Time then for a catch up on how I've been doing at Slimming World and some of the things I've been eating.
Over the past four weigh ins I've lost in total 4 1/2lbs. Really pleased with this, even though I had a gain of 1 1/2lbs last week, this week I lost 3 1/2lbs!
A few things tried to crop up and sabotage my efforts (coffee mornings, star week and trips away), but thankfully on the whole, the scales were kind!! This now leaves me with 11lbs to get to target and 2lbs to reach 4 stone lost. I may move my target if I feel I'd like to lose more, but it's great to see my goal in sight!
Here are some of the new things I've tried over the last few weeks.
Vietnamese Turkey Noodle Soup - Extra Easy Express Cookbook
With it's vivid colours, abundance of flavours and jam packed full of vegetables, this was not only a joy to the taste buds, but a treat on the eye.
Turkey, carrot, cabbage, bean sprouts, spring onions and noodles all combined with ginger, garlic, chilli, fish sauce, fresh corriander and mint.
It was absolutely delicious. Fresh, light tasting and nicely filling. It's ready in 25 minutes and syn free on Extra Easy.
Special Prawn Fried Rice - Extra Easy Express Cookbook
Another quckie. Ready in 20 minutes and again syn free on Extra Easy.
Basically, cook the rice as per the packet instructions, then drain, refresh under cold water and keep to one side.
In a large frying pan sprayed with Frylight, stir fry ginger and garlic for 30 seconds. Then add Chinese Five Spice and mixed stir fry vegetables. Cooks for 5 minutes, then add the rice, cooked peeled prawns, spring onions and soy sauce. Cook for another 4 minutes, then serve piping hot.
Delicious and feels like a real treat.
Creamy Mushroom Pappardelle - Extra Easy Express Cookbook
Quark provides the creaminess in this lovely recipe.
Chunky pappardelle is tossed into a sauce of mushrooms, red pepper, chopped tomatoes, quark, Italian herbs, stock and tomato purée.
On the table in 20 minutes and syn free on Extra Easy, this is a tasty, quick recipe, that is made with ingredients usually found in the store cupboard/fridge.
Quick Chicken Cous Cous
I've mentioned this previously in one of my blog posts, unfortunately I ate it too quickly to get a picture. So here it is.
Cous cous, red onion, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, mint, tikka chicken and fat free Greek yogurt. Yum!!! Completely syn free on Extra Easy.
My Big Slimming World Breakfast
Bacon, scrambled egg, beans, mushrooms and tomatoes. All visible fat was removed from the bacon and everything was cooked in Frylight. So the only syn is for the dollop of ketchup. Perfect!!
Mince Pies
As we had a Christmas Countdown taster at the weigh in session, I thought I would get everyone in an early festive mood, so I made mince pies.
I found the recipe on the Slimming World website and decided to give them a whirl.
After making the pastry and letting it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes, I rolled it our very thinly and cut out 32 bases with a fluted cutter. Each base was placed inside of a bun tray and filled with 1/2 tablespoon of mincemeat. Out of the pastry remnants I then cut out 32 tiny stars to top each pie with.
They were then put into the oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp.
Once cooled, a light dusting of icing sugar is all you need. Very festive!
These are really lovely and at 3 1/2 syns per pie, guilt free. I'm planning on making a batch and popping them in the freezer. Ready for when I'm in the Christmas mood!
Tomato Speed Soup
This recipe I came across on one of the many Slimming World pages I follow on Facebook. Someone then happened to make some for the taster evening and I thought I would give it a go myself.
The ingredients sound odd, but the taste is amazing and not too dissimilar from a well known brand. And being syn free, it is a lot more appealing than the 11 1/2 syns for a tin of branded soup!!
You will need:
2 x tins chopped tomatoes
1 x tin baked beans
1 x tin carrots, drained
1/2 pint vegetable stock
And the secret ingredient 1 large pickled onion or 3 small.
Put all of the ingredients in a pan and heat until piping hot. Blend until smooth and serve. Simple!!
Ready to eat in less than 10 minutes. And there's plenty to pop in the fridge or freezer for another day!
If you fancy a slightly creamier taste, I stirred in 1 small Philidelphia Light tub to the hot soup just before serving (this would count as 1/2 of your Healthy Extra A portion).
Give it a try!!
Fast Family Cottage Pie - Extra Easy Express Cookbook
This is a fantastic recipe for when you want a big hearty meal in quick time!! I made the full amount to serve four people and put half of it in the freezer.
It is done slightly differently to a traditional cottage pie as in the fact the mince part of the recipe (mince, onion, chopped kale, tomatoes etc) is all cooked in a frying pan. It is then put into an ovenproof dish and topped with mashed potato. Finally put under a very hot grill for a few minutes or until it is nicely golden brown.
I served this with salad and it was absolutely delicious. Syn free and ready in about 30 minutes.
Chocolate Brandy Pots - Extra Easy Express Cookbook
We were entertaining a guest for dinner and I wanted to make something nice for dessert. I was a little unorganised and needed something that used the ingredients I already had in the store cupboard/fridge and could be made quickly.
This was perfect. Melted chocolate, quark, brandy, vanilla extract and sweetener blended together, spooned into four ramekins and topped with a vanilla Muller light yogurt and raspberry (it said a cherry, but I improvised). Then chill in the fridge until ready to eat.
These went down very well. Tim is a real chocolate lover and said they were delicious. I really enjoyed mine and at only 4 1/2 syns per pot, they were a lovely little treat.
Bacon and Spinach Fusilli - Extra Easy Express Cookbook
Another great pasta recipe made in a flash (well about 20 minutes to be exact)!
Bacon, ham, spinach, garlic, sage, chilli and pasta the perfect combination. Lovely and filling and syn free on Extra Easy.
Nescafé Gingerbread Latte
In the past I've been quite partial to Starbucks Gingerbread Latte, it makes me feel all festive and gets me in the Christmas mood. But not now! I cannot be wasting valuable syns or money on one.
So when my friend recommended these, I did a little jig of delight.
They smell and taste exactly like my coffee house favourite and at only 4 1/2 syns I can enjoy one guilt free. Maybe even add a squirt of cream on top for an extra syn!!
Imagine a mug of this and a warm slimming world mince pie!! Love it!!
So that's where I'm at. I shall try and be a little more regular with my posts, whether Slimming World, craft or general life related!!
Thank you for being patient!!
Until next time.
Sarah xx
