Friday, 29 November 2024

Friday evening, 29-11-24, and an oats and seeds crackers recipe

 Good evening, everyone.

As I decided, I didn't weigh today but I went to group anyway and it was great.  

Today's meals:

I remembered this morning!  The fruit crumble and custard oats are getting low in the jar - but I have the two Christmas flavours in containers, all ready for Dec 1st.

One healthy extra B and half a healthy extra 
My light lunch - and it was lovely.

Syn free.

Dinner is steak pie with veg and a lemon cheesecake.
I won't be posting a photo of it so I will get this live now or it won't get done until tomorrow.





Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  porridge, fruit and yogurt

L:  fruit salad and yogurt

D:  Christmas Tree Day buffet

Exercise:  does decorating the Christmas tree count?
The Extra Bit:

I haven't done an Extra Bit for a while because there wasn't anything but I've just found (and made) this recipe.  I wasn't expecting much, to be honest, but it was so good and so easy, the main issue being the time it takes to bake but if you have a big tray air fryer I am sure they would do fine in that.

The recipe is for oats and seeds crackers, very useful at this time of year.

I made the recipe straight apart from using real oats that I blended to a flour rather than instant oats (which I don't have).

In SW terms, it carries syns but in Mediterranean terms it's absolutely great.  There isn't an unhealthy ingredient in the recipe unless you count the honey and, as I said, they are absolutely delicious.

One caveat - I had the oven a bit cooler (around 150/140C) and gave it a fair bit longer and they came out totally crunchy.  Great mouth-feel.

I'll post a photo when I have one.

Friday morning, 29-11-24

 Good evening, everyone.  Apologies for last night.  I fell asleep while watching telly and when I woke I went straight to bed.

It's Slimming World group today and I've already said to Heidi that I will miss weighing this week although I will go to help with weighing as usual.  She was good with that.  As a target member, I only have to weigh once every eight weeks to keep membership.  I weigh much more often than that, of course, but it's not been a totally on plan week and, while my own scales say things are OK, once I made the decision and OKayed it with Heidi, I felt so much more relaxed again.  I'll definitely weigh next week for sure.

Yesterday's meals:

I am quite cross with myself.  I know I took photos of breakfast but must have deleted them unintentionally.  Anyway, it was porridge with blueberries and raspberries.
Half a healthy extra B and one syn for seeds

This was both lunch and dinner - not the same portion, obviously!
I soaked some country soup mix overnight and in the morning I put them in the slow cooker with chicken stock, carrot and onion and started it off.
Later on, I added half a chicken breast fillet, chopped and two bacon medallions ditto, plus a little pot of duck stock I found in the freezer - it's all poultry, isn't it, duck and chicken?
An hour before lunch, I added some peas, sweetcorn and broad beans.I added pepper but no salt as the stock contained salt.
It made four filling portions so I decided to have the same for dinner and there are two portions in the freezer to do me next week.  Actually, I have a friend round for lunch one day - maybe I can serve that with some nice crusty bread and some grated cheese.  I could make it 'festive' by crumbling in a chestnut or two.
And it was syn free.
And delicious!

Summary:
no healthy extra As
half a healthy extra B
one syn
. . .  all of which sounds very sparse but it really wasn't, it was a great day's eating!


Tomorrow's meal plans:  I have Dave and Anna round for dinner so am not having much earlier.  I won't starve, I just want to really enjoy dinner.

B:  porridge, yogurt and fruit

L:  assorted fruit

D:  Dinner won't be SW friendly in the slightest.  it will, however, be delicious, home cooked and enjoyed by all.  Steak pie, assorted veg; lemon cheesecake (the non bake kind)

Exercise:  plenty of walking. :

Wednesday, 27 November 2024

Wednesday evening, 27-11-24

 Good evening, everyone.
Time is flying and I'm getting well into sorting out my Christmas Challenge in here.  More about that in Saturday's post so keep reading!

Today's meals:

The fruit crumble and custard flavoured oats made a delicious mug cake as well as porridge, waffles, pancakes and overnight oats.

Half a healthy extra B and half a syn for chia seeds in the fruit.

Leek and potato soup plus some marmite toast for lunch - I had an extra slice of toast because there was one slice left in the bag.
Afters was half an orange (the rest had gone off a bit) and an apple that I dropped so needed to use quickly.

Half an A for milk in the soup and one and a half Bs.
This turned into a carbonara.
I cooked the spaghetti separately and I cooked the salmon in the air fryer.
I stid fried some onion, pepper and mushroom plus some bits of carrot and cabbage from a sweet and crunchy salad mix, adding a tsp of mixed seeds at the end.  
I drained the pasta (reserving a bit of the pasta water, and stirred in one egg yolk and 15g hard Italian cheese plus a bit of the pasta water.  This is where you need to be careful and keep stirring or it scrambled rather that becoming a smooth sauce.
I added the spaghetti and sauce to the veg, mixed it well together, then flaked the salmon and added it on top.
Really nice and filling.
Dessert was a few red grapes.

Half a healthy extra A and one syn for the seeds plus two syns for a bit of evoo to cook the salmon.

Summary:
One healthy extra A
two healthy extra Bs
(I know it should be the other way round!)
three and a half syns


Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  porridge with fruit and yogurt

L: chicken and country veg soup; fruit

D:  bean and veg chilli, bulgur wheat, side salad

Exercise:  housework and, maybe, some gardening.



Tuesday, 26 November 2024

Tuesday evening, 26-11-24

 Good evening, everyone.
I've been put all day and there's no way I could SW count the middle meal so I'll just show what and be back on the synning, etc, tomorrow

Today's meals:

Just a bowl of porridge with added yogurt for breakfast
Nota great photo - for a start, we had pretty much polished off the sandwiches by the time I remembered to get my camera out.
They gave us a selection of sandwiches, ham in mini brioche rolls, scones, jam and cream and then mini eclairs and some kind of cake with as much tea/coffee as we wanted.  And the came out with seconds - and thirds.
A really good afternoon tea.  Nothing posh but enough and to spare and the staff were so lovely and friendly.

Back to good, sensible food when i got home.  Toast with marmite and scrambled egg with an orange and two easy peelers for afters.  Today has been seriously short on speed.

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  porridge or, maybe mug cake, fruit, yogurt

L:  leek and potato soup

D:  salmon on pasta, side salad.

Exercise:  personal training.


Monday evening, 25-11-24 and ooops!

 Good evening, everyone.

Big apologies for last night's non-appearance.  It was a very busy evening, one way and another, and I just didn't have the time and then the energy to get this finished and posted.  Please would you pretend it is Monday evening as you read this.  

Thanks.  

Today's meals:

I don't have overnight oats that often but I do like them and the Oat Pantry stuff tasted great with yogurt and some of the plum and apple made yesterday.
This would be delicious with some crushed meringue or some marshmallows to jazz it up.  Naughty, but very nice.
One healthy extra B and half a syn for chia seeds plus one syn for mixed seeds

Last night, I set some country soup mix on to soak overnight.  Not the frozen soup base but the dried kind - barley, pulses, etc.  This morning it went in the slow cooker with some chicken stock, softened onion and potato and at lunch time I just added  the vegetables left over from yesterday's lunch - carrot, parsnip and sprouts with some pepper.  No salt needed and I didn't add any other seasonings.
Very nice, warming and satisfying; the soaked and slow cooked soup mix, especially the barley, gave a gorgeously thick texture to the soup with no hard bits at all.
One syn for the oil I softened the onion in.

I dithered between salad and cooked veg to go with the salmon and decided on cooked veg eventually and I used spray oil.
One healthy extra A for some cheese.

And if that had been the day's eating, it would have been fine - but it wasn't.
I had cheese - quite a lot - and I found some humbugs in my coach trip bag which are now pushing up the daisies, as Monty Python so famously said.

This is NOT the way to stay on track and to get the cholesterol down.  
And today isn't going to help.

Tomorrow's meal plans:
Out on a coach trip so . . .

B:  porridge, yogurt and fruit

L:  afternoon tea - yes, I know, one of the pre Christmas things.  I will just have to try my best, won't I?   Really not the best timing but that can't be helped.  Maybe just one of things . . .

D:  something simple like scrambled eggs on toast, if needed - I am hoping it won't be.

Exercise:  a lot of walking


Sunday, 24 November 2024

Sunday evening, 24-11-24 and some links you might be interested in (long-ish post)

Evening, everyone.

Really, this ought to go in The Extra Bit but I think it's quite important so putting it first.  Feel free to scroll down and skip.

I thought I'd post some links I found regarding Dr Chris van Tulleken and Ultra Processed Food.  If you have any concerns about the quality and healthiness of the food we put inside us every day, then these are pretty essential viewing, I think.
In fact, even if you don't have concerns about the UPF you consume, maybe you should watch anyway.  Because, personally, I think we all should have concerns.

The other day, I posted about a programme I intend to watch tomorrow (and it is set to record in case I do miss it) entitled Irresistible: why we can't stop eating.  It's on tomorrow but will be available on iPlayer too.
Here's a link to info. 

It's seems to be Dr Chris' Christmas as he is also the speaker at this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, speaking on what happens inside us when we eat.
These lectures are aimed at the teens but they really are very, very good, interactive, informative and entertaining and there's always some good science wrapped up in the presenting style and I am definitely watching them, probably on iPlayer.
Here's a few links:
and, following a link
It's worth following links through here as there's plenty of info.

And, finally, here's a link to a BBC Good Food page on swaps you can make to reduce the amount of UPF you consume.  Simple stuff, not rocket science, but helpful.

(please let me know if any of the links are dud)

Thanks for reading.
Today's meals:

I am happy to confirm that Oat Pantry fruit crumble and custard flavoured oats performs well in all my usual oaty based breakfasts.
OK, so oat based pancakes are not the same as flour based ones but, even so, they are delicious and one has the moral high ground of healthy B, soluble fibre, etc!
I topped these pancakes with what ended up as an apple and plum sauce - because I over cooked it.  There's two portions lift and I have added some chia seeds to them for extra heart-healthiness.
Half a healthy extra B and one syn for seeds - on and let's count two syns for some spray evoo used in the cooking.
First of all, the parsnips were bloomin' gorgeous.  Here's the link:
I had planned some Yorkshires but, when it came to it, I couldn't be bothered.
Just half a syn for the horseradish sauce and one syn for half a tsp evoo to mix up the spices.

Later on, I had two easy peelers.

I'd planned something quite different for dinner but I remembered I had thawed out half a chicken breast fillet and it needed using.
I just fried (in spray oil) some onion, yellow pepper, mushroom, tomato and sliced chicken and added some fajita spice mix and it was lovely with a very simple salad.

Two syns for evoo in the salad dressing.

Summary:
no healthy extra As - which is probably just as well after yesterday's blowout!!
half a healthy extra B
six and a half syns
Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  overnight oats

L:  roast dinner leftovers soup

D:  salmon and veg

Exercise:  Circuits class and housework




Saturday, 23 November 2024

Saturday evening, 24-11-24, cake and a simple leek and potato soup recipe

Evening, everyone.
I'm really enjoying these Oat Pantry products - the one I have tried anyway.  Now I am wondering if it would work as a sort of crumble topping just sprinkled over some fruit in a small container and baked for a short time.  Will it burn though?  I will have to give it a go and see.

After my grandson's stay-over a fortnight ago, I had some weetabix left.  I don't really use weetabix but I remembered that SW has a recipe for weetabix cake so I gave it a go yesterday.
I used extra sweetener, I used wholemeal SR flour instead of plain and I used more mixed spice.
It was delicious!  A bit like the tea loaf my mum used to make, I think.
I'm going to make it again for Christmas but with more 'exotic' dried fruit - dried cranberries, dried apple, that sort of thing.  And maybe a little glug of liqueur if I have any when I make it.
The recipe is an open one so I will post the link below; it was the easiest thing in the world to make, I used my air fryer to cook it and it cooked quicker than the recipe said.  And it should be easy to make a half amount if you want.
Oh - and it freezes well, sliced and interleaved with Easyleave or similar so you can enjoy one3 slice at a time.

(Just remember to syn it!!)
Today's meals:

Yes, the Oat Pantry oats make a nice waffle.  I mixed some stewed apple and plum (not synned) into the yogurt and it was delish

I didnt count and healthy extras/syns, sorry.



 
The leek and potato soup was lovely - recipe below.

We will draw a veil of oblivion over the rest of the day, OK?  Suffice it to say, it was not on plan and I have no idea of syns.

Back on it tomorrow morning, I promise.


Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  pancakes, fruit and yogurt
I've tried the fruit crumble and custard oats as porridge, as baked oats and as waffles (delicious!).  Now it is time for pancakes and then, tomorrow, a mug cake.

L:  roast beef and veg on a Yorkshire platter

D:  avocado and scrambled egg pitta with salad; fruit

Exercise:  a rest day, probably.
The Extra Bit:  a recipe

Simple Leek and Potato Soup.

Ingredients - I eyeball amounts as always, sorry.
potato (preferably floury), peeled and diced (cooks faster)
leek, cleaned and sliced
soup base mix or carrot and onion diced (and celery, if you have some - I didn't)
stock - chicken or vegetable
seasonings
nutmeg (pretty much an essential in this soup, for me)
dried mixed herbs - optional
milk - you don't need loads and it can be optional
water to top up if needed

Method:
1.  Place the cubed potato in a microwave proof dish, add a splash of water, cover and give them about four minutes until the cubes are soft.  Drain and mash to desired consistency.
(I always cook the potato separately.  I found that if they go in with the main mix, when it comes to blending the soup, the starch in the potato makes the whole soup go gloopy and I don't find it all that pleasant a texture.  I cook them separately, mash and add when the soup has been blended to desired texture.
However, if you don't mind gloopy, just cook them with everything else.)

2.  In your saucepan, soup maker, thermomix, whatever you use, place the leek, soup base mix (or individual veg), stock, salt, nutmeg and herbs (if using) and pepper plus water to top up.
(Don't add too much water at this stage; you can always add more.)

3.  Cook the vegetables until they are soft and cooked.  Remove from the heat.  Blend to the consistency you want.  Some like more texture than others.  It should be quite thick at this stage.

4.  Add the mashed potato and stir in well.  Check the seasonings and adjust.

5.  At this point, it should be very thick.  Now add milk to the thickness you want or you can use more water or stock.  Up to you.

6.  Taste and adjust seasonings once more, bring back up to just under a boil, grate over more nutmeg and serve.

You can garnish with a blob of cream, creme fraiche or yogurt, add grated cheese, mixed seeds, croutons, whatever you fancy - but don't forget to work out the extra syns or healthy extras.

Potato, stock, seasonings - SW free foods
Leek, soup base veg - SW speed foods
Milk - use as part of a healthy extra A or syn accordingly
Don't forget to syn any extras.

I find this freezes well.  I know they say freeze before adding milk (and you can) but I find that as long as I mix it well as it is re-heating and bring it back to just simmering, it is fine.  Don't actually boil as the milk might split.
However, if it does, it's not a disaster, it's still perfectly safe, it just changes the look of the soup, that's all.

Friday, 22 November 2024

Friday evening, 22-11-24 and weigh in results

Evening, everyone.

Well, I stepped on those scales at Slimming World ands, to my delight, I had lost one and a half pounds and am now dead on my target weight again.  I'm so pleased about that.  It's small steps this festive season but so far, so good.
Today's meals:

The Oat Pantry oats made delicious baked oats.  I added a bit of sweetener and some vanilla to the oats, egg, raspberries, blueberries and yogurt and it baked very nicely in the air fryer.

One healthy extra B
A rather tatty but nonetheless delicious toastie with a very feeble 'salad'.  I was still rather full from breakfast.

Another healthy extra B, one healthy extra A and one and a half syns for the onion chutney.
I made the fish cakes by roughly mashing a cooked potato, adding softened chopped onion, cheese, garlic granules and mustard powder plus two sardines.  Very tasty with salad and some salad cream - because potato and salad cream go so, so well together!

 One healthy extra A and two syns.

Summary:
two healthy extra As
two healthy Bs
three and a half syns
Not a particularly heart healthy menu today.


Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  oat waffles, fruit and yogurt

L:  leek and potato soup

D:  chicken pasta bake, salad; fruit

Exercise:  an online something.



Thursday, 21 November 2024

Thursday evening, 21-11-24, a new book and an Advent Calendar with a Difference.

Evening, everyone.
I'm quite excited.  I had totally forgotten that I had pre-ordered the new Pinch of Nom book until I got an email today saying it was on its way. 
It's now sitting, new and pristine, on the table beside my chair and I'm really looking forward to a good browse through when I've sent this.

Weigh day tomorrow morning - will I have lost some of last week's gaintain?

Today's meals:

My Oat Pantry flavoured porridge oats arrived yesterday and I chose to start off with the fruit crumble and custard one.  Sounds nice, doesn't it?  The bumph says:
Infused with the sweetness of raspberries, tanginess of blackcurrants, and the comforting warmth of apple, our Fruit Crumble & Custard Porridge is a delightful twist on your morning routine. Mixed with wholegrain rolled oats and a hint of custard, it’s a nutritious and satisfying breakfast bowl that’s reminiscent of your favourite crumble dessert.
And it was delicious.  I added a bit of sweetener and made it with water because I usually do.
Now to try it in other ways - maybe baked oats tomorrow.
Filling too - I had the easy peeler and left the apple.

One healthy extra B and one syn for some chia seeds.

The last of the broccoli and chick soup.  Today I added in 30g grated cheddar and let it melt in plus some mixed seeds sprinkled over.
That was it - I was stuffed!!

One healthy extra A and one syn for the seeds.

I made a basic penne arrabbiata and stirred in half a can of sardines in olive oil, roughly broken up.  

I strained the oil off the fish (and have kept in), using one tsp to soften the onion etc.

A dollop of yogurt and a side salad finished it off nicely and I had an apple for dessert.

Two syns for the evoo and one and a half syns for the sardines (because of being canned in olive oil.

Summary:
one healthy extra A
one healthy extra B
five and a half syns, all from heart healthy oils

Tomorrow's meal plans:
I won't be using my extra syns tomorrow as I have a few 'events' coming up in the next week or so.  I may eat up to my fifteen syns though.

B:  baked oats (not sure what kind yet but using the fruit crumble and custard oats)

L:  cheese and onion toastie, salad; fruit

D:  cheesy fish cakes (using the other half of the sardines), nice, big salad; fruit

Exercise:  rest day

The Extra Bit:

A different Advent Calendar
This is definitely an advert.  :-)


My lovely friend, Lindsey, who owns and runs the Shimmy 'n' Groove exercise company that I use for all my fitness classes has brought out an Advent Calendar with a difference.
You don't need to be local, you don't need to be a Shimmy 'n' Groove client, all you need is to be on Facebook because that's the platform she is using.

She is uploading twenty five fitness activities on December 1st so we can use them as an Advent Calendar by opening one a day or we can look at the lot and organise them into our own extended routines for Advent.

The price for all this is just £2.50 - an absolute bargain. 

If you would like to buy this Calendar with a Difference, drop her a message on Facebook.
and she can send you paying in details and add you to the group
 




Wednesday, 20 November 2024

Wednesday evening, 20-11-24, a TV programme and seven signs

Evening, everyone.

I just want to spotlight a TV programme that is airing next Monday, BBC2 at 8:00pm.
It is entitled 'Irresistible:  Why We Can't Stop Eating' and is presented by Dr Chris van Tulleken, he of 'Ultra Processed People' fame.

Here's a link to some info on the programme which will also be on iPlayer plus a Q & A with Dr Chris.

I will be watching it, that's for sure.
Today's meals:

The usual breakfast.
One syn for mixed seeds
Soup for lunch.  I added some mixed seeds and drizzled over a bit of evoo.

One and a half syns for the seeds and one syn for the evoo.
I had forgotten how easy and how tasty Jack Monroe's carrot, bean and cumin burgers are.  I split and toasted an English muffin, spread over some onion chutney, added the cooked burgers and topped them with a bit of cheese and half a mini tomato.

One healthy extra A, one healthy extra B, one and a half syns for the chutney, two syns for flour in the burgers and two syns for evoo for cooking plus two syns in the dressing.
I nearly forgot - three syns for a custard cream at Knit and Natter.

Summary:
one healthy extra A
one healthy extra B
thirteen syns - ooops
Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  fruit, yogurt and mixed seeds

L:  hm soup - soup season has really started now, hasn't it?

D:  sardine arrabbiata, salad; fruit

Exercise:  SET class online
The Extra Bit:

Lindsey posted this yesterday on Facebook.  It is good.

Seven signs that you are on the right track (with your weight loss journey)
(that have nothing to do with the scales)

You have more energy.
You enjoy working out more.
You are getting stronger
Your clothes are fitting differently
Other people are noticing changes
Your nutrition has improved
You have more confidence.


Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Tuesday evening, 19-11-24

Evening, everyone.
It's turned so cold today - Winter seems to have booted Autumn out of the door with some areas having falls of snow.  We had sleet here this morning and plenty of rain but the temperature has really dropped through the day and It's been a bit tricky with craving stodgy food.  The cravings didn't win today but I need to be on my guard.
It's just what we were talking about in Slim Win chat yesterday and it was absolutely perfect timing as what people said has helped today.
Thank you, everyone.  xx



Today's meals:
Before Groove, I had an apple

Nectarine and peach slices from the freezer with kiwi.  Yogurt underneath but no seeds today.

I had a friend round for lunch and we had a hm tomato, red pepper and lentil soup with cheesy marmite toast.  Lovely and warming, also colourful on such a dull day.

one healthy extra AQ
one healthy extra B
one syn for seeds added to the soup.

Later on, I had an apple and an orange.  

I was so glad I planned a jacket potato for dinner - it was just perfect, just what I wanted.  
One A and two syns for the cheese, one syns for some salad cream under the cheese (I LOVE salad cream on a jacket potato), one syn for the bean mixture and two syns for salad dressing.
Afters was a couple of easy peelers.

Summary:
two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
seven syns
Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  fruit, yogurt and mixed seeds

L:  soup and fruit
It will be a bit early as I am going out, so I won't want too much.

D:  bean, cumin and carrot burger (a la Jack Monroe) in a roll, with stuff (chutney, maybe cheese, etc), side salad; fruit

Exercise:  personal training