Wednesday, 16-02-22

Good morning!

I seem to get a lot of 'stuff' on Facebook relating to slimming (I wonder why!!??!!) and a common theme seems to be 'I lost xyz on Slimming World and put it all back on again when I went back to my normal way of eating.  SW doesn't work!'
Didn't they realise that OF COURSE the weight will go back on again if they go back to the habits and patterns that caused it in the first place?
I am sure it was hammered home often enough in meetings that doing SW was the perfect opportunity to change habits for good, to get rid of the things that are unhelpful and develop ways that are more healthy and will work for the rest of their lives.  I've hear it so many times at group and worked on it at home.
I'm not perfect.  Old habits pop back up from time to time, but they don't hang around.  Yes, I gained over Christmas and it's taking ages to go again, but it IS going and Christmas is now the exception, not the rule.

End of rant!

Yesterday's meals:

Lovely comfort food after shopping in the rain!  It looks so much more on a small plate, doesn't it?

Very tasty leek, broccoli and butter bean soup.
I had an orange later on.

The chicken fajitas were also tasty.  I had a last minute 'need' for a few chips but then I forgot to add the cheese I had already grated and didn't have the yogurt so I guess it's pretty much even, as far as calories are concerned anyway.

Today's plans:

B:  bacon and mushroom omelette with tomatoes on the side

As simple as it sounds and a good way of getting the four items (when I have a 'cooked' breakfast, I am using four items from the many I could have).
SW:  this should be syn free.

L:  A toastie and salad; fruit
I have some cooked onion and red pepper left over from the fajitas yesterday so I'll use that as a base and add the grated cheese that I forgot to use and maybe some sliced mushroom as well.
SW:  one healthy extra A and one B plus one syn for mayo

Sn:  an oat drink after personal training

SW:  up to one healthy extra A

D:  chilli, rice and side veg; yogurt

This will be very easy as cooked mince and rice are both in the freezer.  All I need to do is add some chilli flakes as I warm up the mince and add some cooked pulses - it will have to be a carton as I have now finished off all the cooked pulses in the freezer - cheers - and, as there will be too many, I think I will make some home made baked beans as well.
SW:  half a syn for the yogurt while the rest is all syn free

E:  personal training with Lindsey today, kettle exercise

Summary:

between one and two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

one and a half syns

From the freezer:

bread

mince

rice

veg

bbq sauce (for the baked beans)

Tuesday, 15-02-22

Good morning!

Back to normal today although I did enjoy using the heart shaped cutlery and giving a bit of a heart vibe to my food.

Yesterday's meals:

I used a cookie cutter for the heart shapes (and ate the bits that were cut off!!) 

A very tasty breakfast.

Taken in too bright sunlight - a shame it didn't last though!

This was what I should have had last night.  I used baharat spice mix.  Sorry you can't see the detail too well though.  Chickpeas, onion, sweet potato, pepper, mushroom and feta.  Oh, and some cherry tomatoes as well.   Really tasty.

The fruit for afters was some melon and strawberries.

It really was a tasty day.  The chicken stroganoff was also lovely and I decided on mixed veg in the end.

A yogurt finished the day off nicely.

Just a close-up of the heart shaped pasta!

I now have pretty much a whole bag of it to finish off.   :-)

Today's plans:

B:  egg, potato waffle, beans and tomatoes

I have baked beans left over from Sunday which must be used up so here we go.
SW:  two syns for the potato waffle

L:  home made soup, fruit

Probably leek, broccoli and butterbean soup and I will add half an As-worth of cheese triangles for extra yumminess.
SW: syn free, half a healthy extra

D:  chicken fajitas, side salad; yogurt

I have a fajita spice mix and recipe so I'll be pretty much using that and will serve the chicken etc in a wrap with crème fraiche and grated cheddar and a salsa sort of thingy on the side

SW:  one healthy extra A for cheese, one B for the wrap and three syns for two tbsp lighter crème fraiche (I may not need all of that).  Dessert is half a syn

E:  a walk, kettle exercises

Summary:

one and a half healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

five and a half syns

From the freezer:

potato waffle

chicken

soup

grated cheese

Monday, 14-02-22

Good morning!

Yesterday's meals:

Me trying to make beans on toast a bit more photogenic!  :-)

The marmite was a tasty addition.

The pork with apple and onion was really, really delicious and adding the crème fraiche made a huge difference.  Using proper chicken stock also helped and I'm going to do this again using chicken instead of pork.  

Dessert was three titchy easy peelers.

I made the chickpea and Med veg bake.  It looked gorgeous, it smelled great and it tasted delicious but the truth was I simply wasn't hungry.  I could have forced it down but what would be the point?

So I cooled it, wrapped it and it's chilling in the fridge and I shall reheat it for lunch today.

I'm still not all that hungry this morning!

Today's plans:

It's St Valentine's Day and, even though I live alone, I'm theming just a littler bit.  I'm also getting out my heart shaped stuff for the day.   :-)

B:  fluffy pancakes, fruit, yogurt

Pancakes seems such a Valentine-ish thing, somehow.  I wonder if I can make heart shaped pancakes - I suspect not!
SW:  one healthy extra B

L:  chickpea and Med veg bake, salad leaves; fruit
Yesterday's dinner, as explained above.
SW:  two syns for one tsp oil and one healthy extra A for some feta cheese

D:  chicken stroganoff with heart shaped pasta, tomato salad; yogurt ice

I found the recipe for the stroganoff in, I think, the Sainsbury's magazine, although I'm not totally sure.  I tore out the page and there's no clue in the tear-out.  It suggests having it with rice but I have some heart shaped pasta from the raffle prize so I will use that instead.
Tomatoes were known as 'love apples' so it seems appropriate, doesn't it?
The yogurt ice is just the usual yogurt zizzed up with some frozen fruit (cherries, probably) so that it goes semi-freddo.  Or I might use the frozen fruit and an egg white and make frozen fluff instead.  I'll see how I feel.
SW:  three syns for some lighter crème fraiche and half a syn for dessert, assuming I have some Mullerlight

E:  kettle exercises and circuits with Lindsey.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

five and a half syns

From the freezer:

chicken

chicken stock (and now I am out of proper chicken stock.  I will need to roast a chicken at some point soon)

frozen fruit

Sunday, 13-02-22

 Good morning!
Breakfast starts off rather ordinarily but the other two meals will be much more interesting to cook, I think.  I'm looking forward to today's meals, definitely!

Yesterday's meals:

This was just perfect for a lazy, gentle breakfast.

Leftovers lunch.  The salad was a bit sad but the rest was delicious; the coleslaw was nicer than yesterday as some sweetness had leached out of the raisins into the mayo and it was so good with the mince and pasta.

I had three little satsumas for dessert.

Later on, I had some oatly drink

Steak and chips is always nice and this was no exception.  The coleslaw is finished now.

I was full up so didn't have the usual yogurt.

Today's meal plans:

B:  beans on toast
The gold old . . .

SW:  half a healthy extra B for one slice of toast and half a syn for some bbq sauce

L:  pork with apple and onion, veg on the side; fruit
I just fancied something like then when I was considering what to have.  I've found a recipe that I can base it on.

It's really supposed to be pork tenderloin but I don't have that so I will have to modify it with pork loin.  Basically, you sear the pork and set it aside, soften the apple and onion in the pan, spread Dijon mustard and fresh thyme over the pork, add the rest of the mustard and some chicken stock to the apple and onions, season, place the pork on top and pop it in the oven to bake.  It doesn't say anything about covering it bit I might, I'll see how it does.
At the end, I will add some lighter creme fraiche to the apples, onions and remaining stock to make it creamy.
I'll serve it with fresh veg on the side.

Sounds nice, doesn't it?

SW:  one syn for 10 mls Dijon mustard, and one and a half syns for one tbsp lighter creme fraiche (I might have more, I will see how it looks)

D:  chickpea and roasted veg bake, side salad; yogurt
I have chickpeas left over from the other day so I'll probably just spray roast some veg - onion, red pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms, maybe sweet potato in a spice mix.  I have several mixes to choose from.  
Served with a side salad, it should be quite nice and I might crumble some feta over the top.
SW:  one healthy extra A for the feta and half a syn for yogurt

E:  kettle exercise and some other Lindsey Youtube routine

Summary:

one healthy extra A

half a healthy extra B

three and a half syns, perhaps a bit more - I know one is supposed to syn cooked apple but . . .

From the freezer:

bread

pork loin

sweet potato chunks

mixed veg

Saturday, 12-02-22

 Good morning!

Well, that was a lot better - two pounds off this week which is more like it!  Phew.
Also, I won the raffle which was a really good one - all the ingredients needed to make a vegetable based pasta sauce plus the pasta which I used some of last night.

There should also be a pack of stock cubes but they managed to escape the camera!
If I don't make up the recipe (and I probably won't as I have lots of pasta sauce things in the freezer right now), these are all things that I use regularly so a really super raffle prize for me.

I won last week too - I usually never win these things so twice in a row was weird - and it was freezer storage containers, also very useful.

Yesterday's meals:

Definitely four items on my breakfast plate is plenty!

I really must learn not to add the mayo until AFTER the photo!!

I changed from quesadilla to crimpie.  What's a crimpie?  It's a sort of gadget that squidges the edges of bread or  thins together to contain a filling which is then toasted.  

This is not a sponsorship thingy - I don't do them - just a recommendation.  It's a useful little gadget that can be used with savoury or sweet fillings and it's so easy to use.
Here's a link to their site.

https://crimpit.co.uk/

Forgive the wizened old digits!!!
An inside view.

Anyway, this one had leftover chilli and grated cheddar inside and it was very tasty!

No photo of dinner because Dave and Anna were over.  As expected, the food was pretty on plan and, given I made enough for six portions, I had one and there's only one left, D and A must have liked it!

The wine, on the other hand, was certainly NOT on plan but not to worry, I only have a slightly muggy head this morning!  The cheese and crackers were also off plan but very, very nice.  

And we talked and talked and talked and it was all lovely!

But I am 'dry' again now, probably until I go to Potters in three weeks' time.

Today's meal plans:

B:  fruit platter
I really don't feel like anything in the least bit heavy and the thought of a fruit platter really appeals.  I have melon, strawberries, raspberries and grapes as well as the usual trio (apple, pears and oranges) to choose from.
SW:  speed/free, syn free

L:  pasta bake leftovers, salad, coleslaw; fruit

This is the one little portion left over from last night.  It's a bit sort of dried up but I'm not going to waste it and I can probably rehydrate it with a bit of water or stock.  The salad and coleslaw are also leftovers.

SW:  slightly problematic so this is a guesstimate.  I used full fat mayo for the coleslaw and it contains raisins so I'll call the mayo four syns, the raisins can be part of my healthy extra B - say half - and the cheese on the pasta bake will be an A choice.  I'm overestimating, I think, but better than under.

Sn:  Oatly milk drink

SW:  up to one healthy extra A

D:  steak, chips and coleslaw; yogurt
A nice little fillet steak (from Aldi so nowhere near as naughty as it sounds), the coleslaw is more leftovers and the chips will be a small portion.  I've discovered eight or nine chips is just right for me.

SW:  four syns for the coleslaw mayo, the other half of my B for the raisins and half a syn for dessert

E:  kettle exercises and, probably, another walk, as long as the weather permits.

Summary:

one and a half to two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

eight and a half syns

From the freezer:

saving the pasta bake leftovers from going into the freezer!

steak

chips

Into the freezer:  I did a mix of grated cheddar and mozzarella to top the pasta bake.  There's some left over so I will add the rest of the grated mozzarella from the pack, the same amount of grated cheddar and freeze it for use at other times.  Very handy!

Friday, 11-02-22

 Good morning!
Weigh day today - it does seem to come around very quickly.  I simply have no idea how it's going to go so am expecting nothing.  I've really enjoyed my meals this week; I've tried to reduce portions a bit so we will see.

Yesterday's meals:

It's no good expecting a sweet omelette to be anything like a sweet pancake.  They are quite different, both in taste and in texture.  However this was really very nice indeed.  Another to add to the list.

I didn't take a photo of lunch as I had a friend here but imagine a chilli jacket with a side salad and you'd get it about right.  It was jolly nice too.

I upped my healthy extra with some oat drink around four thirty

It said on the bottle of nando's peri peri lemon and herb marinade sauce that it was 'mild' but it still gave a good old tickle on the tongue and was jolly tasty - the whole meal was, in fact.  I'd planned coleslaw but found I didn't have cabbage and, as there was salad left over from lunch, I had that instead.
I finished with the usual yogurt and a short time later had a pear.

And that was that!

Today's meal plans:

B:  bacon, egg, mushrooms, tomatoes
That's my four for breakfast today.
SW:  syn free

L:  cheesy chilli quesadilla, salad; fruit

There's some chilli left over from yesterday so I will create a quesadilla.  Nice.
SW:  one healthy extra A and one B

D:  cheesy pasta bake, garlic bread, salad; probably a fruit platter

I have Dave and Anna round for dinner tonight.  I'm trying to make the food SW friendly but There Will Be Wine.
And I am looking forward to it!
SW:  unknown

E:  kettle exercises and some walking

Summary:
No idea - probably too much cheese though!

From the freezer:
a wrap

I think that's about it today

Thursday, 10-02-22

 Good morning!

It was a good old cooking day yesterday.  The falafels worked out OK and the slow cooker mince is now mostly in the freezer with what I need today and tomorrow in the fridge.

Yesterday's meals:

A very satisfying breakfast.  Oat bran waffles with some fruit from the freezer (the raspberries were from the allotment) and some natural Greek yogurt.  Oooh, I did enjoy it!

Burger in a bowl for lunch.  Good strong flavours and, again, very satisfying.

Then I had an orange.

When I got back from personal training, I had my last half healthy extra A in the form of oat milk.

This was nicer than it looks.  The falafel were rather soft but tasty and the sauce went well with them.

The day ended with a Mullerlight.

Today's meal plans:
I'm off restricted eating today as it just isn't going to work with the day's timings.  So breakfast will be around nine.

B:  St Clement's omlette with citrus yogurt

On Tracy Mouse's vlog yesterday, she had made a sweet omelette and the idea just tickled my taste buds.  In essence, it's the same as the roulade I make but it's not souffléd.  I thought I'd give it a go and make it lemon/orange flavoured, hence the name.

I will beat the egg with some sweetener, lemon essence and lemon zest.  I will cut some orange segments and make some citrus yogurt by adding some citrus skinny syrup to some natural Greek yogurt.
I got the idea here:
https://elizabethchloe.com/sweet-omelette-with-lemon-honey/
SW:  it looks as if it is syn free.  Good-oh!

L:  jacket potato with chilli, side salad; fruit

I have a friend over for lunch and she likes spicy stuff so this will be absolutely perfect.  I have savoury mince already cooked and I will heat it up with some added kidney beans and chilli flakes and serve it with the jacket potatoes and salad plus some plain yogurt and grated cheese.
SW:  one healthy extra A for some cheese and, maybe, half a syn for some mayo

D:  chicken and chips, hm coleslaw; yogurt
Nothing that fancy, just a chicken sizzler marinaded in a bit of Nando's peri peri lemon and herb sauce and then baked or maybe spray fried.  The chips will be a small portion of my home made SW friendly chips from the freezer

SW:  one level tbsp of the sauce is half a syn and I will probably use two tbsps so one syn.  The mayo on the coleslaw is one syn and the yogurt is half a syn

E:  kettle exercises and my friend and I will probably go for a walk somewhere, weather permitting.

Summary:
one healthy extra A (plus another if I have some oat drink late afternoon)

no healthy extra Bs

four syns

From the freezer:

kidney beans

chicken

chips