Wednesday, 31-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

A not-full English is just perfect after an aerobics class.

A bit later, I had an orange.

So good, this cheese, bacon and baked bean quesadilla.  I enjoyed it very much indeed.

Sadly, the evening went to pot and was rather a disaster so off we set again today!!

Today's meal plans:

B: scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, mushrooms and tomatoes

Yum!

SW:  syn free

L:  cheesy tuna bagel, side salad; fruit

I did a recipe for cheesy tuna toast, here, and will just adapt it a bit.  I might do a finger salad rather than a choppy one so carrot, cucumber, pepper, whole lettuce leaves and some beetroot for a bit of zing (maybe not fingers for the beetroot though  😊 

SW:  one healthy extra A and one healthy extra B 

D:  turkey and vegetable curry, maybe rice or maybe noodles, side salad; fruit

This is a bit of an experiment in that I want to try something someone on our SW Facebook page said worked well.  She made up some Mayflower curry sauce and added some peanut butter to it for a satay sort of vibe.
I have peanut butter powder so that should work well.  I know it will be pretty ultra processed but she said it was really nice so - I'll give it a go.  I have turkey steak and assorted vegetables as well.

SW:  20g curry sauce powder is four syns and the peanut butter powder is one and a half syns for a level tbsp

Exercise:  personal training

Summary: 

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

five and a half syns

Tuesday, 30-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

Just ordinary beans on rye and spelt toast with fruit afterwards and it was delicious.  Beans on toast is always delicious and a can of beans seems to go such a long way.!  

Leftovers of leftovers, roast dinner gratin, reheated.  Even nicer than yesterday.  I spent another syn on some 70% salad cream.

Afters was an orange and later on I had a couple if little easy peelers and an apple

Yesterday's leftovers (again), reheated and very nice it was too.  That's the Sunday roast leftovers finished off now.

No dessert - I was good and full.

Today's meal plans:

B:   bacon, egg, mushrooms and tomatoes

This will go down really well after Groove class

SW:  syn free

L:  cheesy bacon and bean quesadilla, side salad; fruit

I have half a can of baked beans left over from yesterday's breakfast.  Normally I'd have it on toast but I have wraps to use up so I thought I would have it another way instead..  I'm adding the bacon for extra flavour.  So the idea is to mash the baked beans, maybe with a squirt of brown sauce and then go cheese,  cooked bacon, mashed beans, cheese on half a wrap, fold it over and dry 'fry' in my griddle pan.  I think it will be good.

SW:  one and a half  healthy extra As for cheese, one B for the wrap and one syn for the sauce

D:   chicken schnitzel, mini roasties, side salad

This is a recipe from the SW Air Fryers and Friends recipe book, p 20.  It looks really nice and sounds tasty so let's give it a go.  I might do chips or wedges rather than mini-roasties - they're all the same, just cut differently.

SW:  half a healthy extra A for grated parmesan and up to three syns for wholemeal breadcrumbs plus one syn for seasoned flour

Exercise:  Groove class.

Summary: 

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

five syns

Idea: roast dinner gratin

 It's an idea, not a recipe.

You need:

leftovers of roast dinner vegetables
leftovers of roast dinner meat
leftovers of gravy

some cheese sauce, however you make it.  There's a simple cheese sauce recipe here.
An mix of breadcrumbs and finely grated cheese

Method:

Cut up the veg and place in an ovenproof dish.  Season, if needed.  spread the meat on top and pour over a bit of gravy.  Reheat in the microwave.
Make the cheese sauce.  Spread over the meat and veg.  Sprinkle over the cheese/breadcrumb topping.
Bake in oven, under grill or in air fryer until the topping is browned and crunchy.

Enjoy.

No SW values because it depends how much of what you use and how you make your cheese sauce so you'd need to work it out.  The milk and cheese in the sauce can be part of healthy extra A allocation and the breadcrumbs can be part of a B

And it is good reheated the next day.

Monday, 29-01-24

Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday's meal photos:

Breakfast - a lot of fruit, I know, but I didn't have one of the easy peelers as it was nasty and dry and the kiwi is for its de-bunging up qualities - a bit of an issue for me at the moment, goodness knows why as it's not usually a problem.

Anyway - it's helping so, for now, it's a kiwi a day!  They're not a speed fruit but they are a free food

Sunday lunch and it was lovely.  Obviously, I made loads and there was plenty left over for other meals.

The meat was silverside beef, I did it in my slow cooker and it was so tender it had to be shredded.  Delicious!

(the beanburger is for my daughter who is vegetarian, also the second gravy - the rest was all vegetarian friendly))

I had to photo these because my Yorkshires are - er - usually variable!  

These worked because I was less casual with timings and made sure the oven had enough time to get properly hot and ditto the pan I used.

They were lovely and Beth and Alex took the leftovers home with them.

I used some of the leftovers to make roast beef dinner gratin.

I cut up some leftover veg (cabbage, sprouts, broccoli, carrots, parsnips and sweet potato) and put them in an ovenproof dish.  I added some shredded beef and a bit of gravy and warmed the lot in the microwave while I made a cheese sauce using the sauce flour from Sainsbury's recommended by Button in a comment under the cheese sauce recipe post (thank you very much, I can see how it is going to be very useful indeed!) which I spread over.  Finally I sprinkled over sa mix of grated cheese and breadcrumbs (nice!) before baking in Nellie until the top was browned and crunchy.

Easy and it was really lovely.  And I have half left for this lunchtime.

I worked out the SW values for just the white sauce and it was two and a half syns plus using the milk as part of a healthy extra A and it made enough for two.  Add whatever and how much cheese you use for the final values.

I'm going to try half quantities plus cheese and see how much I get as it's a useful thing to know.

Today's meal plans:

B:   beans on toast, fruit

Didn't have these the other day so I'll have them today instead.

SW:  half a healthy extra B for one slice bread

L:  roast dinner gratin, side salad; fruit

Leftovers of yesterday's leftovers!!  The other half of what I made in the evening

SW:  two healthy extra As, half a B and approx two syns plus one syn if I scatter mixed seeds over the salad

D:   shredded beef in gravy, assorted vegetables; fruit

More leftovers.

SW:  one syn for fruit

Exercise:  circuits class

Summary: 

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

approx three syns

Sunday, 28-01-24

No SW post today - back tomorrow.

Have a great day!   x

Saturday, 27-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

I took just one photo yesterday and changed my plans.  On thinking about it, I decided baked beans weren't the most sensible thing to have before an evening out - for more than one reason -  so, after Slimming World, I popped into Morrisons and came out with some nice fruit.

I don't usually buy packs of pre-prepared fruit as  I think them shockingly expensive.  However, there were a couple of pack reduced so I grabbed them and had one for a late breakfast - very nice it was too.

I had a bit more fruit during the day and in the evening, out with friends, I had a small plate haddock and chips which was delicious and a sundae.  That was a mistake.  I had in mind something the size of the sundaes on board ship over Christmas that were very 'sensible' but this was HUGE.  Nice though - I ate the lot!  :-)

Today's meal plans:

B: porridge with the second pack of melon and grapes on the side plus some yogurt

SW:  half a healthy extra A for milk and one healthy extra B for the oats plus one syn for 4g Just Spices oatmeal spice

L:  cheesy broccoli and cauliflower soup; fruit

From the freezer, this is the other portion of the soup I made a couple of weeks ago using bits that might otherwise have been recycled, either through the council or in the compost bin.

I have some more now so might make more of the same this weekend.

Anyway, I will stir in half an As-worth of cheese spread, probably Seriously Lighter as it melts well.

SW:  half a healthy extra A

D:  cottage pie and vegetables.

I plan to use the portion of mild chilli I made the other day for the underneath and cheesy mash on top.  Should be tasty with plenty of veg on the side.

SW:  one healthy extra A for grated cheese, possibly one syn for some added mixed seeds in the mice mixture and up to six syns for more cheese

Exercise:  A pre-record from Lindsey

Summary: 

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

two syns - maybe up to six more if I have more cheese in my mash topping

Friday, 26-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

Mixed fruit with coffee flavoured yogurt (using a few drops of coffee essence.

I was sure I took photos of lunch but there wasn't anything on the camera so obviously not.  It was very nice - leftovers of pasta bake with a nice, big salad.

I gad some fruit through the afternoon and a nibbl;e of cheese that took my healthy extras up to two and added three more syns.

Another portion of the home made lasagne with salad for dinner followed by an orange.

Another syn spent on some salad cream.

Today's meal plans:

B: beans on toast

It's a blowy day today and beans just feels 'right'.

SW:  half a healthy extra B for one slice of toast

L:  all day breakfast

All day breakfasts are surprisingly SW friendly.  Bacon, egg, sausage, 'fried' bread, beans, tomato and mushroom.  I'll have beans left over from breakfast anyway.

SW:  half a healthy extra B and up to three syns for the sausage, depending on what comes to hand when I rootle in the freezer

D:  Out for a meal.  I've looked the menu up online and it's very general so I'll just have to see what's actually on offer when I get there.

Exercise:  a walk and something online

Summary: 

No idea because of the meal out.

Thursday, 25-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

I know it looks more like a lunch than a breakfast but it's so tasty and good and filling too.

Avocado on bagel is delicious!

Later on, I had a pear and a plum.

I took a portion of home made tomato soup, just a basic one, and loaded it with cooked chicken, mushroom, various beans including edamame, some chopped pepper, sweet potato and parsnip and some shreds of noodles from the bottom of the jar plus some water because it was so thick.

I don't know if  you'd call it a casserole or a chunky soup but it was so satisfying!

Afters was an apple and a plum.

The chili con carne wasn't that spicy, just a little tickle on the tongue.  To the basic mince portion I added what was left over from the soup plus beans, sweet potato, mushroom - of, various bits and pieces.  That's what's so good about today's meals - they use up fridge rubble.

Anyway, it was nice and, because of all the veg additions, one portion if savoury mince turned into two portions of mild chili so one is going back in the freezer - quite safely because it had a good boiling up to cook the veg.

As you can see, I had it with a small jacket potato and a very big and crunchy salad plus a bit of salad cream for one syn.

Afters was an orange and later on I had a hot chocolate, a proper one made with milk from my second healthy extra A and five syn's worth of chocolate powder.  Higher in syns than an Options drink (which I don't have) but far more rich and satisfying.  And I was well within syns.

I know all my portions look huge but most of my plates are pretty small and I do have loads of veg - loads and loads.

Today's meal plans:

B:   fruit, seeds and yogurt

I've taken raspberries, strawberries and blueberries out of the freezer and will probably chop up an apple to mix in.  Nice!

SW:  should be syn free (see below for the seeds)

L:  creamy pasta, salad; fruit

The creamy pasta is leftovers from Tuesday - there's not loads so I might add in a spoonful of the chilli to bulk it out.  It'll be a right mix but it will be good.

SW:  one syn for some philly light that I added on Tuesday and you can have two level tbsps mixed seeds for a healthy extra B so I will add some to the salad, some to breakfast and have the rest as a bibbly thing at some point.

D:  lasagne, salad or veg; fruit

I made the lasagne last week so I will thaw it out during today and reheat it in Nellie, probably adding half an As-worth of grated cheese because can you have too much cheese on a lasagne?  I'll probably make a big bowl of salad for the whole day and have some with it but am keeping options open in case I fancy cooked veg more.

SW:  the lasagne is one and a half healthy extra As and three syns

Exercise:  online SET class

Summary: 

one and a half healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

four syns

Wednesday, 24-01-24

Good morning, everyone.
I can no longer ignore the Just Spices mixes as they are now in Nutracheck and I can convert to syns using the 20 calories = one syn thing.
Shame!!!   😐😒😞

Yesterday's meal photos:

Porridge is perfect for wet mornings.

This ended up as broccoli, sprout and cauliflower cheese - and it was lovely!

I steamed all the veg at lunch time so reheated them by spray roasting.  They look a bit burnt but they weren't, they were delicious, as was the creamy pasta.

Afters was an apple and an orange.

A much better day, thank goodness

There's a small portion of the pasta left over.  It will be OK for a day in the fridge (and, probably, improve in flavour) so that's tomorrow's lunch sorted out

Today's meal plans:

B: avo bagel, smoked salmon, serrano ham, tomatoes

Last time I couldn't choose so this time I'm having both because why not?  

SW:  one healthy extra B, two and a half syns for up to 39g chopped and frozen avocado.  The avo seasoning is too low to count

L:  tomato, chicken and bean soup; fruit

I'm using one of the frozen portions of tomato soup and chunking it up with some veg, some chicken and some mixed beans.

You used to be able to get packs of frozen mixed beans but I haven't seen them around for ages.  A shame, it is so useful to be able to grab just a handful when needed.

SW:  should be syn free

D:  chilli con carne, rice, veg; fruit

I have a portion of basic bolognaise in the freezer and it's a good way to use up the rest of the mixed beans.

SW:  one healthy extra A for the grated cheese I plan to have on top.

Exercise:  personal training

Summary: 

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

two and a half syns

Tuesday, 23-01-24

Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday was not a 'good' day, so no photos and moving swiftly on . . .

Today's meal plans:

B:   porridge, fruit and yogurt

SW:  one healthy extra B

L:  chicken and cauliflower cheese bake; fruit

I'll add other veg too and just top it with cheese sauce.

SW:  four syns, one and a half healthy extra As

D:  creamy pasta bolognaise

Just what it says really.  

SW:  three syns for 25g Seriously Lighter to stir in and half a healthy A for cheese topping.

Exercise:  Groove class

Summary: 

two healthy extra ASs

one healthy extra B

seven syns

Monday, 22-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

Just what the photos says and very refreshing.

I enjoyed this very much indeed.  So very delicious!

I changed my plans and used the bread and cheese with some chutney to make a toastie.  AFters was some fruit.

Today's meal plans:

B: porridge, fruit and yogurt

I haven't had this for ages.

SW:  half a healthy extra A for 120mls milk and one healthy extra B for 40g oats

L:  macaroni cheese, side salad; fruit
Made using the cheese sauce recipe I posted yesterday.  I'll make a cauliflower and broccoli cheese at the same time for reheating tomorrow.

In comments, Button mentioned a sauce flour mix you can get from Sainsbury's.  I'll look out for that next time I shop there - thanks very much.

SW:  four syns, one and a half healthy extra As

D:  fish, chips, salad; fruit

Not battered fish, salmon cooked with some sweet chilli sauce.  And, yes, chips two days running.  Living dangerously!

SW:  one syn for 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

Exercise:  Circuits class today

Summary: 

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

five syns

Sunday, 21-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

Breakfast omelette - I found some mushrooms in the freezer so it was bacon and mushroom omelette and very nice too.

After this lunch, I had a small plum and two easy peelers.

Late afternoon, I used one and a half syns for some mixed seeds to nibble.

Why has it taken me so long to make my own lasagne?  This was delicious, I made three portions (two are in the freezer now) and each portion was one healthy extra A and three syns.  Obviously, the sheet lasagne and the red sauce were speed/free/protein.

Dessert was an orange - they are so sweet and juicy at the moment, aren't they?

I've written out the cheese sauce recipe as a separate post and there's a link on the relevant page (see tabs at the top)

Today's meal plans:

B: fruit salad and yogurt

I have a nice selection of fruit to choose from at the moment.

SW: two syns for the yogurt as it's not 0%

L:  gammon, egg and chips, veg; fruit

I wasn't sure what I had in so I did a freezer rummage and dug out some thick bacon, part of a pack of cooking bacon that was great quality.  I cut off the fat, froze the good slices and chopped the smaller bits into little chunks for casseroles, etc.  I'm having one of the good slices.

As for veg, it will probably be some tomatoes and maybe some peas.

SW:  this should be SW free

D:  cheesy scrambled eggs on toast; fruit

Lovely comfort food.  It was going to beans but I seem to be right out of baked beans.

SW:  one healthy extra A for cheese and one B for bread.

Exercise:  a Snippets tone session and whatever else I do.

Summary: 

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

two syns

Recipe: basic cheese sauce

There's nothing earth shattering about this recipe.  It's just a basic and tasty cheese sauce, the proper kind made with a roux.  I thought it was about time I worked out how I could use it for my SW friendly meals

Ingredients:  this will make enough for three smallish portions or two bigger ones.
15g butter
15g white flour
200 mls semi skimmed milk
75g strong cheddar, grated
pepper, nutmeg or whatever seasonings you want - be careful with salt as butter and cheese already contain salt.

Method
Melt the butter in a small, non-stick pan. When it is sizzling, add the seasoned flour and mix well, over a low heat, stirring well, for a few minutes to cook out the flour.
Then add the milk a little at a time, stirring continuously. As it thickens, add a bit more, then a bit more, until the white sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheddar, reserving a little bit to sprinkle over. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

The numbers:  I used Nutracheck and the 20 calories = one syn rule for the SW numbers

Slimming World:  15g butter - five and a half syns;  15g plain flour = two and a half syns;  75g cheese = two and a half healthy extra As;  200mls semi-skimmed milk = one healthy extra A (just under)

Total:  eight syns and three and a half healthy extra As

Calories:  15g butter = 112 calories;  15g flour = 53 calories; 75g cheese = 308 calories;  200mls milk = 92 calories

Total:  565 calories

Divide by three and you get  three syns and one healthy extra A (has to be rounded a bit ) or 199 calories

Divide by two and you get four syns and one and a half healthy extra As (again by rounding) or 283 calories.

I made three portions on lasagne (cheese sauce on the top only) and it was lovely.  I'm planning in things like cauliflower and broccoli cheese and macaroni cheese now.

Saturday, 20-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

This worked really well.  Underneath is air fryer baked onion, pepper, mushroom and onion.  It was lovely.

Let's call it bacon and egg breakfast bake.

The soup finally got used!

I changed plans a bit and used the philly light on the toast and in the soup.  Dessert was easy peelers and an apple.

Later on, I had a nectarine.

This was lovely!

I made the bolognaise using onion, sweet potato, butternut squash, pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes plus passata, beef and pork mince (under 5%), some Just Spices Italian seasoning (lovely spice mix), black pepper, stock powder, Henderson's relish, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, all simmered long and slow until it was thich and so, so delicious.

I cooked the pasta, mixed some of the sauce with the pasta and added one As-worth of Seriously lighter plus the grated cheddar on top.

And

It

Was

Amazing!

I am very glad there's plenty left over.

Today's meal plans:

B: bacon omelette with tomatoes on the side

I'm right out of fresh mushrooms, annoyingly.  If I have some in the freezer, it will be a bacon and mushroom omelette.

SW:  should be syn free

L:  rye bread with philly light and smoked salmon, salad; fruit

Just what it says.

CW:  two and a half syns for philly light and the bread is my healthy extra B

D:  lasagne, salad; fruit

I'll be using the bolognaise mixture I made yesterday which was so delicious and I'll make a proper cheese sauce.  The idea is to make two portions but I don't know if the amounts I use will work in two portions.  I'll do the maths once I've made it.

SW:  one and a half healthy extra As (per portion) for cheese and the other half for milk, three syns for butter and I have no idea how much flour to make a roux so it's a guesstimate of three syns (all per portion).

Exercise:  online SET class

Summary: 

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

eight and a half syns

Friday, 19-01-24

Good morning, everyone

Yesterday's meal photos:

I was in a hurry so had a snatched fruit breakfast before going out.  Usually it is fine but it set up a hungry day this time.

When I got home from town, I was both cold and hungry - not a great combination.  Didn't fancy the soup so MUST have that today.

First, I had wholemeal bread spread with Philly Light for two and a half syns and topped with smoked salmon and it was lovely.  It would have been fine if I had stopped there but I didn't, I toasted two more slices (six syns) and had some Marmite on top and that was lovely.

Oh, well . . .

No cooking here - it was all re-heats from the previous day and it was just as delicious, really tasty.

But I also had extra cheese to nibble which definitely took me over the 15 syns.  Argh!

Today's meal plans:

B:  egg on veg

I'm not sure what this is called - I don't thing shakshuka quite covers it.  Basically, I fancy air frying some veg and having a fried or poached egg and some crisped up Serrano ham on top.
Veg will be sweet potato chunks, pepper, mushroom and tomato.

SW:  should be syn free

L:  tomato soup, marmite on toast; fruit

I must have the soup and the toast was so very delicious yesterday . . .

SW:  one healthy extra B

D:  spaghetti or pasta bolognaise; fruit

I always add loads of veg to my bolognaise sauce so that's OK.  I think I will make extra sauce because I really fancy a lasagne tomorrow and home made is the best for syns and taste.
I might make it 'creamy' by stirring in some Philly light

SW:  the basic bolognaise should be syn free with two and a half syns for Philly if I add it and one healthy extra A for cheese on top.

Exercise:  a walk, housework

Summary: 

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

two and a half syns

Thursday, 18-01-24

Good morning, everyone.

SInce the Christmas cruise, I have not been great at getting back on intermittent fasting/restricted eating/whatever you call it.
So this coming week, my one aim is to get this pattern back into my life - starting today.

Yesterday's meal photos:

The yogurt is pink because of being mixed with thawing raspberries and blackberries.

I ate the curry leftovers first because they were leftovers and then found I had very little room for the soup.  So I'll have that today and there's two portions in the freezer for next week.

This might look a right plateful but the middle of the plate is quite small and I do try not to 'extend' onto the wide rim.  It was a good meal though, the potato topped pie was delicious and I am very glad there's the other half for this evening.  Ditto vegetables because I cooked for two meals.  So this evening's meal will look remarkably similar!

Today's meal plans:

B:  fruit

Just fruit because it's a busy morning

SW:  syn free

L:   tomato soup with toast for dunking; fruit

This is what I didn't have yesterday.  Made with soup base mix, extra onion and carrot, a bit of leftover red pepper, a can of chopped tomatoes, some stock powder, tomato puree, seasonings to taste and water to slacken because it came out very thick, all blended smooth.
SW:  one healthy extra B for the bread

D:   leftovers of yesterday's turkey, bacon and mushroom pie, assorted veg; fruit  

. . . and I'm really looking forward to it.
That's the last of the turkey for now (I have the drum for another time) and, my goodness, what great value.  It's pretty much been my protein this week in various disguises and cost just £3.00.  Fantastic.

SW:  one and a half healthy extra As for cheese, two syns for philly light and one for some thickening granules

Exercise:  a pre record SET class

Summary: 

one and a half healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

three syns