tomato puree with a splash of water, if needed and bring back to a simmer.

Add the bulgur wheat, mix well, cover and simmer to rehydrate the bulgur wheat.  Season to own taste.

When everything is nice and soft (add more water if needed), stir in the Seriously Lighter cheese spread until it is all melted in.

Spoon into an ovenproof dish , sprinkle over the grated cheddar and pop under the grill to melt the cheese.

Serve piping hot.

It was really delicious and one I will make again soon.  You could use pasta, rice or couscous instead of bulgur wheat if you wanted and ring th changed with the veg.

 

Friday morning, 18-10-24 and getting back on track - the Extra Bit is back.

Good morning, everyone!  

(I wrote this yesterday which is just as well because time's a bit short today)

The end of the self indulgence is in sight.  In fact, as far as meals are concerned, it's gone and passed now and it's the healthy breakfast to finish off my time here!

Have I made the wisest choices since Monday?  No!

Have I eaten a lot of ultra processed rubbish?  Oh, yes!!

Have I had the best time?  Undoubtedly!

Am I ready and happy to get back to it again?  For sure

What I ate yesterday

 Sorry, no photos.

Breakfast was fruit, yogurt and seeds

Lunch was cheese and crackers plus crisps and salad.

Dinner was all the other leftovers mixed together, plus the last of the tomatoes.  I heated it all up in the oven before adding some garlic boursin, some grated cheddar, some cubes of feta and some croutons and baking it again for longer.  It was REALLY nice and I'll be making a pared down version again before long.  A bit like a pasta bake with potato instead of pasta.

My meal plans for today:

B:  fruit - everything else is packed.

L:  back at home - some sort of pasta bake - a main meal as I'm out in the evening and don't want anything too heavy

D:  cheese and chutney toastie, salad; fruit

Exercise:   nothing organised but a fair bit of walking, I suspect.

The Extra Bit:

How to get back on track after a holiday.

1.  No regrets, no guilt!

2.  Thank my lucky stars the next SW weigh in isn't until next Friday!

3.  Restock the fridge with all my healthy favourites

4.  Get a quick meal plan done and put any necessaries on the shopping list BEFORE I go shopping!  See point 3.

5.  Make sure I do Lindsey's SET class on Saturday morning.

6.  Don't weigh until Monday - give the body a change to re-balance itself first.

7.  Give grateful thanks for a lovely time away and that I also love coming home again and getting back to my best way of eating.

8.  And remember  - no regrets, no guilt, no recriminations.  None at all.  I have had a lovely time!!

Thursday morning, 17-10-24

Good morning, everyone!  

 

Sooze made a very helpful and sensible comment on yesterday's post which I have coped and pasted:

It all looks scrumptious, and you're balancing out the calories by having your usual super-healthy breakfast. It's unrealistic to expect to be saints food-wise on holiday anyway - it's not like it's a regular occurrence! Enjoy.

She's right, so please read today's and tomorrow's posts with that in mind.  😈

What I ate yesterday.

Breakfast was toast - good, home made, wholemeal and seeded toast - and marmalade from one of those baby pots.   Delicious but no photo, sorry.

Lunch was half healthy, half not.  I had some of the leftover gammon with salad and various bits and bobs.  Again, no photo.  It was family time and we were chatting a lot.

For dinner, we ate out for the first and last time this week.  We went to Hucks, that being Alex's choice, and had a lovely meal.  Beth and Al went for burgers while I had chicken fajitas.

Isn't it funny how one can feel totally stuffed one minute and yet find a little sweet space for dessert.  

Ooops!

My meal plans for today:

B:  I'm going for the usual fruit, yogurt and seeds.  The toast yesterday was really nice but I missed the fruit.

L:   Salad with bits and bobs - cheese and crackers, etc.

D:  there were some veg left over from Tuesday which we popped in the freezer so we're going to add to that with whatever we have as leftovers, pop cheese on top and bake it all until bubbly.  We have a bottle of Nosecco so we'll finish that between the three of us, I guess.  And fruit for afters.

Exercise:   walk and swim - oh, and we have a bowling session booked.  And packing - how sad.

Wednesday morning, 16-10-24

Good morning, everyone!  

Day 2 has started (don't count travelling days really) and yesterday started well but finished - er - not so well as far as healthy eating is concerned.  In every other was, it was brilliant and I'm really not that fussed.  It's holiday!

What I ate yesterday

A lovely, healthy start to the day with my usual fruit, yogurt and chia and mixed seeds.

One syn for the seeds.

But . . .  ooops.

Oh, it was so delicious and one scoop, not two!

Lunch - leftovers.  I had started eating before I remembered to take a photo.  

Half a B for some bread, half an A for some feta, I have no idea of the M&S salads but I didn't have loads, and a pile of fresh salad veg with seeds (one syn).

It went a bit downhill from then on.

Beth cooked up a storm.  It was a sort of celebration meal and so delicious.

Very little of this was super healthy but it was so good.

We finished with profiteroles and we won't mention the nibbles, OK.

How did I do?  Well, obviously not brilliantly but it was better than Monday.

We had a good swim and two quite long walks so it wasn't all bad news by a long way.  The second was in the dark after dinner and it was lovely!

My meal plans for today:

B:  toast and marmalade, fruit

L:   leftovers and salad

D:  eating out at Huck's .

Exercise:   lots of walking and a good swim.

Monday evening, 14-10-24

Good evening morning, everyone!  

I think it is far more likely that this will be a morning blog this week.  The evenings are likely to be . . .

. . . like this . . .

. . . but, hopefully, not like this.

It's holiday!

As of now, I will look upon this as a chance to practise common sense amidst temptations!  :-)

I want to.  No one is making me, no plan is restraining me, I just don't feel 100% on top form after yesterday's indulgences and I want to feel my best so . . .  here we go!

I have brought salad fruit, chia and mixed seeds with me so I can do this.

However, I can't 100% guarantee so, if you think it might trigger you, I promise I will be right back on the Med/Slimming World meals on Saturday.

What I ate today  yesterday:

There aren't many photos as yesterday, travel day, was a bit chaotic and disorganised but. , ,

Breakfast at home was yogurt and fruit as usual.  No chia seeds though - I didn't want any repercussions while driving and one of the fruits was kiwi anyway.  The other fruits were an apple and an easy peeler.

I didn't really have lunch as such but, sadly, Beth had brought 'goodies' with her and we all dived in.  

Dinner.  Not exactly fine dining, is it?  Beth and Alex prepared pizza, garlic bread, sort of spicy cheesy ball things and various salady pots, all from M&S and it was very nice.

Oh - and wine.

No summaries this week - it will be too tricky, I think.

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  yogurt and fruit

L:  we have leftovers.  There is some proper salad bits as well and the creamy mixtures so I can be sensible - and I WANT to be sensible too.

D:  a roast dinner (Beth's making it)

Exercise:  swimming and a walk

Sunday evening, 13-10-24

Good evening, everyone!  

What I ate today

Breakfast - an apple, a kiwi, a plum and an easy peeler

two syns for seeds, chia and mixed.

This may not be super Med but it was lovely and I took every bit of fat off the pork.

Three syns for evoo and one and a half for chutney.

I found some crumpet thins in the freezer and decided to call two of them a B (it really isn't but . . .), toast them, melt over some cheese and top with scrambled egg.

It was lovely.

One and a half As and sort of one B.

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:   fruit, seeds and yogurt

L: Really not sure - I'll probably take a look in the Parc Market.

D:  pizza, salad; fruit
At Center Parcs - Beth's providing it and it's all nicely pre packaged and easy.

Exercise:  circuits and a good swim

Saturday evening, 12-10-24 and no extras!

Good evening, everyone!  

Here I am, home again after a day at the Ally Pally at a knitting and stitching show.  If  this doesn't appear until tomorrow morning, it is because the internet has just gone down and is refusing to come back up again, annoyingly.

Is it stretching things too far to say here's my strategy for keeping my mind and fingers occupied of an evening and out of the biscuit barrel (if I had a biscuit barrel, which I don't but you know what I mean)?

I forgot to tell you that I had a gaintain of one pound yesterday - still under my target so I'm fine with that.

What I ate today

It was all very muddled and mixed up today.  No SW values - I don't have a clue.

Breakfast was an apple (the core is hiding behind the easy peeler) and an easy peeler plus a most welcome coffee.

I didn't photo lunch because I was watching a tutorial thingy at the same time.  it was a cheese and chutney sandwich and a nutty bar kind of thing.

I was also all sugared out with mint humbugs.

Dinner at home and very nice it was too.

Proper back on track tomorrow after a few days of self indulgence.

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit, yogurt and seeds

L:  posk steak, roasties and veg

D:  scrambled eggs on toast, side salad

Exercise: Plenty of up and down stairs, etc.