Thursday, 7 August 2025

Thursday, 07-08-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

OK, so after last night's extras, the count it:

Seven days down, six on plan, one not, twenty four to go

What I ate today:

I meant to photo my lunch, I took my camera, but when the meal arrived, I was so busy chatting to Chris, I forgot!  I chose a small plate Caesar salad and am going to say I will be at the top of my syns for the day.  I actually don't think I will be but to be on the safe side - Caesar dressing is quite calorific but I didn't have all of it.  The shavings of parmesan were half an A (estimate).

Later in the afternoon, I had an apple.

A very tasty dinner of lentil and aubergine bake with runner beans and tomatoes fried in a bit of evoo and with a dash of balsamic vinegar added at the end.
One healthy A and two syns plus another two syns for the oil in the tomatoes

Summary:

two healthy extra As
no healthy extra Bs
fifteen syns (est)

I am counting today as on plan.

Tomorrow's plans:

L:  veg in a tomato and red pepper sauce with pasta and cheese, side salad; fruit

D:  chicken and mushroom risotto, runner beans; fruit

Exercise:   a walk

Wednesday, 6 August 2025

Wednesday, 06-08-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

I'm posting this early as I will be out this evening.

Six down, six on plan, twenty five to go (I'm saying this in hopes that I won't go bonkers this evening lol)

What I ate today:

Lunch.  The corned beef patties - two syns and a third of an A - plus tomatoes with one syn's worth of evoo spray and some runner beans.

This is what I made to take with me on the coach.

One healthy B for the bread, two syns for the corned beef, one syn for a bit of soft cheese (instead of butter) and one syn for chutney.

Below is the rest of what I took.

Summary:
a third of a healthy extra A
one healthy extra B
seven syns
(assuming I don't have anything else this evening)

Edit:  I did, I had several 'elses' through the evening so not on plan for the whole day.  Oh, well!




Tomorrow's plans:

L:  out for lunch with my friend, Chris.

D:  cheesy lentil and veg layer bake, runner beans, tomatoes; salad

Exercise:  a groove video


Tuesday, 5 August 2025

Tuesday, 05-08-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Five days down, all on plan, twenty six to go

What I ate today:

Cheese toastie with coleslaw and tomatoes.
One healthy extra B and three syns for the bread, wo As for cheese, one and a half syns for chutney and one syn for salad cream in the coleslaw.

Mid afternoon I had an apple and an orange.
Dinner was half a bag of M&S frozen chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables air fried with some chicken, a sausage, apple wedges, red onion wedges and tomatoes with one tbsp maple syrup added half way through plus runner beans on the side.
Two syns for maple syrup and four syns for the sausage.

Summary:
two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
eleven and a half syns

Tomorrow's plans:

L:  corned beef patty with an egg on top, roasted tomatoes, runner beans (if there's enough); fruit
More an evening meal because I'm out later - see below

D:  I'm out, into London to see Evita.  I  will take something packed with me to eat on the coach and find somewhere to have a coffee before the show.
I rather fancy corned beef and chutney sandwich, which will use up the rest of the can of corned beef, with some finger salad and then some fruit.  That will be a healthy extra B and five syns for the whole can of lean corned beef

Exercise:   rest day

Monday, 4 August 2025

Monday, 04-08-25 and two recipes

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Four on plan days down now, no off plan days and twenty seven days to go.

What I ate today:

Lunch was so delicious and very filling.  I will post how I made the beanburger below, ditto for the coleslaw.
The coleslaw was one syn for salad cream.
The wholemeal muffin is my healthy extra B
The burger was a third of a healthy extra A for cheese in the actual burger and I used a very small amount of sourdough starter discard (explanation below) which I am calling half a syn - I don't think it is as much as that but because I am trying to be totally on plan . . .
On the muffin, I had one and a half syns in chutney and one A of grated cheddar on top.  Finally, two syns for avocado oil for toasting the insides of the muffin and cooking the burger.
Phew . . .
So - mini summary - one and a third healthy extra As, one healthy extra B and five syns.

I drizzled some balsamic vinegar on the salad.  It's Morrisons balsamic vinegar of Modena and it is so lovely and think, like a glaze,  I find it hard to believe that it is free - I keep checking it on the app and it genuinely is free.

Later on, I had an apple.

Here's dinner - cheesy penne arrabbiata.  Absolutely delicious with onion, mushroom, pepper and tomatoes from the garden plus the chicken and the penne.  It was very 'angry' (that's what arrabbiata means) so I mixed in some garlic and herb soft cheese (Morrisons, 50% lighter) which just muffled the heat enough.
Three and a half syns for the soft cheese, two thirds of an A for the Italian cheese (to go with the thirds in the lunchtime burger and that's it.

Summary:
two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
eight and a half syns
(see my Slimming World halo?)

Tomorrow's plans:

L:  cheese and chutney toastie with coleslaw and salad; fruit

D:  maple chargrilled veg with chicken, apple and sausage; fruit
I couldn't decide whether to have chicken or sausage so I am going for both - one sausage and half a chicken breast fillet.  The chargrilled veg are from the freezer too.

Exercise:   a walk and a Lindsey class.

How I make my coleslaw:

I always make my own coleslaw.
It is cheaper and it is nicer (I think).

I shred cabbage, both red and green/white, if I have both.
I grate or chop carrot.
I chop some apple, skin on.
I add 70% lighter salad cream, preferring that to mayonnaise.  20g is one syn, 40g is two and a half (it is just the way the numbers round)

And I mix it all together.
No seasonings, no spices, etc, but you could, if you fancy.

It keeps well in a covered or lidded container for a couple of days.  The salad cream stops the apple from browning.



How I made the beanburger:

I have soaked and cooked pulses in the freezer but you can use single pulses or some mixed beans from a can.

I used around fifteen pinto beans, fifteen chickpeas and ten butterbeans (no, I didn't count them out, it's an estimate based on knowing I wanted one burger)
I chopped half a spring onion.
I grated a bit of carrot.
I grated 10g hard Italian cheese.
I added about a tbsp sourdough starter discard (see below for why)*
You can add your own seasonings - today mine were garlic granules, chilli flakes, cumin, turmeric, pepper (no salt as the cheese has salt) - just a small pinch of each.  However, you can add whatever you fancy really.

Pop the lot in a mini blender and pulse it or get going with a fork in a bowl.

It should shape nicely into a patty that you can wrap and chill until needed.  The nice thing is that apart from the starter, it's all cooked or edible so there's no need to worry about timings, just heat it through with a browning on the top and bottom.
(they could shape into falafels, of course)

A third of an A, and half a syn for the discard.

*  I keep a jar of sourdough starter discard in the fridge.  While looking for things I could make with it (pancakes, waffles, crumpets, muffins, pizza base . . .), I read that a bit of discard works well as a binding agent in a burger instead of breadcrumbs and a bit of egg.  So that's what I use now as it's easier and much cheaper.  However, breadcrumbs/flour and a bit of beaten egg would work just as well.


Sunday, 3 August 2025

Sunday, 03-08-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Three days down, twenty eight to go.  I am aiming for every single day to be proper on plan apart from the meals I really cannot help because I am out.

Whether I actually can achieve this is up for grabs but it's time to stop faffing about.


What I ate today:

I was slicing my new sourdough loaf prior to freezing and I ate the end bit - half a healthy extra B but no photo.

Lunch was a Cook's ready meal - I still have a few in the freezer - steak and stout stew with runner beans (the first picking from the garden), carrots and broccoli.  Plenty of speed there.  Afters was an orange.

The stew was OK; to be fair, most of it was absolutely delicious but there were two niggles for me.  It was too salty which is probably me, not it, because I have been adding less salt to my meals recently and there was too pronounced a thyme flavour, again for my taste.
Set against that, the steak in the stout gravy was wonderfully melt in the mouth and the two little dumplings (responsible for most of the syns, I am sure) were so lovely.  I like dumplings but hardly ever have them for obvious reasons.  So the ready meal was 476 (ish) calories which is more than reasonable for a main meal, but the syns came to thirteen - ouch.  I'm not fussed though.
I love runner beans fresh picked and steamed or boiled and those runner beans from the garden were so, so delicious.  

Afters was an orange.

I had planned a cooked dinner but wasn't that hungry so I made an egg and cheese salad instead with a hm fro-yo ice lolly for dessert instead.
Two healthy extra As, half a B and three syns

Summary:
two healthy extra ASs
one healthy extra B
sixteen syns


Tomorrow's plans:

L:  cheesy beanburger in a bagel or English muffin, side salad; fruit

D:  chicken penne arrabbiata, side salad; fruit
An old favourite!

Exercise:   Groove

Saturday, 2 August 2025

Saturday, 02-08-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

I'm back.

It's been quite a week what with trips, lunches and fighting a summer virus (the virus won) but I have several easy days ahead of me and time to rest, plan and think through my strategies.

This last week has been a SW/Mediterranean car crash so I really do need to get my act together.  Back to basics for August, I think.

What I ate yesterday and today:

Friday lunch:  I made a mini pizza using one Bs worth of wholemeal flour and three syns of white flour plus three syns of oil and one A in cheese.
(I call a certain amount of wholemeal flour a B - this is not a SW thing, it is my own thing as I made my own bread.)
Comfort food for Friday evening,  It comforted so it served its purpose.
Eight syns for the sausages.  The rest was speed and free
On to today and lunch was scrambled eggs on toast with garden tomatoes and cucumber.

One slice of sourdough was less than a B but two slices would be more.  I had one slice and will keep the other to have if I feel hungry later.

So most of a B and syn free.

I had four mint humbugs left from some I took on the coach trip - six syns in total.

I did and it was lovely - the nice thing about sourdough toast is the crunch and this had crunch in spades!  The rest of the B and three syns.

I also had an apple.

I used some garden tomatoes and some canned ones to make a batch of really nice curry sauce and I had a portion with chicken and chickpeas with 'posh' rice for dinner.  Delicious!

Two syns for the sauce (mostly oil).

Afters was an orange.

Summary:
no healthy extra As (not good)
one healthy extra B
eight syns

Tomorrow's plans:

L:  I'm having a Cooks ready meal from the freezer.  SW says it is 13 syns (ouch) but it is under 500 calories so I am not stressing.  

D:  Indian meatballs in that hm curry sauce with rice and, maybe, some dhal

Exercise:   a Lindsey video, assuming I feel fit to do so,  

Wednesday, 30 July 2025

Wednesday, 30-07-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

Just to let you know that there will be no blog tomorrow but I'll be back on Friday evening.

What I ate yesterday:

Just one photo because there were leftovers so the evening was the same thing.  Sticky chicken skewers, coleslaw and salad.


I'm not feeling great so am going to fast for much of today and see how I feel come the evening.  No plans, no photos and no blog this evening either.

Monday, 28 July 2025

Monday evening, 28-07-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.


What I have eaten today:

Lunch was a lovely lentil and veg soup with croutons and grated cheese plus a bowl of garden tomatoes instead of a piece of fruit.

The soup was four syns plus one A (cheese) and one B (croutons)

I had the other A in the form of some cheese to nibble.

Dinner was sausage, bacon and bean casserole from the freezer with some fusilli.
The casserole was one and a half syns

Summary:
two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
five and a half syns.  

Tomorrow's plans:

L:   I have a friend over and plan to either make chicken kebabs or home made mini pizzas with coleslaw, salad; fruit

D:  tomato and pea pasta bake - planned for today but changed when I saw something already in the freezer

Exercise:   Groove - the last until September

Monday morning, 28-07-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

OK, so no post yesterday, I didn't have anything that it was appropriate to photo and guests in the evening so had no time for a post.
It's a bit like that at the moment and I will do the best I can but don't be too surprised if posts don't appear from time to time.  There's a lot going on.  :-)
I'll do the best I can.  xx
Today's plans:

L:   soup from the freezer with croutons and maybe some grated cheese.

D:  tomato and pea pasta, salad; fruit

Exercise:  that last circuits class until September.

Saturday, 26 July 2025

Friday, 25-07-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

This week is going to be One Of Those Weeks.  
I'm out tomorrow for lunch tomorrow, I am out Sunday for lunch, I have a friend round on Tuesday (although that will be easier) and I am out on Thursday.  Ho hum.  

All I can do is my best!

What I have eaten today:

I made cheese and chutney toasties with salad for me and for Alex.  No photo.
One healthy extra A, one healthy extra B, one and a half syns for chutney, one syn for spray evoo and one syn for salad cream.

Later on, I had an apple and an orange


Dinner was loaded tuna and sweetcorn air fried wedges with salad.
Two syns for light mayo, one syn for salad cream.
Afters was an apple.
Summary:
one healthy extra A
one healthy extra B
six and a half syns

Tomorrow's plans:

L:   I'm out so I truly have no idea either where I'm eating or what I will have.  But I will try to be 'healthy'.  

D:  Something from the freezer - it depends what I have had during the day.

Exercise:   lots of walking

Thursday, 24 July 2025

Thursday, 24-07-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

While browsing for recipes, I found this on the good old BBC Good Food site.  While not strictly speaking, they look healthy and nourishing.  This is the link to the omnivore version and there are links to vegetarian and vegan plans at the side.  If you live or cook solo, well worth a look.


(because it was)
What I have eaten today:

Lunch was at Val's.  No  photo but it was the perfect SW lunch - a delicious lentil and vegetable sou so think that really it should be called a pottage.  Tasty, filling and sustaining - and syn free.  I had some toasted wholemeal sourdough for one B as well.  Thanks, Val - brilliant!

Mid afternoon I had an apple.

I made a warm chicken and bean salad, based on a SW recipe but, me being me, adapted.
So - two syns for some evoo, one syn for some balsamic glaze, one syn for some mixed seeds and one healthy extra A for feta sprinkled over.  Absolutely delicious, packed with different proteins and very, very filling!

Summary:
one healthy extra A
one healthy extra B
four syns


Tomorrow's plans:

L:   probably toasties as I have grandson round.  Toasties and salad; fruit

D:  loaded tuna and sweetcorn wedges, maybe a side salad; fruit

Exercise:  a walk

Wednesday, 23 July 2025

Wednesday, 23-07-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.

After I has closed the blog and posted, I really wanted something sweet - always a danger time.
So I got one of my home made blueberry pancakes out of the freezer (part of a B), thawed it, topped it with a sprinkle of sweetener and some 0% yogurt and drizzled over some maple syrup (three syns max).
Absolutely gorgeous, hit that sweet spot and stopped any crashes.  And still well within SW for the day.
(wish I had taken a photo!)

And in other news, this may or may not be so but I heard that SW are getting rid of the term 'syns'.   Thank goodness for that (assuming it is true), I have never liked that particular term as it gives a very false impression - what's wrong with using the whole term 'synergy points'?
WW uses 'smart points' so it's not too much of a mouthful.

What I have eaten today:

Lunch tasted great.  I tossed the chicken in a spice mix, sprayed with avo oil and cooked in the air fryer.
Afters was an apple.

One syn for the oil, one for the salad cream and a bit of a B for some mixed seeds.

The feta and butterbean burgers are from a Cookidoo recipe for the Thermomix but bean burgers are easy - basically smursh together beans, veg and whatever seasoning you fancy.
Half an A for the feta and half a B for sourdough discard and seeds, two syns for spray oil, one and a half syns for chutney and one syn for some salad cream for dunking the chips.

Afters was water melon and nectarines.

Summary:
one and a half healthy extra As (I nibbled on more feta)
half a healthy extra B
six and a half syns

Tomorrow's plans:

L:   out at Val's so no idea

D:  warm chicken and white bean salad (a SW recipe); fruit
It won't be 'white' beans, it will be pinto beans because I have some in the freezer

Exercise:  nothing because I will be out.

Tuesday, 22 July 2025

Tuesday, 22-07-25 and a recipe - thank you, Stephanie

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.


What I have eaten today:

The cheesy pease pudding bites may not sound particularly appetising, nor did the raw mixture look at all appealing but they were really very, very nice, much to my surprise.  It made six but I ate one as soon as they were cooked!  You have to, don't you?
I paired them with salad, watermelon pickle and coleslaw.

I'll reproduce the recipe below.

One healthy extra A, one syn for salad cream.

Sous vide salmon (I don't think I'll bother again, it's quicker done in the sir fryer and just as nice) with coleslaw, tomatoes and chips.  Very tasty, very enjoyable.

One syn for some teriyaki sauce and the sesame seeds I added were so little I'm not counting them.
Also, one syn for the coleslaw.

Summary:
one healthy extra A
no healthy extra B - ooops
three syns

Tomorrow's plans:

L:   hm chicken skewers, loaded bulgur wheat and salad; fruit

D:  feta and butterbean burgers, salad and new potatoes; fruit

Exercise:   personal training.


Cheesy pease pudding bites

Ingredients to make six (one portion, more or less)
small tin mushy peas or pease pudding
two eggs
chopped spring onion
salt and pepper
garlic and onion granules
30g cheese - I used hard Italian cheese for the big flavour
I also added some chilli flakes because I like a tickle on the tongue

Method:
Mix the egg and the mushy peas well together and then add the remaining ingredients.
Spoon into moulds - I used those individual silicon cup cake moulds - and bake for about 20 mins at 180 in the air fryer.
I think they are nicest eaten hot but they were also good cold.




Monday, 21 July 2025

Monday, 21-07-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now around my target range and am aiming to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure.


What I have eaten today:

In the end, I made a kind of panzanella salad.  I made some croutons using wholemeal sourdough (one B), I griddled the thinly sliced steak and some sliced peach, I made a dressing with balsamic vinegar glaze (too little to syn), half a tsp evoo (one syn) and some lime juice. prepped a base of leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion and seeds, topped it with the beef, peach and croutons, sprinkled over some mixed seeds (one syn) and drizzled over the dressing.
Really tasty.
Afters was some water melon.

I had some nibbles of cheese to make up my As.
For dinner, I already had some Indian meatballs in the freezer.  I had five and am counting part of an A for the bit of grated cheese I added to the recipe.  I air fried them before adding them to a curry sauce I made with tomato pulp, onion, carrot, red pepper, various spices (cumin, turmeric, garam masala, garlic, root ginger, salt/pepper and chilli flakes all simmered together until soft.
The dhal was onion, red lentils, grated carrot, sweet potato, stock, spices (can't remember - just what came to hand), a bit of water and salt/pepper, simmered until mushy and dhal-y.
Two syns for some evoo, a bit of A for cheese and I think that's it.  You can make some yummy stuff for minimal syns on SW and this was packed with veg.
It was quite spicy so I had some 0% Greek yogurt to cool it

Summary:
two healthy extra A
one healthy extra B
four syns
Tomorrow's plans:

L:   cheesy pease pudding bites (a friend gave me the recipe and said they were delish.  We will see), salad, pickled melon peel; fruit

D:  sous vide teriyaki salmon, salad, chip; fruit
(I found a likely sounding recipe on Cookidoo, the Thermomix recipe site)

Exercise:    Groove at the hall.