Bad blogger!

Oh dear, I really have neglected this blog!

I am still following the slimming world plan -I've been at target since April this year and my weight hasn't altered more than a lb or two. Mind you, it's been Christmas and I'm afraid I've overindulged in the sweet stuff - all will be revealed at my next weigh in!!

Meanwhile, it was nice to enjoy a slimming world recipe today. Bolognese sauce, full of superfree, pasta and green beans. 

I'm looking forward to getting my new books from the next class, to find out more about the changes to the slimming world plan. I gather it's nothing major, but it will be nice if there are new ideas to try out :-)

Spag Bol

Good old spag Bol, slimming world style :)

500g extra lean mince, finely chopped onion, grated carrot, 2 cloves garlic, heaped tsp basil, 2 tins chopped tomato. Served with whole wheat spaghetti. Syn free! 

Simple salmon tea

Been such a busy few days chasing up quotes for repairs following the mini flood, I haven't made time to plan meals properly nor cook. 

Tonight's tea was quick and easy - and very tasty. Beautiful piece of salmon in a lemon and dill dressing (Birds Eye Inspirations and syn free) with couscous (syn free) and carrots (syn free). Wasn't sure about the veg choice, but wanted to use up the carrots - as it turned out, a good choice!

Later on, I baked a batch of cappuchino weetabix muffins which work out to 2 syns each (would be free if using the weetabix as a HEB) and had one for a snack for supper - they're very filling and sweet :)

Also, reminded myself to take healthy snacks with me when I'm out and about - fruit, SW bar - otherwise it's too easy to make wrong, high syn choices.

Overdue update

Since reaching target I've neglected this blog somewhat! I've been at target for around 2 months now, and to date that's been uneventful - I'm still 2 lbs under target as of weigh in today. It's only varied by about half lb over the past few weeks.

I still can't quite believe it - I was overweight for so long, and to have lost 2 stone 2lbs still feels something like a miracle. I have 2 healthy A's and 2 healthy B's most days, which has meant being able to have some cheese again (love cheese so much) and some more wholemeal bread (and I love that too!)  At times I've gone way over syns - touch of the emotional eating if something's been amiss - but my damage limitation is a few days back on plan, and that seems to work for me.  I had a real chocolate blow out a week or two ago - and had a night of stomach pains and feeling bloated. It must have got something out of my system as I've had no urge to do that again :)

Just in the last few days I've been dealing with a water leak resulting in a lot of damage, and feel proud - and amazed - this time I didn't turn to my food comfort blanket (well, apart from 1 chocolate moment!) but just got on with the practicalities of getting it all sorted out.

Still enjoying my cooking although maybe got a bit 'stale', so need to try out different recipes and liven things up a bit. Just recently though with the hot weather I've been having tons of salad (pasta, or with new potatoes, etc) and cold meats or fish.  I was never a great salad eater before SW, but now love it.

So, am aiming to try out 1 new recipe a week, and will post photos, starting next week. This week is a bit chaotic dealing with insurance assessors, carpet firm, decorating and joinery quotes. Good job I've a supply of home cooked meals in the freezer, and lots of salads :)

1/2lb loss (last week) and birthday cakes :)

...so I'm now 2.5lbs under target.  I have 2 HEA's and 2 HEB's every day, and now have close on 15 syns each day, occasionally going over 15 if it's for a special reason. Which it was yesterday :)

Family bbq at my younger niece's home,  and 2 to-die-for cakes baked by my masterchef standard brother! One was a lemon curd cake, the other strawberries and real cream. All I can say is LUSH, and worth every syn! Mind you, I had few syns the previous day, and hardly any today, so am not concerned in the slightest.

No chance of a sneaky wrap up sadly, with 9 adults and 3 children :) But we all enjoyed tucking in!

Still at target - some musings

It's been a strange few weeks since I reached my target weight. I think we get consumed with losing weight each week, working towards our goal, and when we reach it it feels somewhat strange. Suddenly that impetus has gone and we enter Stage 2 of the journey, the Maintain phase.

Reactions towards my weight loss have been mixed - the vast majority of people are really pleased for you and tell you how well you've done. But there are the 'other' comments from others to deal with, e.g.  you'll be on a diet for the rest of your life (which shows how little they understand Slimming World!) and even 'you could do with putting a bit of weight back on' !!  Is it any wonder many of us get anxious?

Since getting to target, I've lost another 1.5lbs unintentionally, and had to have my target re-set as I was right at the bottom of the 3lbs leeway we're allowed.  I've increased my Healthy A and B allowances (includes milk, butter, cheese, bread) and also am eating a few more syns each day. Hopefully on Friday when I weigh in I'll have maintained, and really don't mind if I've put on a lb or so. Another target member in my group warned me that being at target can 'mess with your head' and I understand now what she meant - the mind games really start.

I joined a new Facebook group for SW target members which is brilliant - so good to hear we all feel much the same and to learn strategies to deal with it all. 

Meanwhile, I still eat my Slimming World meals as that feels normal to me and far more enjoyable than the stodge or processed food I used to eat up to 8 months ago.  Tea tonight was a lovely chicken salad with some potatoes and a squirt or two of a tasty garlic mayonnaise.  Yum!

Magic pancake

Love these - sweet pancakes.

You mix 35g of porridge oats (HEB allowance) with about 3/4 pot of Mullerlight yoghurt (I used a dark cherry one) and leave for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.

Add 2 beaten eggs plus 1-2 teaspoons granulated sweetener, and fry using Fry Light. Absolutely delicious!

When I first got the recipe, I was a bit dubious.....but tasting is believing :)

Oven baked meatballs - and an award :)

I reached target 2 weeks ago, but decided to go for another half pound loss, to achieve my 2 stone certificate. Got that today! Very happy indeed.
I've gradually increased my Healthy B choices to 2 per day, and use all my 15 syns each day. I think I'll try out increasing my Healthy A choices and see what effect that has - am hoping that'll keep my weight maintained, after the half pound loss today (which of course was very welcome).

Tea tonight - oven baked meatballs with onion, garlic, courgettes and aubergine.  Served with carrots and potatoes, and delicious!  Not a syn in sight - but I shall be having my usual chocolate fix later on :)

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.

Half syn cake

This is amazingly acceptable cake a la Slimming World! 

Half a syn for the whole mixture - you can either bake a cake or split the mixture into muffin cases - I got 10.  I did add a teeny smidge of jam in the middles, but there were only 1.5 syns in all the jam I used. More suggestions at the end of the recipe.

As there is no fat or flour in the mix they won't keep well, so best to freeze them.

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated

4 tablespoons sweetener

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

Whisk egg whites until stand in soft peaks, like meringue.

Add sweetener, baking powder and vanilla essence to egg yolks.  Whisk until well blended.  Add 1/3 egg whites and whisk again.

Fold remaining egg whites into egg yolk mixture with a metal spoon.

Line a baking tray with greasproof paper, sprayed with fry light.

Place mixture onto prepared tray.  Bake in oven (Gas 4) for 20 minutes.

Once cool, add filling (see below) and roll up like a swissroll, or cut into 3 strips and layer with filling.


Suggested fillings:

Fat free fromage frais, sweetened to taste with strawberries, grapes or berries. - no extra syns.
Muller light greek style yoghurt and fruit - 0.5 syns per greek style yoghurt used.
Plain quark mixed with sweetener and white chocolate options sachet and fruit - 2 syns extra.
Syns are for the whole cake - so if not adding syns in filling, whole cake is only half a syn!  

Rich beef casserole

Tonight's tea - with plenty left to freeze into at least 5 portions.  Another 5 nights where tea is quick and easy :)

It's basically braising steak (800g), onions, garlic, carrots plus stock (I love the Knorr stock pots, and used two). I chucked in some extra veg - tomatoes, mushrooms and broad beans - plus a couple of teaspoons of mixed herbs. My slimming world consultant is forever talking about 'rainbow plates' and I think it is now ingrained into my brain!

For a change, I had couscous instead of potatoes, and added broccoli which is probably my favourite veg at the moment.

Completely syn free, and delicious!   And I have 5 or so syns left today - and a Cadbury's fudge bar has got my name on it :)

Beef pasta bake

I absolutely love this - always make a big batch so I can freeze off a few portions.  You can add what veg you like - I added mushrooms, chopped onions, red pepper, garlic, and a few broad beans for extra colour. I forgot to add some mixed herbs, but didn't spoil the taste :)

  

The recipe:-

 300g extra lean minced beef

1/2 clove garlic

Onions, peppers,mushrooms (as much as you like!)

400g tinned tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato purée

450g pasta (any shape)

Mixed herbs (to your own taste)


Method

Brown off the mince. Add onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomato purée and tinned tomatoes. Cook on hob for 2-3 mins then put aside.

Cook pasta until al dente and drain then mix together with meat mixture.

Place in oven proof dish and cook for 20-30 mins on has mark 4/180 deg C (although I leave it in for an hour, so the peppers and onions are really softened)

Also you could add your HEA cheese on top for a nice topping

Result!

1.5lbs off today - that's a good loss for me, as I usually lose 0.5 - 1 lb a week.  2lbs away from my target, although I may increase that slightly so I get a 2 stone award (and fit comfortably into the next size)

This is week 25 and I've lost 1stone 10.5lbs, so it averages about 1 lb a week. Feeling very proud of myself (and my family and friends are too).

Lemon curd dip recipe

I've had quite a few requests for the recipe - so here it is.

It's delicious with any fresh fruit, meringues, or as a sponge cake filling. Re-posting the photo of some of mine in filo pastry cases :-

Beat 2 eggs

Add the juice and zest of a lemon and beat well

Add 3 tbsp sweetener. 

Place bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir till it thickens - about 5-8 mins. (Be warned once it starts to thicken it's instant so if you can take immediately from the heat and keep stirring or you will end up with scrambled eggs!! )

Remove from heat, then whisk in 2 tbsp quark.

Syn Free on all 3 plans :-)

NOTE - Don't freeze - when it defrosts it tastes quite bitty as if it has curdled :(

Butternut squash and sweet potato soup

This is from a SW facebook group (both recipe and photo) - looking forwards to making it tomorrow :)

Recipe:-

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SWEET POTATO SOUP

1 butternut squash - chopped

4 sweet potatoes - peeled and chopped

2 onions - chopped

3 veg oxos

1 knorr veg stock pot

1.5 litre boiled water

Salt and pepper

METHOD

Throw the chopped vegetable in a large saucepan, crumble the oxo cubes over the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, add knorr stock, pour over the hot water. Cover and bring to the boil, simmer till vegetables are soft! Blitz and serve with a sprinkling of parsley. 

This amount makes 3 - 4 good sized bowlfuls. Can be frozen and is syn free on EE.

I have a soup maker - best gadget I own! I'll be making it in there - much less work :)

Half syn cake

Yes, I have a sweet tooth!

This is a small slice of a half syn cake which I baked in a loaf tin, which I cut into 8 slices.  There's no fat or flour in the cake, it's mainly eggs, baking powder, sweetener and almond essence and is surprisingly cake like. Topped with lemon curd (no surprise there) and a few chocolate sprinkles. It barely registers on the syn scale!

Next time I might double the quantities and cook in two sandwich tins, and put the curd between the two cakes. Another idea is to sweeten quark (which takes on any flavour added to it) with a sachet of options (chocolate) and some sweetener - have heard that tastes really good too for the filling.

Very tasty, very satisfying when only cake will hit the spot :)

3 syn dessert

This was delicious: melted an Alpen light lemon drizzle bar (3syns), added my favourite home made lemon curd dip (syn free) and topped with summer berries and some Choc Shot drizzled over. Very decadent - eat your heart out, Jamie Oliver!

Dinner and dieting

People who don't follow Slimming World often have completely the wrong idea about it all. I've met people who've said they couldn't exist on lettuce, would miss rice, potatoes and pasta, and couldn't stand not being able to have sweet things any more. They think we don't eat properly!

I've never eaten so well for years and my plate is usually piled up. When I hit a bit of plateau a while back, I realised I wasn't eating enough, and upped the superfree veg (often half my plate is full of them).

Tonight's dinner is fairly typical -

Chicken breast roasted (minus skin) in the oven, new potatoes, broccoli, carrots, beans and a syn's worth of gravy.  I'm full to bursting!  Later on I will have some lemon curd dip and a meringue - home made and completely syn free.  I still have around 6 syns to use, so if I've room I'll have a Cadbury fudge bar, or save them til tomorrow and might have a creme egg (9 syns!!)

So yes, dieting is such a trial (....not!)

1lb off

- and very happy with that!

Only 3lbs to target, but may increase that by 2lbs so I get a 2 stone award. Not been my current weight in many years!
As always, I have eaten really well this past week, and not been deprived of sweet stuff. I still reckon Slimming World is magic :)

Salmon tea

Got some lovely salmon fillets today (bargain reduced price) - enjoyed some lemon and coriander cous cous plus beans and broccoli with some for today's tea. So tasty!  Any sort of sauce would have buried the lovely delicate tastes.

It was one of those rare times I managed to get near the 'reduced' section in the supermarket - I also got 2 x 400g packs of reduced price lean diced beef, and in total saved £4.70 - or so I thought.  At the checkout I got a further £2 off, as the 2 packs of beef qualified for an offer as well. Amazing value - could not resist buying them inspite of me saying I'd use up my stash before buying any more!

Weigh in tomorrow - eek!

Old favourite for tea

- my delicious beef and pasta bake, this time with lots of my favourite superfree veg, green beans and carrots.  Slimming World recommend a third of the plate superfree, but I decided on more as I love my veggies.

Last night I was sorting out the freezer. It's a big chest freezer, which right now is virtually full. When I cook, I tend to make a large batch and freeze several portions, as I don't want to be cooking every single day, much as I have grown to enjoy cooking.

I very carelessly put a container to one side as I was busy reorganising, and forgot to put it back in the freezer. I discovered this faux pas this morning when I went back into the spare room (where my freezer lives, due to having such a tiny kitchen) and found said container which had 2 portions of casserole in it. Defrosted of course, and it had been hanging around for too many hours to risk eating it.  Not happy!

Tomorrow I'm cooking a corned beef quiche, and my half syn cake which will have the syn free lemon curd dip as a filling. I'll also be going through my recipe books as I found a lot of meat in the freezer (I tend to buy when there's a good offer on), and planning out what to cook next. I have a lot of veggies in (I use Aldi and my local excellent farm shop) so I'm good to go.  My goal this month is to spend as little as possible on food, and start using up my stash in the freezer instead of hoarding it.

Weigh in on Tuesday - not sure how that will go. I've eaten probably a few too many syns this past few days, my weakness being chocolate!  We'll see what happens! I really want to get to target by the end of the month if possible - 6lbs in 4 weeks - but that's probably unrealistic as my weight loss has slowed down a lot at this point. I'll really be happy if I'm at target at the end of April, which is probably more realistic.

Before.....and now

Left at start weight, right 6lbs from target weight. These were taken 5 months apart.

Happy happy!

Butternut squash and bacon risotto

Tonight's tea - a favourite recipe! No syns - all free food.  I also had some greens on a separate plate to make sure I'd had my third superfree.
Ingredients are bacon, leeks, butternut squash, garlic and risotto rice, and it's cooked in a pan on the hob.  It is so tasty, I absolutely love it!

Chicken chasseur; lean corned beef plus salad and SW chips

I'm not fond of spicy food, am allergic to shellfish (boo!) and only like very mild curries. My meals tend to be fairly simple but do use lots of herbs and garlic. Both of these were quick and tasty. 

Lean corned beef (2syns), SW chips, and salad. Quick, satisfying and tasty!

Chicken chasseur, carrots and potatoes. Only 1 syn, which was for the sauce :)

Filo pastry lemon curd tarts

There's no need to be deprived of sweet things when following Slimming World!

This little lot are only about 4 syns in total, which are in the filo pastry. The lemon curd dip is completely syn free and absolutely scrumptious!! If anyone out there in blogland wants the recipe, just leave a comment.

Beef pasta bake

Dinner tonight: beef (lean mince) pasta bake with onions, red pepper, mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes plus carrots, followed by .....

...banana, syn free lemon curd dip and 1/2 syn of Choc Shot. Yum!

Bit of an intro

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been following Slimming World for around 5 months now and have lost 22 lbs, which I'm absolutely delighted about.
In the past I've tried Weight Watchers, but found it very hard going as I always seemed to be hungry, had to count everything that passed my lips, and only had a slow to non existent weight loss. When they changed their system to Propoints it became completely hopeless, and the weight loss slowed down to virtually nil.
I gave up dieting, and the pounds crept on..... and on until I felt unfit and lethargic. I had low self esteem, and avoided mirrors and camera lenses.  Then, late last summer, I had a reunion weekend with my 3 best friends from University and was incredibly envious of how slim they all were.  I struggled to keep up when we were walking round and I think it was then I had my light bulb moment.
Some of the people I was working with at this time were having good success with Slimming World, so I signed up for a group.
I have to say I was very sceptical about it all to start with -  I couldn't believe I could eat so much and lose weight!  Pasta, potatoes, rice were 'free', I could eat any lean meat or fish, as much fruit as I wanted, and naughty things in moderation ie cake, sweets and bread :)  Food optimising is the key to success,  eating more superfree food,  and speed foods.
At my first weigh in after a week on the plan I had lost 5 lbs!  Since then it has settled down to somewhere between 0.5 - 1lb a week, occasionally more eg 2lbs, the occasional maintain. Only once have I put on weight (0.5lb) which was after Christmas, so not unexpected.
I have gone down one dress size, and with the last few lbs lost these coming weeks should be back to the size I used to be 30 years ago!
It's not a diet, more of an eating plan and way of life. I haven't the taste for greasy food now or takeaways, and still have scope for a bar of chocolate or slice of cake each and every day.
Going to group has worked for me - I need that accountabilty, facing the scales and my Leader :)  Dieting at home never worked for me - I wish it did.  Still, when I reach my target weight I'll have free membership and won't have to pay for classes etc.

My only regret is giving away my small clothes to a Charity Shop years ago, believing I would never get back in them!

1st post!

A little late in the day!

I've been following the Slimming World plan for almost 5 months, and have lost 22lbs to date.  I thought I'd blog about my progress to my goal weight (about 6lbs away!) and share some of my recipes and photos.

Work in progress - keep checking in!