A Whole New Outlook On Life

Bonjourno!

I do realise that I start every single post on this blog with 'I know I haven't written in a while' but seriously, I know I haven't and I am trying to work on it! 

As most of you know, things haven't really been going my way in terms of Slimming World as of late (and by as of late, I mean since like, Christmas) so I've had to re-evaluate everything in my life and seriously give myself a kick up the arse.

At the start of April, we booked to go to New York at the end of November. Which in itself is SUPER exciting and oh my god, I literally cannot wait to go. But as soon as we left the travel agent, the panic started. "What if I don't fit in the seat? What if the seatbelt won't go over me? What if I get asked to get off the plane?" You know, the usual things. (You all might remember the 'too fat for Alton Towers' panic I had in July last year..) At the time, I wasn't really doing Slimming World to the letter, I was having pretty low syn meals but the snacking and the going out for meals was just horrendous.

So in the space of just over 4 months I've managed to gain back just over a stone. Ughhhh.

The kick up the arse I so desperately needed was when I tried on the dress that I had bought for my niece's christening and it didn't fit. Like not even slightly. I mean we managed to get it on and everything but in the end I had to take it off because I literally could not breathe in it. I feel like that was the massive kick that I needed, because the last time a dress didn't fit me I did drastic (and very unhealthy) things to make it fit, something which I vowed never to do again.

So I've been on youtube religiously, trying to find something that I felt as though I would be able to stick to and something that I would enjoy. I've decided to just eat a little healthier... I know this sounds ridiculous but so far it's actually working. I've bought a Wii.. and lots of Just Dance games and I plan to rejoin the gym when it opens.

I've also discovered avocados... and holy hell they're tasty.

I hope you're all doing great on whatever plan you're following, and any advice you can give me, I'd be really appreciative! 

Ciao!
x

Syn Free Syrups!

Bonjourno!

I don't know if many people know about these, but I've discovered something amazing! 
As you all know I love having a Starbucks every now and again. I used my HEXA to have a cheeky latte with a dash of some sugar free syrup, which is syn free. However, the range is very limited to vanilla, hazelnut and caramel.

Until now.

I was looking for some syrup to buy at home as I recently bought a Dolce Gusto (2.5syns for a latte, yes please!) and I came across TRKG Coffee and Oh My Actual God they are amazing!

They have 28 different flavours of zero calorie, zero sugar syrups (all are syn free!) to add to coffee, porridge, cakes, over pancakes, whatever you like! The flavours are so good and they have revolutionised my life!

.. and these are just a few!

The flavours are:

Caramel
Caramel Pecan
Cinnamon Vanilla
English Toffee
Gingerbread
Pumpkin Spice
Red Velvet Cake
Salted Caramel
Agave
Chocolate Caramel Truffle
Coconut
Mango
Peach
Salted Dark Chocolate Espresso
Tiramisu
Vanilla Almod
White Chocolate
Almond
Blueberry
Hazelnut
Irish Cream
Mocha
Peppermint
Peppermint Mocha
Pomegranate
Raspberry
Vanilla

They are only £6.49 for a whole litre so get shopping!

Ciao 
x

Slimming World and Christmas Markets

Bonjourno!

Seems like forever ago I was starting this blog and telling you all of the delights that were at Manchester Christmas Markets last year. How much can a year change everything?! This time last year I was so unhappy with myself, depressed because I couldn't fit into the clothes that I liked, and wondering if I even had the motivation to do anything about it. 

Fast forward to 12 months later and here I am, an amazing six stone lighter and a definite spring in my step. Last year I struggled around the markets, having to sit down every few minutes because I just couldn't hack the walking around. This year we walked for 2 hours around the Trafford Centre before coming back and spending another 3 hours in the markets! I have to admit my feet hurt after that, but there would be no way I could have managed that last year!

The picture on the right was taken in January and the one on the left is from a couple of weeks ago! Can't believe how much my face as changed!

Anyway, onto food and the markets. It's surprising how much there is on offer to eat for someone doing Slimming World - it's all about asking for what you want, rather than just accepting the whole lot, syns and all.

Because we stayed in a hotel we were offered a free breakfast, which I was sure would have nothing but very bad (but very tasty) things to eat. So I was really surprised when I saw weetabix (HEXB for 2) and fresh fruit! I also filled up on a big bowl full of beans.

In the Trafford Centre, there are so many lovely places to eat, and very tempting too. I opted for a Spudulike jacket potato with beans and low fat cottage cheese, which came to 1.5 syns for the whole thing. Much better than a burger or pizza!

If you are venturing to the markets, make sure you check the ingredients before asking for something. Always ask if anything has been cooked in oil or butter to make sure you can count syns correctly. Guessing for me always leads to gaining!

Look out for:

• Carvery stands - they offer lean roasted meats in a giant yorkshire or a bun, ask for the meats by themselves and they will give you more, more protein will fill you for longer.
• Hog Roast - the pork is very lean and again they will serve you a massive bowl of lean pork without any sneaky sides!
• European food stands - offer roasted garlic potatoes and mushrooms in a garlic sauce. When  I asked, they said the mushrooms are griddled and served with creme fraise, but the amount isn't huge so count a few syns for that. They also serve boiled rice with all of their foods.
• Bratwurst Stands - I would avoid the actual Bratwurst sausage, but most of the stands had a grilled pork or grilled steak to offer, which was just cooked over an open fire on a grill, no oil whatsoever!

You could always use your flexible syns and save up for an amazing food experience - my partner had chocolate strudel, cheese, crepes, pancakes and waffles. Crepes are not very high in syns (4 syns per crepe) but watch out for the toppings they offer!

I hope this helps anyone who is travelling to a Christmas Market between now and Christmas, I would highly recommend it!

Ciao!

x

When The Moon Hits Your Eye...

... Like a big pizza pie, that's... so low syn it should be a crime!

Bonjourno!

Life has been ca-razayy as of late, what with moving house, new jobs and whatnot, but I've decided to share something amazing with you. So, my current weight loss stands at an amazing 5 stone and 4.5lbs! I can't believe how far I've come in such a short amount of time, it just proves how much Slimming World does work, especially when you stay to group and get the support. 

I've seen a lot of posts on Instagram recently about changing the bases of pizzas for things such as smash and grated cauliflour (something I'm a little reluctant to try since smash seems to play havoc with my stomach). The one I found does have a syn value, but compared to the syns in actual pizza - I read somewhere that Domino's can get up to 600 syns! - it's really tasty!



For Slimming World Pizza Pies, you will need:
2 Old El Paso Stand 'n' Stuff Tortillas (4.5 syns each)
Tomato Passata or Puree
Any of your chosen pizza toppings
40g cheese (HEXA)

Preheat the oven to 200°c, then fill your tortillas about 3/4 of the way full with your chosen toppings. My favourites are chicken, ham, mushrooms and sweetcorn. Little tip, if you cut everything up small, you can get lots more toppings inside! Fill the remainder of the tortilla with passata (add some garlic and herbs to give it more flavour if you like) and divide the cheese between the two. Cook in the oven until the tortilla is crispy on top and the cheese has melted (around 10-15mins).

These are so amazing, I have them all the time and feel like I'm eating something really bad for me, when they're so low in syns its amazing! Enjoy!
Ciao!
x

Weekly Shopping Recipes

Bonjourno!

How is it already October? I feel like I've only just perfected my summer wardrobe and now I have to roll out the jumpers and scarves. It's a great excuse to eat some fabulously heart warming food now that the weather is a little bit colder, I'm finding that salad for lunch just isn't cutting it anymore, I need something that will warm my soul!

This week I've decided to show you all my shopping list, and what kind of Slimming World food I would make with it. I'm a self-confessed bargain hunter, and I won't spend any more than I have to on food that I know I can find cheap. I also like to buy in bulk and make meals that I can freeze if I need to, which is really useful for lunches the next day - especially when they're hot and filling in weather like this!

So here is my current shopping list (I'm actually heading out this evening to get it!)

As you can see, myself and my partner like to plan what we are eating throughout the week, and work out which days we're working so that we can plan who is going to cook. My partner likes to cook on his days off, because he feels bad that I tend to cook 5 days out of 7 (which I am definitely supportive of!). The 'fend 4 self' just means that I won't cook for both of us, we will just forrage from what we have in the fridge. Days like that are great for me to have more speed, because he really doesn't like vegetables, so on those days I tend to have some kind of meat with lots of veggies.

Monday

Salad is a must on a monday for me because I have weigh day on a Tuesday, so I like to get in as much last minute speed as I can. This week I'm making quiche, which I can have with veggies and my partner can have with onion rings or chips. He likes the Slimming World food that I make, but occasionally he likes to have something a little more synful. I'll put chicken and mushrooms in my syn-free quiche, and have it with broccoli, cauliflour and carrots.

Tuesday

Like I said, Tuesdays are weigh day for me, so I try not to eat much throughout the day. Once I've been weighed I have something for a cheat meal, so that I won't crave any junk food throughout the week. This week we'll buy some frozen pizzas and have them with added toppings.

Wednesday

Although it says spaghetti and meatballs, when I went to Iceland they didn't have any of the Slimming World meatballs left :( so we changed the idea and decided to have some chicken with the spaghetti instead. I'll make a tomato sauce with passata, herbs, mushrooms and peppers.

Thursday

It's around this time of the week when I try and be a little bit more creative, and maybe try a recipe that I haven't tried before. I saw this recipe on the BBC programme "Eat Well For Less" and adapted it so that it would be Slimming World friendly. It's basically cous cous with tinned salmon, mushrooms, peppers and sweetcorn with some added flavour from herbs. I can't wait to try it!

Friday

Thankfully my partner is off work today so decided he wanted to cook. He's a dab-hand at cooking meat and loves to sizzle us some steaks on his days off. This week we're going to have lamb steaks with syn free chips, veg for me and onion rings for him.

Saturday

Again, we changed our minds after I'd taken this picture! We're going out for lunch on Saturday, so changed the meal from slow cooked pulled pork to syn free steak bakes, because lunch will be quite big so we didn't want something huge for tea. I love these, and the recipe is on my blog :)

I hope you enjoyed my shopping list, and maybe it's inspired you to have some meals that you haven't tried! 

Ciao!

x

Shocking Revelations

Bonjourno!

I seem to start every blog by apologising for the lack of posts, but I have actually been super busy with work and other things - trying to sort out moving house makes me want to eat cake! However, I did have the chance to try out a few new things recipe wise, as I felt as though I was getting into a rut where I was eating the same things over and over and not really enjoying anything that I was eating because it was all so samey.

Saying that, I'm open to suggestions, so please comment below if you've tried anything exciting this week, I'm running out of ideas of things to do with pasta and rice, so please let me know if you've had something tasty!

This week was a tad up and down. Normally, my slimming world consultant is just lovely, supportive and enthusiastic about slimming world, but this week things have just turned on their head. Basically, I was perusing Instagram one day and came across a post about new hifi bars. Just to stress, this person was NOT a consultant, nor had she mentioned anything about when the bars were out. Being a supportive person as I am, I screenshotted the pictures and posted it to my local group's Facebook page, thinking that everyone would be as excited as I was, because the flavour sounded really good. About an hour later, I got a message from my consultant asking "where on earth I had found this" and "the consultant that is feeding me this info should be fired" because i am "always in the know and it makes her look stupid". 

The message really upset me, and at that point I was ready to not go back to that group, find another one and tell her to eff off. It wasn't until the next day that she messaged me saying that she'd just had an awful group that night and my post "tipped her over the edge".

Am I in the wrong here? No one ever said that these hifi bars were a secret, and since they were shared on Instagram, surely most people know about them by now? I feel degraded and like this whole Slimming World thing isn't about support anymore.

Still, the support from this blog is just amazing and I couldn't do it without you guys <3

Ciao!
x

Fun Times At Alton Towers

Bonjourno!

I know it's been a REALLY long time since I've written a blog post, but honestly my life has gotten super busy over the last few weeks and I've barely had any time to myself to write anything. I can't apologise more, and I'll try harder now that the schools have broken up and I have six whole weeks to myself (woo!). 

So, I don't know if I've mentioned it on this blog before, but myself and my partner had decided that we were going to celebrate the start of the holidays with a sneaky trip down to Alton Towers while the kids were still at school (side note, we actually planned this before the tragic crash on the Smiler..), so that the queues weren't so bad. I took to Twitter to talk about some of the issues I had with going - was I too fat? Was I too wide? Were my thighs too big? The list went on and on. I did some serious - and I mean serious, like hours of internet trawling and searches - research to find out exactly what the heigh/weight/fatness restrictions were around Alton Towers.

People online were really kind - I was hoping to get my 4 stone award before I went (which I did, eeeeee!) just to give me that extra confidence I needed. And after literally changing my mind about six times about whether I wanted to go, we just packed a bag and went, though I was a little apprehensive about it.

So day 1 started off pretty great, standing in the queue for Rita (0-60mph in 2 seconds, insane!) I was actually shaking, I really didn't want to hear the oh so famous "sorry, could you just get off?" and have to make the walk of shame. To my ultimate surprise, the restraint came down over me and fit me fine, I even had room to spare! This boosted my confidence completely and I was ready to take on the world. I even managed to get on Th13teen, which I was sure was going to be too small.
So then we reached Air. Infamous Air. Having done a lot of research about it, lots of people had mentioned that there were bigger seats on row 4, so that was my plan. I even took the courage to ask the really kind woman at the entrance to the ride if she thought that I would fit. She was really nice and suggested the bigger seats, saying that she had seen massive blokes go on it and have no issue. 

Right, I thought, I'll go for this, made a bee line for the 4th row and sat down, pulled the restraint down. Shit, it won't go down. Cue the attendant. "Can you move up a bit and try it again?" Nope, nothing, still won't come down. Fuck this, I'll just get off before I embarrass myself even more. Doing the walk of shame has never been so humiliating. Cue floods of tears, general swears and a fuck this, we're going home attitude. 

After a while of talking and calming down, we decided to try Nemesis. Another pull down restraint. The queue was minimal, so we got on straight away. Again, couldn't pull the thing down, so I got off and went to speak to a man. This part is amazing, because this man that I spoke to deserves a raise for what he did for me. I was still in so much of a tizz from what had happened on Air that I burst into tears right in front of him. He was so kind and took us to a quiet place to talk about it, where I explained what had happened. He gave us free priority passes to come back when I had calmed down, where he would let me try a seat at the back to avoid embarrassment, if not he said I could try a bigger seat, which he even said was probably too big anyway.

So later that day we went back, and he was so kind once more, and to my actual amazement, I got on! And not in the bigger seats, in the normal ones! He said the restraints were half locked when people get on, so it's really hard to get them to where they need to be. 

I really can't get over the kindness of the staff there, really boosted my confidence, especially after what had happened earlier! To those planning a visit in the future, if you're not a size 10, then avoid Air, you have be a skinny minny to get on that asshat!

Hope you all have a wonderful summer,
Ciao!
Ps. Here's a cheeky photo to make you all laugh ;)
x

A Day In The Life...

Bonjourno!

I feel like it's been ages since I've written anything on here, and I'l be honest with you, I just haven't felt in the zone recently. I feel like no matter what I do, how many syns I have, if I have just one bad meal then my weight loss goes way down or I have a gain. For example, last week I went out and had a Nandos (not too bad on syns, around 20 for the whole meal) and stayed relatively low syn for the rest of the week to compensate, and still I only managed a half pound weight loss. I know I should be happier, after all it's better off than on, but I'm a really, really impatient person and feel like half a pound is nothing in the long run.

*sigh*

I will get over this down-in-the-dumps thing that I've got going on, I'm hoping to have a good loss this week and finally get my 3 and a half stone award!

So anyway, I've decided to let you into a little bit of my daily life, and show you what I eat during a normal extra easy day on Slimming World. Enjoy!


Breakfast

I normally can't be bothered to get out of bed early enough to make myself a decent breakfast, so I tend to just grab a cup of tea and start the day with two HiFi Lite bars (the chocolate ones are just amazing!)

Lunch

I try to stay as syn free as I can for lunch so that I can use my syns on snacks later. Lately I've been really getting into having salads, as they're really quick and easy to take to work with me. And you can always pop to Subway and have a fabulous syn free salad with all those lovely cuts of meat! The salad I had today had warm chicken and beetroot.

Snack

I don't know about you, but when I get home from work I literally want to eat everything in the cupboard. I have no idea why but I'm just so hungry! So when I came in I decided to spend some syns and have a bag of crisps, these bag of lovelies are only 3.5 syns!

Tea

Like lunch, I try to make low syn or syn free meals for tea so that I can snack later on. I love having lean meat with veg or a chicken pasta bake, or my own personal favoourite, spag bol! Tonight my boyfriend was kind enough to do some steaks in fry light on the griddle pan, and I roasted some potatoes in butter fry light, then added some fried mushrooms on the side. 

After tea I usually enjoy a cup of tea or coffe (green tea or fruit tea if I've had my healthy A that day) with some fruit and a muller light yoghurt.

I hope you've enjoyed a little insight to what I eat in a day!

Ciao
x

Kanga-What?!

Bonjourno!

I'm feeling a little down in the dumps this week - I had a teeny tiny (and it really is) gain this week, which sprang out of nowhere and really shocked me at the scales. I can't say I've had any more or less syns this week, or done any more exercise that might make me retain water. All I can think of is that somehow, somewhere along the line I've had something I shouldn't and it's catching up to me now. Anyway, I've drawn a line under it and started anew this week with a food diary in hand to make sure that I definitely have a good loss next week. Although it has been very tempting to attach myself to a lettuce IV for the rest of the week just to make sure!

As you all know by now, Iceland recently released some lovely Slimming World meals, and I have to say they are very tasty (however the sausages gave me food poisoning..) and very reasonably priced for the amount of food you get. I was in Iceland the other day and spotted something very weird that caught my attention. There is a new range in Iceland of Ostrich and Kangaroo meats, all in various forms. Honestly, my first thought was.. wait, what?

After talking with a few people in class - one of which was the district manager - they told me that the ostrich fillets and the ostrich burgers are both completely syn free, which is amazing because they taste amazing! Literally no fat came off the burgers when they were cooked and they were so lean to eat that they were just awesome. The kangaroo fillets are also free - but make sure you don't cook them for more than 5 minutes each side otherwise the meat becomes too tough. The burgers are only 1 syn each, which isn't bad when you compare them to a McDonalds!

I hope you all enjoy some new and interesting meat!

Ciao!
x

Synful Pub Grub

Bonjourno!

I've had a very weird week this week, at the very last moment my partner and I decided to have a trip up north to Newcastle to see my family, so at the weekend I have to say I was very much off plan. It's helpful that my mum is also doing Slimming World up there, so in the evenings we were eating pretty syn free meals. However, it didn't help that it was my step-dad's birthday so he wanted to have a meal out. I tried my hardest to have something relatively syn free, but the menu was just so amazing to not have something bad! I ended up having a massive (and I mean MASSIVE) mixed grill, complete wit steak, chicken breast, gammon, sausage, chips, mushroom, tomato and a fried egg. It was so huge that I couldn't finish it, but I can imagine that the meat was fairly healthy so I left the chips and the egg. 

This inspired me to write a post about some of the more healthy food from pubs, JD Wetherspoon being the prime example. I haven't been to a city where there hasn't been at least one Wetherpsoons available, and I can imagine that most people have eaten there. The menu is pretty diverse, from chicken to steak, to burritos and burgers. All of which sound amazing on the menu but are really hefty in the syns department!

So here's a low down on the basic syns from Wetherspoons, you might be surprised!

Low Syn Options:

Peri Peri Chicken and Pepper Skewers
These are my go-to food as the SW website confirmed that they are free. Have them with a salad, and the sauce comes in a little pot, so you can choose how much to have. The sauce is 1 1/2 syns per tbsp.

Skinny Steak
Add 1 or 2 syns for the oil, a totally free salad and a syn free jacket potato for a really delicious and filling meal.

Freedom Salad
As the name suggests, this salad is full of speed foods and a free balsamic dressing. Adding chicken or salmon adds 1 or 2 syns, but makes it really tasty!

Jacket Potato with Beans and Cheese
We all know jackets and beans are free, and the butter for the potato comes on the side so you can choose to have it. Save your healthy A for the cheese and you're all set!

Sweet Chilli Noodles
At just 1 syn for the whole dish, you can't go wrong! It's a little spicy for my taste, and adding chicken makes the dish quite high syn, but overall a good eat.

Mini Corn on the Cob
An awesome free food choice, as it doesn't come with butter!

Side Salad
With no dressing, completely syn free!

Five Bean Chilli
On a jacket potato or with rice, it's only 1 1/2 syns per serving. Beware that the chilli con carne is 7 1/2 syns, so make sure you order the beans!

*

Beware of the really high syn foods that you may mistake for being healthy, burgers and sandwiches can vary from 20 syns to a shocking 42 syns! That's not even with chips or sides!

I hope this helps :)

Ciao!

x

Holy Macaroni!

Bonjourno!

After having a bad week last week and having a gain, I decided that this week all my main meals would be syn free so I could use my syns for snacks. I don't know what it is but lately I've just been in the mood to eat everything in sight - which doesn't help when there is Easter Eggs all around the shops! I haven't given in to temptation yet, but when Easter does roll around, I'll be sure to save all my syns and enjoy a delicious Easter Egg.

As most of you know, I'm a big fan of cooking syn free meals, it's easy to plan meals ahead of time and use ingredients that are completely syn free. Check out my previous recipes, all of the meals that I have posted are free. 
Anyway, I don't know about you, but I always feel like mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. There's just something about it that just makes you feel all warm and comfy inside, probably the high fat content! I've been looking and looking for something that tastes just as good with a low syn value, and I've found it. So I've decided to share it with all of you.

You will need:

Dried macaroni

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts chopped

Garlic Powder

Mushrooms 

400ml vegetable stock

4 tbsp tomato puree

200g quark

2 eggs beaten

100g Mozzarella

Cook the macaroni as per packet instructions.

Brown the chicken in a pan with frylight, then add the mushrooms and garlic. Fry until it's done.

Mix the cooked macaroni into the chicken mixture.

Mix together the stock, tomato puree, quark, and eggs, pour into the pasta, add half the cheese and mix together.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and bake for 20-30 minutes, till golden and cooked through.

The whole thing is 12 syns if you don't use the cheese as a healthy A. The whole thing can be split into as many portions as you like, I had half! 

Hope you all enjoy.

Ciao!

x

A Saucy Affair

Bonjourno!

I'm so sorry that I haven't been posting that often, but I'm so happy that my blog has reached over 1000 views! It really makes me happy to know that people are keeping up with my progress, and hopefully trying out some of the recipes that I post on here.
Now I'll admit that I haven't had the greatest of weeks - I managed to get food poisoing last week, which meant that although I had a brilliant weight loss (6lbs!) that week, I ate literally ANYTHING I could get my hands on the week after and suffered a gain. It was only small, but since it's the first gain I've had on Slimming World so far, and I know exactly why it's happened, it's still a little disheartening. I know that I can be really good this week and have it off by next week, I guess I was hoping that since I was ill that eating bad food wouldn't count!

Anyway, since I've had literally no time to cook this week, the other half thought it would be nice to treat me with some syn free burgers to celebrate the end of a long-ass week. I'd already used my syns for the week by this point, and didn't want to waste syns on sauces like ketchup and mayonnaise. I know that really light mayo (the purple one from Asda) has about 1 syn per tablespoon, but still I wanted to make something that I didn't have to measure. So, I took some fat free natural yoghurt and mixed it with some garlic granules, and honestly what came out was amazing! It tastes like the garlic mayo you get from takeaways, and it's completely syn free. Made my burger taste AMAZING! 
As for ketchup, I find that simply adding a little bit of sweetener to some tomato passata tastes exactly like a good ketchup! 

Finally, a bit of natural yoghurt, mint, lemon juice and cucumber makes the most delicious tzatziki, and it's also completely syn free. Perfect for dipping chopped up veg in, as well as with a toasted pitta bread. My favourite is dipping some ryvita in it!

Hope you all enjoy some syn free sauce this week. :)

Ciao!

x

Low Syn Cookies and Questionable Sausages

Bonjourno!

I'm sorry that I haven't been updating this blog as much as I'd like to, unfortunately life takes over sometimes! However, I'm very pleased to share with you all that in just 8 weigh ins, I've managed to lose an amazing 1 stone and 12lb! My original goal was to lose 2 stone before Easter, which with 4 weeks left and only 2lb to lose seems like a very attainable target.
So this week hasn't been the greatest one for me, as you all know Slimming World very recently brought out some frozen ready meals that you can buy in Iceland - a very amazing idea. However, after trying the sausages, I don't think I'll be having them again. There must be something in them that just disagrees with me, I managed to get food poisoning from them :(
Don't let this put you off trying them! A lot of people have tried them and been absolutely fine, I don't know whether I just didn't cook them enough or there was something in them that I just didn't like, but either way, I won't be having them again just in case! I think I'll stick to Linda McCartney red onion and sage sausages.

On a slightly lighter note, it was taster week once more in the Lancaster class, so I scoured long and hard over recipes that I wanted to take with me, something that I thought everyone would enjoy. I finally decided on Salted Caramel and Vanilla Cookies.

I know what you're thinking... Surely these cookies are high syn, high sugar, high badness??
I kid you not, they are only 1.5 syns each - compared to the Nutella Cookie that Starbucks sell, a staggering 19 syns per portion!

Here is the recipe for these tasty treats.

Makes 6(ish) cookies

1.5 Syns and 1 HEXB

or 2 syns each.

Ingredients:

50g Porridge Oats

4 tbsp Sweetener

1 Sachet Salted Caramel Chocolate Options

Vanilla Muller Light (with Sprinkled Chocolate if you like!)

Butter Flavour Fry Light

1 Egg

1. Preheat the oven at 220° / Gas Mark 7 and prepare a large baking tray lined with foil or non-stick baking paper – Spray with Fry Light.

2. Add the porridge oats, sweetener and 1 tsp of yoghurt to a large mixing bowl and crack the egg into the centre of the bowl and immediately whisk.

3. Add a little more of the yogurt as you’re whisking until the mixture is firm and thick. Literally add a drop at a time, it's easier to add more yoghurt to a thick mix than more oats to a runny one!

4. Empty the Chocolate Options sachet into a mug and add 1 tbsp of water, stirring well into a thick and creamy chocolate sauce.

5. Add the chocolate into the oats.

6. Stir well until the chocolate has blended into the the oats

7. Using a spoon, arrange 6 cookies onto the tray.

8. Transfer the tray to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown, turning them over if you need to.

Definitely worth the syns, I'm not much of a sweet tooth but these definitely did the trick! You can change the flavour of the chocolate options to make any flavour cookie you like. I'll be trying the white chocolate one next! I hope you all enjoy :)

Ciao!

x

An Off Week and Testing Eligible Batchelors

Bonjourno!

First of all, lots of apologies for not updating too often, it's half term and as a teaching assistant, it's the only time off I get! I've had probably the most horrendous week SW wise - not on plan at all. It's all down to being away from home, visiting my family means I can't cook for myself and I didn't think they would appreciate me cooking them a syn free meal. I've also had a lot of meals out - it was Valentine's Day just before half term, meaing a gorgeous romantic meal.. full of hidden syns! I tried to keep it fairly healthy, but then I thought, screw it.

Half term was pretty eventful, driving for 5 hours down to Canterbury to see my sister, niece and nephew. I started out so healthy by taking a pasta and sauce for the drive, but ended the day with a creamy pork pasta in the hotel,, with garlic bread! We also had a cheeky Frankie and Benny's as well as a Toby Carvery, the latter of which was definitely the healthier option.

I've also come to the conclusion this week that it's okay to have a bad week, it's not like I've given up on the plan or anything, but life does happen. People can't expect you to be on a diet for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I know any weight that I will inevitably put on this week will be lost within a couple of weeks of being back on the plan. I won't let a gain put me off track, but I also won't let Slimming World control my life. As of Friday I was straight back on plan, but I have to admit, it was nice to not count syns for a few days.

Anyway, when I checked my cupboard when I came back (not a lot there after 4 days away) I discovered that the only Pasta 'n' Sauce in my cupboard which I thought was syn free, actually wasn't. I thought that ALL pasta n sauce was free if you made them without milk and butter, but apparently not! So, I've put together this little diagram so that none of you get tricked into thinking you're eating syn free when  you're actually not.

I was eating the tomato, onion and herb one religiously as I was convinced that it was free, when it actually has one of the highest syn values. These syn values are when the pastas are made with just water, no added butter or milk.

Please comment below if you would like a Batchelor's Super Rice syn diagram, or any other brand I would be happy to do.

Enjoy!

Ciao 

x

Syn Free Quiche Muffins!

Bonjourno!

I can't believe how many people are tuning into my blog! It's a little overwhelming the amount of support that I've had from the Twitter community, and I really can't believe how nice everyone is. As of last night (03/02/15) I've lost a staggering 1 stone and 5 pounds - all in the space of 4 weeks! Slimming World is definitely the right way forward for me, I can't stop talking recipes and healthy extras.. I think the people who I work with are getting a little sick of me talking food optimising 24/7!

Last night in class was the first taster night of the year. Honestly, some of the food that people brought was unbelievable - a cake made from chick peas that tasted SOOOO good, almost as good as real cake and only 2 1/2 syns for the entire thing! I shall have to find the recipe and share it with all of you as that is the kind of thing that you can't keep to yourself!
For this taster night, I decided to make something syn free, I always feel a little bit guilty when I have syns, like it's something that I shouldn't have. I'm slowly learning to have a few more syns and feel better about it, but it's going to take some time! I decided to make some quiche muffins - amazing for taking to work or just having in the fridge for something to snack on when you're feeling peckish. I thought they tasted amazing, so here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 tub low fat cottage cheese
2 chicken breasts
1/2 pack bacon
sweetcorn
garlic powder and mixed herbs

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees then spray a frying pan with frylight and cook the chicken and bacon. In a jug, mix the eggs and the cottage cheese until it's all blended, then add the garlic and mixed herbs. Put the sweetcorn in the bottom of the silicone cases then divide the chicken and bacon equally between them. Add the egg and cottage cheese mixture on top, use a knife to stir them a little so that the mixture goes all the way to the bottom. Put in the over for around 30 minutes, or until they're browned on the top.

Enjoy :)
Ciao for now! 

x

Shots, Shots, Shots...

Well..

Mug Shots.

Bonjourno!
So many people have asked (not me, but in general) what is the best snack to have on EE Slimming World. Apart from your standard "have some fruit and yoghurt" there hasn't really been anything that stands out for those of us that prefer a savoury snack to a sweet one.
There's always the "have some cold meat", which as appealing as it sounds, sometimes just doesn't cut it, especially on a cold day when all I want to do is eat a massive hot pizza. So I did a little digging and discovered Mug Shots, which are dried pasta and noodles in a range of savoury sauces. Seems to good to be true, a tasty pasta snack which is syn free?
Apparently not!

There's been a lot of confusion as to which Mug Shots are syn free, which have 1/2 syn value and which are more. It's fairly simple - the majority of the less than 1% fat ones are completely free on EE. But just to clear up any confusion, here's a simple diagram:

I hope this clears up any confusion for any slimming world-er!

Enjoy!

Ciao 

x

Slimming World Progress!

Bonjourno!

As I mentioned in previous blogs, I started a new healthy eating plan in the new year in order to lose weight and generally be healthier. I joined Slimming World in the hopes that it would give me the motivation and support to be the way I want to be, rather than be miserable about how I am now. I have to say, the first time I went to the group it was super scary, I was so glad that my friend had decided to come with me and give me some moral support. However, after a while it was all okay, everyone was really nice - we're all in the same boat so there was no reason for anyone to say anything hurtful.
I think that is one of the main reasons why I went to Slimming World. I'm not the thinnest of people, and I never have been. I thought that I could just smile it off and pretend that I was happy with who I was - when in reality nothing made me sadder. I've grown tired of the comments that people try to say under their breaths, and the cat-calls that made my life a misery.

So, getting back to Slimming World, I went back after a week for my first weigh in last night. I was absolutely terrified, I thought that I would have put on weight for sure! I'd had a really good week though, eating so much fruit and vegetables and having way more energy from eating clean. Imagine my suprise when I discovered that I'd lost 12lb in my first week!

I was so delighted! I got my 1/2 stone award and everyone was really happy for me. I'm actually looking forward to next week to see if I can lose another 2lb and get my stone award!

Bring on the health!

Ciao!
x