Weigh Day

So I maintained tonight. I was a bit gutted but I need to remember that 2 weeks ago I lost 7lbs (admittedly I gained 0.5lb last week) and that I should be happy i've kept it off.
Onwards and downwards! Here's a THROWBACK THURSDAY just to show how far i've come! Uni Days vs. a few weeks ago! 8.5lbs to go!

Low Syn Chocolate & Sweets

I know a lot of people struggle with low syn treats, even more so near halloween when they're EVERYWHERE so I thought i'd post this. I bought these 2 bags today from ASDA to stock up my syn drawer and worked out all the syns. I could have my own little feast and still be within my syns! Hope these help!

Overnight Oats

A lot of people seem to ask how to layer their oats so I took these step by step pictures to show how I do it. I do tend to find the more you layer the better it turns out the morning after, I tend to just make it up as I go along in all honesty. It just depends on how much fruit I have to add to it as i don't like putting in really thick layers of fruit as I find the yoghurt/oats don't really mix as well.

Weigh Day

So weigh day saw me gain 0.5lbs last night, and I'm okay with it! Normally when I lose a lot one week (7lbs last week) I then gain around half of it the week after so my main aim this week was to try my best to maintain or have a tiny gain and not splurge and ruin my hard work. I'm now 8.5lbs to my target weight and I want to get there for Christmas which is completely do able if I put my mind to it. Onwards and downwards!

Slow Cooker Stew

Now that it's getting colder I absolutely love making stews and casseroles. This was thrown together in the slow cooker and just left to cook for about 6 hours.
It's simply 800g of diced beef, a bag of casserole root veg (frozen) from asda and then some stock and 2 tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce. Browned the meat and then put it all in the slow cooker. Simple. Then seasoned to taste once cooked. All syn free and super filling with plenty speed foods.

Christmas Wish

So we got our little baubles last night to help keep us on track. It's completely up to us where we keep it, and I haven't decided yet, but I've taken a photo of it so I can set it as a background on my phone if I want to remind me of why I'm doing this. After my big 7lb loss last night I am now 8lb from target which should be completely doable by Christmas if I keep my mind to it!
What's your Christmas wish??

Weigh Day

So after 2 weeks on holiday I finally went back to group tonight. In my head I wanted 7lbs but after not being on plan for about 75% of my two weeks off I was doubtful. Safe to say I was pleasantly surprised to see I'd still managed to get my target! 8lb's to go until I reach target now and I want that by Christmas!

Chocolate & Strawberries

Some mornings I struggle having something filling like porridge or a full breakfast, due to time or just not being hungry. This morning I wanted something sweet so I had this that I had conveniently prepped the night before.
It's simply syn free natural yoghurt mixed with an options sachet (2 syns) then some strawberries chopped and thrown in. Then simply popped it in the freezer to set overnight. I took it out and took it to work so there was approx 90mins/2 hours between removing from freezer and eating which gave it time to soften a little. It was really enjoyable and satisfied my sweet tooth.

Rhubarb Crumble Baked Oats

So I have to say, getting to this time of year is great because it really puts me in the mood for wintery snacks and baked oats are one of my favourites. Theres a million and one different recipes to make baked oats but here is how I do mine:
40g Porridge Oats (see previous post for news on increase from 35g)
1 Rhubarb Crumble Muller Light
1 egg
1 tsp sweetener
Cinnamon and Mixed Spice

I simply combined all of these ingredients and spooned into my silicone moulds, cooked at approx 180 degrees for half an hour (and sprinkled some sweetener over them half way through). They feel lovely and wintery and my kitchen smelled like Christmas, I'm surprised they lasted till morning! Obviously you can switch the muller to any of your choosing, I have an Apple Crumble one I will be trying next I think. You also don't need to add sweetener if you find the muller lights too sweet, but i'm a sucker for really sweet things. As I only used minimal sweetener I am not worried about synning it as suggested in previous post, so this would be syn free using my Porridge Oats allowance (b choice) for the day.

Sunday Roast

Made a roast today, used my syns on the yorkies and gravy because I didn't have time to make them syn free but it was so yummy. Missed a good Sunday Roast! It's great you can make something like this and choose to be syn free if you like. Definitely need to try the syn free stuffing and yorkies at some point!

Sweetener Guidance

I've had a holiday from group for the past 2 weeks but this information has been released whilst i've been away. I always try and limit the amount of artificial sweetener I use so I think this is a really good point and should definitely be considered. Theres also a fab offer being released on Tuesday to join Slimming World for free, I would urge anyone thinking of doing it to use this offer and join your local group. It's easily the best decision i've made and with 11 weeks until Christmas just think where you could be?!

Salt and Pepper Chicken

So I use this recipe the most I think out of all the takeaway ones I've tried. I always feel I need to take new photos so I don't look like i'm just re blogging old stuff so here goes...

I would recommend this to anyone who is missing a good salt and pepper chicken dish in their SW lives! it's low syn and worth it!
Ingredients

Chicken breast, cut into chunks
Plain flour (25g is 4 syns)
Salt & Pepper
Garlic granules
One egg, whisked
Fry Light
A pepper
An onion
Soy sauce
White wine vinegar
Sweetener

Method

Preheat oven to approx 180 degrees.
Combine Four tablespoons of flour in a bowl (25g is 4 syns), with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper, along with half a teaspoon of garlic granules. (I now double this so please amend to suit your own preference).
In another bowl, whisk your egg and add a splash of soy sauce to season.
Pop your chicken chunks in the egg and then in the flour mix.
Once this is all done, arrange on a nonstick baking tray, sprayed with some Fry Light first.
Then spray the chicken with Fry Light - this will help it to brown.
If you're using the oven, leave the chicken for 15 minutes, and turn over, and then give it another spray of Fry Light and then give it another 10 minutes, or until golden.
When the chicken is on the second round of cooking, in a non-stick pan, gently soften your peppers and onion.
I'd add a splash of soy sauce for extra flavour.
Once everything is soft add your cooked chicken from the oven.
Mix together two teaspoons of sweetener with two tablespoons of white wine vinegar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Add this to the pan and stir on a gentle heat.
This will be quite dry, as Salt & Pepper chicken is, but that vinegar/sugar mixture really makes the dish.
Taste and add some further salt and pepper if it needs it.

The only syns are for the flour - I used 25g so 4 syns and 2 of us had it so was only 2 syns each!

No Appetite

I think the worse thing about Winter is the fact 9 times out of 10 I end up with a cold, and when I get a cold my appetite decides to bugger off. So here's my attempt at still trying to be on plan whilst suffering with a cold! I made a syn free Onion Bhaji loaf (same recipe as the balls but just in a loaf tin) and then made up some mayflower curry sauce to go with it. Counting 4 syns for the sauce even though I didn't have the full portion. Easy way to stay on plan and hopefully the spice will help make the cold go away!