Wednesday, 26-02-25 and stuff about bread

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  At present, I am working to reduce my 'bad' cholesterol through diet, particularly using the Mediterranean way of eating.

Do you make sourdough?  I've tried on several occasions and have rarely got beyond a starter that begins well but then dies a nasty and painful death, poor thing.  When I did achieve a decent starter, the loaves were rubbish!
Every time, I vow and declare that there's no way I will ever try again - and each time, after a suitable gap, I get the urge to have another go.
So there is, currently, a second day starter sitting in my kitchen - and I haven't killed it - yet.

I've done some research - well, watched videos on YouTube - and there's such a lot more info out there now than there was last time I tried so never say never, eh?  I even found a formula called Baker's Maths - 100% flour, 60-80% water, etc.  I tried so hard to find something like this before.

IF it works this time - big if - I will have to think of a name.  I gather people name their sourdough starters.  Any ideas - the punnier the better (that's not a typo).

As an encouragement, I also made one of my normal loaves - a delicious, SW friendly loaf made with wheat, rye and spelt wholemeals with added seeds for crunch and flavour.  It always works, never fails (touch wood) and it is now sliced and in the freezer.  It will see me through until the third week of March, maybe longer.

(I made one before Christmas that had added chopped olives, sundried tomatoes and crumbled chestnuts and it was lovely - but that's for special occasions . . .)

Finally, for Sooze and anyone else, here's the link to Roy's video showing how to make the white bean sauce again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzrRGQe7Mi8&t=418s

What I ate today:

I'm really pleased that, again, each meal used something from the freezer - using what I already have is great and I don't want to go food shopping until Saturday, if I can help it.

Breakfast was the usual.  The fruit was the last of a bag of mango chunks, the dregs of some tropical mix fruit from Lathcoat's and some blueberries.

One syn for the chia seeds and one syn for some mixed seeds.

I got a container of soup base mix (that mix of dried grains and pulses that you boil up) and some fresh (ie. real) chicken stock from the freezer and added to it some left over salad from last night because why not.  The leaves act like spinach and the rest is just veg while the dressing adds flavour.
The soup base is two syns and I am going to add one syn for the salad (it was four syns and there's less than a quarter left - it was a VERY big salad!).  The croutons were a healthy extra B and the grated cheese a healthy extra A.

I had an apple a bit later.

The Cook's sweet potato katsu curry looked super-beige but the flavour - wow.  Not too hot but  good hit of spice and so many different vegetables and some seeds too.  Definitely getting that again when I next place an order - which probably won't be until April.

Afters was a some grapes.

Four and a half syns for the curry.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

nine and a half syns

Tomorrow's plans:

B:  just some fruit as I have a busy morning and can eat that on the go.

L:  I have my friend, Val, round for lunch and I am trying a recipe from the new SW recipe book, One-Pot Magic.  If you have the book, it is on p 64 and is Greek chicken with butter beans and feta

D:  toasted bagel with scrambled egg and smoked salmon.

Exercise:  I'm just doing the Strike part of the SET class online as I have plenty to do and not a lot of time.