Monday 30 July 2012

Slimmer of the month for July!

Can you believe it?!

I know, I can't! When Michelle was announcing the slimmers of the week and then month, I really wasn't expecting it to be me. My July was a little up and down, what with my 2.5lbs gain due to a wee week away up the North Coast (eating and drinking whatever I felt like!) but thankfully, I was able to get straight back on to plan as soon as I came home. The joys of having my weigh-in and group on Mondays, gets you set for the week!

I just can't believe I lost more than anyone else in my group for July. It's an amazing feeling and came a week after getting my 2 stone certificate and after getting my Club 10 award too. What a month!

Onwards and upwards! (Or should that be downwards, given that's the way I want the scales to go?!)

Love,
Sian xx

Saturday 7 July 2012

Pancake Saturday

I have heard about the Slimming World 'magic pancakes' for a while but had never either had the time or patience to make them. So, as a treat for myself this weekend, I thought I would give them a go!


They turned out to be SO simple to make- foolproof, delicious and so filling. I served mine with raspberries, bananas and fromage frais. In future, I would maybe try (as an extra syn's treat) some honey or maple syrup and banana. I think at most 2 syns extra but would definitely be worth it. 


The recipe is:
One sachet of Oat So Simple (use as Healthy Extra B)
One tub of Muller (I used Vanilla with Chocolate Sprinkles)
3 eggs
2 tbspns of sweetener.


I soaked the oats in the yoghurt overnight in the fridge, you dont have to but I definitely think this helps. 
Then in the morning, added the eggs and beat the mixture for a few minutes.
Add the sweetener.
Spray a small non-stick pan with frylight and let it get hot.
Ladle in your mixture to the pan and wait til there are bubbles forming on the side not on the pan then flip!


Ta-Da!! So simple.
I then stacked my pancakes (this mix makes about 6 pancakes, so I have left half for later), and put my fruit and fromage frais in layers. 


It just makes such a change from healthy cereal or eggs on nimble. It was so good, that I would have no qualms about making this as a breakfast for my non-SW friends!! 





Monday 2 July 2012

Syn free potato cakes



Ingredients: Potatoes Onions Sweetcorn
Frozen Peas Garlic 1 Egg

Put potatoes on to boil. In a pan spray with frylight spray then add chopped onions, peas, sweetcorn and garlic. Fry for around 2 minutes until slightly softened. Mash your potatoes and add in your vegetables. Beat the egg and add to mash and veg. When you have it all mixed together make little cakes from the mixture. Fry on pan until golden brown.
Then Serve.

KFC Chicken

I haven't used this one yet, but I plan to. Thanks to the Facebook group 'Diet Momma' for this one.

KFC CHICKEN COATED SMASH (Free on EE)

INGREDIENTS
4 Chicken breasts or 8 skinless chicken drumsticks, all visible fat removed
1 egg
2 Tsp of chicken Bovril or oxo in tube
Frylight
Half a cup of Smash instant potato flakes
1 Tsp of black pepper
1 Maggi cube/oxo cube
0.5-1 Tsp of onion powder
0.5-1 Tsp of garlic powder/salt
0.5-1 Tsp of sweet paprika
0.5-1 Tsp of chilli powder (optional if you don’t like heat.)

METHOD
Beat the egg and Bovril until well combined
Mix all of the spices into the potato flakes –making sure it is fully mixed.
Dip each (raw) drumstick/Breasts  into the egg until covered.
Then place in the bowl with the potato/spice mix.
The egg will allow the potato/spice mix to cling to the meat.
Repeat until all drumsticks are caked in the potato/spice mix.
Lay the drumsticks on a baking sheet sprayed with Frylight. S
pray the chicken as well. Cook until golden brown.

Mousse style dessert

I have a ridiculously sweet tooth, so am trying my best to find low-syn treats that satisfy my sweet tooth and are actually edible!


I combined low-fat fromage frais (free) with quark (free) and whipped it til I got rid of all the lumps then added some Options hot chcolate sachets (4 syns each). I found that the coconut one was really nice when you add some fresh strawberries to it. This can be a big bowl that I keep in the fridge for a couple of days and have a bit of when I feel a craving for chocolate come on!


I also found that this was really nice when used as a topping for some sugar-free jelly and a layer of fruit. 

Bacon Pasta

I don't really do weighing and weights of things, so it might be best to check out the exact syns of food on the SW website. I tend to try and stick to free foods that I don't have to syn and keep my syns for chocolate!!


Bacon
Pasta
Fry-Lite
Peppers
Onion
Pasatta with chilli
Tomato PureƩ
Philadelphia Extra Light (only thing that needs syn'd)




Cut all the fat from the bacon and cut into strips.
Fry with fry-lite.
Add the chopped onion and brown.
Add the peppers and allow to soften.
(I usually add some Italian herbs and black pepper at this point)
Stir in some pasatta and pureƩ and simmer for a few minutes.
Just before serving, stir in the Philadelphia to give a creamier sauce.

Slimming World Rice Pudding

I am a big fan of puddings, especially old school comfort ones. I loved this!






SW Rice Pudding:


1 cup of rice (not pudding rice as it contains a lot of sugar, I used arborio)
4 cups of Tesco diet-cream soda
2 tablespoons of sweetener
1 pot of Muller-light yoghurt (flavour of your choice)
Fresh fruit
Cinammon to taste


Put the rice, cream soda and sweetener into a saucepan and allow to cook until all the liquid has been absorbed (this was about 20 minutes for me). Then add the cinammon, muller light and fruit. Simples!


I used frozen berries and put them into the rice whilst it was still quite hot to soften them, this really nice with a vanilla yoghurt. I used banana with a toffee yoghurt which didn't turn out so good (more like baby food!)

Why now?

Ok, so here it is. My Slimming World journey's first post. 

I am doing this blog because I have received so much help and support from my friends on twitter that I was encouraged to set up the blog to post up my weight loss and the recipes and inspiration I have been using to get here. 

I'll start by explaining why I am losing weight...

I have always been a 'big girl'. Always the smiley, bubbly one (whilst inside miserable and trying desperately to suffocate my feelings of inadequacy with food). I was my heaviest that I have ever been when I joined Slimming World this year three weeks before a sun holiday with friends. I had had enough. I couldn't do it any more. I was diagnosed with arthritis in my feet and I was (still am) desperately unfit. The tiredness and exhaustion was destroying me. Clearly my 27 year old body was getting too tired of carrying round all this extra weight. I am single and although I am quite popular with lots of friends and a great social life, I had lost every bit of self-confidence I ever had. 

So, I looked up my nearest group. I had been on SW a couple of years ago (when I was planning a wedding, how times change!), I had lost well over a stone then. Getting through the rough times, I quickly turned to food and alcohol to medicate and the weight piled on. 

So now, here I am, in week 12 of this journey and I have lost 1 stone and 12.5lbs. If I lose 1.5lbs next week I will have lost 2 stone and 10% of my body weight. I bought three dresses last week that were 2 dress sizes smaller than I used to wear. I almost cried with my best friend in the shop, for goodness sake! 

If you have any tips, or any advice please let me know! This journey needs as much support as possible! 

Here's to fat-free yoghurt and diet cream soda! :)
Sian x