Chicken & Tomato Soup

For anyone interested in this here is the recipe...

You will need:-

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 red pepper, diced
2 large skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
800g canned chopped tomatoes
400ml chicken stock - I used 3 stock cubes to make sure it was relatively thick
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
1 tbsp crushed chillies
2 tbsp. tomato puree
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:-

Place the onion and pepper in a large non-stick saucepan and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.
Add the chicken, tomatoes, stock, rosemary and lemon zest, chillies and juice.
Bring to the boil, stir, then cover and simmer on a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season to taste and serve

This recipe is completely syn free and so tasty!

Pesto Chicken from the NEW magazine

Pesto chicken from the new magazine. Definately worth a try, syn free and super tasty! 

Taster Night

Brought my taster food to work with me in case I have to go straight to class because of traffic. Now trying to resist the urge to eat it all :(. 8 syns for allllll the chocolate cake and only 1 Syn per coconut macaroon. Torture!

Syn Free Chilli

I need to learn how to portion properly! Massive portion of chilli on a tiny jacket, but it was all Syn free, 4.5 syns for the crisps! 

Comfort food

Chicken, mash, mushrooms and carrots. Only syns were for the peppercorn sauce which was 2 syns and then milk from my allowance. Yum!

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Chicken & Tomato Soup

This recipe is freezer friendly too!

Ingredients

1 onion peeled and finely chopped

2 carrots peeled and grated

2 lean back bacon, all fat removed, cut into small pieces

2 chicken breasts cut into thin strips

600g chopped tomatoes

400ml chicken stock

1tbsp chopped rosemary

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Salt & pepper to taste

Parsley to garnish

Method

Place the onion, carrots and bacon in a saucepan and stir fry for 2-3 mins. 

Add chicken, tomatoes, stock, rosemary and lemon zest/juice. 

Bring to boil and cover then simmer on medium heat for 15 mins stirring occasionally. Season to taste and sprinkle with chopped parsley then serve.

Perfect for those wintery days where you want something more substantial than just soup!

Weigh Day!

So last night I lost 1lb. I know some people would feel deflated after being on plan aaaaalllll week. But i'm not, and this is why...

I was using Kingsmill 400g wholemeal loaf as my he B choice most days as I would have soup or a sandwich at lunch, something made me check it yesterday and I found out it was no longer a B choice and they were 3 syns each, which meant I had been going WAY over on my syns! Was actually expecting a gain so I think to get a loss is a miracle! It's definately worth checking every so often guys even if just to protect your losses!
I also bought this new book for some new inspiration and ideas, hoping to batch cook some treats and soup this weekend to help me stay on track!

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

What you need: 

Low calorie cooking spray 

One chopped onion 

Smoked paprika 

Cauliflower florets 

200ml vegetable stock 

2-3 extra light cheese triangles 

What to do: 

 1. Spray a large sauce pan with low calorie cooking spray and add chopped onion and smoked paprika and cook for 5 minutes. 

 2. Add cauliflower florets, around 200ml vegetable stock and simmer for 15 minutes until the cauliflower is just tender.    

 3. Stir in 2-3 extra light cheese triangles and blend until smooth. Season and serve.

Breakfast

I don't always feel like having much for breakfast but I can never get bored of these.
Loads of sliced strawberries, yoghurt & an alepn bar broken up on top.
Absolutely yummy!

Soup!

Couldnt resist making another pot of this amazing soup!
Recipe can be found in a previous post!

Shock To The System...

As a nominee for woman of the year we were asked to gather some old photos to show the comparison and our journey. I am amazed at how different I look, some of these photos don't even look like me!

The highest recorded weight I reached was 15st 10lbs, although I am sure I reached at least 16st and a size 20.

When I joined SW on 12th March 2015 my first recorded weight was 14st 10lbs and I was a 14/16.
My recorded weight was 13st 3.5lbs last week and now 90% of my clothes are a 12.
I haven't lost a massive amount so far but I love how different I feel. I have a completely different outlook on food and can't believe how easy this has been to stick to. I would highly recommend this to anyone. I have never gone hungry!
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SW coconut macaroons

I know they look more like meringues! But theyre still lovely!

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
198g sugar
71g coconut

Method:
Beat the egg whites until frothy (Make sure no yolk whatsoever has contaminated the egg whites, otherwise you could be whisking for ever!)
Add the sugar and beat until stiff.
Fold in the coconut, put mixture into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe 30 macaroons onto a parchment covered baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven (170ºC/150ºC Fan/Gas Mark 3).
Remove from oven, and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing them from the baking sheet.

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Woman Of The Year - Nominated

I made a conscious decision 5 months ago to join a Slimming World group after a very long time of feeling fat and having little confidence in myself. I have only lost 20.5lbs with SW so far (34.5lbs altogether) but I am amazed at how much happier I am. I am now an active member in the group and help out when I can. I get so much inspiration from others in group and last night someone felt I was inspirational enough to nominate for Woman Of The Year, I'm still a little bit shocked but ecstatic at the same time that this has happened.

So thankyou, stranger!
Results next week!
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IMAGE therapy

I've seen a lot of negative comments on social media about people not liking image therapy or not receiving the support they want/need from the consultant but rather than speaking to someone they just post it online. 

This solves nothing. 

I have the most amazing consultant and I'm pretty sure I would have given up by now if it wasn't for her. She is there constantly whenever you need her and I would consider her a really good friend. She looks after more than 500 of us, God knows how! 

I find myself extremely lucky to have such a supportive group and all I would say to anyone who doesn't feel like that, is speak out. Say you're not happy. If you don't say anything then nothing can be fixed. And if you're feeling like that there could be others around you feeling the same way. And it definately hinders your progress. 

I don't think I'd have gotten as far as I have if it wasn't for the constant support of the other women (and men) in my group and if I inspire just one person the way people in my group inspire me id be happy!

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Documenting Progress

I was feeling a little deflated at only being at One Stone after 13 weeks. But then actually putting these up on the fridge and seeing it in front of me made me feel a lot better, slow progress is better than no progress and I need to realise that!
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Breakfast. SW style.

Doing SW I have found I actually eat a lot more food now than I did before, I have more energy because I'm eating a lot better, and I'm actually enjoying exercise.

MADNESS!

I love having time to make things like this at the weekends, as during the week is usually Overnight Oats or something similar as I don't have time!

I know this isn't quite 1/3 speed food, but I don't mind as I also ended up having a bowl of strawberries not long after, and everyone deserves a treat right?!
all of this for about 1.5 syns, and that's just for the sauce! I can live with that!

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One Stone.

Finally, it took me 13 weeks but I got there!
14lbs gone and not coming back!
I bought size 12 clothes for my holidays thinking I would have time to fit into them, and tried them on last night to see how far I have to go. I was in shock when they already fit! Just need to tone up now.

24lbs still to lose!
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Slimming World Instagram

Does anyone use Instagram to post their favourite recipes?

Follow me: doylie_sw to see mine!

Would love some new inspiration.

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About Me

Hi my names Alison.

I'm 25, and i've finally decided to give Slimming World a go.
I signed up on 12/03/2015 with an aim to lose 2st 10lbs. I didn't set a time limit because I feel it's added pressure I don't need.
I would be one of the first to say I never needed a slimming group to lose weight, and I was right.

I managed to lose 3 stone on my own and last year completed the Manchester 10k, raising £2,000 for Ovarian Cancer Action.


Since then I have managed to put on 2 out of the 3 stone and am back to having no confidence yet not knowing where to start to start losing the weight again.


Many people have told me about the pro's about Slimming World and i'm going to use this blog to share my favourite recipes and my progress.

Feel free to share yours too.