Friday evening, 27-09-24, Eat-Your-Syns-Friday fakeaway and chia seeds

Good evening, everyone!  

It was weigh-day today, of course, and I lost one and a half pounds.
Now, I am not looking to lose (or gain), just to maintain but it's nice to have a few pounds in the SW bank before our break at Center Parcs.

And looky-look!

Very happy about that.  xx

Another victory, not scales based - I tried on my swimming cossies this morning, preparatory to some time at Center Parcs next month and, my goodness, how my shape has changed in the last five weeks or so!  Far less fat round my middle and the tops of my legs, indicating that, scales to the contrary, I really am losing body fat.  And I actually have a waist - a proper waist with nice concave lines each side (if you know what I mean) so, sometimes, depending on what I am wearing, I don't have a muffin top.

And when I do it is more a mini-fairy-cake top now.

I'm chuffed with that.

What I ate today:  remember, it is EYSF!

Eating started at group today as Jen gave me one of the new Gingerbread Hifi bars to try.  Very nice it was too.

So that's three syns to start with.

Breakfast fruit was an apple and a plum for a real autumnal vibe and I had more of the cherry chia jam in the yogurt (underneath).  I'm going to go for apple and plum chia jam next as, when you warm apple and plum up, they do release liquid which is what is needed for the seeds to soften, expand and thicken.

Half a syn for the chia seeds and one syn for some mixed seeds sprinkled on top

I had six syns-worth of mixed nuts and really enjoyed them.

I'd saved a bit of the roasted veg from Wednesday so I popped them in a pan with a little pot of my own chicken stock from the freezer, some red lentils, some chia seeds (I wanted to see how they are in savouries) and a bit of old bay seasoning plus some mixed beans from a can.  When it was all ready, I stirred in some Greek yogurt.

OK, so I know it looks like a muddy pond (or worse) but it was really tasty!  Very filling too.

Dessert was a plum and later on I had another plum and an orange.

I'm counting one tsp evoo for the pre roasted veg (it wasn't much) and half a syn for the chia seeds as well as six syns for bread (not a B, I'm using both my Bs for dinner).  The rest was SW speed or free.

I decided that, as it's Eat-Your-Syns-Friday, I would splash out on a fakeaway and went for chicken fajitas and all the trimmings - guacamole, soured cream (sort of), salsa, tortillas and grated cheddar.  It took a bit of synning but I managed it!

The spice mix was a commercial one because I have some so ought to use it but I also had all the ingredients for a home made mix, should I have needed them.

The cheese was two healthy extra As and the tortillas two healthy extra Bs.  The guacamole was four syns for 60g frozen avocado, the chicken was three syns for evoo, the salsa was speed/free and the soured cream was really a mix of Greek yogurt and two tbsp half fat creme fraiche (which worked really well) for two and a half syns.

Very delicious and, for future reference, half of all this would have been perfect.  It was a LOT.  I was stuffed and really couldn't have managed anything else, not even a grape!

Summary

two healthy extra As

two healthy extra Bs

twenty four and a half syns (out of thirty as it's one of my days for double syns as well as EYSF - I don't usually have the other higher syn day I could have as a target member)

My meal plans for tomorrow:

B:  the usual!!

L: cheese and chutney toastie, side salad; fruit

D:  storecupboard spaghetti puttanesca, maybe salad; fruit

Exercise:   SET class online.

The Extra Bit

As I seem to mention them every single blog post, I thought I'd focus on chia seeds in The Extra Bit today.

Chia seeds are the tiny, black seeds from the salvia hispanica plant, a member of the mint family and originally from Central and South America.

A particularly useful quality is the ability to absorb liquid to form a gel, making them very useful for thickening sauces, used and an egg replacement and to make a sugar free jam.

Their benefits may include: (note, it says MAY - more research is needed really) . . .

1. Rich source of bone-healthy calcium, promoting bone health

2. Help to lower blood pressure although it needs to be accompanied by a change in lifestyle and a decent amount of exercise.

3. Useful for balancing blood sugar levels, shown in observational studies of both animals and humans.

4. Healthy choice for those with diabetes; as they are rich in polyunsaturated omega 3 fatty acids, they can help to stabilise blood sugar levels although there is no conclusive evidence to suggest chia seeds can directly reduce the risk of diabetes.

5. Packed with fibre.  A handful of chia seeds (25g) supplies almost 9g fibre which makes a healthy contribution towards the daily recommended intake of 30g. Adequate fibre in the diet is important for digestive health and for maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. A diet rich in fibre lowers the risk of a number of diseases and also reduces all-cause mortality.
(this last copied straight from BBC Good Food site)

It also says - and I can testify to this - that on the whole chia seeds are well-tolerated, however, consuming too many in one sitting may cause abdominal discomfort, constipation and bloating. For this reason, it is important to drink adequate amounts of water, especially if the seeds have not been pre-soaked. They are not so helpful for those with inflammatory bowel diseases

It also warns that you are on medication for high blood pressure or diabetes you may need to moderate your intake of chia seeds because they may enhance the activity of your medication and suggests that you defer to your GP or dietitian for guidance.  I didn't, ooops, but there seem to be no negative effects.

Regarding allergies, although nut and seed allergy are well-documented, allergy to chia seeds is rare.

Here's some links to recipes:

Quinoa porridge

Vanilla almond chia breakfast bowl

Apricot and seed breakfast bar

Raspberry ripple chia pudding

Raw strawberry jam

Protein pancakes

(the only one I have tried is the jam)

If you Google chia seed recipes UK, there's quite a lot out there.