Syn Free Hash Browns

INGREDIENTS
800g of raw potato
1 tsp of fine sea salt
½ tsp of onion powder 
Fry light

METHOD
Preheat oven to 230c
Peel potatoes
Place in a saucepan, cover with water
Parboil Potatoes for 5 mins, bring to boil, then turn off heat and leave for 5 mins.
Remove and Run under cold water
Grate the potatoes in a bowl
Place in a clean kitchen towel and pat to remove any excess moisture.
Place back in the bowl, add salt and onion powder and mix to combine
Now I use the silicone moulds used for mini quiches etc but you could just use a baking tray if preferred
Shape the hash browns, flattening down as you do.
I made 12 out of this 
Spray over the top with spray oil.
Place in the oven and bake At 180 for approx 25 mins, remove carefully flip over, spray again and place back in the oven for another 25 mins or until golden and crispy.

Spice N Tice Rubs

So after speaking to a few slimming worlders I decided to finally take the plunge and order some of the Spice N Tice rubs to see what all the fuss was about! Most of them are 0.5 syns per tsp and some are even free! Here's my first experience using them... I used the two rubs that are SYN FREE, coated some of the chicken in one and then the rest of the chicken in the other flavour. So simple to do yet so so nice! I'm thoroughly impressed with the intensity of the flavour considering I only let them sit for approx 30 mins before cooking! I would highly recommend these to anyone, they sometimes do discounts and giveaways over on their instragram so make sure you check them out :)

Easy Chicken Curry

So amazing and such an easy recipe that you can play with to suit your taste buds!

Ingredients

Low calorie cooking spray
3 garlic cloves
2 large onions
½ green pepper and ½ red pepper, deseeded and chopped in chunks
4 skinless chicken breasts
400g tin chopped tomatoes
225ml chicken stock
2 heaped tsp of curry spice (mild, medium or hot - your choice)
Fat free natural yogurt

Method

Place the chicken on a plate, season well and set aside.
Spray a frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat.
Add the onion, mushrooms and peppers and stir-fry for 5-6 minutes or until starting to lightly brown.
Stir in the garlic, curry powder and stir-fry over a high heat for 1-2 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes until sealed, then add the tomatoes and stock.
Bring to the boil, cover tightly, reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer gently for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the frying pan from the heat, adjust the seasoning to taste and swirl in some fat free natural yogurt.

SW Quiche

So I tried making little quiches at the start of my journey and I hated them. I couldn't stand the eggyness or the texture so they all went in the bin... almost 2 years down the line and I know my tastes have changed so I thought i'd make them again using the flavoured cottage cheeses you can now get.

Ingredients
1 small tub of fat free cottage cheese (with sweet chilli & grilled pepper)
6 eggs
Ham (sliced up)
Onions (sliced)
Mushrooms (sliced)
Chopped tomatoes

Method
Fry off mushrooms and onions and place in moulds
Combine eggs with cottage cheese and season
Add ham to moulds
Pour over egg/cheese mix
Add tomatoes to top if wanted
Cook on 180 for 40 mins
As easy as that!>

Cous Cous for Breakfast!

So i've seen a few recipes floating round that use COUS COUS for breakfast instead of Porridge Oats etc, saving your B choice to use for something else! I was a little skeptical about it but figured i'd give it a go and I was pleasantly surprised!

I simply added 100ml of boiling water to 100g of cous cous, added some salted caramel essence as I didn't have any vanilla and left for 5 mins to soak it up. It's as simple as that. You could obviously use different flavourings etc to suit you and I'll definitely be trying others.
I then simply added my muller light and my raspberries.

I made this at 7.45 am using frozen raspberries and ate it at 9.30am so even if you forget to do it the night before it can be thrown together in the morning, I imagine it soaks up a lot more overnight but it was still enjoyable!

Italian Chicken And Tomato Soup

So in honour of FREE FOOD FEBRUARY starting this week in group I decided to make this for my first offering! Completely SYN FREE and amazing flavours!

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 lean back bacon rashers, all visible fat removed, finely chopped
2 large skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
600g canned chopped tomatoes
400ml chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Method

Place the onion, carrots and bacon in a large non-stick saucepan and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken, tomatoes, stock, rosemary and lemon zest and juice.
Bring to the boil, stir, then cover and simmer on a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season to taste and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley if you want to.

Spaghetti Carbonara

So after skimming through Joe Wicks latest book I got for Christmas I really fancied making a Spaghetti Carbonara... so here's my take on it using what I had!

Ingredients
1 chicken breast
2 bacon medallions
Egg noodles (dried - I had no spaghetti)
Light Philadelphia Cheese
Spinach
Garlic granules
Mustard powder
Fry light

Method
Spray a pan with fry light
Slice the chicken and bacon into little chunks
Add to pan and sprinkle with garlic granules and mustard powder along with a little salt and pepper
Boil spinach and egg noodles in a pan
Once cooked drain the noodles and spinach add a little bit of the cheese and mix
Mix the rest of the cheese with the bacon/chicken
Add salt and pepper to taste
Serve
Simple!

Lunch Ideas

I find the best things to take to work for lunch tend to be soups, I don't do salad and I get bored of pasta n sauces as well as mug shots and what not. Batch cooking and bringing last nights leftovers is also a good option but I rarely have leftovers :)

As you'll have seen from a recent post I tried the Pea & Ham soup and had that for lunch again yesterday but I've frozen the rest before I get sick of it like I do if I eat the same thing all week...

I whipped up a spicy tomato soup last night so I could have a 'speedy lunch' today. I love that I've picked up the basics of Slimming World and have the confidence to adapt them and make my own recipes up now.

For this I simply used:
Chopped tomatoes
Several pickled onions
Mini tin of baked beans
(like the speedy tomato soup uses)
Chicken stock cubes (as I didn't have any veg ones left)
Jalapeños
Tsp of Lazy Garlic
Tsp of Lazy Chilli

Just brought it all to the boil and let simmer for about 20 mins then used my hand blender to blend it all.
So Simple and it gave the usual tomatoey soup a lovely kick. All of it is syn free and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've got enough for a second portion too which is always handy!

I find potato and leek and those sort of soups really bland and boring but if anyone has any recipes that have a kick to them I'd love to know about them!?

Slimming World Nacho Feast

So i've been doing Slimming World since March 2015 and I have only just got round to trying this recipe...I did make a few changes such as carrot chips instead of wedges and I had to substitute some spices as I thought I had them all then got home and realised I didn't... BUT! Here is the original recipe for anyone wanting to try it... I would highly recommend!

Ingredients

2 baking potatoes, cut into wedges
Low-calorie cooking spray
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
250g lean beef mince (5% fat or less)
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
230g can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp fajita seasoning
1 tsp paprika
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
150g tube Primula Light Cheese
Fresh green Jalapeno chillies, finely chopped (optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6.
Put the wedges on a non-stick baking tray, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and season.
Bake for 25 minutes, then turn, spray again and bake for a further 25 minutes until golden.
Meanwhile, spray a frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium-high heat.
Add the mince and stir-fry for 10 minutes, then add the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until softened.
Add the pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the canned tomatoes.
Sprinkle in the cumin, fajita seasoning, paprika and a few twists of black pepper.
Cook for 10-15 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Stir in the fresh tomatoes.
Remove from the heat.
Preheat your grill to high.
Tip the wedges into an ovenproof dish, spoon over the mince and squeeze over the Primula Light Cheese.
Sprinkle with the chillies, if using, and grill for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.
Divide between 2 plates and serve.

This recipe would be syn free if you are using your A CHOICE for the primula light otherwise you would need to syn this so please amend accordingly :)

Pea & Ham Soup

So today I finally attempted Pea & Ham Soup, I've never once fancied it and I honestly never thought I would enjoy some green soup as much as I have.

Ingredients
1 bag of Frozen Garden Peas
Chicken Stock Cubes (I used 3)
Dried Mint
Salt & Pepper
1 Ham or Gammon Joint (I used a smoked Gammon Joint)

Method
Add peas to pan and cover with boiling water.
Add stock cubes and dried mint (do it to taste I added 1 tsp to start)
Add Salt & Pepper to taste
Bring to boil and then simmer for approx 20/25 mins
Leave to cool slightly and then blend
Add seasoning if needed

For the Gammon Joint I simply put the joint in the slow cooker and cooked on high for approx 3.5 hours and then shredded and stored in a separate container. This is so I can add as much or as little as I like.

All of this is syn free and perfect for an SP Day which is why I ended up making it to be honest! Will definitely be making it again at some point.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

So if Slimming World has taught me anything about food, it's that I don't need to rely on a jar of sauce to make something tasty. It is actually possible for me to just experiment and such and get a lovely outcome. The first picture here was Spaghetti & Meatballs made in about 15 minutes. I put the meatballs in a pan and I fried off some onions, added passata and a bit of tomato puree. Added seasoning and some chopped tomatoes and just let simmer whilst the spaghetti cooked.

This second one was actually done in the slow cooker, I spent the day wrapping presents and doing bits round the house so didn't want to have to stand around cooking. I simply added the meatballs to the slow cooker with passata, chopped tomatoes, soy sauce, oregano and 100ml of beef stock and left on high for about 90 mins then added the dry pasta for the last 30 minutes which helped soak up the extra stock etc. i was actually really impressed with the outcome it had loads of taste (despite sounding a little dodgy going off the ingredients) and was dead easy to do. I actually wish i'd made more!

Sensible Snacking

Sometimes I find it really hard to snack wisely when you aren't really hungry. When soup doesn't fill you but a meal would be overkill, so I think it's a great idea using chicken pieces etc to enjoy with some soup, it fills you without making you stuffed. I simple chopped my chicken up and cooked with some soy sauce and garlic and it was so nice! The soup is simple the 'Heinz' imitation soup which I actually prefer now to the real thing!!! Shocking I know, but it's syn free so it saves me a hefty chunk of syns!

Syn Free Winter Spice

This is the easiest way for me to have a hot drink and not use my HEA, especially in Winter. It tastes like Mulled Wine but without the syns! Managed to find it in Sainsbury's for £2!

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.

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!

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.

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?

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!