low syns

Fish & Coconut Curry

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A really simple and easy curry to make – I normally use frozen basa fillets (I let it defrost before using). The syns in this recipe come from the coconut milk, please check the syns if you use a different brand. I get the coconut milk tins from B&M Bargains (4 for £1 – a real bargain!) and it is just the right size. Each tin is only 7 syns, divided by 3 of us works out at less than 2.5 syns per serving. I used to buy the bigger tins of coconut milk and only use half a tin and throw the rest away, so I’ve stopped doing that. This curry is lovely served with coconut rice if you don’t mind using more syns.

Serves: 3

Syns: 2.5 syns per serving

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Fish & Coconut Curry

Fish & Coconut Curry

 

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 200g passata
  • 1.5 tbsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
  • 1 veg oxo cube, crumbled
  • 165ml tin Full Moon coconut milk
  • Firm white fish fillets

Method

Spray a pan with plenty of syn free spray oil and cook the onion till lightly golden. Add hot water if the onion starts to stick to the pan.

Add the chopped garlic and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the fenugreek leaves, curry powder, crumbled up oxo cube and passata and cook the spices down for about 10 minutes.

Add the coconut milk and the fish fillets and cook on a gentle heat. Try not to stir the fish too much or you’ll end up with broken pieces. Instead, gently shake the pan when you need to.

Served with boiled basmati rice and a speedy salad.

Masala Chips

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These have got to be the best masala chips I’ve made so far! Really simple to make and very low in syns too. I normally cook my Slimming World chips in the actifry but if you haven’t got one, you can make them in an oven too. Click here for the chips recipe.

Serves: 2

Syns: 1 syn per serving

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 baking potatoes, peeled & chopped
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp garlic granules
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne chilli pepper
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1/2 tbsp soya sauce
  • 1 tbsp water

Method

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients (apart from the potatoes) to make your masala sauce. Keep aside till needed.

Cook your chips. In the last 5 minutes of your chips cooking, take them out of the oven/actifry and mix into the masala. Pop the chips back into the oven/acyifry to finish cooking.

Ryvita

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Hi lovelies, first of all apologies for the delay in writing this! I know many of you have been waiting for the syn values of the Ryvita goodies I was sent last week, so thank you for your patience. I have finally got around to finding them all out for you. I haven’t yet tried the whole range I was sent but I could not resist trying the new Sweet & Salted Rye Cakes – wow, they’re absolutely delicious! I had them plain and also had them topped with fruit and yogurt as well. I reckon these rye cakes would taste amazing with chocolate spread too, just remember to keep track of your syns! They’re currently available from Sainsbury’s and Waitrose only but I am pretty sure they will have them at other major supermarkets at some point too. Each rye cake is only 1 syn or you can enjoy 5 of these as your healthy extra (HE) B choice!

Ryvita

Ryvita

 

Thank you to the lovely Yessi from Ryvita for sending me all these goodies. I was not expecting such a beautiful range to try. I thought I was going to receive the new rye cakes only so when I opened the door for a huge delivery it was such a nice surprise! Thank you once again.

I will list the rest of the syn values below. Have you tried any of the Ryvita range? What’s your favourite? Comment below and feel free to share this with your fellow Slimming World friends.

  • Cheese crackerbread – 1 syn each
  • Cheddar & cracked black pepper thins – 1.5 syns each
  • Currants, seeds & oats crispbread – 2.5 syns each or 2 as HE
  • Multigrain crunchy rye bread – 1.5 syns each or 3 as HE
  • Rosemary & sea salt thins – 1.5 syns each
  • Caramelised onion thins – 1.5 syns each
  • Protein rye bread – Chia seed & buckwheat – 1.5 syns each or 3 as HE
  • Protein rye bread – Red quinoa & sesame – 1.5 syns each or 3 as HE
  • Protein rye bread – Linseed & nigella seed – 1.5 syns or 3 as HE
  • Cracked black pepper rye bread – 1.5 syns each or 4 as HE

Cupcakes

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I asked a while ago on my Instagram poll if people wanted to see non SW food on my blog and the majority did so here is one to start off with. This is a very easy and simple cupcake recipe, my go to recipe, it is so easy to make that even my younger kids can make them (they’re 8 & 10 years old) without any supervision from me. Obviously if your children have never cooked before, please make sure you supervise them at all times.

If you’d like to work out the syn values for the cupcakes, you’ll need to work out the syn values for each ingredient and then divide it by the number of cupcakes made. The recipe below makes 12 cupcakes and I’ve worked out the syns value for you this time (without the icing) but that is not something I will be doing for future recipes – I have a lot of dessert and cake recipes to share and knowing the syn values will shock me and you! I will leave that for every reader to work out for themselves.

So, when using a light margarine such as Flora light to make these, the syn value for each cupcake will be 5.5 syns. If you choose to use regular margarine then the syns go up a little, each cupcake will then be 7 syns each. It is not that high to be fair and homemade goodies always taste so much better than shop bought, so definitely worth the syns. You could potentially have 2 cupcakes within your daily syns allowance!

The kids decorated the cupcakes simply by mixing icing sugar with water (until they got a sightly runny consistency) and topped them with sugar strands and balls and mini marshmallows. You can buy halal mini marshmallows from your local Asian supermarket but I like to get mine from Leicester – from a place called Mr. Burger! (yeah it is not a restaurant, they sell a whole range of frozen goodies and things from South Africa too, as well as tubs of halal sweets).

Don’t forget to tag me on your posts when you make these, I love looking at everyone’s posts, and feel free to share the recipe x

Cupcakes made & decorated by the kids

Cupcakes made & decorated by the kids

 

Makes: 12 cupcakes

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 115g margarine
  • 115g self raising flour
  • 115g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Beat the sugar and margarine together till light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix thoroughly after each addition.

Add the flour and try not to overmix at this stage. Add the vanilla.

Pour the mixture into 12 muffin cases and cook in a pre heated oven for 15 minutes on gas mark 4.

You can check if the cupcakes are cooked by inserting a toothpick in the middle of one cupcake. If it comes out clean, then your cupcakes are done! If not, then leave them to cook a little longer. Try not to be tempted into opening your oven door too early, this may result in sunken cakes!

Firecracker Chicken

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Last night I decided to try another one of Spicentice kits – Firecracker Chicken! I adapted the ingredients slightly to adjust to what I had at home and it was delicious.

I thought Firecracker Chicken sounded spicy and was worried that the hubby would find it too spicy but it had just the right amount for him and the kids. I added chilli flakes to mine as I love hot food! I eat super spicy food so for me this was a mild spice kit but I know many will probably find this just right for them. Below is the list of ingredients you will need to make this recipe with the spice kit, it is quite a straightforward recipe.

I used Crucials Chilli Ketchup for an added spicy kick but you can use just regular ketchup. Remember to double check syn values for yourself as different brands of sauces vary in syn values.

We all loved this meal and would have it again.

Enjoy x

Spicentice Firecracker Chicken

Spicentice Firecracker Chicken

Serves: 4

Syns: 2 syns per serving

Time Taken: 45 minutes (plus marinade time)

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 cup peas
  • 1 pepper
  • 1 lime
  • Spring onions
  • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • Spicentice Firecracker Sachet
  • Jasmine rice to serve

 

Firecracker Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Firecracker Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Method

Chop the pepper and onion into quarters, and chicken into bite sized chuncks.

In a large bowl add the tomato ketchup, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, the juice of 1 lime, 100ml water and Spicentice Firecracker Sachet. Then add 1/2 tbsp. ginger/garlic paste and the chicken. Mix all ingredients together and leave to marinade for at least 15 minutes.

Heat low cal spray oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the remaining ginger/garlic paste and stir fry for a few seconds. Scoop out the chicken from the marinade and stir fry until the chicken is almost cooked through.

Add plain flour to the leftover marinade sauce and whisk thoroughly. Add to wok with extra water if needed (100ml). Allow to simmer, then add the onions, peppers and peas. Stir fry for 5-10 minutes and then garnish with spring onions.

Serve Spicentice Firecracker Chicken with Jasmine Rice.

Subway Guide

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I absolutely love Subway! Pre SW days I would always go for a foot long sandwich but that isn’t the best option if you are trying to lose weight or just want to eat healthier.

It can be quite overwhelming when it comes to ordering – the vast choice of breads to choose from, all the different meats, salads and sauces too. If you are following SW it can be quite straightforward though. First choice is to not have the bread! Opt for a bread-free sub – the salad bowl.

Subway Beef Salad

Subway Beef Salad

You can chose to add any of the salad options to your salad bowl including – lettuce, tomato, cucumber, gherkins, jalapenos, red onion, sweetcorn, peppers, olives and even grated carrot (although I found not all branches do the carrot).

All of the salad options are free apart from olives which you can count 1/2 syn if you enjoy a small sprinkle on your salad and the rest are all Speed options (apart from the sweetcorn) which makes it perfect if you are following Extra Easy SP.

You then chose from the meat options to add to your salad bowl. You can have that cold or ask them to warm it up for you (there may be a small charge for this). Choose from beef, chicken breast, chicken tikka, chicken teriyaki, turkey ham and turkey breast – all fab Free fillings as it is all lean meat and they’re not processed which tend to contain hidden syns and be high in Syns, such as the meatballs, pepperoni and salami.

Not all Subway franchises are halal but if you live in Birmingham there are quite a few branches to chose from. My favourite branch is the one in Hall Green, the staff are super friendly and make up your salad beautifully and are generous with their portions! You can search the Subway website to check if your local branch is halal or not http://www.subway.com/en-gb

If you are vegetarian watch out for the veggie pattie – although it contains Free Foods, it also contains hidden extras and is high in syns – around 9 syns for the pattie! If you don’t have a halal Subway nearby then a better option can be the Tuna Mayo for 4.5 syns.

There is also the option to have cheese with your combo – count 2.5 syns for a slice of Peppered and 5.5 syns for a serving of Monterey grated cheese. I always count the cheese as syns and never use them as part of my healthy extra A choice as these types of cheeses are not listed as healthy extras. I know that there are many people that do count it as healthy extra, so if you decide to do so and it is not affecting your weight loss then why not? As a SW consultant I would always advise to syn the cheese but you can make your own mind up!

Then you can chose your sauce for your salad (I always ask the staff to add the sauce to my salad before they add the meat! If you like me prefer to not have a dry salad, ask them for the dressing on the salad first).

Sauces in general are where a Free Food salad can quickly become packed with Syns. In Subway, you’re in charge so you can have as much or as little dressing as you like. If you find the staff have been generous with the dressing then increase the syns. My favourite go-to dressing is sweet onion!

  • Sweet onion – 1.5 syns per serving
  • Honey mustard – 1.5 syns
  • BBQ sauce – 2 Syns
  • Ranch dressing – 2 syns
  • Sweet Chilli – 2.5 syns
  • Light mayonnaise – 2.5 syns
  • Chipotle Southwest – 4.5 syns

If you are super organised and want to make sure your salad is all syn free then you can have it without any of the sauces or carry your own dressing or measured amount of cheese with you. I have a couple of members that do that every time they go to Subway. I am not that organised and I love the dressings and cheese from Subway anyway, that’s what makes the salad special in my opinion.

Black Eye Bean & Coconut Curry

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This is one of my favourite curries I loved eating when I was younger. The version I used to have would be a lot higher in syns so this is a SW friendly version I’ve adapted. The way my mum used to make this was a lot more complicated and she used some more spices but I find this way works well too.

I had a few people messaging me saying this is an odd combo but I don’t see how it is odd. Maybe because of my background I’m used to having a variety of different foods from different parts of the world that this is just another meal for me. I don’t know where it originates from but I am sure this type of curry is eaten a lot!

It is easy and very economical to make too. We have this served with boiled rice and masala fish.

Black Eye Bean Curry with Coconut

Black Eye Bean Curry with Coconut

 

Serves: 4

Syns: 2.5 syns per serving

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • Pinch of cumin seeds and chilli flakes (optional)
  • 1 tbsp. ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp. curry powder (or more if you prefer spicy)
  • Salt to taste
  • 2-3 tbsp. tomato puree
  • 2 tins of black eye beans, drained
  • 200ml reduced fat coconut milk
  • 5g desiccated coconut
  • fresh coriander, to garnish

Method

Fry the onions with the cumin seeds and chilli flakes (if using) and the ginger/garlic till the onions have softened and are lightly golden.

Add the curry powder and salt to taste and fry for a further 5 minutes stirring constantly. If the spices start to stick to the pan, add a little hot water and keep stirring.

Add the tomato puree and the beans with the coconut milk and cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes.

Once the curry is done, you can garnish it with fresh, chopped coriander and serve it with boiled rice.

Skinny Dips

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Skinny Dips

Skinny Dips

I came across these Skinny Dips whilst at the BBC Good Food Show a couple of weeks ago. There are a range of different sauces/dips to choose from and they are all gluten free, low in salt and sugar and also suitable for vegans. That doesn’t mean they are lacking in flavour though! They all taste delicious and are perfect for Slimming World members as they are very low in syns. The values below are for a serving of one level tablespoon.

Skinny Dips Tomato Ketchup– 4 Calories (0 Syns)
Skinny Dips BBQ Sauce– 6 Calories (0 Syns)
Skinny Dips Sweet Curry Sauce (Chip Shop Curry Sauce)- 7 Calories (0 Syns)
Skinny Dips Vegan Peri Mayonnaise– 26 Calories (1 Syns)
Skinny Dips Vegan Salad Dressing– 38 Calories (2 Syns)

 

Below is a comparison of the nutritional info in similar products which may be of use to you.
Ketchup

Ketchup

BBQ Sauce

BBQ Sauce

Curry Sauce

Curry Sauce

Peri Peri Mayo

Peri Peri Mayo

Salad Dressing

Salad Dressing

The company has provided an exclusive discount code for Slimming World members – for an extra 25% off your purchases please use discount code ‘Slim25’. There is also free delivery for all purchases over £10.

You can buy them from here: http://www.salternativeseaweed.com/shop/

Mary Berry’s Cornflake Cookies

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My daughter made these cookies over the weekend following one of Mary Berry’s recipe (all credit to Mary Berry for this amazing recipe). The recipe stated you could get 34 cookies but she made them slightly bigger and only got 18 cookies out of the mixture. The whole recipe is 135 syns (using light margarine, more syns if you use regular margarine), if you make more or less cookies then you can adjust the syns accordingly (divide the total syns value by the amount of cookies made to find out individual syn value).

These cookies were absolutely delicious – crunchy on the outside and a soft cake like texture in the middle. I am so glad I took the time to work out the syns, I honestly thought these would work out at much higher syn value! And the size she made them were just perfect and one was enough, even for me who has the worst sweet tooth ever! Not sure if I would have eaten more if I had not been fasting that day but I think if they were smaller I could have easily had a few more in one sitting.

If you do make these and make 34 out of the mixture then each cookie is only 4 syns which is not bad at all for homemade cookies.

Someone on Instagram suggested using Crunchy Nut Cornflakes instead of regular, which sounds absolutely divine and I thought the syns would be higher but it is not! So if you replace cornflakes with crunchy nut cornflakes let me know how they turn out please. I haven’t bought crunchy nut cornflakes in years, it used to be one of my fave cereals. I could easily just eat bowlfuls of them pre SW.

These cookies will be a fab addition to our Eid bakes this year, they’re perfect to give as gifts to friends and neighbours too. Everyone loves home baked goodies and these are super easy to make.

Feel free to let me know how your cookies turn out and tag me on your bakes. Happy baking!

Mary Berry's Cornflakes Cookies

Mary Berry’s Cornflakes Cookies

 

Ingredients

  • 225g light margarine
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 275g self raising flour
  • 50g cornflakes, lightly crushed

Method

Pre heat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease or line a baking sheet.

Beat the margarine and sugar together with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy then add the egg.

Slowly mix in the flour until combined. If the mixture is too soft to handle, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Wet your hands lightly and roll the mixture into balls. Coat with cornflakes. Arrange on the baking sheet with enough space to flatten slightly with your hand (the cookies will slightly spread during baking).

Bake for around 20 minutes until browned around the edges. Cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. The cookies will get crunchier as they cool.

Ramadan Meal Planner v.2018

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One of the best ways to be successful at food optimising during Ramadan is to plan, plan and plan. Planning is the key to success.

I already have a 7 day planner I did last year. Please click HERE to see the 2017 version of the planner. That page also has a lot of information on how to food optimise during Ramadan. I will be tweaking the planner slightly so it fits into my routine this Ramadan.

As the days are so long and the time we can eat & drink in is really really short (approx. 9pm to 2.30am), I intend on planning my days from iftar to suhoor.

So, fasting starts this Thursday. For me personally I’m changing my view of the ‘day’ – the time in which you can eat. I’ll try to explain:

The suhoor meal I will have on Thursday I will be counting the syns/healthy extras on Wednesday. That means everything I eat from iftar on Thursday night till suhoor very early on Friday morning will be counted as the same day.

You don’t have to follow my logic if it doesn’t make sense to you. Ramadan Mubarak!!!

Ramadan 2018 Meal Planner