Wednesday, 30-04-25

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

What I have eaten today.

I enjoyed this.  

One healthy extra B.

(photo borrowed from the Pret site)

For lunch, we went to Pret and this is what I had - Romesco style butterbean and feta salad for 489 calories, absolutely delicious and filling - I brought just under half home with me to have for dinner.
According to SW, it is 14 syns which is bonkers and ignored the fact that feta could be called between one and two healthy extra As which would be the equivalent of 12 syns but there you go!  I'm going to call it one and a half As and five syns, right or not.

Romesco sauce is a Spanish sauce, often made with roasted red pepper, nuts, garlic, paprika and vinegar.  It's so good - I'm definitely having a go at making it.

Before personal training, I had and apple, and afterwards I had an orange.

For dinner, to the leftover salad, I added some haricot beans, some feta (the rest of the second A) some mixed seeds (two syn), more salad and some fat free dressing (UPF but I have it and will not be wasting it. - half a syn)

OK, it looks a right mess but it was a real flavour explosion and I absolutely loved it.

Summary:
two healthy extra As (maybe a bit more)

one healthy extra B

seven and a half syns.

Not a perfect SW counted day but healthy, delicious and it's worked out, more or less.

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  egg on toast, mushrooms and tomatoes

L:  small jacket potato with baked beans and cheese, side salad; fruit

D:  chicken fajitas with salad

Exercise:   Groove (dance aerobics)

Tuesday, 29-04-25

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

What I have eaten today.

I mixed some seeds into the yogurt and it was all lovely.  Greek yogurt is surprisingly filling.

One and a half syns for the seeds.

Delicious home made sourdough with avo and scrambled eggs for lunch, with an apple for afters.

One healthy extra B and two and a half syns for the avocado

I had planned chicken stir fry for dinner but when it came to it I really fancied a good old choppy salad so this is what I did.
I mixed together leaves, carrot, cabbage, tomato and red pepper and dressed it with the rest of the honey mustard dressing I made yesterday.

I cubed the chicken and some cheddar cheese, added olives and seeds, spooned it all over the salad and topped the lot with some spiced apple and pear chutney.

And. It. Was. Scrumptious!

Filling too! Four syns for the dressing, one and a half for the seeds, for the olives and for the chutney.

No room for any fruit afterwards.

Summary:

one and a half healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

twelve and a half syns

(the seeds could have been part of a second B but it makes no real difference really)

Tomorrow's meal plans:

Tomorrow is not so simple because I'm leaving well before my breakfast time and eating out with a friend for lunch.

So . . . 

B:  fruit

Edited to say I have decided to have something more substantial to keep me going so it's probably beans on toast to go with the fruit!

L:  no idea - I don't even know where so can't check the menu.

D:  pitta pizza, salad, coleslaw; fruit

Exercise:   plenty of walking and personal training.  

Monday, 28-04-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now in my target range and want to keep this steady while following Mediterranean diet principles and the Slimming World structure in order to live my best life.

Friday's medication review was something of a disappointment - well, quite a big one, in fact.  Contrary to what my NHS app indicated, my cholesterol hasn't improved, despite all the measures I have put in place over the last months.  I've changed the first paragraph to reflect this and I am sorry for any accidental misleading.
So the statins decision still hovers.

However he (can't remember the name) said that while the risk of a stroke or heart attack in the next fifteen years is up a few degrees because of this, it is offset to some degree by my very healthy weight, diet and exercise regime (his works).  I am doing everything 'right' and the only factor out of my control is my age.  Yup, can't do much about that, can I?

So it has been worth it, all this healthy lifestyle stuff and, anyway, it is the only way I want to live.  It's fun and I feel great.

So we carry on and I will think seriously about whether it would be sensible to start medication.  There's no pressure, the cholesterol (LDLs and HDLs) is stable, it is borderline, there's a bit of a risk but . . .

I asked for another blood test in a few months and that is noted on my records.  

What I have eaten today.

Breakfast and I have to say buckwheat flour makes THE very best pancakes and waffles ever!

Half a healthy extra B (unofficially)

Chicken and grape salad with a honey mustard dressing which I made like this:

1 tbsp evoo (6 syns)

half tbsp red wine vinegar

one tsp honey (1 syn)
one tsp wholegrain mustard (half a syn)

bit of garlic

I didn't use any salt or pepper .

So eight syns and I had half so four syns for the dressing and half a healthy extra B for one tbsp mixed seeds.

The other half is for something in the next few days.

Lovely hm lasagne for dinner.  Yum.

Two healthy extra As and I had another half an A in a nibble of cheese.

I also had a bottle of Doom Bar 0% for three and a half syns and some dates - seven and a half syns.

Summary:

two and a half healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

fifteen syns - but all healthy stuff (apart from the 0% beer)

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

L:  scrambled eggs and avocado on sourdough toast; fruit

D:  chicken stir fry with a sauce of some kind - haven't decided what yet

Exercise:   Groove and the walk there and back.

Sunday, 27-04-25

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

What I have eaten today.

I had enough sourdough discard to make some crumpets so I had one fresh for breakfast with egg, tomatoes and leaves and the other three went into the freezer.

One healthy extra B, one syn for a small amount of dressing.

I just wasn't hungry at lunch time and I remained not hungry until next door lit their barbie and started cooking.  As it was only an hour until dinner time, I had an apple and that did me.

For my evening meal, I was craving a big mixed salad with lots of different textures and flavours.  It was lovely!

Afters was strawberry chia pudding with yogurt.

Two healthy extra As for feta, one and a half syns for mixed seeds and one and a half for the chia seeds, one and a half syns for olives and three syns for dressing.  Oh, and one syn for some salad cream.

I had one medjool date afterwards - half of my second healthy extra B.

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one and a half healthy extra Bs

nine and a half syns

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  discard waffles, fruit and yogurt

L:  chicken salad; fruit

D:  lasagne, salad; fruit

Exercise:   circuits

Saturday, 26-04-25

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

What I have eaten today.

Fresh fruit for breakfast.  Syn free

Cheesy jacket potato and salad for lunch.
One and a half healthy extra As for cheese, one and a half syns for salad cream, three syns for salad dressing.

Dinner was one of the pizza bases I made and am calling a B (it isn't really!) with the Mutti pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese for 1 A

Today has been a bit low on veg - must make sure I have plenty on Sunday.  

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  crumpet, egg and tomatoes

L:  Greek salad; fruit

D:  roast lamb, veg; fruit

Exercise:   washing, drying, ironing, gardening - all that good stuff.  :-)

Friday, 25-04-25

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

To my surprise and delight, I stepped in the SW scales and found that I had lost two pounds which takes me half a pound below my target weight.  
Now to keep this steady.

What I have eaten today.

I fancied a bit of my own hot cross loaf, toasted and just plain.  It was delicious.

I forgot to photo lunch - cheese on toast.  Also very delicious and has made today a very bready day but not to worry.  I'm not counting syns, etc, today.

I was expecting to have Dave and Anna round for dinner but Anna was poorly so, as I had already prepared the separate parts of the shepherd's pie, I took off one portion (there was plenty), made up the rest in a larger dush and it is now in the freezer for when they do come round.

It was yummy so I know what I will offer them will go down well.

Moving on, now I am properly back at target, I will look to have my extra healthy extra each day.  So - I guess, maybe, it wasn't too bready today after all.

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  fruit, if I am hungry

L:  cheesy jacket potato, salad; fruit

D:  hm pizza, salad; fruit

Exercise:   gardening

Thursday, 24-04-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now in my target range, I have managed to reduce my 'bad' cholesterol by eating according to Mediterranean principles and the Slimming World structure and now I want to maintain this.

Tomorrow is weigh in as usual and then, midday, I have my medication review.  This is an interim one because last August, it was discovered that my 'bad' cholesterol was 'borderline' and I set to trying to lower it through diet.  That was a success and bloods came back as 'satisfactory - whatever that means - last month so it should go OK.

So why am I nervous? 

What I have eaten today.

Nothing for breakfast - I just wasn't hungry.

I only just remembered.  I ate out with a friend, and I had the house salad, a wonderfully Mediterranean bowlful with avo, olives, salad, etc, dressing is a little jug on the side and some toasted sourdough.
No ideas of syns but it can't have been so much that it broke the calorie bank.

I wasn't that hungry at dinner time so I thawed out a bit of chicken and had it with tomatoes and pepper after which I had some strawberry chia pudding. 

Very natural flavours and really delicious, all of it.

No summary because it's not possible today.

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  fruit

L:  cheese on toast, salad; fruit

D:  Dave and Anna are round.  I've given up doing posh food for them as they can cook so much better than I can.  I'm using up some of Sunday's left over lamb in a shepherd's pie with some fancy veg, courtesy of M&S, some olives and crispy things beforehand and some fresh fruit afterwards.

Exercise:   nothing formal.

Wednesday, 23-04-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now in my target range, I have managed to reduce my 'bad' cholesterol by eating according to Mediterranean principles and the Slimming World structure and now I want to maintain this.

What I have eaten today.

I really fancied fruit salad so that's what I had,  Strawberries, raspberries, pear and orange with some sweetener, lemon juice and seeds.  So good.

One and a half syns for the seeds.

It may not look amazing, but the chicken and the mushroom pate went so well together.  I loved it.

One healthy extra B for the pitta, half an A for the pate and one and a half syns for the salad dressing.

Later on, after personal training, I had an apple.

A sort of chicken Caesar salad for dinner.

The croutons were a healthy extra B (maybe a bit less but I am calling it a B), one syn for seeds, one and a half syns for olives and two and a half syns for some Caesar salad dressing (M&S)

Afters was a couple of easy peelers.

Summary:

half a healthy extra A

two healthy extra Bs

eight syns

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

L:  out for lunch with my friend, Val

D:  really unsure - it depends on lunch really but I have freezer stuff to draw on.

Exercise:   lots of walking.

Tuesday, 22-04-25 and a mushroom pate recipe

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now in my target range, I have managed to reduce my 'bad' cholesterol by eating according to Mediterranean principles and the Slimming World structure and now I want to maintain this.

What I have eaten today.

I was in such a rush this morning, I didn't have time to make an omelette, etc, so I just grabbed an apple and that did me fine.  No photo.

The mushroom pate was lovely.  I'll put what I did down below.  I used one of the flatbreads I made at the weekend which doesn't go anywhere near a healthy B so I'm calling it six syns.  Half a healthy extra for Philly light (unofficially) and I also nibbled on some bread for one B.

Also two syns for 5g butter.

This was lovely.  Macaroni cheese on top and loads veg underneath.

Half a healthy extra A and one syn for the sauce and three syns for evoo.

Dessert was some grapes.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

twelve syns

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:   fresh fruit platter

L:    pitta stuffed with salad and mushroom pate, side salad; fruit

D:  chicken Caesar salad; fruit

Exercise:   circuits in the morning and personal training in the afternoon.

The Extra Bit

Mushroom pate - taken from a recipe on the River Cottage site
https://rivercottage.net/recipes/mushroom-pate/

Ingredients to make two portions (what I did)
four chestnut mushrooms, chopped small
5g butter
spray oil
garlic to taste
90g Philly light
pepper, salt (go easy) and nutmeg

You also need some sort of small blender or chopper

Method:
Put the chopped mushrooms in a pan with some butter and spray oil and cook until the mushrooms have softened.  Add garlic and seasonings apart from nutmeg.
Allow the mushroom mixture to cool before spooning it into a mini blender/chopper with 90g Philly light.  Blend until smooth (or the texture you want), spoon it into small bowls (or one bigger one if sharing), grate some nutmeg over and chill until needed.
Serve with something to dip or spread it on.

Monday, 21-04-25 and a bubble and squeak pancake recipe

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now in my target range, I have managed to reduce my 'bad' cholesterol by eating according to Mediterranean principles and the Slimming World structure and now I want to maintain this.

Back on schedule now after the Easter weekend.

What I have eaten today.

This bubble and squeak pancake worked really well - a good name too because it includes sourdough starter discard and my discard is a mix of my rye and white starters which I call Bubbles and Squeak!!

I'll post the actual recipe below in The Extra Bit

.

Roughly half a healthy extra B and one syn for half a tsp evoo.

Lovely home made lunch of tomato, lentil and veg soup with one little bit of the sourdough spelt and cheese focaccia.

The soup is syn free, the seeds are one syn but it is well nigh impossible to 'measure' the focaccia and I am certainly not going to not have it just because it doesn't fit into any specific SW slot.  I'm going to call it one B and leave it as that.

Later on, I enjoyed an apple.

This was delish.  

A big old salad, packed with vegetables and a delicious arrabbiata, packed with ditto.

Four syns for evoo used in cooking and two in the dressing.  One syn for seeds, half a healthy extra A for the hard Italian cheese and I think that's it.

No room for any fruit.

Summary:

half a healthy extra A

one and a half (ish) healthy extra Bs

nine syns, all for healthy heart oils/seeds

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  mushroom omelette, tomatoes and leaves

L:   hm mushroom pate, toasted some-sort-of-bread, salad; fruit

The idea is to soften some mushrooms in a bit of evoo, add some philly light and some seasoning and then blend it all down to a sort of paste.

D:  bean and vegetable macaroni cheese, side salad; fruit

- using the rest of the leftover cannelloni beans.

Exercise:   Groove and walking

The Extra Bit.

Bubble and squeak pancake with tomatoes and mushrooms

What I used.

20g my sourdough mixed flour starter discard (or use 10g flour and 10g water and add baking powder)
10g buckwheat flour
one medium egg
a medium dollop of 0% Greek yogurt.
left over cooked cabbage and broccoli, quickly chopped into small bits (I used my little chopper)
seasonings - I used salt, black pepper, garlic granules and a pinch of chilli flakes.
evoo for frying

What I did.

I started warming up a non stick pan to medium heat and started off some spray fried tomatoes and mushrooms.
I whisked together the starter, flour, egg and yogurt, added the seasonings and the vegetables and mixed well together.
When the pan was hot, I poured in the whole mixture and spread it out.  I cooked it for about five minutes before carefully lifting and checking the underneath for colour.  When it was ready, I carefully turned it over to brown the other side.
When I was happy the both sides were cooked, I tipped it onto a warmed plate, topped it with a bit of brown sauce and added some cooked tomato and mushroom.

Moving on, next time, I will add a bit of bicarb or baking powder and I might very well cook the mixture in smaller dollops, spread a bit thinner.

It was filling and tasty, used up leftover veg but also included protein (egg and yogurt) and healthy wholegrains (rye and buckwheat)

In the pan. . . .   

. . . and on the plate.

Monday a.m., 21-04-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now in my target range, I have managed to reduce my 'bad' cholesterol by eating according to Mediterranean principles and the Slimming World structure and now I want to maintain this.

Morning and sorry.  After a bad night's sleep and a busy day, I was too tired to string two sentences together last night so here we are on Monday morning instead.  

I was really quite concerned about how much meat I had to use up so, my freezer being my best friend, I now have four chicken portions and six lamb portions plus a whole pile more of lamb to make a shepherd's pie for when Dave and Anna come round on Friday evening.  

Given that I'm eating more plant based stuff nowadays, that could easily last me through to the middle of May, one way or another.

Yesterday evening ended up rather 'picky' as Nicky in a Vlog says.  Must curb that; it never ends well for me.

What I ate yesterday (the helpful stuff, anyway)

Buckwheat and discard pancakes and they were lovely.  I think I've found my go-to flour for pancakes and waffles.

Half a healthy extra B

The roast lamb was lovely and, yes, that is just one small piece of roast potato.  It's a habit now and that's good.

The roasties were cooked in olive oil so I've calling it one syn.  I didn't use that much and there were lots more so I think one syn is right.

And moving on after an off plan (another off plan) evening . . . 

(but it is a holiday weekend and I know what to do now)

Today's meal plans:

B:  bubble and squeak pancake patties, mushrooms and onions

I have cabbage and broccoli left over but no potato so I'm going to see if I can use my buckwheat pancake mixture to turn it all into some sort of patty.  If it doesn't work, at least I have tried,  That's the main thing.

L:  tomato and veg soup, croutons; fruit

D:  white bean and veg penne arrabbiata, side salad; fruit

I made some more cheesy white bean sauce and added more cannellini beans to thicken it up (I also used some old pickled onions instead of the fresh kind and that worked well for the flavour); as a result, I had white beans left over so this is my way of using them up.

Exercise:   

Saturday, 19-04-25

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my blog where I talk about my ongoing Slimming World and associated health journeys.  I'm now in my target range, I have managed to reduce my 'bad' cholesterol by eating according to Mediterranean principles and the Slimming World structure and now I want to maintain this.

What I have eaten today.

A fresh made sourdough discard crumpet topped with an egg.  So good and very sustaining.

Almost one healthy extra B and one syn for a bit of evoo

Tuna pasta salad for lunch.

The seeds are part of my B, two syns for salad dressing, three syns for the pesto and one and a half syns for olives

I already had pesto pasta.

I spray softened onion, yellow pepper, mushroom and baby corn, added some cooked chicken and the cooked pasta, then melted in some Philly light and tolled it all with some mixed seeds.

Philly used to count as a healthy extra.  It no longer does but, occasionally, I call it an A and today is one of those times.  

So - one healthy extra A, two syns for a bit of spray evoo, one syn for the seeds and three for the watercress pesto.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

thirteen and a half syns

Tomorrow's meal plans:

B:  discard buckwheat pancakes, fruit, yogurt

L:  roast lamb dinner with Beth and Alex, followed by fruit

D:  lamb toastie, salad; fruit

Exercise:   gardening