Friday evening, 26-07-24 - Eat-Your-Syns-Friday

Good evening, everyone!

I'm liking this current strategy for keeping things sensible on Fridays after weigh-in.
It's working, I think, because . . .

• normally, I eat pretty low syn, as you may have noticed if you're a longer term reader, so I do have wriggle room
• I can have extras but not go completely bonkers on Eat-Your-Syns-Friday (I know I can any day but I choose not to most of the time)
• I can have a few extra things (possibly more ultra processed than normal but let's not worry about that right now) and feel a bit 'wicked' but know I am still keeping on track overall so no feelings of doom and gloom to make me feel a bit down the next day.
• It's preparing me for maintenance again.

And, talking of maintenance . . . today I lost two pounds which means I am so close to my target range again and back into single stone digits.

Maybe next week, most likely the week after.  Wouldn't that be great?

What I ate today

My usual fruit breakfast but I'm not getting bored of it because there's so many different kinds of fruit, aren't there?

Syn free.

Lunch was good, good, good,  Now that I am focusing on fruit for breakfast, I can have something breakfast-y for lunch, should I want to.

I added a level tbsp peanut butter powder to the waffle batter (so, so delicious) for one and a half syns and topped them with one tbsp maple syrup for two syns.  Mmmmmm.

The yogurt and strawberries went with the waffles perfectly.

So lunch was three and a half syns.

During the afternoon, I nibbled on a meringue nest for two and a half syns and some cheese for a healthy extra A.

Dinner was the first SWK meal from the box that arrived today; jerk chicken with zingy mango slaw.

I changed a few things.
I had chips instead of the rice - because it's Friday.  Chip day!  That was three syns for half a tbsp toasted sesame oil

When I made the slaw, I left out the leaf coriander because who wants to add a soapy flavour to a delicious slaw:  With shredded red cabbage, grated carrot, chopped mango, lime zest and lime juice, it was absolutely lovely.

I made the jerk chicken straight apart from leaving out the spinach.

So - three syns for oil and the rest was syn free.

The Eat-Your-Syns treat.

I made some yogurt ice with frozen cherries (which I did not syn) and a Mullerlight toffee yogurt, blended together and popped in the freezer for an hour or so.

One nest has the yogurt ice on it and the other has some 0% Greek yogurt and some fresh strawberries.  Then I sieved over a bit of cocoa powder.  I weighed the plate as I did so and it didn't even register, it was so little.  I'm going to remember that one, for sure.
It was a real treat.

Five syns for the nests and half a syn for the Mullerlight.

And I couldn't manage another bite, even if you paid me!

Summary for Eat-Your-Syns-Friday:

one healthy extra A

no healthy extra Bs

fourteen and a half syns - perfick!!

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit

I have such a nice mixture of fruit to choose from.

L:   all day breakfast bake - bacon, egg, tomatoes, mushrooms, potato and baked beans with some cheese on top, maybe salad; fruit.  ALso, I might be brave and add a few spinach leaves, the ones I didn't use today.

D:  the other portion of jerk chicken, mango slaw, salad; fruit

Exercise:  SET class online

Thursday evening, 25-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

Weigh day again tomorrow and another SWK box is landing.  Exciting!

What I ate today

I have no photos of breakfast or lunch.

Breakfast was just an apple, snatched between busy bits.

Lunch was exactly as planned; the cheesy bean and lentil wrap bake with a side salad and Val enjoyed it so much, I've sent her the recipe.  However, because I was hostessing, I didn't take a photo - I don't think Val would have minded but, to be honest, we were so busy chatting, I didn't remember!

Breakfast was free and lunch was one and a half healthy extra Asa and one syn for brown sauce.

I had a really nice fillet steak for dinner.  Morrisons really does such lovely steaks and I am willing to pay more for fillet.

I hammered it out, seasoned it with some Montreal steak seasoning and cooked it.  WHile it was keeping warm and 'resting', I made the mushroom sauce, using some Seriously Lighter cheddar.  The salad was left over from lunch.

And that was that.

Half a healthy extra A.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

no healthy extra B

one syn

My meal plans for tomorrow (Eat-Your-Syns-Friday):

B:  fruit

L:  waffles, fruit and yogurt

D:  jerk chicken with rice (or maybe chips) and zingy mango slaw; Eton mess (sort of) - one meringue nest = 2 1/2 syns.

Exercise:   rest day

Wednesday evening, 24-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

The party at school last night was lovely and it was so good to see old colleagues.

The fish and chips - not so lovely so it was no hardship to leave a reasonable amount.  I was satisfied but not tempted to eat on.  There was no opportunity to take a photo.

What I ate today

As always, fruit for breakfast.  The kiwi wasn't so nice, not ripe enough, so I'm afraid that was wasted.

Syn free.

Grandson was round and I made us both a cheese, bacon and chutney toastie with salad and coleslaw for lunch.  It was delicious.

Afters was a apple.

One healthy extra A, one healthy extra B, one and a half syns for chutney and one syn for salad cream in the coleslaw.

I know this looks a right mess but it was delish.  I gently spray fried onion until caramelising and then added pepper, mushroom and tomato, some old bay seasoning and some garlic granules, plus some shreds of bacon I had left, a splash of water and some chicken stock.
Cooked the penne, reheated the sauce, added a bit of yogurt and mixed it in (off the heat so it didn't split), and then mixed the penne and the sauce together.   The salad is what was left over from lunch.

I didn't add any cheese and I'm glad I didn't.  

Totally lovely!

Syn free.

Summary

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

two and a half syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit

L:  cheesy bean lentil wrap bake, salad; fruit

I have a friend round so am trying this out on her.  

D:  creamy steak and mushroom, side salad; fruit

Exercise:   SET online

Tuesday evening, 23-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

What I ate today

I had an apple before Groove for a bit more energy and then this afterwards - strawberries, raspberries, orange and the other half of the mango and very nice it was too.  

Syn free.

As I was eating light through the day, I made myself a salad for lunch.  Lettuce, cucumber, carrot, celery, pepper and tomatoes.
for some protein, I had 15g grated cheddar and one egg, made into an omelette, rolled and shredded.  The dressing was a bit of flavoured vinegar and you know what, not only was it a really tasty salad, it was also surprisingly filling.  I was please about that because I'd be eating later than usual this evening.

Half a healthy extra A

Later on, I had an apple and some cheese.

I don't know if I will be able to photo dinner this evening so I'll post this before I go out.

So - incomplete summary:

two healthy extra As

no healthy extra B

syn free

BUT

fish and chips this evening.

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit

L:  toastie, side salad; fruit

D:  mushroom pasta, salad; fruit

Exercise:  personal training

Monday evening, 22-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

What I ate today

Yummy fruit for breakfast.  Half a mango (from the SW hamper last Friday and it was lovely!), the last of the pineapple, some raspberries and a nectarine.

Syn free.

A lentil wrap pizza and a side salad.  It was so lovely and I've written what I did below.

It was filling so I saved the dessert fruit for later but never had it - these lentil wraps may be small but they sure are filling!

One healthy extra A.

Dinner - the other half of the creamy tarragon chicken and I had it with rice noodles this time.  Still nice but nicer with the roasted veg I had yesterday.

And that was that - a filling day's food.

Syn free

Summary:

one healthy extra A

no healthy extra Bs

syn free

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit

L:  mixed salad; fruit

I'm out for a meal in the evening and the idea is to keep things really low during the day so I can enjoy with a reasonably clear conscience.  So just a salad, nothing else.

D:  fish and chips and I will enjoy every mouthful until I am satisfied.

Exercise:   Groove class and the walk there and back.

Lentil wrap pizza:

Ingredients to make one.
one lentil wrap - recipe is at the top of this link and I am assuming it's already made (I keep some in the freezer)

https://my30-30challenge.blogspot.com/2024/07/monday-evening-15-07-24-and-lentil.html

15g grated cheddar and 20g grated mozzarella (to make one healthy extra A)

tomato puree

garlic granules, herbs - whatever you fancy adding

onion, mushroom and pepper, softened in spray oil

mini tomatoes, halved

Method:

Preheat oven to around 180C

Spray a pizza tray and put the lentil wrap on it.  Spread over some tomato puree and sprinkle over seasonings.

Scatter half the cheese over, then spread the softened veg over the cheese.  They add the rest of the cheese and pop the tomato halves on top.
Pop into the oven for around ten to fifteen minutes.

Enjoy!  I thought it was REALLY delicious, nicer than using a normal wrap.

I was thinking I could also turn this into a bake by rolling the wrap around the toppings, popping in a dish, spreading cheese over and baking to melt the cheese - like the cheesy bean bake.

Sunday evening, 21-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

What I ate today

A lovely fruit platter for breakfast - that pineapple (£1 in M&S) hs been absolutely gorgeous.  So sweet and juicy.  And the two blueberries are nearly the last ones from the bush.

Syn free

Lunch was the SWK meal, creamy tarragon chicken with roasted veg.

I'm not sure I have every knowingly cooked with tarragon; it's quite a strong aniseed flavour and in this recipe it was absolutely delicious.  I'm thinking of growing some in my herb patch, maybe.

I didn't add the kale which was a sub for the cavolo nero (and didn't miss it one bit!).

As for the roasted veg, the original was just carrot and potato but I decided to jazz it up.  I added yellow pepper, red onion and tomato (not all at the start though) and roasted it all in Just Spices roast potato seasoning which made it it really very nice.

On fact, it was all so, so good and it is on the list to have again, for sure.

I had half the roasted veg (I used half the potatoes provided and one out of the three large carrots - the rest went in my fridge with the other veg) left to have for my evening meal and half the chicken (a generous portion) which will, I think, go really nicely with pasta tomorrow.

Syn free.

I was too full to have any fruit for dessert straight away so I had some later on.

I had roasted the veg in Nellie so I left the other half in the tray, added the salmon and baked it all for ten minutes, just enough time to cook the salmon and heat up the roasted veg.

I hadn't had any healthy extras so I added some grated cheddar and it was all delicious.

Afters was a nectarine.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

no healthy extra Bs

no syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit platter

L: lentil wrap pizza, side salad; fruit

The last of the wraps from the freezer.  Must make some more.

D:  the rest of the tarragon chicken with pasta or noodles (I have some rice noodles left over from the SWK box so I'll probably use them), side salad; fruit

Exercise:  circuits

Saturday evening, 20-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

What I ate today

Breakfast, taken on a walk.  Grapes, white flesh nectarine (super juicy) and an apple.  Lovely

Syn free.

Lunch was the bean and lentil wrap bake and with the coleslaw AND salad, it was a fair old plateful.

I was chuffed that the leaves, the cucumber and the orange tomatoes (not the red ones) were from the garden.

No dessert - I really was full.

The beans had a lot of sauce so I drained that off and added it to the roasted pepper sauce and, surprisingly, it was tasty.

One healthy extra A for mixed cheddar and mozzarella, one syn for brown sauce and one syn for mayo in the coleslaw.

Later on I fancied something sweet so I had some grapes - lovely.

And then hunter's chicken for dinner.  I used some roasted red pepper sauce from the freezer, wrapped the chicken in bacon, added some onion, mushroom and pepper, poured over the sauce, sprinkled over grated cheese and baked it in the oven.  I just had some tomatoes as a side as it made loads and there were plenty of vegetables in the dish..

Dessert was some ice cream.

One healthy extra A and eight and a half syns for the ice cream.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

no healthy extra Bs

ten and a half syns.

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit

L:  tarragon chicken and roasted veg; fruit

This is the last of the current SWK box.  There's another one due on Friday.

D:   leftover veg and salmon.

Provisional - I may decide to have something else.  

Exercise:   maybe an online class or, perhaps, just a rest day.

Friday evening, 19-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

Well, what a surprise.  A pound off.

The lady who was Slimmer of the Week didn't stay for the rest of the meeting so the next one down got the hamper.  You aren't in the running if:

it's your first weigh in after joining

you gained the previous week or

you weren't there last week

so she went down the list and I was next - which I was utterly gobsmacked about!

This is what I came home with.  Not a huge haul but I will use every single thing and I'm particularly pleased about the mango as I'm treating myself to more 'exotic' fruits at the moment.

So yes, lovely jubbly.

What I ate today

Breakfast was fruit salad with yogurt.  Strawberries, an apple and a few blackberries.  Really nice.

And I also had the hi-fi bar from the hamper.

Half a healthy extra B

For lunch, I had a very very over banana so I mashed that with an egg and 20g wholewheat SR flour to make a kind of banana pancake - several, in fact,  and had that with more fruit and yogurt.  Yes, I know - a lot of fruit today but it's that kind of day, isn't it.  Warm and sunny, perfect weather really.
Is it is Friday and 'eat the syns' day, I treated myself to a tbsp maple syrup which came to two syns so hardly lavish!

Given that it was fruit all the way and I was very satisfied, I didn't have dessert.

Half a healthy extra B and two syns.

I changed my mind about dinner because when I popped into Morrisons to get a few bits and bobs, the fillet steak on the meat counted looked really good so I got them to cut me an inch thick steak.  I made some mushroom sauce using two laughing cow blue cheese light triangles, some chips and some coleslaw to have with it and enjoyed every mouthful.

I had some lower cal ice cream for dessert.

So - eight and a half syns for the ice cream, half a healthy extra A for the cheese, one syn for super-light coleslaw and three syns for some oil to air fry the chips in.  So good!

Summary:

half a healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

fourteen and a half syns - top of my syns allowance and pretty good for eat the syns Friday

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit

L:   cheesy bean lentil pancake bake, salad; fruit

I know I'm having this a lot but I have baked beans to use up and I do like the lentil pancakes/wraps

D:  hunter's chicken, coleslaw; fruit

Exercise:  a walk

Thursday evening, 18-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

It was all a bit different today as I was out all day on a trip into London.  I really did want to stick to some sort of plan because it's weigh day tomorrow and I strongly suspect that I won't have gone down, not after a couple of days out, and can only hope to be close to maintaining.

I did stick to plan (with a dinner time swap) and I truly don't regret not having an ice-cream.

What I ate today

I remembered to take a photo of what I took with me.

Breakfast was the fruit in the middle and the apple, eaten in the coach on the way to Buckingham Palace and the rest, the cheese spread sandwich, tomatoes, orange and apple, I ate 

One healthy extra B and half a healthy extra A

I did have a dinner in the fridge, ready to heat up, but I was hot and tired and just didn't fancy that so I put myself together a picky plate.

It had smoked salmon (free), cheese (the rest of my healthy As) cucumber and tomatoes, pineapple and strawberries.  It was so good - tasty and refreshing.  And I have stayed within my limits today - so glad about that.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

no syns in the planned food but I had a toffee on the way there (I'm calling it three syns) and a bag of crisps (five and a half syns) on the way home (both these handed out by the organisers) plus some chewing gum (no idea but it was the sugar free kind and I didn't have much).  Does anyone else find that they 'need' something to chew on a coach trip?

So - let's call it ten syns.  A bit more than usual but then I've had a day out and plenty of fruit and veg.

My meal plans for tomorrow:  It's Friday and Friday is 'eat the syns' day so I'm allowing up to fifteen syns - if I want them!  I might not.

B:  fruit

L:  pancakes, fruit and yogurt

I'll be synning the pancakes.

D:  chicken burger, salad and chips

Exercise:   rest day

Wednesday evening, 17-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

What I ate today

The usual fruit for breakfast.

Syn free.

Bagel with avo and smoked salmon for lunch and very nice too.

One healthy extra B and two and a half syns

The second of the chow mein portions.  I defrosted some chicken, cooked it in Nellie with a dusting of five spice and a bit of soy sauce, then cut it up and added it to today's portion of chow mein.  Yesterday's was really nice but I think it will be nicer with chicken.

Syn free

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

two and a half syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

This is a tricky one as I'm out for the day again and there won't be many opportunities for eating.  I think I will have to use coach time to eat and please send me vibes for avoiding tempting treats - this week has been quite bad enough already!.

B:  fruit

L:  cheese spread sandwich with a finger salad; fruit

The easiest thing to eat in a coach!

D:  chicken and veg chow mein; fruit

The third of the chow mein portions from SWK with some added prawns this time - cooked prawns from the freezer.   Just reheat and eat!

Exercise:   lots of walking

Oh - and there may very well not be a blog tomorrow - back on Friday.  xx

Tuesday evening, 16-07-24

Good evening, everyone!

What I ate today

Fruit platter - I nearly forgot so all but one of the raspberries has disappeared.

Syn free

I can confirm that lentil wraps made with an egg are really delicious.
So two wraps, spread over with a bit of brown sauce, cheese and beans added and wrapper up.  On top I put some leftover red pepper sauce (freezer) and more grated cheese.

Really lovely!

One and a half healthy extra As and one syn.

Later on, I had some watermelon.

I totally forgot to photo my bowl of beg chow mein but this is what's left - another two portions and I only used half the noodles provided.

So that's tomorrow's dinner sorted and Thursday's too, because I'm out Thursday so having something quick will be great.  I'll probably add some chicken.

Syn free.

BUT - I was at a governors' meeting tonight and There Were Biscuits.

Oh dear!

Summary:

one and a half healthy extra As

no healthy extra Bs

No idea how many syns but they will be over.  Ho hum.

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit

L: bagel with avo and smoked salmon, side salad; fruit

D:  second portion of chow mein with chicken added; fruit

Exercise:  personal training

Monday evening, 15-07-24 and a lentil pancake/wrap update

Good evening, everyone!

First of all, an update to the lentil wrap recipe.
The last time I made them, only one turned out half decent, the others were very fragile and broke or wrinkled up while turning them.
I decided to add an egg to the batter to see if that would make a difference and it did.  

So the updated recipe is:

a third of a cup of red lentils

two thirds of a cup of water

stock/seasoning, etc (I use chicken stock powder and some black pepper)

one medium egg.

The method remains much the same.  Soak the lentils in the water for about four hours (or used just boiled water which cuts the soaking time down).  Add the seasonings and one egg and blend it all together.

The result is a more robust batter that cooks into wraps really well.  I got six small-ish wraps/pancakes from this mixture.

Updated recipe:   https://my30-30challenge.blogspot.com/2024/06/recipe-lentil-wrap-pizza.html

What I ate today

The smoothie was really nice and, contrary to what SW says, very filling.

I used one banana, two nectarines and a few strawberries plus some Greek yogurt, some skinny syrup and 20g oats plus a bit of water to slacken, blended together and left in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Half a healthy extra B.

Lunch was one slice of eggy bread and I made a thin omelette from what was left of the egg.  I just spray fried mushrooms and tomatoes to place on top and it was delicious.

The other half of a healthy extra B.

Later on, I had some fruit - watermelon, cherries and a few blueberries from the garden.

Finally - the second portion of chicken biryani.  Not that I would call it a biryani but it was awfully nice, whatever one might call it.  I added some baby corn and some mushrooms for extra speed and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I had an orange for dessert.

Syn free.

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

syn free (although you might think I should syn the fruit in the smoothie)

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  fruit platter

L:  cheesy bean and lentil wrap bake, side salad

I froze the lentil wraps earlier but they will thaw quickly.

D:  veg packed special chow mein

The third of the four SWK meals from the current box.

Exercise:   Groove plus the walk there and back.