Weekend Recipe - Gammon, rosti and egg stack

So last night we had the above - gammon, rosti and egg stack and it was really nice and completely 'free' on the Slimming World plan.

So to start you need to coarsely grate 600g of Maris Piper potatoes 

and lay them out on a clean tea towel.

Coarsely grate 1 onion and put into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile roll the tea towel up and squeeze out any moisture from the potato. Once done add to the bowl and mix in the onion and seasoning.

Place the mixture in greased 12cm wide chef's rings on a baking tray. Press down and cook in the oven on 200c for 20 + minutes or until cooked through or golden.

Lightly spray some vine cherry tomatoes with olive oil Frylight (one calorie spray) and pop in the oven for 5-10 minutes towards the end of the cooking time.

Meanwhile cook the gammon steaks - I did mine under the grill.

When everything is just about done wilt off some spinach in a pan and fry your eggs.

Then stack away - rosti, spinach, gammon steak and finally topped with the egg, serve the cherry tomatoes on the side and I added some extra 'free' veg on the side too. 

One portion was enough for me - Jeff had 2!!

Friday Weigh-in!

So week 24 and I lost 3 1/2 pounds - YAY!

And I got 'Slimmer of the Week' - YAY! (again!)

I am so chuffed with that as I was REALLY disappointed about the last 2 week's losses of just half a pound each week, as I felt I had done nothing different. I decided to see if there were any changes creeping in that I hadn't noticed, so looked back through my weekly pics and there were! Baked oats and hifi bars were a noticeable addition to the last two weeks. On closer inspection, it wasn't the baked oats as such but the amount of fruit, sugar, honey, maple syrup etc I was having with them. I was also having additional fruit for breakfast with yogurt and fruit still as an afternoon snack. Now you can have fruit with Slimming World - it's a 'free' food and you can eat as much of it as you want but I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and one of the factors of this is weight gain due to your bodies capability to process sugar and insulin. So having identified an increase in sugar over the last two weeks, I decided to add a few 'tweaks' to my weekly plan.

I read back through my PCOS Diet book and came up with a few things to try and which could well of  made a difference this week.

1. Drink 6 cups of water a day - 1 1/2 litres.

I'm terrible at drinking water and this has been a monthly goal for ages.

2. Eat no more than 6 eggs (last week I'd had 11)

Eggs are 'free' on SW but maybe keeping an eye on how many is good.

3. Have a snack mid-morning and afternoon to keep the blood sugar levels up.

I only ever snacked in the afternoon.

4. Eat 3 pieces of fruit a day and eat them with nuts.

 The protein in the nuts helps to process the sugars in the fruit.

5. Eat 5 portions of vegetables a day and include as many green leafy varieties as possible.

I easily do this but have included spinach where I can.

6. Eat at least 2 portions of fish a week.

I eat fish but only had one salmon and tuna portion in the previous 2 weeks.

7. Eat less red meat and more chicken.

Easy to do - have planned more chicken into our meals.

8. Eat low sugar!!!

So it would seem my easy 'tweaks' may well have got the scales moving again for me. I've planned out the new week ahead with all this in mind and am hopeful for another good week.

I know I've done well, I know I've not much more to lose but I am still technically 'overweight' for my height and have always had a healthy BMI as my aim/focus/target. So as I enter the last 'losing' phase I shall be mindful of these few changes and hope they will help speed me along to the finish line.

5 week countdown!

Sending some Monday LOVE x

Back to school this morning, woken by the alarm - sigh! I hate Monday's, even more so the one after a holiday. Half term was lovely and I didn't want it to end, so I'm on a 5 week countdown until the Easter break x

We woke to a flurry of snow - went in the shower and it was raining, got out of the shower and it was white! It didn't last long, thankfully - I'm still willing Spring on it's way x

I have been busy in the latter part of the holiday - giving my house a little attention. Jeff's started to tidy up the garden, washed the windows and had a sort through of some of his books. I've been dusting, hoovering and cleaning like a woman possessed! My poor house gets a little neglected when dots and spots gets busy, so it was in need of a long overdue tidy up. I love it when it's all done but know it'll be a matter of days before it'll need sprucing up.

The garden is showing promise and signs that Spring is on it's way. You always get a good view of it from Sam's bedroom up on the 3rd floor. It should hopefully 'green up' soon and when it's a little warmer and drier, I shall be out there all the time - can't wait x

Weekend Recipe - Scotch Eggs

The scotch egg is one of my favourite picnic foods and something I thought I would no longer be able to eat on a 'diet' but there is a way to make them 'Slimming World' friendly!

Simply hard boil 5 eggs - I always put mine in cold water, bring to the boil, then simmer for 6 minutes. I let mine cool then added the 'meat', which in my case was defrosted Linda McCartney vegetarian red onion and rosemary sausages. These are 'free' on the SW programme - you could of course use any sausage meat. I simply moulded the 'meat' around the egg in my hand until it was completely covered. I then sprayed them with Frylight One Calorie Spray and cooked them for 20 minutes at 200c, turning once halfway. You can add breadcrumbs but these would be unnecessary 'syns' on the SW programme.

I must say they were delicious and tasted just like the real thing, even nicer!

I took mine into group on Friday morning for our Free Food February taster and I came home with an empty box - good job I saved one for me at home. They really are very easy to make - try them x

Friday weigh-in

So this week was just another half a pound loss - yes it's a loss but a little frustrating that I've been 100% 'on-plan' again this week. I was hoping last week's half a pound was a blip! but now again this week, I'm wondering if things are beginning to slow down for me. I really hope not, otherwise it's going to be a pretty long slog to get the last stone off but I guess there's nothing much I can do other than continue to follow the plan.

We had a 'Free Food February' taster in group today and I made some Scotch Eggs. Completely free on the Slimming World plan - just boiled eggs wrapped around with Linda McCartney's red onion and rosemary, vegetarian sausages. They were delicious.

Sophie and I went to London on Tuesday, just the 2 of us - shopping! We had a great day, the sun was shining and we each came home with a few bags each! I actually enjoyed trying things on!

I then went to Bath on Wednesday on the hunt for some new jeans.

I can not thank the staff in GAP enough for their help and patience. I was in there nearly an hour and must of tried on between 12 and 15 pairs of jeans but came out with 2 perfect size10 jeans!!!!! 

I haven't been a size10 for at least 19 years!

So my plan for the coming week is to continue to stick to the plan and see what happens next week. This 'slowing down' is the thing I have been dreading, the time when it all stops and you have no idea why!! I'm not going to do anything silly, just continue what I've done for the past 23 weeks and will wait and see what the scales say next Friday.

Have a lovely weekend.

  Although still cold, Spring certainly feels as if it's on it's way x

Pancakes!

I'm not around tomorrow to make Pancakes, so we enjoyed 'Pancake Day' a day early 'Slimming World' style, although Sam for a treat had his regular pancakes today.

Here's the recipe if you're interested - they make 3 large pancakes, filling enough to have for breakfast or lunch. The original recipe can be found HERE

Simply whisk all the ingredients together.....

and cook in a frying pan, flipping half way.

I had mine with banana, stewed rhubarb, a little left over raspberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.

I then added the left over yogurt to finish it off .

DELICIOUS!

Weekend Recipe - Pizza Topped Chicken

Pizza Topped Chicken

So I've been asked if I'll share some of the recipes to go along with the food pics I share over on Instagram. Happy to share but this seem like a better place to do it, as there is more space to go into detail. So first up is one of my favourite Slimming World recipes - Pizza Topped Chicken. Pizza is obviously so calorie ridden and it's a big no-no on a healthy eating plan, so the good people of Slimming World have come up with this alternative and it's become one of my favourites.

So it's a basic chicken breast cut through the middle, just short of all the way. Open it up and lay between a piece of cling film and hit with a rolling pin to flatten it out a little further. Spray with some Frylight One Calorie spray and place on a baking tray in the oven on 200c for 10 minutes.

Whilst this is cooking, finely chop half a red onion and half a red pepper, simmer in a pan with some chopped garlic and a tablespoon of water for a few minutes. Add some mixed herbs, 2 tablespoons of chopped tomato and some tomato puree and simmer gently .

Once the chicken is ready, spoon on the mixture, I then added sliced mushroom and green pepper, top with a little cheese and fresh basil if you have it and pop back in the oven to cook for a further 10 mins or until the cheese is done.

Serve with chips, vegetables, salad - whatever takes your fancy!

It's syn free for any Slimming World followers, if you use the cheese as your healthy extra A choice or syn it if not. The proper Slimming World recipe is HERE I've just adapted it slightly as I've gone along for me. Give it a go - the chicken stays really moist when cooked this way and even my hubby chose to have this rather than a pizza!!

Friday Weigh-in!

So just half a pound off for me this week - no idea why so little, given I've done nothing different but I'm okay with that in the grand scheme of things. A loss is a loss and it all adds up!

I have to remember the bigger picture on days like today - I've lost 3 stone with Slimming World so far and 4 and a half stone in total from me at my biggest. With just over a stone to go until target, I expect things will slow down - just not too much I hope!!

I tried on my little blue motivational jacket just to keep me focused. I bought this the week I started SW - it was a size 18 from White Stuff - I'd never been able to fit into anything from White Stuff before! I couldn't do the buttons up but was going to use it to motivate me along the way. It's now too big!

I have been asked again to share more recipe ideas - I'm always short on time on a Friday but will try to post a recipe a week over the weekend to share if you are interested. I'm not a fancy cook, I make a lot of it up as I go along but I'm happy to share some of the recipes that have helped me out along the way.

So a new week, half term week, which could be tricky as we've a few days out but planning is key and I shall try to keep 'on-plan' as best as I can.

Have a lovely weekend x

Making the most......

.....of the weather.

This morning it was freezing but whilst waiting for the Post Office to open, I walked along the moat in Wells and captured this stunning shot of the swans on the steaming moat.

I also enjoyed my first al fresco lunch at the bottom of the garden - bliss! It really is a little sun trap - sheltered and in full sunshine, it was glorious. The shorts even had their first outing!! Walk 10 paces up the garden into the shade and it's brrrrrrr!

I'm making the most of whatever sunshine we get x

A hint........

......of better things to come!

I woke up this morning to glorious blue skies and sunshine. 

Thinking it would be freezing, I dragged myself over to the unit but the sunshine felt surprisingly warm.

So much so, when I got home Jeff and I enjoyed an hour out in the garden either side of lunch catching a few rays! It was actually very pleasant sat out in our sheltered spot at the bottom of the garden.

I've come in now, coffee at the ready as the sun has moved and it's chilly. 

Need to give some thought to today's roast anyway!

It does make me feel so much happier to see the sun.

I hope you've managed to enjoy it where you are.

Happy Weekend.

Friday Weigh-in!

Yay! another 2lbs off this week whilst eating all this delicious food!

That's 42lbs off in 21 weeks and saw me get my 3 stone Award today at group.

Pretty chuffed with myself - also set my target weight today.

I have very few 'big' photo's as I would never let anyone take my picture, except for these two, taken for the Ideal Home magazine feature back in July 2011. I'm now 4 and a half stone lighter than the first picture and 3 stone lighter than the middle picture which marks the start of my Slimming World journey. I hope that is it gone forever this time - another 19lbs to lose and then the hard work really begins, staying there!!

Hello February!

Happy to say goodbye to January, my least favourite month but it wasn't so bad this year and went by relatively quickly. Let's hope February is the same - I'm longing for Spring and warmer, sunnier days.

I've given my February Goals some thought, all achievable! 

Water consumption has carried over from January, I'm 2lbs off my 3st award so that should be achievable. I 'might' introduce a run again but don't want painful shin splints, so we'll see about that and the shopping, well any excuse to go shopping!!!!!

I have also decided now that orders have finally started to slow down, it's been silly busy since September, that I shall give my house a little attention. Needs a jolly good dust, hoover and clear out. So I'm going to tackle a room at a time - wish me luck, I'll need it - starting on Monday, well it is the weekend!

I've also made a new Slimming World breakfast discovery which is going to be a weekend favourite - 'Baked Oats'. They are absolutely yummy - it's just 35g of porridge oats, 50ml of milk and a beaten egg, all mixed together. You can add sugar, sweetener, syrup, honey, vanilla essence, almond essence, chocolate shot, whatever to the mix to sweeten it up. Then put in a small dish sprayed with Frylight to bake for 20 mins at 200c. I then added a drizzle of syrup to the top and had it with raspberries and a pear. It was so filling and felt like a really yummy treat. You could add fruit before you bake but then you'd have to add a syn value to the cooked fruit. Would be nice with yogurt and for you non slimmers, cream or ice-cream - give it a go x