Pulled Chicken - Slow Cooker

This recipe is so easy to do and could easily be done with another piece of meat if preferred. It is quite simply a recipe you can bang it all in and leave it. I find it works better if you mix the sauce and simmer fir a little bit first but it isn't necessary if you don't have the time.

4 chicken breasts
1 tsp mustard powder
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
500g passata
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp of garlic
2 tbsp sweetener
Salt and pepper
1 red onion - I used the ready sliced so I could just throw it in.

Method:
1. Mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
Layer the bottom of your slow cooker with the red onion.
Add the chicken and the BBQ sauce and leave on low for 6 hours.
Pull the meat apart with 2 forks and mix with the sauce.

Overnight Oats Prep

I am a pain for not prepping breakfast and then having to panic buy something or go without, but prepping a few days of oats gives me no excuse. You can use frozen fruit aswell which means it stays fresher that little bit longer I find. With these I simply layered my oat allowance with frozen raspberries and a muller light of my choice (one was rhubarb, one apple, one toffee) then simply kept in the fridge ready to take to work with me. These lovely jars were only 3 for £1 as well from a local pound shop, always looking out for a bargain!

Cinnamon Swirls

It was a good while since I made the original post so I thought it might be good to repost. I made these cinnamon swirls the other night watching Bake Off but I popped them in the freezer and forgot about them. Got them out tonight and baked half of them - these ones are 2 syns each. Recipe is below the picture!

1 X jus-roll puff pastry sheet (light) - 53 syns

Cinnamon powder

Sweetener

Water

Method

Make a paste out of the sweetener/water/cinnamon - I usually make it quite thick but it's to your own taste. 

Spread the mixture across the pastry sheet and then roll up and pop in the freezer for approx 20 mins (usually). 

Cut into however many you like and then bake for approx 20/25 mins on 180 - turning half way

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Orange Coffee Cakes

Scan Bran Chocolate Orange Coffee cakes.

Soak 5 scan bran in some hot water, sweetener and coffee (I used the chocolate orange coffee from the Beanies Coffee range) until soft. 

Drain the excess and then mash up

Add 3 eggs and combine

Bake on 180 for about half an hour or until golden brown 

All 5 for your healthy B choice or 1 syn each

Face To Face Friday

My face to face Friday submission this week was this. I might be struggling terribly at the moment as I seem to have hit a wall so things like this are spurring me on. 

Transformation Tuesday

Late night Transformation Tuesday. Now vs March 2015. Not a massive difference in weight but a massive change in how I feel about myself ❤️ 

11lbs until target although this might be lowered!

BBQ Chicken SW Iceland Meal

This is highly recommended. I haven't had one of the meals in ages as I've been trying to cook from scratch but this was bloody lovely! Will definately be getting some more of these for the freezer! 

The current offer in Iceland is Buy 3 Meals and get a packet of the Crumble Muller Lights free. I'd highly recommend as the yogurts are yummy too!! 

Coming Soon to Slimming World

So these are coming soon to group. Safe to say I can't wait to try the new bars! 

Anyone else super excited?

Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are always a winner, when I remember to prep them!

Health Extra for the oats, frozen fruit and a syn free muller - NO SYNS in sight and super filling!

Christmas Target

So has anyone realised how quickly Christmas will be here?

Today is 100 days until Christmas Day!
I currently have 11lbs to lose until I reach my target, I would quite like to lose a stone (to put me 3lb under) so I know I can over indulge over Christmas and still be within target. Does anyone else have a plan? I know a lot of social calendars get booked up pretty quickly this time of year with nights out/birthdays/christmas parties etc. Have you actually looked to see if you have any full weeks on plan between now and then?

I'm struggling at the moment with maintains and very small losses so I know I need to switch it up and try new things if I have any hope of getting to target for Christmas... CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

I'm going to try and be a lot more active on here and on instagram (doylie_sw) as I find it really helps me stick to plan if I'm being honest about where I'm at and what I'm eating!

Would love to know if any of you have set targets for Christmas and any plans of action?

xxx

Snacking for under 10 syns!

So i've been looking at different ways to use my syns that satisfy my sweet tooth. Here's some really useful infographics that Slimming World have provided to show you don't have to go without!

Need to get back into it properly and i'm really struggling at the moment as I feel like i'm getting bored so hopefully mixing things up will help.

Alcohol Syns

I'm not a massive drinker anyway but here's some handy tips on saving syns!

Woman of the Year Party

So last night was our Woman Of The Year finals, I didn't win but I'm not bothered. It was amazing to even be nominated. I dug these out to take to group and it helped me realise how far I've come. I also got a lovely message from a friend I haven't seen since I left university 5 years ago (I think) and the last time she saw me, these shorts were my best friend. I wore them all the time with leggings and now, well, they fall off. I might not be where I want to be just yet but I'll get there and this has made me even more determined 💪🏻 11.5lbs from my target and then I'll see how I feel! 4 sizes down! 

Also made these coconut macaroons for our party along with the famous cinnamon swirls! But I forgot to take a photo of those so here's an old one! 

All recipes can be found on this blog in previous posts as always. 

Pokemon Go & Body Magic

Has anyone else found themselves addicted to Pokemon Go? Pokemon was a massive thing when I was growing up, so it made sense to download it and see what the fuss was all about. I didn't realise just how much I'd love it and how much it would make me want to get out of the house! We went on a massive walk on Monday night only somewhere local but we were aware it was a good 'Pokestop' area. We had such a great time, got in plenty of walking, caught loads of Pokemon and got to see a beautiful sunset. I definitely need to make more of an effort to go here, its beautiful and only really a 5/10 minute drive from my house with loads of walking routes. Here's a few pics I remembered to take...

Last night me and my friend decided to go up to Rivington Pike to go on a big walk and decided to Pokehunt whilst up there. it was 24 degrees when we went up there at 7.30pm! Again we got in loads of body magic and I smashed my 10,000 step goal. The views from the top were incredible, such a clear and bright sky!

Has anyone else found that this new craze has helped get them and/or their kids out of the house more? And also got people socialising a lot more and helping each other find the Pokemon on the map? I love it!

Woman Of The Year Nomination

So I found out over the weekend that i'd been nominated for Woman of the Year at my Slimming World group. Safe to say I was gobsmacked and it's definitely given me the kick up the bum I needed to help me re focus! Our finals are this Thursday and we've been asked to bring a before photo and/or some old clothing. I dug out my shorts that I used to live in at uni when I was at my biggest (a size 20) and I was pleasantly surprised with just how different I look in them now (I can't wear them as they fall off me) I've only dropped approx 3 stone at the moment but the difference is ridiculous! 

*photo to follow*

Chicken & Tomato Soup

I'm finally at a stage where I feel I can make up my own recipes. I used to try to make soups but I didn't know what worked with what and it always tasted horrible. But last night I made a lovely fruity tasting tomato soup and then added some shredded chicken from Iceland just to bulk it out a bit and make it more filling.

To make the soup:
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
1 can of sliced carrots
2 stock cubes & approx 1 pint of water
frozen onions
1 carton of passata

Simply heat all the above and then blitz, I then added salt and pepper and a sprinkle of Paprika then threw in the shredded chicken that was frozen (pre cooked) from Iceland, I'd taken it out to defrost earlier so it was ready to add.

 

Scan Bran Ginger Cake

I decided to give Scan Bran a go, I know a lot of people hate the stuff so thought I would try some recipes where the flavours seemed like they would help mask the taste.

This is a Ginger Scan Bran cake. I doubled up all of the following ingredients so I could make two days worth at once (or one for my friend to try if I didn't like it) :)

5 Scan Bran
2 large carrots, finely grated
3 or 4 tbsp artificial sweetener (or to taste)
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp of ground all-spice (or to taste)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten


Method
Pour boiling water over the Scan Bran and leave for 1 minute so that it softens, then drain and mash.
Blend the Scan Bran, carrot, sweetener, ground ginger, all-spice, and cinnamon, mixing very thoroughly.
Then add the beaten eggs and stir until completely mixed.
Transfer the mixture into a microwaveable dish – about 16cm in diameter.
Microwave on high for about 15 minutes, or until cooked.
The end product should be reasonably moist.

I actually really enjoyed it, it was a little dry (even though the cake itself was moist) so maybe some natural yoghurt/fruit on the side would help it go down easier but I did really enjoy it. Looking forward to trying some more recipes soon!

Half of this cake is your B choice for the day!

Chinese/Indian - Low Syn Fakeaway

The best thing about slimming world takeaway recipes is how easy it is to mix and match. I had an urge to make the onion bhajis but also fancied some mayflower curry.
The onion bhajis are completely syn free and my portion of mayflower curry was 4 syns.

Onion Bhaji Recipe:
Ingredients
Frylight
2 large onions, sliced - I used 1 white, 1 red
2 eggs, beaten
1 sweet potato, peeled then grated
2 tablespoons of curry powder - you decide on the strength I use medium usually

Directions
Slice the onions
Grate the sweet potato
Beat the eggs
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients
Spray a cake tray with frylight
Using your hands, mould the mix into balls and add to the tray
Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown, allow to cool then enjoy

The mayflower curry is 4 syns for 28g of powder, you simply add this to cold water and heat through until mixed, you can have this as thick or watery as you like. I usually just stick it in the slow cooker with the chicken, peas, onions etc and leave for a few hours on low. I made enough to serve 4 and froze whatever wasn't used. EASY!

BBQ Friendly Food

Some of the easiest recipes can make such a difference. I used to spend loads on all these flavoured chicken drumsticks and thighs etc so I didn't have to do it myself. I made these syn free skewers to pop on my friends BBQ so we could both stay on plan, the burger is a SW one from iceland but you can easily make your own. 

I combined some syn free natural yoghurt with some tandoori powder and the juice of 1 lime, then cut up the chicken breasts and mixed together. Left to marinate for about an hour (the longer the better, overnight if possible) and then put them all on skewers. Normally I would add peppers/onions etc to the skewers but as it was last minute I hadn't been shopping. Then simply cooked on the BBQ and they were lovely, even my other half loves them!

Here's an update...

So if you look at this blog often you will realise I haven't posted in about a month. I haven't forgotten I just haven't had much time or much to write about. I've had a few off weeks with Slimming World to be honest. I got my 2.5 stone award but then struggled to stay there and i'm currently back to 1 stone 10lb loss. Been trying to get my head back into it and I finally feel like i'm getting there so fingers crossed I'll be back to posting more frequently soon!

I'm blown away by how many people are still looking at my blog and using what i've posted, it's good to know that people find it useful!