Monday evening, 24-06-24

Evening, everyone!

Firstly, I have added the lentil wrap pizza and today's lentil omelette breakfast wrap on the recipe links page,  tab at the top.  There are loads of recipe there, if you want to take a look.

The Slimming World Kitchen box arrived this afternoon and, as before, everything was lovely.  Easy to sort out, everything there, the two packs of chicken went straight into the freezer and the rest is all in the fridge.

What I ate today:

Breakfast - I'll post the recipe below but it contained a lentil wrap, one egg, 35g avocado, tomatoes and mushrooms plus seasonings.

And it was both delicious and filling.

Two and a half syns for the avocado.  Everything else was free and protein, speed or free seasonings.

Oh, my word, this was filling.  The other half of the stroganoff from yesterday with salad instead of rice.  I added cheese on top of the stroganoff because - healthy extra A needed.

Half a syn for the coleslaw dressing.

Later on, I had an orange and a nectarine.  

The first of the new lot of SWK meals.  Zingy lime and ginger salmon with rice and salad.  What brought it all together was the dressing/marinade which was grated fresh ginger, finelychopped chilli (not that hot), tamari, lime zest and juice.

The salmon steaks were marinated in some of it before baking (in Nellie), it was a dressing for the salad (shredded red cabbage, ribboned carrot and quartered tomatoes, and I added some to the rice which I didn't follow instruction for.  This was because I had some left over from yesterday so I spray fried the cut pak choi and then added the rice and a bit of the dressing just to heat the rice.  

It said to break up the salmon, which I did, but it made the bowl look messy.  Oh, well!

It was delicious.

I cooked both the salmon steaks (good sized ones, far bigger than I usually have and next time I have a salmon dish from them, I might halve each portion and freeze what I don't need.  I just made one portion of the salad and the rice was one portion anyway - the provided rice has gone into my basmati  rice storage jar.

Syn free

Summary:

one healthy extra A

no healthy extra Bs

three syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  eggy bread with fruit and yogurt

L:  lime and ginger salmon, salad; fruit

(using the other piece of salmon and the left over dressing on the salad)

D:  herby chicken pie, broccoli; fruit

The second SWK meal of this week.

Exercise:  Groove.

lentil omelette breakfast wrap

Ingredients:

one lentil wrap 

one egg, beaten, plus seasonings of choice

35g frozen avocado chunks, thawed, mashed

seasonings (I use Just Spices avocado topping mix)

small fresh tomato roughly chopped

lime juice

mushrooms and tomatoes, halved and/or sliced.

Method:

Heat a non stick pan the same size as the wrap.  Shoot in the beaten egg and spread it round - it will be thin.
As it sets (very quickly), place the lentil wrap in top and press it down.  Them carefully, turn the whole thing over so the lentil wrap warms and the egg cooks.

Place on a plate in a warm oven so it doesn't go cold.

Respray the pan and add the mushrooms.  When they are nearly cooked, add the tomatoes.

Mix together the guacamole ingredients.

When the tomatoes and mushrooms are ready, spread the guacamole onto the omelette wrap, lentil wrap side up.  Then pile on the mushrooms and tomatoes.

Enjoy straight away while it is still hot.

(I'll post this separately too)

Recipe: lentil omelette breakfast wrap

Lentil omelette breakfast wrap.

Ingredients to make one:

one lentil wrap ( recipe here )

one egg, beaten, plus seasonings of choice

35g frozen avocado chunks, thawed, mashed

seasonings (I use Just Spices avocado topping mix)

small fresh tomato roughly chopped

lime juice

mushrooms and tomatoes, halved and/or sliced.

Method:

Heat a non stick pan the same size as the wrap.  Shoot in the beaten egg and spread it round - it will be thin.
As it sets (very quickly), place the lentil wrap in top and press it down.  Them carefully, turn the whole thing over so the lentil wrap warms and the egg cooks.

Place on a plate in a warm oven so it doesn't go cold.

Respray the pan and add the mushrooms.  When they are nearly cooked, add the tomatoes.

Mix together the guacamole ingredients.

When the tomatoes and mushrooms are ready, spread the guacamole onto the omelette wrap, lentil wrap side up.  Then pile on the mushrooms and tomatoes.

Enjoy straight away while it is still hot.

Tasty and filling too.

Recipe: lentil wrap pizza

 I got the recipe for the wrap on YouTube.  Here's the link to the Frugal Queen in France vlog where you will find it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-c0g0XQMqY

This is what I did.

I used a third of a cup of orange lentils, two thirds of a cup of water, a bit of black pepper and some stock powder.  

I did what the video modelled except that I made the first wrap thicker and cooked it slower as I wanted it to have some substance as a pizza base.

I then put it on my pizza tray, spread a mix of tomato puree, Hendersons and soy sauce for the pizza sauce, then added a mix of grated cheddar and grated mozzarella, then onion, mushroom and pepper that I had softened, topped the lot with sliced tomato and gave it about ten minutes at 180C until the cheese had melted.

It was really nice - not bready in the least bit, of course, but the flavours worked so well with the cheese and vegetables and it was pick-up-able

As lentils are free and protein on Slimming World, I didn't have to use a B - and lentils are high in fibre as well as protein so it's win all the way.

Sunday evening, 23-06-24

Evening, everyone!

All seems to be going well so far.  No slip ups and a full week of SW friendly plans to follow.  

My second (extra) SWK box is arriving tomorrow and I'm feeling excited about it again - the first one was a great success.

What I ate today:

A cooked breakfast went down a treat.  I had a few strawberries, picked the other day, that needed using so I had them afterwards.

Syn free

I had a rethink about lunch because I watched Frugal Queen in France's Friday vlog where she showed how to make a very simple lentil wrap.  I'll put the link at the bottom.
I did some garden work and one of the things I did was to thin out the mixed leaved that I sowed three weeks or so ago.  There was no way I was going to chuck those thinnings away - I had them as 'micro leaves' in my salad and they were very nice indeed.

I put some chopped apple in the coleslaw so had the rest of the apple for afters.

One and a half healthy extra As for cheese, no Bs because the lentil wrap was made with SW free foods and half a syn for light mayo - I used one syn's worth but only had half of it.

Dinner was the SWK recipe, using my own ingredients.  The only thing I did differently was use a couple of sizzle steaks instead of two bavette steaks because that's what I had - and swapping the kale for broccoli, of course.

Very tasty.  Not how I remember a stroganoff but it was great and I will make it again.  I'm very glad I have the other half for lunch tomorrow.

Syn free.

Summary

one and a half healthy extra As

no healthy extra Bs

half a syn

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  lentil wrap omelette with avocado,mushrooms and tomatoes

L:  steak stroganoff, rice, broccoli; fruit

Exactly the same as Sunday dinner.

D:  zingy lime and ginger salmon with rice and salad; fruit

Exercise:  circuits

Here's the link to the Frugal Queen in France vlog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-c0g0XQMqY

This is what I did.

I used a third of a cup of orange lentils, two thirds of a cup of water, a bit of black pepper and some stock powder.  

I did what the video modelled except that I made the first wrap thicker and cooked it slower as I wanted it to have some substance as a pizza base.

I then put it on my pizza tray, spread a mix of tomato puree, Hendersons and soy sauce for the pizza sauce, then added a mix of grated cheddar and grated mozzarella, then onion, mushroom and pepper that I had softened, topped the lot with sliced tomato and gave it about ten minutes at 180C until the cheese had melted.

It was really nice - not bready in the least bit, of course, but the flavours worked so well with the cheese and vegetables and it was pick-up-able

As lentils are free and protein on Slimming World, I didn't have to use a B - and lentils are high in fibre as well as protein so it's win all the way.

And I have another one, a bit thinner, to use another day, from what was left.  I wonder how well it would freeze . . . although I will want to use it tomorrow so I must make some more sometime.

Thank you, Frugal Queen.

Saturday evening, 22-06-24

Evening, everyone!

I've had a lot of enjoyment from looking through the new Pinch of Nom book today.  All the recipes are either partly or wholly air fryer recipes and there's some good ones by the looks of it, although some are old recipes adapted to the air fryer rather than actually new.

I'm sure I will be trying some soon.

What I ate today:

Basically, you can air fryer bake more or less anything, add some chopped bacon and top it with an egg and you have a breakfast bake.  With brown sauce on top, this was really tasty.

One syn for the brown sauce.

The penultimate portion of the SWK veg and chickpea traybake with a cheesy breadcrumb topping.  Such a tasty way of using up leftovers.

I had a couple of mint sweets left from the trip on Thursday so I polished them up as a dessert.  Not healthy and they set my tooth aching so I wish I hadn't really!!

One healthy extra A, a bit of a healthy extra B for breadcrumbs and three for the two mints.

Sinner was from the SWK booklet but I wouldn't exactly call it a recipe as the only thing that needed constructing was the tartare sauce (which was very nice).  The rest was sort of 'cook the chips', 'cook the fish' etc.  I used the sync function to do both the fish and the chips in Nellie and the salad was just what was left from the lunch salad.

It was all very tasty though, really nice.

Syn free.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

part of a healthy extra B

four syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  bacon, egg, mushrooms and tomatoes

Typical cooked breakfast!

L:  wrap pizza, salad; fruit

Not my usual roast dinner this week.  I just fancied a change really.

D:  steak stroganoff with rice and broccoli

Another from the SWK recipe booklet and using my own ingredients.  It should be sauted kale but I don't have kale and I do have broccoli!

Exercise:  a walk

Friday evening, 21-06-24

Evening, everyone!

Line drawn, reset started, whatever you call it.  Moving on . . .  

What I ate today:

A lovely fresh dish of kiwi, strawberries from the garden and yogurt.  So delicious.

Stn free.

I made the toastie with cheese, bacon and onion chutney.  My favourite.

One and a half healthy extra As, one B and one and a half syns

Later on, I had a nectarine.

Finally, this was dinner.  A very nice piece of fillet steak from Morrisons, mushroom on top, some air fryer chips and tomatoes on the side, followed by an apple.

Scrummy and syn free.

Summary

one and a half healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

one and a half syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  breakfast bake

L:  veg and chickpea traybake with cheesy topping, salad; fruit

(leftovers from one of the SWK meals)

D:  baked cod and wedges with tartare sauce

(a recipe from the SWK recipe book from the last box and using my own ingredients)

Exercise:  I want to spend some time in the garden

Wednesday evening, 19-06-24

Evening, everyone!

I really don't have anything for you this evening.  I was out most of the day and had leftovers for dinner so no photos and tomorrow I am also out all day and have no idea whether I will want/need an evening meal or not.  Back Friday evening.  xx

Wednesday morning 18-06-24

Morning, everyone!  I left this until this morning as I was so very weary yesterday evening.  All together now - aaaaaahhhhhhh!  😀

What I ate yesterday:

A light breakfast - strawberries from the garden and some 0% Greek yogurt.

Syn free

A crustless quiche rather than a frittata but still really nice.  It had potato, onion, asparagus and tomato, topped with cheese.

Half a syn for some out top brush over the baking tin, one syn for pumpkin seeds and one for some salad cream.

Later on, I had a couple of easy peelers.

And then the day disintegrated, food wise, so, moving swiftly on . . .  

My meal plans for today:

B: fruit

L:   out with a friend

D:  the leftovers I didn't have yesterday so I MUST have them this evening.  Must, must, must!!

Exercise:  a walk and personal training.  

Monday evening, 17-06-24

Evening, everyone!

What I ate today:

An apple before circuits and this afterwards.  The baked beans were leftover from a couple of days ago.

Half a healthy extra B

One of the veg traybake and chickpeas portions, reheated with cheese melted on top.  Odd, I know, but it was actually very tasty.

One healthy extra A and one syn for salad cream

Later on, I had a nectarine, an easy peeler and my second healthy A in the form of a nibble of cheddar.

On to dinner which was the last of the SW Kitchen meals from my first box.

And

It

Was

Delicious

Not shown in the photo was a vegetable gravy which was so good, I'm making it again.  Best, being a vegetarian, will really love it too.  I'll reproduce it at the bottom of this post.

The plateful you can see filled me up.  I have another plateful more or less the same (more red cabbage) to warm up and have as an easy meal tomorrow and there's things left over - two potatoes, two carrots, one red onion, some green beans, some fresh herbs, a bit of a stock cube and mushrooms - chestnut which is what I always get.  This is all stuff I buy regularly so they will not be wasted.

No dessert - no room.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

half a healthy extra B

one syn

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  breakfast toastie, mushrooms and tomatoes

L:  Spanish tortilla, salad; fruit

D:  same as today

Exercise:  Groove class and the walk there and back.

This is how I made the lovely gravy.

You need:
some chopped onion, carrot and mushrooms
spray oil
part of a stock cube or powder
tomato puree
tamari (a sort of soy sauce - you could use that or some Henderson's instead)
water

No need for salt as the stock and the tamari are salty

And some sort of blender - I used my stick blender.

Spray a non stick saucepan, add the mushroom, carrot and onion and let them sizzle over a medium heat.
After five minutes or so, add some tomato puree and cook for another couple of minutes.  
Crumble in the stock, add the tamari and some water, bring to a simmer and cook until the veg have softened.
Blend to smooth with a stick blender or similar, adding a bit more water if needed.  Reheat and serve.

Sunday evening, 16-06-26

Evening, everyone!

What I ate today:

  The sun shone so this was perfect for breakfast.

The only 'special' thing was the brioche mould I used to shape the eggy bread which was one egg, vanilla and sweetener plus a slave of bread, crusts off, soaked in the eggy mixture and then moulded into the brioche tin and baked in the oven until it was crisping up and holding its shape.
It didn't come out perfect but it was OK.  Just a shame the mould was just a bit too wide for the Ninja.  
The yogurt had some sweetener too.

Half a healthy extra B

A very easy Sunday lunch as the vegetables and the potatoes were already cooked  The veg needed reheating, I spray roasted the potatoes and started off the pork steak in a pan before finishing it off in the oven which was on for the potatoes anyway.

Syn free.

Later on, I had an apple.

I hard boiled two eggs and mashed them with some cheese, some seasoning and some mayo.  Really nice.

Dessert was an orange.

One healthy extra A and one and a half syns for some mayo.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

half a healthy extra B

one and a half syns

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  beans on toast with tomatoes and mushrooms

L:  aloo gobi traybake, chickpeas, yogurt mint dressing, salad; fruit

D:  I have decided to make the third SWK meal, homecoming garlic and herb roast chicken.

Exercise:  circuits class

Sunday morning, 16-06-04

Morning, everyone - because it is Sunday morning as I was really weary yesterday evening.

What I ate today yesterday:

Breakfast was taken out at the local Tiptree coffee place and, while my walking friends had breakfast rolls or toasted tea cakes, I polished my halo with an apple and two easy peelers brought from home - and they were delicious with the very good coffee they serve.

I used some of the leftover Med veg from the first Slimming World Kitchen meal, added some feta and turned it into a sort of wrap to have with a simple salad.  It worked well.

Two healthy extra As and one B.

 Dinner was the second SWK meal, the Indian themed golden aloo gobi traybake with chickpeas.

This one was absolutely LOADED with vegetables.  an onion, a whole cucumber, about ten new potatoes (no rice though), tomatoes and a bag of baby spinach plus curry powder, fresh mint, stock, cinnamon, tomato puree, lemon . . .

It made loads, as one would expect, looking at the pile of veg - I had a quarter of it with some of the mint, lemon and yogurt dressing and the rest is in three freezer containers.

And it was nice.  I'm not fond of spinach and normally would either use less or use broccoli instead but I wanted to give it a go.

I think the leftovers will be nice making another main meal with some added chicken or mashed into a sort of quesadilla (how about that for fusion food, eh?) but for now it is all going into the freezer as I have other plans.

Syn free.

The syns shot right up come the evening as I had a fancy magnum.  And very nie it was too.  

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

twelve and a half syns

Tomorrow's Today's plans:

B:  sweet eggy bread with strawberries and yogurt

L: pork steak, fried potato, Med veg; fruit

D:  cheg salad; fruit

Exercise:  rest day

Friday evening, 14-06-24

Evening, everyone.

I was very pleased with two pounds off this morning.  However, I wasn't so pleased with deleting all my photos before saving them.  Remarkably careless.

Sorreeeee

Tomorrow's plans:

B:  fruit during the walk

L:  toastie and salad

D:  golden aloo gobi traybake with chickpeas

Exercise:  a walk

Thursday evening, 13-06-04

Evening, everyone.

Today was exciting.  I received the first meal box from Slimming World Kitchen and, so far, it's very impressive.  I'll do a separate post about it another day though.

What I ate yesterday:

I took photos so why not?

Cooked breakfast with a somewhat overcooked egg - nice though.

Syn free

Lunch - I would normally have this as a dinner.
steak penne arrabbiata and I added some Greek yogurt and some hard Italian cheese (grated).

Very filling, very tasty.

One healthy extra A and four syns because I used a jar of sauce and scoffed the lot.

My packed evening meal - not terribly posh for ballet at the RAH but I don't care, it was a whole lot cheaper than buying a meal and a whole lot nicer, I suspect.

Chicken and ham sandwiches, tomatoes, carrot, easy peelers and apple.

One healthy extra B and six syns for some butter

Summary:

no healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

ten syns plus one sweet and a very small bag of crisps (handed out in the coach) so I will have gone over syns today but probably not over calories.

What I ate today:

I had strawberries from the garden so I halved them to eat with a rather squishy but gloriously sweet kiwi fruit and an easy peeler plus yogurt.  Lovely.

Syn free.

The always top of the favourites list, cheese and onion chutney toastie with mixed salad and coleslaw.  So tasty.  I used part of an apple in the coleslaw and had the rest for a dessert.

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

The first SW Kitchen meal and it was absolutely lovely.  Huge portions - i have two more portions of the roasted veg and three more of the potatoes as well as the other piece of salmon.  It was supposed to be two servings; if the others are as generous, it is going to make it much better value.  Still not cheap but better.

I had some slices of watermelon for dessert.

Syn free

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

three syns

Tomorrow's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

L: the other half of the Med baked salmon

D:   golden aloo gobi traybake with chickpeas
(the second of the three SW kitchen meals)

Exercise:   rest day