Reached my target!

....and also lost a further lb :)

Now the work begins to stay at target, but I have 3lbs leeway either side of my target weight. For now, I have free membership of SW for life whilst I stay in target range. However a further 1/2lb loss will give me a 2 stone loss award, so that's what I'm planning to do, then that'll be it. 

Today however I had a day off and celebrated Easter with family - oops, way too many syns!
Back on it tomorrow :)

Doner kebab loaf

I don't normally venture out of my food comfort zone, but decided to try the Doner Kebab loaf out of the new Slimming World 'Fakeaway' recipe book.

This contains not one single syn - unlike a takeaway version!  Mine was absolutely delicious, and the ingredients include extra lean mince, onions, garlic, ground ginger, cinnamon, paprika, egg, and mixed herbs.

I had a few slices for lunch with a salad, and again at teatime as I loved it so much :)

SW fishcakes

These were a bit fiddly to make, but well worth the effort. I added grated carrot and courgette plus chopped spring onions to mashed potato and flaked white fish, then seasoned it, also adding fresh dill and chopped chives ....

..and put the mixture into the fridge for a few hours. I made 12 fishcakes, which were then dipped into egg and then into breadcrumbs. I cooked them for 20 or so mintes on 180, and had some salad with 3 of them. Very tasty - I added lemon juice when served, but tartar sauce would be good too :)

0.5lb to go

Last week I maintained, this week I'm hoping the target I set myself will be achieved. My progress to date......

A total of 26lbs lost to date (1 stone 12 sounds better!), and so 1/2lb to go. But, I'm going to increase that by a further 1.5lbs so I get a 2 stone award. Could take a few weeks as my weight loss has slowed right down, but that's fine by me :)

Old favourite - butternut squash, leek and bacon risotto

Haven't made this in ages - don't know why, it's so delicious.  It's butternut squash, leek and bacon risotto which I had with green beans.

It's so quick and easy to make - first of all you stir fry one chopped leek and 200g chopped bacon in a large frying pan (I used garlic fry light), for 2-3 minutes

 Next, add the diced butternut squash (400g), 3 or 4 crushed garlic cloves and 250g  risotto rice, and stir fry for a further 2-3 minutes

Add a ladleful of the 850ml boiling hot chicken stock, and stir and cook until fully absorbed. Continue to add the rest of the stock in the same way until all the stock has been added, and the rice is creamy and al dente and the squash is tender. This should take around 20-25 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 4 tbsp of chopped chives (which I forgot to do here!) and serve with veg of choice - I had green beans.

It's syn free, and this serves 4 people - absolutely delicious.

Chickpea Dahl loaf

Well, it's been a while since I blogged!  I'd got in a bit of a rut, playing safe and cooking the same old recipes. However, I recently joined a new SW group, and my new leader is full of tips, ideas and new recipes, and I feel quite enthusiastic again :)

I'm only half a lb away from my target weight and have lost almost 2 stone and gone down two dress sizes. Very happy to be back to the size I was 30 years ago!

The recipe I tried out today is called Chickpea Dahl loaf and it is syn free.  It's basically made by mixing 3 beaten eggs with a can of Chickpea Dahl and a packet of savoury rice made up as directed.  It's cooked on 180 for around half an hour, and can be eaten in a variety of ways and as a substitute for the usual potatoes, pasta, couscous or plain rice - all of which get a bit boring after a while.

Here is is, straight out of the oven...

...and I had 3 slices with Linda McCartney Italian vegetarian sausage (0.5 syns each), plus french beans and carrots. The loaf is very moist and tasty, and the sausage is my all time favourite

It was very filling and I felt no need to snack at all this evening. Next time I might have some sort of sauce with it, but it was very nice without.