Slimming World

Vegetable Risotto

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You can add anything to the risotto, meat, fish or other veggies of your choice. I kept it really simple by using what I had in the house. Adding the dairylea cheese triangle at the end gives this risotto a lovely creamy texture. One triangle is 1.5 syns only or you can use it as part of your healthy extra A choice (5 triangles) making this dish completely Free!

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30-45 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Vegetable Risotto

Vegetable Risotto

Ingredients

  • 125g risotto rice
  • 500ml chicken stock, use more if needed
  • 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 celery, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, chopped
  • Handful of frozen peas
  • Tinned sweet corn
  • Artichoke hearts
  • 2 dairylea blue cheese triangles (optional)

Method

Spray a pan with fry light and fry the shallot, celery, chilli and rice for 5 minutes.

Mix the dried herbs into the stock. Add the stock, a little at a time, to the rice whilst mixing it throughout.

Keep mixing the rice until all the stock has been used. If the rice still feels too Al dente, add more stock if needed.

Add the veggies and cook for a further 5 minutes, mixing all the time.

Add the cheese triangles, if using, and stir till melted into the rice. Serve the risotto immediately.

Aldi Shopping Essentials

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Below are my Slimming World friendly goodies I picked up from Aldi today. I find Aldi such good value for money. My must-haves I get from there:

  • Cauliflower rice – I usually make pizza with this (recipe here)
  • Cottage cheese – Aldi one is the best cottage cheese. I absolutely love the onion and chives cottage cheese, it is syn free too! I top a jacket potato with it or make crustless quiche with it (recipe here) or eat it straight from the tub! It is sooo good.
  • Fry Light – when on offer I buy a few to keep me going.
  • Salmon – although the price has gone up recently, Aldi salmon is still the best value. I keep it simple by just grilling it for around 10 minutes and add salt and chilli flakes to it once cooked.
  • Quark – you can make so many things with it. Use it for savoury or sweet dishes. I like to make pancakes with it (recipe here)
  • Skinny Latte Brooklea Yogurt – I have to admit that I am slightly fussy when it comes to yogurts. My absolute favourite are the Alpro yogurts. I tend to find other yogurts a little bit too thin in texture. I like the creamier versions and this one from Aldi although is not as creamy as I’d like it to be, it is an amazing flavour and syn free unlike the Alpro yogurts!
  • Passata – you can this in most of the supermarkets and I don’t think there is much difference to the taste. Passata is great for pasta sauces or curries. Syn Rree and Speed Food.

What are your must-haves? Please comment below with your favourites.

 

Aldi Essentials

Aldi Essentials

 

 

 

Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

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You can make these scotch eggs syn free if using the Linda McCartney’s Red Onion & Rosemary sausages, I prefer the ones that are 0.5 syn each (pictured below).

Makes: 3

Syns: 1 syn each

Time Taken: 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Linda McCartney Sausages

Linda McCartney Sausages

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of 6 Linda McCartney Vegetarian Sausages, defrosted overnight
  • 3 boiled eggs

Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

Method

Place the sausages out of the box in a bowl to defrost overnight in the fridge.

Once the sausages are defrosted, mash them all up.

Boil the eggs to your liking, I keep them with a soft yolk as the eggs will go in the oven later and I don’t like overcooked eggs!

Once the eggs are boiled, peel them and use the vegetarian sausage ‘meat’ to wrap around each egg. The sausages will stick to your hands a bit but keep wrapping it all around the egg. 2 sausages are enough to cover 1 egg.

Once all the eggs are done, place them in a pre-heated oven and cook for around 10-12 minutes, turning them halfway.

BBQ Chicken Marinade

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I have used Crucials BBQ sauce for this recipe which is 0.5 syn per tbsp, if you use any other brand please check the syns before. This recipe can be counted as syn free as I’ve only used 1.5 syns worth of BBQ sauce for 4 people, but to protect your weight loss and to be on the safe side do count 0.5 syn.

Serves: 4

Syns: 0.5 per serving

Time Taken: 30 minutes plus marinade

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp Crucials BBQ Sauce
  • 50ml dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp Chinese 5 Spice powder
  • 1 Maggie seasoning cube (crumbled)
  • 4 chicken thighs (all visible fat removed, no skin)
BBQ Chicken Marinade

BBQ Chicken Marinade

Method

Mix together the BBQ sauce with all the spices and adjust seasoning if needed.

Add the marinade to the chicken and let it marinade for a few hours if time permits.

When ready to cook, place the chicken in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 6 and cook for 30 minutes, or more if needed, until the chicken is fully cooked.

You can serve it with anything you like – rice, noodles, chips etc.

 

Masala Fish

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Those who know me know that I am all for convenience when it comes to cooking! I don’t like spending hours in the kitchen if I can help it. This is another one of my favourite short cuts to make masala fish that packs loads of flavours without any syns. I find that I do not need to add any extra chilli when using Laziza spice mixes when cooking for the whole family, but if the children are having something else I do add chilli flakes for an extra spicy kick.

You can use any white fish for this but I find that the Aldi frozen Basa fillets are perfect for this and they won’t break the bank! Just check how many fillets you have in the packet before adding it to your trolley/basket as sometimes you only get 3 fillets!!

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 10 minutes plus marinade

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of Basa fillets
  • 2 tbsp Laziza Fish masala
  • 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp tandoori masala (optional – great to add colour to the fish)
Masala Fish

Masala Fish

Method

Defrost the fish for a few hours or overnight in the fridge if time permits.

Mix the spices with the lemon juice to form a paste and cover each fish fillet with it.

Let it marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, the longer you leave the better.

Spray a large frying pan with a low calorie spray oil and cook the fish fillets for about 5-7 minutes on each side. You can serve it with anything you like – chips, salad etc.

 

 

Dhaal & Rice

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This is one of our favourite family meals – pure comfort! I like to use Toor Dhaal but I am sure you can replace it with your favourite.

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Dhal & Rice with Fish

Dhal & Rice with Fish

Ingredients

  • 200g Toor dhal, washed and soaked (if time permits)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely crushed
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • Boiled rice to serve

Method

Place the dhal with the onion, tomato and salt in a pressure cooker covered with enough water and cook for around 20 minutes. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make this in a standard pan but it will take longer for the dhal to cook. I put enough water to cover the dhal and a little bit extra on top. It is best to not put too much at this stage or you will end up with a thinner dhal. You can always thin it down if too thick but harder to do it the other way round!

Once cooked, blend the dhal with a hand held blender.

In a pan spray lots of frylight (or any other spray oil – count syns if needed). Add the garlic, turmeric, black pepper, cumin seeds and chilli flakes and fry for about 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring so that the garlic doesn’t burn!

Add the blended dhal and check for seasoning. If needed, add boiling water to thin the dhal if too thick.

Serve with boiled rice and a speedy salad. We like to have fish with it too.

Hartley’s 10 Cal Jelly Pots

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Who knew that a simple jelly pot could lead to many debates on my social media platforms!

Many slimmers may have recently come across the Hartley’s 10 cal jelly pots. I’ve been having them for a few years now since I was a SW member.

I didn’t think that posting a picture of it recently would cause such a stir with so many people doubting the jelly was suitable for vegetarians as the pot does not have a ‘suitable for vegetarians’ label which is fair enough, but I always check food labels before buying them! I check for two things:

  1. Ingredients
  2. Syns

I would not knowingly eat and post/share food that I would not be allowed to eat in my halal diet. I hope this post will help those that may need more clarification. I have included below a response from an email from Hartley’s. If in doubt please do your own research and contact them yourself.

“Thank you for contacting Hartley’s about our jelly range.

Most of our jellies are not suitable for vegetarians. Our tablet and powdered jellies, designed to be made at home, contain gelatine. Some of our Ready to Eat jellies contain the colouring Carmine, which is an animal product.

The jellies we have which are suitable for vegetarians are:

Hartley’s Pineapple in Jelly 175g
Hartley’s 10 Cal Mango & Passion Fruit Flavour Jelly 175g
Hartley’s 10 Cal Blueberry & Blackcurrant Flavour Jelly 175g
Hartley’s 10 Cal Raspberry Flavour Jelly 175g
Hartley’s 1 Fruit Portion Mango Jelly 175g
Hartley’s Blackcurrant Flavour Jelly 125g
Hartley’s Lemon & Lime Flavour Jelly 125g
Hartley’s Pineapple Flavour Jelly 125g
Hartley’s No Added Sugar Jelly Blackcurrant Flavour 115g
Hartley’s No Added Sugar Jelly Apple Flavour 115g

I hope that this information helps. If you would like to discuss your concerns, or have any questions, please call me or one of my colleagues on 0800 022 4339. We are available between 9.00am and 5.30pm, weekdays excluding Bank Holidays.”

Hope this clears up any misunderstanding. Here’s how I like to enjoy my favourite Hartley’s 10Cal jelly pot – with a squirt of light squirty cream topped with 100’s & 1000’s, a raspberry and a SW Double Choc Hifi light bar. Sooo nice!

 

Hartley's 10Cal Jelly

Hartley’s 10Cal Jelly

Crustless Quiche Muffins

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I love making this SW crustless quiche recipe. There are so many variations to it but this one has to be my favourite. The basic essentials you need are eggs, cottage cheese and Pasta ‘n’ Sauce, you can then add anything you want to it –  any veg or meat/fish of your choice. The possibilities are endless! I made them into muffins but you can easily just make a large one and then slice it up before eating.

Makes: 15

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 30-45 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • Packet of Batchelors Pasta ‘n’ Sauce Cheese & Broccoli flavour (0.5 syn for whole pack)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tub of cottage cheese
  • Any veg of choice – I used mushrooms, 1/2 red pepper and some spring onions

 

 

Basic Quiche Essentials

Basic Quiche Essentials

Method

Cook the pasta in 350ml of boiling water for 10 minutes.

Pre heat the oven at gas mark 6.

Blend the cottage cheese with the eggs in a large bowl and then add the veggies you are using.

Once the pasta is cooked, mix in the cottage cheese mixture with the veggies and place the mixture in silicone muffin cases.

Bake in the oven for around 20-25 minutes till cooked. If you like you can also add some cheese from your healthy extra A choice before placing the muffin cases in the oven.

 

Crustless Quiche

Crustless Quiche

 

Crucials Sauces Syns

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You can buy these Crucials sauces from places like FarmFoods and B&M Bargains. They are really handy for adding flavour to food with minimal syns! Below are the syn values that Crucials have provided for their products, all are per tablespoon. Have you tried any of the sauces yet? Do you have a favourite? I love the Yogurt Mint! When I first bought it, I checked up the syns on the app (as you do!) and got really excited at the amount I saw on the screen. I thought it was too good to be true! I carried on eating loads of it with pretty much every food.

I have the habit of looking at syn values of my favourite things every so often just to make sure syns haven’t gone up or down (that would be awesome!). Luckily, I checked on the Yogurt Mint sauce again and realised the syns I had originally found was actually for their Mint sauce and not the Yogurt Mint! You might say so what? It can’t be that much of a difference, but it is. I was having the one that was 3 syns per tablespoon and counting it as only 0.5 syns! I still haven’t come across the full range, I am on the lookout for this Mint sauce that is 0.5 syns per tablespoon, if you have come across it yet please let me know where from!

In the meantime I will carry on enjoying their BBQ sauce which is absolutely amazing!

Crucials Sauces Syns

Crucials Sauces Syns

 

Snacks & Nibbles

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I absolutely love this feature on the SW website, which I’ve included below, that is all about snacks & nibbles! This is perfect whether you’re in need of a tasty lifesaver to keep you going, a mid-morning munch or simply a healthier alternative to a high-Syn snack, for when a ‘nibbly’ moment comes. Some need no cooking at all and some are simple to cook in advance and keep in the fridge ready for those times. Please do share using the comments box below what your favourite snacks & nibbles are.

Speed Free Food snacks
Snack on these for the BEST weight loss results. The more Speed you choose the more weight you’ll lose!

Savoury

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Veg crudités – carrot, peppers, celery, sugar snap peas, and dips like homemade houmous
  • Sweet baby cucumbers
  • Roasted butternut squash chips (cooked in low calorie cooking spray)
  • Pickled beetroot, gherkins, cabbage and onions
  • Slimming World quiche muffins packed with your favourite Speed Free Foods

Sweet

  • Fruit bowl favourites – apples, satsumas, pears, peaches
  • Melon chunks – pop in the freezer for a cool nibble
  • Fat free Greek-style yogurt mixed with 1 tsp sweetener and top with strawberries and raspberries
  • Apple wedges dunked in your favourite syn free yogurt
Other Free nibbles include:

Savoury

  • Boil or bake a fresh corn on the cob, season well – I like to add chilli powder to it too
  • Hardboiled eggs

    Boiled Eggs, Clementines & Activia 0%

    Boiled Eggs, Clementines & Activia 0%

  • Seafood sticks dipped in soy sauce
  • Lean turkey, chicken,  chicken drumsticks (skin removed)
  • Sweet potato chips
  • Drain a can of tuna in spring water and blend with lemon juice and quark to make a pâté. Mix in chopped chives and spring onions, and serve with veg sticks
  • Asda Chosen by You Vegetable Chilli, from a 400g can, topped with a dollop of fat-free natural yogurt
  • Whizz roasted red peppers in brine from a jar with fat-free natural fromage frais and paprika, then use as a dip for cooked and peeled prawns.
  • Mugshots – my favourite one has to be the Cajun pasta flavour. Be aware that if you buy this flavour in a sachet it is 0.5 syn! The pot is FREE.

    Cajun Pasta Mugshot

    Cajun Pasta Mugshot

Sweet

  • Fat-free yogurt. Not all fat-free yogurts are Free eg. Onken Fat Free Yogurt Vanilla is 5 Syns per 450g pot  (double check your favourite flavour in Syns Online to protect your weight loss)
  • Freeze an Activia 0% strawberry yogurt in an ice-cube tray and enjoy like frozen sweets
  • Ice cream: Chop a handful of cherries and stir into two pots of Activia 0% (or similar) cherry yogurts and a large tub of fat free fromage frais. Pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally
  • Fresh pineapple chunks
Healthy Extra bites – If you’ve got your Healthy Extras left, tuck into one of these super snacks!
Hifi Light Bars

Hifi Light Bars

  • Cereal bars – 2 Hi-fi Light or Alpen Light bars (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice)
  • 4 Ryvita Original/Dark Rye (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice) topped with 4 Laughing Cow Light Triangles (Healthy Extra ‘a’ choice) and mixed pickles like gherkins and onions
  • 60g of any wholemeal bread, toasted (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice), topped with 40g reduced fat Cheddar (Healthy Extra ‘a’ choice) and halved cherry tomatoes
  • 30g bag Ryvita Minis, all varieties (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice)
  • 500g cooked rhubarb (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice) topped with fat free Greek-style yogurt mixed with 1 tsp sweetener
  • 35 pistachio nuts (Healthy Extra ‘b’ choice)