Monday, 23-01-23: low spend/no spend January

Morning, everyone!

Today I need to do a food shop.  It'll be the last one of the month and it's not huge but definitely necessary.  I think I will just pop round the corner to Morrisons as there's nothing shop-specific bu quite a lot of non-food stuff like bleach, loo rolls, etc.

Yesterday's meals:

A very hearty and warming breakfast that set me up for the morning.
I tried poaching the egg in the microwave and that did work quite well and much quicker than in Nellie

I've made this soup so many times and it was just as good as it always is.  I didn't have room for any fruit.

Instead of using onion chutney, I thinly sliced an onion and gave it a long gentle cook in Thermione and it worked really well.  I used some for the toastie, some in the evening meal and there's a bit left for dinner today as well.

The lemon salmon pasta was nothing like the recipe after I had changed everything I wanted to change, but it was delicious and I have a third left to warm up tomorrow.  A shame it looks a right mess in the photo.

I didn't fancy yogurt but I did have a couple of easy peelers because I was short on fruit through the day

Today's plans

B:  fruit and yogurt

SW:  syn free

L:  pasta leftovers, mushroom, tomatoes; fruit

I added some cheese spread  and a tbsp lighter crème fraiche to the pasta so I have to estimate the syns for that.

SW:  I'm estimating three syns which is considerably on the safe side!

D:  stir fry beef and veg in a sticky sauce, noodles, maybe a side salad; yogurt

I have stir fry beef strips from Iceland in the freezer so I will see what they are like, combined with stir fry veg and a sticky sauce made with lemon juice, soy sauce and some agave nectar with maybe ginger, chilli and garlic added (or perhaps I will b.
If the strips are too tough, I will use the rest in the slow cooker in some sort of casserole.

SW:  one and a half syns for a tbsp agave nectar.  I think the rest is free apart from the yogurt which is half a syn

Ex:  the energiser Snippet and circuits later in the day.

Summary:

no healthy extras

five syns

What is low spend, no spend?

All I will buy through January is essentials - and by that I mean food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs.  All other foods will come out of my existing supplies and, to be honest, that may not be much of a challenge.  Also included in any low spend essentials are cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter.  
Also anything else essential that I won't think of until it lands!
That is the low spend part.

Everything else, unless it is either a regular bill/payment/commitment, will not happen.  No sneaky little Amazon purchases, no 'bargains' from the supermarket, certainly no clothes . . .
That's the no spend part.

A week in meals

  These photos show most of the meals I have had over the last seven days, excluding desserts, snacks, naughty things, etc.

15-01-23

B:  a pear - no photo

L:  roast turkey dinner

D:  chicken escalopes with coleslaw and salad

16-01-23

B:  poached eggs on toast

L:  carrot and lentil soup

D:  cassoulet

17-01-23

B:  fruit platter

L:  cassoulet leftovers

D:  hm salmon and ricotta ravioli

18-01-23

B:  fruit platter

L:  chicken in Kashmiri sauce

D:  bacon and mushroom carbonara

19-01-23

B:  bits of fruit - no photo

L:  at a friends - soup, cheese scone and flapjack - no photo

D:  ocean pie

20-01-23

B:  fruit platter

L:  ocean pie leftovers

D:  Mexican pork one pot

21-01-23

B:  fruit salad

L:  ham and veg soup with cheese and chutney crimpie

D:  meatballs in tomato and veg sauce with pasta

And that's the last seven days.  Some lovely grub and I enjoyed it all.  I find making from scratch so very enjoyable.

Sunday, 22-01-23: low spend/no spend January

Morning, everyone!

Having fun in the kitchen yesterday - two days' worth of pasta!

Half white pasta flour and half wholemeal plain flour, one egg and one tsp olive oil.  That's the mix I'm going to use in future; it was really good.
I said two days' worth above - to be honest, it's three.  Yesterday's half made a very substantial meal without any veg on the side.

Yesterday's meals:

When I got to it, I didn't want much so I ditched the omelette and the yogurt and just had a bit of fruit.

Nice, chunky soup and a crunchy crimpie.

Later on, I had two easy peelers.

Not a very clear photos.  It's the meatballs in a tomato and veg sauce with half of the fresh pasta and some grated cheese on top and it was delicious.

See what I mean about the substantial portion though?

No dessert needed (or wanted).

Today's plans

B:  potato waffle, baked beans, egg, tomatoes

I have half a small can of baked beans to use up, having used the other half to make the tomato soup yesterday.  I might spray fry the egg or I might poach it - we will see.
SW:  two syns for the potato waffle - the rest is syn free

L:  hm tomato soup, cheese and chutney toastie; fruit

I'm going to break my usual tradition of a Sunday roast, partly because I just want to and partly because I don't want lots of leftovers.  Next Sunday, I am hoping Beth and Alex will be round for Sunday lunch and I can bring out the big boys then!
It's a home made tomato soup and I'm using half portions - half a can of chopped tomatoes (leftovers from yesterday), half a small can of baked beans (the rest tomorrow at some point), bit of carrot, bit of onion and some nice stock (I might raid the freezer for the stock - either chicken or turkey.
But I will eat the whole lot, I think!

SW:  one healthy extra A, one B, one and a half syns for chutney.  The rest is syn free

D:  salmon lemon pasta, green veg; yogurt

This is a Thermomix recipe from Cookidoo.  I don't know if you can access it but here's the link, in case.  I think I will add some mushrooms to the recipe too.

https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe/en-GB/r617077?fbclid=IwAR06z4puCI_fhhSyIuwAsLR0VKgR73KgyECWPgyEr5NZ-mfnov5PXdRiMao

I have half of yesterday's fresh pasta to use up for this recipe - lovely!

However - looking through the recipe, I think it will be much simpler just made on the hob so that's what I will do.

SW:  half a syn for yogurt but, looking at the Cookidoo recipe, it doesn't seem to use any syns as long as I use spray oil - actually, I might use some proper olive oil, up to one tbsp for six syns but I won't use that much, I am absolutely sure.

Ex:  a Lindsey Snippet today, just a short stretch.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one heathy extra B

up to ten syns

What is low spend, no spend?

All I will buy through January is essentials - and by that I mean food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs.  All other foods will come out of my existing supplies and, to be honest, that may not be much of a challenge.  Also included in any low spend essentials are cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter.  
Also anything else essential that I won't think of until it lands!
That is the low spend part.

Everything else, unless it is either a regular bill/payment/commitment, will not happen.  No sneaky little Amazon purchases, no 'bargains' from the supermarket, certainly no clothes . . .
That's the no spend part.

Saturday, 21-01-23: low spend/no spend January

Morning, everyone!

One pound off at Group yesterday which I was very happy with.
Also, I won the raffle so that's two weeks in a row I have come back with goodies.  This week is was 'flavour additions' so spray light, soy sauce, a fat freed vinaigrette, a carton of passata, a tube of tomato puree, garlic granules and veg stock cubes.  Wasn't that nice?  
I use all of these except for the vinaigrette which I don't like; most people do so I will pop it in the Slimmer of the Week hamper next week.

Yesterday's meals:

A delicious breakfast of fruit.

Lunch was leftovers from the night before and, as with most leftovers, the flavour was even better and I so enjoyed it.

And it kept me going until dinner time!

I decided to treat the Mexican pork one pot as a sort of burger in a bowl thing and, instead of the grated cheese, made a burger sauce with equal amounts of mustard ketchup, tomato ketchup and super light mayo with a dash of lime juice.
Nutritionally, it can't compare with cheese but calorie wise, it's better so that's OK.  After all, my nutrition is generally fine.

It was delicious!

No room for anything else.

Today's plans

B:  sweet omelette with fruit and yogurt

Self explanatory really.  I'll use freezer fruit because that works well with this sort of dish.
SW:  syn free

L:  soup with cheese and chutney toastie; fruit

The soup is from the freezer, probably ham and veg pottage, and I will use the crimpit gadget and a 'thin' to make a toastie.

SW:  the thin will be my healthy extra B and 30g cheese is my healthy extra A, while the chutney is one and a half syns

D:  spaghetti and meatballs in a tomato sauce, salad (probably); yogurt

I have some very old meatballs that are two for half a syn so I'll have five or six.  I'll add a bit of chorizo to veg and chopped tomatoes to make a nice sauce and serve it with spaghetti and some grated cheese.

SW:  one healthy extra A, one and a half syns for the meatballs and two and a half for a bit of chorizo while the yogurt is half a syn

Ex:  SET class online

Summary:

two healthy extra As

one healthy extra B

six syns

What is low spend, no spend?

All I will buy through January is essentials - and by that I mean food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs.  All other foods will come out of my existing supplies and, to be honest, that may not be much of a challenge.  Also included in any low spend essentials are cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter.  
Also anything else essential that I won't think of until it lands!
That is the low spend part.

Everything else, unless it is either a regular bill/payment/commitment, will not happen.  No sneaky little Amazon purchases, no 'bargains' from the supermarket, certainly no clothes . . .
That's the no spend part.

Friday, 20-01-23: low spend/no spend January

Good morning, everyone.

It is Friday, weigh in day.  It's been a good week but you can never tell how it is going to go.  We will see . . .

Today is an easy day as far as food is concerned.  Unexpected leftovers for lunch and more leftovers, this time from the freezer, for dinner.  I know I am going on about it rather but it's so nice to have a clear view of what's available in the freezer and where it is.  Extremely helpful too - if my meal-planning-mind goes blank, I can just look at the list and see what jumps out at me!

Yesterday's meals:

For breakfast, I had a banana before SET class and an apple and an easy peeler afterwards.  No photo.

At Val's I had ham and veg soup with a cheesy scone and finished off with a flapjack.  A bit naughty but very delicious and all home made.  Again, no photo.

The ocean pie took a while and was quite heavy on pans but it really was tasty and I have half of it left for lunch today.
No room for dessert so that was it for the day.

Today's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

Because - why not.  It seems to be working well for me

SW:  syn free

L:  ocean pie, tomatoes and mushrooms; fruit

This is the leftovers from last night and I'm really looking forward to it.

SW:  one healthy extra A

D:  Mexican pork one pot, salad; yogurt

This is a second portion (might even be a third portion) of a Simply Cook kit and I remember it was very delicious before. 

SW:  three syns for the one pot and I will add 30g grated cheddar for my other healthy extra A.  The yogurt is half a syn

E:  a Shimmy Snippet and a walk

Summary:

two healthy extra As

no healthy extra Bs

three and a half syns

What is low spend, no spend?

All I will buy through January is essentials - and by that I mean food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs.  All other foods will come out of my existing supplies and, to be honest, that may not be much of a challenge.  Also included in any low spend essentials are cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter.  
Also anything else essential that I won't think of until it lands!
That is the low spend part.

Everything else, unless it is either a regular bill/payment/commitment, will not happen.  No sneaky little Amazon purchases, no 'bargains' from the supermarket, certainly no clothes . . .
That's the no spend part.

Thursday, 19-01-23: low spend/no spend January

Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday's meals:

Breakfast was a pear and some melon.  Both were sweet and juicy and really hit the spot.

This was the leftover sauce with chicken and fruit added.  It wasn't that colour, it was much more yellowy and it was delicious.

I had a couple of easy peelers later on.

Lovely carbonara!

I know I planned salad as a side but when it came to it, I was really craving broad beans (yes, you can crave veg!!) so that's what I had.

Again, no room for dessert.  

A very satisfying day's eating.

Today's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

Very much snatched on the run today so there may not be a photo

SW:  syn free

L:  lunch with Val . . .

. . . so I really have no idea except that it won't be too unhealthy or calorific.  That's fine by me.

D:  ocean pie

A posh name for potato topped fish pie, it is on one of the recipe cards that were given out at the beginning of this year.  This seems to be the recipe.

https://www.goodto.com/recipes/slimming-worlds-ocean-pie

I will adapt.  I don't have quark but will add an egg yolk for extra richness.  I don't have fish stock so will use veg stock instead.  I have plenty of fish so will just use a selection.

SW:  the pie is half a syn per serving (that's for cornflour) and the yogurt will be half a syn

E:  Today's Shimmy Snippet should be called Not-A-Snippet-At-All as it is a full, 45 minute class

Summary:

unknown today 

What is low spend, no spend?

All I will buy through January is essentials - and by that I mean food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs.  All other foods will come out of my existing supplies and, to be honest, that may not be much of a challenge.  Also included in any low spend essentials are cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter.  
Also anything else essential that I won't think of until it lands!
That is the low spend part.

Everything else, unless it is either a regular bill/payment/commitment, will not happen.  No sneaky little Amazon purchases, no 'bargains' from the supermarket, certainly no clothes . . .
That's the no spend part.

Wednesday, 18-01-23: low spend/no spend January and two recipe ideas

Good morning, everyone.

The low/no spend seems to be going pretty well.  I'm running low on a few fresh items but will try to hold out until the weekend or even next Monday.  I'm learning (or should I say re-learning) quite a lot about myself.  For instance, how strong  the urge is to 'get some more', even when really there's plenty still in cupboard or fridge.  How much I wonder if I am 'missing out' because I'm not seeing what's new in.
Ridiculous!!

Yesterday's meals:

A rather messy plate of fruit but how I enjoyed it.

The cassoulet leftovers were also tasty and very warming on such a chilly day.

This looks a right mess.  It was, in fact the home made salmon and ricotta ravioli and, while it looked awful, it tasted amazing.  The photo looks so messy that I looked up photos on Google Images and decided that it's rather hard to make a plate of ravioli look nice unless it's one of those big cheffy ones with stuff arranged over it - and even then . . .
Mind you - making bigger ones isn't such a bad idea . . .  less fiddly, for a start

I used 100g pasta flour and one egg plus a bit of oil - and Thermione  and it made enough pasta for nine ravioli and one portion of hand cut (ooooh, posh) tagliatelle.

The filling was 90g ricotta (a healthy extra A and not as much as it sounds) plus one smoked salmon fillet which I cooked in Nellie, cooled and finely flaked.  I mixed the ricotta and the salmon together, seasoned with black pepper, lemon zest and nutmeg and that was it.  I think it did need some salt too but I thought the smoked salmon might be salty enough really
I had five ravioli for dinner (plenty, absolutely loads) and the other four are in the freezer as a bit of an experiment - must remember to write 'cook from frozen' on the bag!

I really meant to save a bit of the cassoulet sauce to put on the ravioli but totally forgot so I just melted some Philly in a splash of the pasta cooking water with black pepper and lemon zest and it was fine.

I had no room left for dessert.

Today's plans:

B: fruit and yogurt

Because I have loads and it's really nice.

SW:  syn free

L:  chicken in Kashmiri sauce, pitta; fruit

The Kashmiri sauce is leftovers from a takeaway ages ago.  It was so nice, even though only the sauce was left, I froze it.  Goodness only knows what the syns are; I've looked it up and I think I'm looking at around nine syns for an average portion.  I seem to remember it had exotic fruit added - lychees and the like - and chicken.  I have mango and pineapple in the freezer so that will do for the fruit.

I won't cook rice but I will use a pitta as a sub for a naan (which I don't have and which would be Very Naughty!

SW:  I am calling it a nice, round ten syns for the sauce and whatever I add to it will be free.  The pitta is my healthy extra B

D:  bacon and mushroom carbonara, side salad; yogurt

OK, so I am going to use up the home made tagliatelle that's been drying off overnight and make a carbonara.  The sauce will be beaten egg and grated not-parmesan Italian cheese and I might also add a dash of crème fraiche.

So . . .
Gently spray fry some finely sliced onion until soft.  Remove from pan.
Spray fry some cut up lean bacon and some sliced mushrooms.  Add the onion to the pan and keep over a very low heat.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until done (if using dried pasta, start this before to do the above as it takes longer to cook.

While the pasta is cooking, mix together one not too big egg and 30g of whatever Italian hard cheese you want to use and season.

Drain the cooked pasta, reserving a bit of the cooking water.  Tip the pasta back in the pan and pour over the sauce, stirring all the time.  Hold it over the ring and keep stirring until it thickens - add a splash of pasta water if needed.

Stir in the bacon, mushroom and onion, taste, season and grate over some black pepper (or nutmeg might be nice) and some lemon zest.

Serve immediately with a side salad.

Well, that is the general idea anyway!

SW:  one healthy extra A for the cheese, one syn for a tbsp crème fraiche and half a syn for yogurt

E:  a Snippet first thing and Personal Training later on

Summary:

one healthy extra A

one healthy extra B

estimated eleven and a half syns 

What is low spend, no spend?

All I will buy through January is essentials - and by that I mean food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs.  All other foods will come out of my existing supplies and, to be honest, that may not be much of a challenge.  Also included in any low spend essentials are cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter.  
Also anything else essential that I won't think of until it lands!
That is the low spend part.

Everything else, unless it is either a regular bill/payment/commitment, will not happen.  No sneaky little Amazon purchases, no 'bargains' from the supermarket, certainly no clothes . . .
That's the no spend part.