Slimming World

Homity Pie

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This is one of my favourite Slimming World’s recipe, it is such a good comfort food. Perfect for cold nights. I also added some broccoli to mine as I had some that needed using up, you can add any extra speedy veg to it that you like. In the past I’ve added carrots in it too!

Serves: 4

Syns: FREE when using cheese as a Healthy Extra A choice

Time Taken: 60 minutes

Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

  • Low calorie cooking spray
  • 340g potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 225g onions, chopped
  • 225g leeks, thinly sliced
  • 198g frozen peas
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • A handful of fresh thyme, chopped
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 85ml of vegetable stock
  • 160g reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, grated
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Homity Pie

Homity Pie

Method

Preheat your oven to 220°C/200°F/Gas 7. Spray a medium-sized, ovenproof dish with low calorie cooking spray.

Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain return to the pan and mash. Set aside until needed.

Spray a large non-stick frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and stir-fry the onions, leeks and peas over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.

Add the mashed potatoes, garlic, parsley, thyme eggs, stock and half the cheese, season and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared ovenproof dish and scatter over the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Caribbean Beef Pepperpot Stew

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I don’t know why it took me so long to try this recipe! This is absolutely delicious. You can replace the beef with chicken instead if you prefer and adjust cooking times as chicken will not take as long to cook. We had it served with boiled rice. Don’t let the long ingredients list put you off! It is really easy to make this.

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 1.5 hours

Difficulty: Easy

ingredients

  • Low calorie cooking spray
  • 400g stewing beef, all visible fat removed, cut into bite-size pieces

    Caribbean Pepperpot Stew

    Caribbean Pepperpot Stew

  • 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 200g green beans, trimmed and halved
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp jerk seasoning
  • ¼ tsp sweetener
  • 200g passata with onions and garlic
  • 200ml beef stock
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 200g dried long-grain rice
  • A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to garnish

Method

Place a medium, flameproof casserole dish sprayed with low calorie cooking spray over a high heat. Add the beef and fry for 4-5 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
Add the peppers, sweet potato, beans, garlic, jerk seasoning, wine vinegar, sweetener, passata, stock and Worcestershire sauce. Season and stir well. Cover and cook for 1½ hours, or until the beef is meltingly tender.

Caribbean Pepperpot Stew

Caribbean Pepperpot Stew

Tip: Make it serve 4: Increase the beef to 800g, add another red pepper and small sweet potato, increase the beans to 300g, add another garlic clove and double the amount of passata and stock. Cook for an extra 20-30 minutes, or until the beef is tender.

Pancakes

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You don’t need to wait till Shrove Tuesday to enjoy these pancakes! This basic recipe is perfect whether you like a sweet or a savoury topping.

Makes: 8

Syns: 1.5 syns each

Time Taken: 45 mins (inc 30 minutes standing time)

Difficulty: Easy

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Ingredients

  • 50g plain flour
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 150g fat free fromage frais
  • 150ml skimmed milk
  • Low calorie cooking spray

Method

Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the eggs and fat free fromage frais and whisk until smooth. Pour in the milk and whisk again to form a batter. Stand for 30 minutes, then cook one at a time in a non-stick pan lightly sprayed with low calorie cooking spray.

TIP: If you’re in a hurry use a ready made pancake mix (128g pack makes 12 small pancakes, around 2 Syns per pancake)

Aldi Yogurt

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I have to admit when it comes to yogurts I am extremely fussy! I absolutely love the Alpro ones so when my members raved about this Aldi yogurt, I was a little dubious. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted quite nice!

I love coffee and it is so difficult to find syn free yogurts that are suitable for vegetarians as well. I wasn’t expecting it to be as thick as it was for some reason.

Although it was nice, I don’t think I would be rushing out to stock up on them. I do have so many Alpro yogurts in my fridge that will last me for another couple of weeks.

These were at a bargain price of only 30p!!

Brooklea Light Skinny Latte Yogurt

Brooklea Light Skinny Latte Yogurt

Do you have any favourite yogurts? Please comment below with your favourites so that I can try something new.

French Toast

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I fancied something different for breakfast this morning so made French toast and it was ready in less than 15 minutes. This is such an easy recipe (like most of my other recipes). You can also add a couple of tablespoons of milk from your allowance if you wish but I don’t bother. I served it some speedy raspberries and strawberries and also added a dollop of my favourite Alpro Plain with Coconut yogurt. It was simply divine!

Serves: 1

Syns: 1 plus Healthy Extra B choice

Time Taken: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

French Toast with Berries

French Toast with Berries

Ingredients

  • 1 slice of wholemeal bread from 400g loaf
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp sweetener
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Method

Mix together the egg with the sweetener, vanilla and cinnamon if using. Place the egg mixture on a shallow plate.

Dip the bread in the egg mixture and let it soak up all the mixture for a couple of minutes.

Spray a low calorie cooking spray on a frying pan and place the eggy bread on it. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side.

Cauliflower Cheese Patties

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I had a tub of cauliflower rice that needed using up and normally I only ever make pizza (see full recipe here) with it but thought I would try something else to have with the chicken we were having.

I used pretty much similar ingredients to cauliflower pizza but made patties out of them. I didn’t measure anything out, just added everything randomly! This is what I used:

  • Tub of cauliflower rice with parsley
  • Garlic granules
  • Chilli flakes
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 20g light cheddar cheese (half healthy extra A choice)

I dry fried the cauliflower rice in a large frying with the spices for about 5 minutes. Once done, I removed it from the heat and transferred to a mixing bowl and let it cool. I left it for about an hour as I had gone out! Once back home I added the egg and cheese and mixed it altogether. In the frying pan I sprayed lots of fry light and added a couple of spoonfuls of the mixture making a round shape. I used a ring on top of the frying pan so I could get a perfect round shape. I cooked the patties for about 5 minutes on each side. And that was it!

This is what I had it with!

Cauliflower Patties with Piri Piri Chicken & Salad

Cauliflower Patties with Piri Piri Chicken & Salad

Asda Shopping Haul

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I don’t tend to stick to one supermarket when shopping but one of my favourite has to be Asda. I am more likely to pick up what I use most in an Asda rather than any other supermarket, so it is always my first choice followed by Aldi then Tesco!

I went to Asda this morning to pick up my essentials and this is what it looks like!

Asda Shopping Haul

Asda Shopping Haul

My favourite fruit includes raspberries, banana and pear. I am obsessed with clementines at the moment though, I’ve lost count on how many I have in a day! I picked up a melon and some strawberries and apples to vary my fruit a bit.

We eat a lot of pasta in our house. We go through a lot in a week and I tend to buy a big bag. We never run out of pasta in our house!

Passata is an absolutely essential store cupboard item for us slimmers. I use it to make pasta sauces and curries.

Eggs is another food item that I buy often! I usually make 5 or 6 boiled eggs in the morning so I can snack on them whenever I am hungry throughout the day. That amount usually lasts me a couple of days unless my youngest daughter and hubby decide to have some too! I’ve seen Asda and other supermarkets sell a couple of boiled eggs with some spinach leaves for £1 or so, I wouldn’t pay that much for it. You can get a box of 6 free range eggs for less than £1 and make your own in minutes!

I always buy packet salads for convenience as I am the only one that eats them at home and add cherry tomatoes, jalapeños and any other pickles I have in my fridge to it.

I bought leeks and celery today as I intend on making a soup with it in the next couple of days, or I might make a Homity Pie with the leeks! I am not too sure yet.

Kia Ora is our family favourite sugar free cordial, we don’t like any other brand.

It is the first time I bought best of both milk, it was on offer for £1 instead of £1.50 so why not? You can have 300ml as a healthy extra A choice. It is supposed to taste like semi skimmed milk but has a lot less fat in it. I also bought the Low Low cheese for the first time. Not sure if it a healthy extra choice but it is handy for my girls to sprinkle on their pasta!

I bought the teas for my members at groups. I am not a fan of tea, I prefer coffee. I like to offer my members a variety of drinks to choose from to enjoy in group.

We love baked beans in our house and it has to be Branston. I only buy Heinz baked beans if it’s the chilli ones.

Lastly on my shopping is the halal turkey slices. Perfect protein rich snack to enjoy anytime or as part of a meal.

What are your essentials? Comment below with your favourite items x

Pea & Mint Soup

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This is one of the easiest soups to make – ever! It is packed full of flavour too.

Serves: 2

Syns: FREE

Time Taken: 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Pea & Mint Soup

Ingredients

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

750ml (or more) vegetable stock

400g frozen peas

Handful freshly chopped mint

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put the vegetable stock in a large saucepan with the onion, garlic and potato. Cook for around 15-20 minutes till the potato is done. Blitz.

Add the frozen peas and the mint and cook for a further 5-6 minutes before blitzing again. You can add more boiling water/stock if you find the soup is too thick, I prefer a thicker soup. Season to taste.

Sneaky Syns & Crucials!

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I am not a huge fan of sauces but when I do have them I’ve got to admit I tend to forget to count them and try to guesstimate how much I had! To really be in control of your weight loss, measuring those sneaky syns will be greatly beneficial to your success. Below are just some average syn values, be aware that different brands may have different syn values, it is always best to check the Slimming World website or app for yourself. Let me know what your favourite sauces are below.

Extra light mayo – 1 Syn per level tbsp

Reduced cal salad cream – 1 Syn per level tbsp

Ketchup – 1 Syn per level tbsp

Brown sauce – 1 Syn per level tbsp

Salt ‘n’ vinegar – Free

Tartare sauce – 2.5 Syns per level tbsp

Mustard (made with powder) – Free

Mustard (from jar) – 1½ Syns per level tbsp

Horseradish sauce – 1 Syn per level tbsp.

I have recently come across some Crucial Sauces which are sooo tasty! I get them in my local Farm Foods but I believe you can also buy them in B&M bargains. I haven’t tried the whole range yet, only the BBQ sauce and the Mint sauce.

Crucials Sauces

Crucials Sauces

Here are the syns for some of their sauces:

BBQ Sauce – 0.5 syn per level tbsp

Hot Salsa – 0.5 syn per level tbsp

Mint Sauce – 0.5 syn per level tbsp

Brown Sauce – 0.5 syn per level tbsp

Burger Relish – 0.5 syn per level tbsp

American Mustard – 0.5 syn per level tbsp

Chilli & Garlic Sauce – 0.5 syn per level tbsp

Curry Sauce – 0.5 syn per level tbsp

Garlic Mayo – 3.5 syns per level tbsp

Getting back on track after a gain!

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It’s that time of the week again – shoes off, feet on the scales, and a crucial number blinking back from the display. If that number is more than you were expecting it can be disappointing, but how you deal with it is key to seeing those pounds coming right back off.

Shed the guilt

When we go off track, our tendency, as human beings, is to beat ourselves up about it. We might tell ourselves that we’re ‘useless’ and that we may as well forget Food Optimising – we’ve blown it now! If we let it, it could sabotage our success from there on.

Having a weight gain now and again is normal – we’re all human after all! Knowing how to put it behind us is key to learning lifelong healthy habits.

Imagine your week like a bunch of seven beautiful roses. If one (rose/day) dies are you really going to throw out the whole bunch? Don’t let a bad day ruin your whole week. By making a better choice as often as possible the pounds will creep away. But be KIND to yourself!

I’ve had my fair share of weight gains on my journey, had I given up at the first instance I would not have reached my target!

Weight Gain

Weight Gain

Where did it go wrong?

The key to getting the scales moving downward again is to look hard for something you might be missing. That doesn’t mean blaming yourself or telling yourself you’re a failure. It should be a positive process, which leaves you feeling stronger and more confident.

Think about:

  • What time of day do you find the most tricky
  • Which day-to-day situations do you struggle with
  • Is there anything you’ve done differently from your first week (or another great weight loss week)
  • Speed Free Foods – do your meals contain at least a third of a plate
  • Are you measuring your Healthy Extras
  • What Syns do you enjoy and are you counting them (all of them)
How you can get back on track. Below are some suggestions from fellow slimmers
  • Stay to group, measure yourself (a good Non Scale Victory), go back to basics, plan, write a food diary and enjoy lots of Speed Free Food.
  • Get rid of any guilt. If you fall ‘off plan’ get right back on it (rather than thinking ‘I’ve messed up today, I’ll start again tomorrow’). Always stay to group; it’ll help you stay focused on the week ahead.
  • Stick a before & after photo on your fridge – it’ll remind you of how far you’ve come!
  • Try new foods and recipes packed with lots of Speed Free Foods.
  • Do a food diary and give Body Magic a go!
  • Ask your Consultant if you can join in the New Member Talk. You may think you know it all but you could be doing something wrong without realising.
  • Remind yourself of how far you’ve travelled on the road to a slimmer, happier life, and how much closer to the destination you are.
  • Make a commitment to yourself; decide here and now that no matter what, you’ll Food Optimise 100% for the next week. Next time you step on the scales, you’ll see just what Food Optimising can do for you and you’ll feel fabulous.