Syn Free Food Treat

I've got out of the habit of having regular food treats. It's something I used to do years ago when I got to target weight. I'd follow plan weekdays and then eat what I wanted at the weekend, then the weekend crept into Friday, then Thursday....you get the idea? Diets I've followed before had always be so much more restrictive on what and how much you can eat that it's so easy to fall off the wagon as soon as you start eating normal food at normal quantities on the weekend. 

As I've found Slimming World to be so much more like a healthy eating plan where you just tweak normal every day food, in normal portions I don't really feel like I need a treat - other than wine ;-) I'm probably happier with a Slimming World burger than a Whopper from Burger King these days! I also like how they don't ask you to up your Syns once at target, which would just encourage me to slip back into bad habits. 

The easier a plan is to follow the easier it is to stick to and end up as a new normal . The more difficult and time consuming it is to follow the more likely I am to get fed up of it's restrictiveness and go off plan. It's easy to be more laid back around planning meals if all you have to have is a fridge full of normal food. As long as it's there you don't have to plan everything in advance, you can just open the fridge and decide on the spot. It's also nice and easy to have fall back food in the cupboard or freezer for a busy day. Pasta, couscous, tuna, beans, potatoes, Iceland ready meals...I could go on! So it's not the end of the world if you've not had time to spend all day planning your evening meal, then weighing and measuring it all out when you get in before you can even cook and eat it!

Whilst the food optimising plan might seem really complicated when you first read through it, as it begins to make sense and sink in it's surprisingly easy to follow. If you're struggling get help in group, or most Slimming Word groups have online Facebook pages only accessible by the members of their group where you can get help, support and advice.

I digress, now I just need to decide what to have for dinner and which pepper pot to use first!!

Slimming World Iceland Singapore Noodles

Making room in the freezer for a few bits coming tomorrow. The Slimming World Iceland ready meals are so huge they take up a lot of room! Very impressed! This was really nice, quite spicy although I needed to add a bit of salt! Best of all completely FREE! Even ate the peas, and I don't like peas much!

Watermelon and Weigh In

I've been at home today, feeling nibbly, have eaten a lot of this! It's free, and speed and delicious!

Weigh in yesterday was 1/2 below bottom target range, so that means I can  have an extra glass of wine this week doesn't it? 

Smoked Paprika, Thyme and Garlic DIY roasting bag chicken

I used the Maggi roasting bags a couple of weeks ago which are Synned on Slimming World so in this weeks shopping I ordered some plain roasting bags and added my own spices for a free dinner! Very impressed, the spices were lovely and the chicken just fell apart so much I took it off the bone with tongs!

Free Slimming World Chorizo Patties/ Nuggets / Bites - FREE and blinking delicious!

New favourite recipe based on the River Cottage Tupperware Chorizo but tweaked to make it a free Slimming World recipe!

500 g Turkey Mince 5% fat (could make with 5% Pork Mince)

3/4 tbsp Sweet paprika

1 1/2 tsp Hot paprika

2 small Garlic cloves crushed

1 1/2 tsp fine salt

1 tsp Fennel Seeds

1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp Ground black pepper

1/2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp Sweetener

1/2 beaten egg

Mix all of the above in a large bowl and then make into little patties, nuggets, shapes and fry in Frylight for a few minutes each side until browned and cooked.

The River Cottage recipe says to leave for 24 hours for the flavours to develop, I'll let you know tomorrow evening how it's tasting!

I've made double the above so I can take some to tasting evening Monday!

Made the husband taste it to see if it does taste like chiorizo, and for spiciness! It was a thumbs up for the taste, and a not too spicy. I LOVE spicy and often can't really tell if something is too hot for someone who doesn't do spicy food!

Easy Oven Baked Cauliflower Couscous - Speed + Free

Love this recipe great hot or cold or could be used as cauliflower rice with a curry! I was lazy and bought the Tesco ready grated cauliflower, chopped some onions, chilies and parsley and mixed with the cauliflower. I added garlic granules and paprika and mixed it in. Put in an ovenproof dish and spray with Frylight. Bake for 10 minutes on max and then stir when it's browned on top. Turn the oven down to about 220 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes. Stir and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes. I was happy with mine after 30 minutes, but you can do for longer if you'd like it browner! I've cooked up a shed load so will freeze some for another day.

Moroccan Chicken Skewers, Salad and Slimming World Chips

One for the whole family! Schwartz Moroccan seasoning on diced chicken threaded onto skewers with salad and Slimming World chips with garlic salt and Schwartz Chips Seasoning! Quick, easy and free - apart from the mayonnaise! Had two chicken kebab skewers and one with just the veg on, getting the extra speed food in! I put a couple of potatoes in the microwave for about eight minutes, let cool and then chop into chunks and spray with Frylight, season with Schwartz Garlic Salt and Chips Seasoning and bung in the oven with the kebabs for about 20-25 minutes on 220 degrees.

Be Prepared

Shopping is here! Lots of lovely on plan food to choose from!

Love these Slimming World friendly Princes Mackerel fillets the Moroccan ones are free, half a Syn for the Mustard ones!

Fruit bowl brimming with apples, clementines a water melon...and trying flat (or doughnut) peaches which.....

....are rather nice, not the same as a normal peach, the flesh is lighter and the taste milder, but they are lovely an SO SO SO much easier to eat!

So now all I have to do is decide what's for dinner?????

Burgertastic Thai Chicken Burger and Salad and a new recipe to try!

Nice and easy Iceland Thai Chicken Burger and salad for dinner tonight. 

Spent quite a while doing a Tesco online food order. I usually shop at Sainsburys till a friend said how much more expensive it was there so thought I'd give Tesco a go. It was slow as I've not shopped there for ages but well worth it! So much cheaper and I get to order lazy ready done cauliflower couscous and Tesco Quark which is the best! 

I've got loads of stuff coming including some ingredients to make this Tupperware Chorizo from the River Cottage website. Going to be a Slimming World version. I couldn't get 5% pork mince from Tesco and so I bought turkey mince instead, I'm thinking about using balsamic vinegar and some sweetner instead of the wine, not that wine would be many syns, but I quite fancy a sweet chorizo taste?? I'll decide when I cook it I think. I'll use frylight instead of oil and hopefully end up with a very low Syn, or Syn free meal! Fingers crossed!

Early Morning Shopping Fruit, Yogurt and Short Shorts!

Been umming and ahhing about these short shorts for a few days! I go in Sainsburys a lot lol and keep picking them up and putting them back!

This morning I decided I needed fruit and yogurt as it's going to be hot I'm thinking I might not fancy my usual lunch of spicy tomato mugshot! Decided to pick the shorts up too and stop fannying about! Got them with my nectar points so effectively free 😝 

Burger With Bacon And Blue Cheese

I love a burger I would eat them every day if I could.......oh hang on I can and that's why I ❤️ Slimming World!

Slimming World Iceland burger with bacon, laughing cow light blue cheese and salad, HEXB thin. With salad, Syns for cheese BBQ sauce and mayonnaise. 

Tandoori Chicken From The Freezer

Tonight's dinner was Tandoori Chicken I made a couple of weeks ago and cooked, chopped and froze. The idea was to use the foil container and re-heat in the oven but I was strapped for time so pinged it in the microwave. Very impressed came out lovely! With salad and Synned mayonnaise.

I started off using the low fat mayonnaise when I first started Slimming World but I don't really like the taste so I gradually ended up moving back onto the real thing. I've started buying the squeezy bottles as although they're more expensive they make it easier to just drizzle a bit over the top of your dinner.I usually count two or three Syns depending on how much I squeeze over!

Slimming World Chicken Kebabs

Tonight's dinner was Fajita chicken kebabs mad with Schwartz Fajita seasoning with salad and cauliflower couscous. I baked the cauliflower couscous in the oven as I like a bit of colour on it and seasoned it with parsley chilli and garlic, with a bit of schwartz jerk seasoning.

Leftovers Dinner

Tonight's dinner is brought to you by last nights leftovers. The Maggi So Juicy chicken in a wholemeal roll, HEXB, with a reduced fat cheese single 2 Syns, salad, and Slimming World chips. Usual mayonnaise applied! Last night I had a chicken leg, tonight it was part of the leftover breast meat which was delicious. I still have a leg and a whole breast left so that's done three dinners last night and one tonight, still with plenty to go!

Quick and Easy Recipes

One of my favorites is poached eggs. Quick and easy and I use the silicone molds as they never turn out right just in the pan of water. These are on Linda McCartney Red Onion and Rosemary Sausages, rocket, tomato and just right at the bottom you can see a wholemeal thin which was my HEXB (Healthy Extra B) option for the day. Syn Free deliciousness!



Tuna Steaks. These are from Iceland and are the frozen steaks. They only take about 20 minutes in the oven and I usually have two. Here with one on salad and one in a wholemeal thin. I sprinkle Schwartz Thai 7 Spice on them and spray with Frylight before shoving in the oven.



Tandoori Salmon, salad and Slimming World chips. Another shove in the oven and leave to cook one! Click here for the details on the Tandoori mix!