Meal Planning Monday w/c 9th of February

This was posted in February 2015

Posting early, getting organised, that's the name of the game this week. Can't quite believe I am up at 9am on a Sunday, let alone meal planning,  internet grocery shopping and now posting on here. The joy's of having a puppy who doesn't sleep in! 

After a 3lb loss this week (Yay, go me!) I am determined to keep the good work up with a healthy variety of meals. I've planned

• Vegetable Lasagna
• Homemade burger and SW Chips
• Baked eggs with peppers, spinach and tomatoes (page 34 in this months SW magazine)
• Cod Mediterranean Tray Bake (page 68)
• Cottage Pie with carrot and swede mash (page 69)
• Tagliatelle Puttanesca (page 73)
• Fish rissotto and vegetables
• Pizza and chips

If you hadn't already worked it out, I took inspiration from this months Slimming World magazine. It's good to flick through and get some ideas. Although old favourites are good, variety does spice things up and keeps your taste-buds happy too. 

And yes, I know there are more than 7 meals on there, but I go with what I fancy that day and what I am doing and is most convenient to cook. Am beginning to realise I don't follow the planner that much, but for me knowing I have got healthy meals in, means I have no excuse for not eating well.

Got green eggs and ham planned for one breakfast, porridge and banana and good old favourite of beans on toast for others. Lunch will be leftovers and am thinking of investing in a desktop crockpot, what do you think? Cool aren't they and no need to use the communal work microwave! 

For more inspiration of what to eat this week, get yourself over to At Home with Mrs M

Meal Planning Monday W/C 9th June

Oh my! Haven't done this for a while, but time to get back on the band wagon of planning. And the best way to commit to something, as we all know, is to write it down! 

My slimming world menu for the week looks like this;-

• Wholemeal pasta with tomato and garlic sauce with roasted Mediterranean vegetables (syn free)
• Butter chicken with rice and veggies (syn free)
• Leftover butter chicken with baked potato and salad (syn free)
• Homemade burger, Slimming World Chips and beans (syn free)
• Butternut squash risotto and veggies (syn free)
• Butternut squash soup with wholemeal roll (8 syns for the roll)
• Butternut squash and sweet potato curry (I think, it's in the freezer but no label!)

I love starting my day with a bowl of porridge, with banana and blueberries (plus MrC enjoys it too, added bonus!) Lunches will be a little on the fly. Maybe leftovers, or a bachelors rice. I've got the makings of a Slimming World quiche in the fridge, so may have that one lunch time too.

I've also linked back to the butter chicken recipe, which I've fallen back in love with.

All of the meals are simple, tasty, easy to prepare and should ensure I have nothing left going mouldy in the fridge.

I'm also going to try and photograph each evening meal in the hope it keeps me on plan and shame's me into doing what I say

Wish me luck! 

Slimming World Friendly Sweet Sticky Onion Relish

This is sooo good, it doesn't last long in my house because I keep eating it! Easier than you think and should keep for three or four days in the fridge, plus its Syn free on Slimming World

Ingredients
500g of thinly sliced red onions
100ml balsamic vinegar
150ml apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of sweetner
2 cloves of crushed garlic
2 tablespoons of chopped thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Put all the ingredients into a large, heavy bottomed pan. Bring it up to the boil and then simmer, covered for an hour. Give it an occasional stir to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes or so, to thicken up the lovely sticky sweet syrup. Once cooled, season to taste.

I've had this with burgers, lovely and tangy in a salad, goes well with chicken and beef on the side of your plate, or stirred through plain rice or couscous to liven it up.

Go on give it a go! 

Slow Cooker Beef Tomato and Red Pepper Casserole

This is a delicious, melt in the mouth and incredibly easy to make recipe to boot. Was inspired by the Coleman's Slow Cooker sachet, but objected to the Syns. So created my own version.

You literally chuck all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for eight hours. Creates its own sauce or gravy from the juices, serves 4 and is Syn free on extra easy

Ingredients
400g of casserole beef with all visible fat removed and cut into cubes
2 large red onions, cut into wedges
3 red peppers, cut into slices
Tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 cloves of garlic
2 beef Oxo cubes (or equivalent)
2 tablespoons of mixed herbs
Salt and pepper to season

As I said, chuck it all in, stir and leave for as long as you. I had this with steamed greens and new potatoes, but it's very versatile. Try it with spicy couscous. Or baked or mashed potato with plenty of superfree veggies. 

Sunshine Roasted Root Vegetables

Oh my goodness, this was divine. I've been wanting to try it for a while after I saw this recipe for roasted beetroot and sweet potato. It looked so delicious.

Finally managed to track down some beetroot from Tesco and, me being me, decided to not follow the recipe but go my own way. So here it is!

The beetroot stains the other veggies, which is where I got the name from. It's so tasty, filling and Syn free.

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes
5 beetroots
3 parsnips
3 small potatoes
4 carrots
1 onion
2 tbsp garlic granules
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper
Fry light

Method

All the vegetables were peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces before putting into a large roasting dish. I know beetroot is very red, but was surprised by how much it actually stained my chopping board and hands, so be careful! I don't know why, but didn't think they were THAT red when raw. I had lobster in mind, which changes colour once cooked. But I was wrong, beetroot is very very red. 

I sprinkled the herbs and garlic over the vegetables, with a good amount of salt and pepper. Added some hot water, enough to just cover the bottom of the pan, before spritzing with fry light and covering tightly with tin foil. I put it in a hot oven for about 50 minutes. You're aiming to almost steam the vegetables. If you chop them smaller, they'll cook quicker and visa versa. Check your veggies are cooked through though with a knife; Your oven may take longer than mine.

Take the tin foil off about ten minutes before the end to help them crisp up.

The natural sugars in the beetroot, make the dish lovely and gooey, as well as a beautiful pink colour. It's comfort food of the highest order and delicious.

I had it by itself, but it would also be beautiful with grilled chicken or your weekly roast, or even some shredded cabbage.

Enjoy! 

Slimming World Friendly Mixed Bean Stew

This mixed bean stew is versatile and free on the extra easy plan. It's another meal where I use whatever I have to hand. So don't worry if you have to improvise, that's my type of cooking! Just to warn you, it makes a lot so use a large pan with a lid.

Ingredients
1 large chopped onion
2 leeks shredded
3 chopped peppers
2 chopped carrots
1 chopped courgette
Tin of chopped tomatoes
500g passatta
3 tbsp of tomato puree
3 tins of beans - I used chick peas, black eyed peas and adzuki, but you can have any combination
3 tbsp of mixed herbs
3 crushed garlic cloves
3 tbsp of Worcester sauce
2 beef stock cubes (or you can use vegetable stock)
Couple good glugs of balsamic vinegar

Method

• Put the onions in the pan with enough water to cover the bottom and cook until softened, takes about 5 minutes
• Add all the chopped up vegetables, balsamic vinegar and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
• Chuck in all the other ingredients, plus about 200ml of water (I usually half fill the empty tin from the tomatoes and use that) Stir and simmer with the lid on the pan for about 30 minutes. 
• The stew should be thick and glossy, if it isn't thick enough for you, continue simmering for another 10 minutes with the lid off.
• Season to taste and serve! 

I like it in a huge bowl with a big spoon! MrC enjoys it with a chunk of bread to wipe up the gravy. You can try it stuffed in a wholemeal pitta, or on a baked potato, or with rice or over pasta (with a little cheese ??! ) or maybe all of them if you're good with leftovers! It makes a lot! I've got my eye on some which I'm planning to use to stuff red peppers and then bake.

Oh, and if you like it spicy, try adding some chilli, beautiful! 

Beef Casserole Recipe - Slimming World Syn Free!

This is a delicious, warming and easy recipe for beef casserole. I'm not very good at following recipes myself, I tend to not weigh anything unless I have to or forget to buy an ingredient here or there. Whoops! So this one, although my own, is to be used as a guide. Go with what you fancy (or have in the fridge!)

It's Syn Free on Slimming World's Extra Easy plan. Pack it full of vegetables if you want to and/or serve with extra vegetables and get food optimising.

Ingredients
500g of stewing beef
1 large chopped onion
4 carrots, sliced
4 or 5 large handfuls of fresh washed spinach
Beef stock made with 2 stock cubes (about a litre I think)
1 minced clove of garlic (or 1 large tbsp of garlic granules/powder) If you haven't got a mincer, bash it around a bit with the back of the knife and chuck it in.

Method

1. Dry fry the beef in a hot pan until all browned. 
2. Set the meat aside, drain out any fat from the pan, but leave the brown bits.  Add the chopped onions to the pan and add a little water (just enough to cover them) Soften the onions, making sure all the lovely brown bits from the beef are dislodged from the bottom of the pan. These will give your casserole a lovely flavour.
3. Once softened, add the beef you'd set aside earlier, sliced carrots and minced garlic (or granules/powder) and add enough stock to cover the ingredients in the pan.
4. Bring everything up to boil, turn the pan down, add the lid and simmer for about 60 minutes. Stir occasionally and if needed add more water.
5. Five minutes before serving, check and see if it needs any salt or pepper. I tend to season at the end, especially when using stock cubes as they can be very salty.
6. Once seasoned, add the spinach leaves and stir through.
7. Voila! 

The casserole can also be cooked in the slow cooker or oven. 

Slow Cooker
Brown the meat and cook the onions as directed, add all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Add a little less stock and only check it once about half way through. Did you know every time you lift the lid on your slow cooker, you should add 20 minutes to the cooking time? Stir the spinach in 25 minutes before serving.

Oven
For the oven, follow points 1 to 3, then transfer into a casserole dish. Put in the oven with a lid for 60 to 90 minutes at 190 degrees. Stir the spinach leaves in 5 minutes before serving.

Can be frozen, just leave the spinach leaves out and add when its reheated.

Served with rice or potatoes and a portion or three of vegetables, whatever takes your fancy. Would also be great over a baked potato.

Enjoy! 

Variations
Try adding some extra herbs or chilli to spice it up
At the end, you an always add a dollop (technical term) of fromage frais to make a lovely creamy gravy. (this will add a couple of Syns though)
Worcester sauce or mustard powder can also be added to give the casserole added depth of flavour and taste. 

Experiment, find what you like. That's what makes cooking fun! 

Meal Planning Monday 24th June

Meal Planning this week was delayed until I went to weigh in. Was touch and go whether I stayed in group or not, I've just not been feeling it. Got a few things on my plate at the moment and a terrible comforting eating habit which I can't see improving. However once I'd got over the bad news (a massive 5.5lbs on!! A record even for me) staying to group gave me lots of inspiration for my menu. Thank you everyone for all the ideas

Mushy pea curry with rice (syn free)
Bachelor rice quiche chips (syn free)
Vegetable stew(syn free)
Vegetable stew & cobblers (8 syns)
Baked potato beans, cheese triangles (syn free)
Smash Pizza (syn free)

Mushy pea curry and Smash pizza are new recipes for me so wish me luck!

I'm going for a roast at my parents this week, so will take my own roast potatoes and will just have to be careful out for lunch at Wagamama's. Will need plenty of willpower and no dramas this week but will give it my best shot.

There's very little chocolate in the house, plenty of yogurt fruit and sugar free jelly so fingers crossed it'll be a better week

I'm linking with Mrs M, so check out the other menus on the links.

Posted with Blogsy

#MealPlanningMonday - w/c 20th May

I've linked up with At Home with Mrs M

Fingers crossed with this weeks weigh-in. I've been ok....ish. I was tempted with jam butties late at night (In my defense I had them without butter!) and could have decided to carry on with the naughty eating, but stopped with just that. Phew. 

Did a shop at Lidl this week and then Tesco for the stuff I couldn't get there. Was hoping it'd work out cheaper, wasn't the case this time. However will persevere. Budget shopping I think is something I need to practice!

Onto this week's menu

Roasted chicken thighs with butter bean and tomato and garlic roasted potato (Syn Free)

Slow cooker gammon, potato wedges and salad (Syn Free)

Stuffed red peppers with beans, rice and sweetcorn (Syn Free)

Mustard glazed sausages with carrot and swede mash (2 Syns a quorn sausage)

Salmon with lemon cousous and salad (Syn Free)

Butternut squash soup with potato skins (Syn Free) 

Baked potato, cauliflower cheese and beans (Syn Free)

Loving having beans or spaghetti on toast for breakfast, keeps me going! Lunches are leftovers and plenty of fruit for snacks. Fallen back in love sugar free jelly which I've been making up with fat free yogurt for a blancmange. Picked up a huge carton of fat free greek yogurt at Lidl for £1.58 so think that will be accompanying this week's jelly!

So, what do you think? A good Extra Easy Slimming World menu plan? What's caught your eye? What are you having? Do share

Slimming World Friendly Bean Stew

I've been reading A Girl Called Jack blog, which is primarily about eating on a (strict) budget and have been inspired to give dried beans a go. I've always been a bit scared before and used tinned, it's the thought of maybe poisoning myself which has put me off in the past. But they are easier than you think, cheap and flavoursome  You just need to be a bit organised, as most need soaking for 8-12 hours, then cooking from 1 to 2 hours, but its worth it!

This started as a Barbecue style bean stew, using diet coke, but didn't work out for me; ended up as a tasty bean stew instead! Sorry if you don't do 'a bit of this' or a 'handful of that' type of cooking, but I didn't weigh of measure anything.

Ingredients

A selection of beans, already soaked, and cooked as per the packet instructions
I used a couple of good handfuls of the following
Cannellini beans
Butter beans
Kidney beans
Pinto beans
Chick peas
Large roughly chopped onion
Couple of peppers - I had green and yellow
Stock, about 400ml or a can of diet coke
Half carton of passata
Couple cloves of chopped garlic
Balsamic vinegar - couple of good glugs
Mixed herbs
Salt and pepper

Method

• Gently soften the onion for a couple of minutes, using either fry light or water
• Add the roughly chopped peppers and stir for another couple of minutes.
• Add in all the other ingredients, stir, bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 hours to reduce down to a thick sauce. Stir every 20 minutes or so to stop sticking
• Check the seasoning and serve! 

I had it the first day in a big bowl with lots of black pepper. Leftovers went a bit further when I added the rest of the passata, reheated and served with brown rice (and more pepper, chemo has dampened my taste buds a fair bit!)

I think for Extra Easy the ingredients make it Syn Free. You can spice it up and make a chilli or curry and imagine it would be nice with some lemon running through it too. How about stuffing it in beef tomato's or peppers? Lovely!

Let me know if you give it a go, I'd be interested in knowing what you think.

#MealPlanningMonday w/c 6th May - Beans, beans and beans

I've linked up with At Home With Mrs M

Just looked at my blog and seems all I'm posting are my meal planners! Not a bad thing I'm sure, but something I need to rectify soon.

Today I made the effort to actually walk around Tesco's to get some meal time inspiration. I usually shop online for delivery and after today I've realised why; my chemo feet are killing me. However it's worth it, because I've a few more cupboard staples I wouldn't normally have bought, which'll give me a few more things to try.

And because it's a Bank Holiday and no work, I've managed to weigh-in before I wrote this post. I'm pleased to say I've lost the 2.5 lbs I put on last week. I'm a happy bunny! My aim for this week is to lose a pound, which I think is doable.

The least meal plan saw me trying and loving Jack's chilli and kidney bean, carrot and cumin burger. Great success all round although next time I'm going to play around with the burger seasonings, as it was a bit flat for my addled taste buds.

This weeks menu looks like this

Quorn Sausages with mustard glaze and carrot mash (inspired by Nigel Slater's recipe but will adapt to Slimming World) about 4 Syns

Chilli bean and rice Syn Free

Homemade burger with SW chips and salad Syn Free

BBQ Bean stew Syn Free

Cottage Pie (from freezer) Syn Free

Bolognaise (from freezer) Syn Free

Egg and SW chips Syn Free

I'm discovering the gorgeousness (and budget friendliness) of dried beans and pulses, I'm really enjoying them. They're tasty and good for you. The BBQ Bean Stew I saw on Sunday Brunch but I'm going to adapt it, taking out the treacle and sugar and using diet coke and cooking it down. A bit like Diet Coke Chicken but with beans. Will let you know how it works out! 

I've been pretty terrible with comfort eating this week though, so I've planned in some treats. I've some muller light greek style yogurt in the fridge with my name on them, which are 0.5 syns each and I'm going to make a sugar free jelly with natural yogurt too. Lunches as usual will be leftovers from the night before, but I've also planned a Slimming World Quiche, like this one but with extra vegetables to fill me up! 

Wish my luck

Don't forget to check out Mrs M for other meal planning inspirations

#MealPlanningMonday w/c 29th April

It's Monday again, which means not only is it Meal Planning, but it's also weigh-in. Not unexpectedly, I put on 2.5 lbs, however I had a brilliant time putting that weight on! I had a meze one night, loads of slices of takeaway pizza (someone on Twitter said the trick to having a pizza is to eat it fast, before your body realises its actually full up. Wise words!) bacon sandwiches until they were coming out of my ears and loads and loads of white bread, with lashings of butter. I also managed a cream tea and a pasty, but I was on holiday in North Cornwall, its against the law to not have one of those......isn't it??

However on Sunday, I was back on track, kept to a Syn free day with grilled bacon sandwich, brown bread (no butter) and a lovely roast chicken dinner. I'm using the leftovers for a chicken stew and a chicken and noodle soup.

And leftover's leads me onto a beautiful blog I've discovered called A Girl Called Jack. I saw Jack on BBC breakfast over the weekend, talking about the campaign to eat for a £1 a day for five days called 'Live Below The Line'. Jack's blog is all about living frugally and her recipes piqued my interest. I try to keep my food bill down, it averages about £80 a week (for everything including washing powders, toilet rolls, that sort of thing), but know I could do better. When I first married, I had 3 months of feeding my little family of three with the child benefit which was about £10, twenty years ago and although a struggle it gave me a sense of achievement. Jack however has been doing it through necessity for 2 or 3 years now and she's got it down to an art form.

So, I'm going to be trying one of her recipes each week and being more mindful of the food which gets wasted in my house.

Onto my menu planning this week.

Chicken Noodle Soup (Syn free)

Chicken Stew (Syn free, although MrC and James will have dumplings with theirs)

Cottage pie and vegetables (I made three portions a few weeks ago and froze it)

Liver and onions, mash and vegetables. (Syn free)

Carrot, Kidney Bean and Cumin burger from Jack's blog (I think about 2 Syns for the 4 burgers)

Bolognaise (Syn free, made with lots of vegetables and lentils)

Kidney Bean Chilli and rice from A Girl Called Jack (I won't use the wine or the chocolate so Syn Free)

Lunches will be leftovers from the night before with salad with plenty of fruit to keep me going throughout the day.

(The cottage pie, liver and bolognaise were all made and frozen a few weeks ago, love it when that happens!)

So I am planning for success, I will lose that 2.5 pounds very soon, I'm determined! 

What have you got planned? Let me know by leaving a comment or why not join in yourself with At Home With Mrs M who hosts this linky. Click the image at the top of the page for more meal planning inspiration.

#MealPlanningMonday - w/c 15th April I need help this week!

Another week has flown by, we're in the middle of April already. Can't quite believe it. Although the weather is a little warmer, its still very wet down here, so my weekly menu's haven't changed very much. Still hearty comfort food. 

Saying that, they're all Slimming World friendly and contributed to my two pound loss last week. YAY! I weigh in later today, will let you know how I get on. But am not holding my breath. Although I chose well from the hotel menu, (a salmon starter the first night, then grilled salmon with new potato and a summer pudding for desert) I couldn't fall asleep one night and raided the very expensive minibar at 3am. A packet of complimentary biscuits and a cadbury chocolate bar, which cost £1.95 (!!!!!!) later and that was that. (Didn't help me sleep either!) 

However the next morning, stuck with it and had a slimming world friendly cooked breakfast of bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and poached eggs, which saw me through the day and getting back to a chocolate and goody free house.

The Sweet Onion and Lentil Stew from Nigel Slater from last weeks menu, was delicious. I made it without the oil and butter and used trimmed smoked bacon. I believe this made it syn free, without compromising on the taste. One I'd recommend! However, for my taste buds (which are slightly screwed from the chemo) I'll use more paprika to give it a bit of kick.

This weeks menu is

Spicy gammon, potato wedges and salad
Liver, onions with potato and vegetable
Stuffed baked potato with smoked mackerel and leeks, beans and salad
Beef casserole with couscous

What do you think? I'm away this week for two nights again and really need to keep motivated and make healthy choices. Any tips????

Don't forget to check out Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday linky, for other meal planners especially of you're stuck on what to have on yours! 

My #MealPlanningMonday on w/c 1st of April

I posted yesterday my new five point plan to get me out of the doldrums, and today is my first proper weigh in at a Slimming World group. I committed to join a group, not only to get me back on track, but to eat healthier and encourage me to feel more positive (with the side effect of getting me out of the house once a week, which isn't connected to work, my Mum and Dad or Tesco. Honest, my life has come to that. It's so sad)

Although I won't be weighing in until later on Monday, it doesn't stop me planning my meals, I know the plan (just have problems sticking to it at the moment....) 

I've been doing batch cooking at weekends to help me stay on track. It helps as I'm tired in the evenings and can't then make excuses about not cooking. This weekend I've made two huge cottage pies, with plenty of vegetables and lentils and a potato and swede mash for the topping. I've also got the makings of a bolognaise type sauce, which can be portioned and frozen for use with pasta, baked potato or in a lasagne. I've also got a butternut squash to roast, which will make a lovely filling soup. It freezes really well too, so should see me sorted. You'll be seeing these on future menu's I'm sure and am hoping to keep you updated with my steady weight-loss too.

Onto this week's menu, in no particular order

Lasagne and tomato salad

Stuffed baked potato with smoked haddock and leeks, and a green salad.

Cottage pie with green beans

Butternut squash soup

Slow cooker chicken casserole with rice

Egg, peppers and chip bake 

Roast pork and trimmings

The roast pork will be Slimming World style, which means all the fat is trimmed off before cooking. I like to put seasoned potatoes, parsnip and carrots in a roasting dish which is half filled with stock before the meat is put on the top and covered with foil before roasting. For the last 45 minutes, take the foil off to brown the meat and vegetables. Any stock left in the pan will make a lovely tasty gravy, and it's served with plenty of green vegetables. Doesn't feel like diet food one little bit! 

Well there you go. Enjoy your week, and don't forget to check out other menu's over at Mrs M's 

Meal Planning Monday w/c 4th February #MealPlanningMonday

I'm meal planning again. I missed last week, because I was working away for several days and didn't see the point. But what a mistake.

I put on 2 pounds, even though I tried really hard to stay on plan. Then because I was demotivated and didn't have a menu plan to fall back on, I ate poorly and felt like I was lurching from one meal to another.

Well this has to change if I am to change.

Yesterday found me cooking for success which is cooking meals in bulk to be frozen and pulled out when needed. No excuses for not having a tasty low syn meal if I'm tired. Just grab something from the freezer. So I cooked up 8 portions of cottage pie and vegetables for lunches, which I can keep at work for emergencies. I usually have leftovers, but now if there aren't any, no excuses.

I also cooked a big batch of meat (I love offal, so it was lambs liver, kidney and heart. Tasty and cheap)  with gravy, which I've made into a pie (wtih filo pastry) cottage pie (with potato) and have can have 'plain' with potato and vegetables. The same goes with a chili con carne. I plan to eat it with rice or baked potato, used in stuffed tomato or to make a pasta bake.

I'm determined this week I will lose, even if its just a pound!

Onto the menu, in no particular order

Chili and baked potato
Poor Man's Spaghetti
Pasta Bake and vegetables
Meat pie, potato and vegetables (made with filo pastry about 5 syns I think)
Beef Stew (no dumplings this week though)
Roast chicken and all the trimmings, slimming world style

I've got a day free at the moment which will be Saturday. I will decide a bit nearer the time what to have, dependant on my weigh in on Friday! 

I feel better too for writing it down, phew

Over to you, what are you planning and more interesting why. And don't forget lots more plans for inspiration over on At Home with Mrs M

Meal Planning Monday w/c 21st of January

(forgive me for still using the old image, blogger is being an arse and won't let me upload new images!)


It's a snowy Monday for a lot of people today and its times like this which remind me why I like meal planning. If I can't get out of the house for any reason I know we can all get fed! (and for how many days, in my case about 10 days if my freezer is anything to go by)

I lost a pound last week, which I'm pleased with, as I've worked out I need to go for a pound a week (I wrote about it here) So let's go for another one this week, with the following meal plan

Roast Pork, cornish roasted potato, parsnip, carrot and swede
Left over pork casserole with pasta and vegetables
Stir fry with noodles
Sweet potatoe curry and rice
Stuffed baked peppers, wedges and salad
Baked potato with beans and ham
Homemade burgers, salsa and SW chips

Looking at that, all Syn free meals, which leave me plenty to play around with for lunches and breakfast. Still going with a combination of eggs and beans for breakfast, as I like a large breakfast. Have just discovered Mug Shots which have some Syn free flavours, ideal for quick fill ups on cold days. There are also on offer at Tesco, 5 for £3 so that's lunch sorted.

What have you got planned? Check out At Home with Mrs M for other plans and link up your too!

Meal Planning Monday w/c 23rd of July

It's going to be sunny this week! I can't quite believe it! Meals this week will finally be amended accordingly! All slimming world friendly (lost 2lbs last week!)

• Sausage, mash, peas and gravy
• Pork balls and spaghetti
• Paella type dish
• Baked potato, cheese and salad
• Slimming World Chips with pasta salad
• Omelette and salad
• Slimming world scotch eggs* and salad

Actually, doesn't look much different. Oh well! Still trying to get lots of vegetables into the diet and keeping it low fat as possible.


Don't forget to check out Mrs M's for hopefully more summery meals than mine! 


*If anyone wants the recipe, let me know.

Meal Planning Monday - w/c 16th of July

I don't know about where you are in the world, but when planning meals for this week (Sunday), it was actually sunny! I didn't go mad and plan lots of salads or barbecue's because lets be honest, Summer is officially a wet one this year. Not a lot we can do about it, but plan appropriately! 


So it's the usual yummy Slimming World friendly food this week, firm family favourites. We won't talk about weight loss though, I've had a bit of a * cough cough * hiccup. But hey, there's always next week :)


Onto the plan, in no particular order

• Slow cooker gammon and SW chips, salad
• Slow cooker sausage casserole with rice
• Stir fry beef, vegetables and noodles
• Stuffed tomato's, rice and vegetables
• Burgers and SW chips
• Seafood risotto
• Slimming World friendly cooked breakfast

Not too shabby I think! Get yourself over to At Home with Mrs M for more meal planners! 

Slimming World Tomato Soup - my style

This is my take on Slimming World friendly tomato soup. I scanned a tweet last week with the recipe on it but couldn't find it again when I wanted to make it. I put this together from what I remembered and it worked out really well


Ingredients
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Carton of passatta
1 onion, finely chopped
3cm sized chunk of ginger, finely chopped
Clove of garlic, finely chopped
Glug of balsamic vinegar
Salt and black pepper


In a large pan soften the onion and carrot. I used water rather than oil. Once softened, add the tinned tomatoes, passatta, garlic and ginger. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool then blitz with a handheld liquidiser. Season to taste. I added the vinegar here too, to give a bit of zing. When ready to eat, warm through. I needed to add a cup of water here to thin the soup a bit, but its upto you.


This is syn free and because I added LOADS of ginger its very warm and spicy. You can adjust to suit your taste. 


I had it for lunch with a wholemeal roll as my B healthy extra and it was delicious


Enjoy!


If you are interested in the proper recipe, click here