Snacks

I have a box of low syn treats in the kitchen that I can just grab when I want something sweet. Alpen Lights (2=HEb), Fibre Plus bars (1=HEB), Caramel Snack a Jacks, Aeros, Kit Kats, mini bags of buttons, Jaffa Cakes, Kelloggs bites are all good for low syn sweet fixes.

Free snacks tend to be more filling but you sometimes don't get the sweetness you crave, fat free yoghurt with sweetner is quite good. Other snacks could be houmous, cous cous balls, stuffed potatoes, and wedges.

Weetabix chocolate bites

These were described to me as ferrero rochers, they are less like ferrero rochers and more like a chocolate bite hence the name. Using your HEb in a different way like the scan bran cake can heed great results. If you're running out of syns sometimes it's better to make something out of it rather than having it as it is to get a treat.

2x weetabix crushed (HEb) and 2 tbsp of chocolate spread melted (8syns) then mix up and make 8 balls and they'll be 1syn each. You don't have to eat them all at once as they are quite sweet but if you want to go for it!

Club sandwich

One of my favourite meals discovered whilst on holiday in Zante, quick to do and really filling. Serve with chips or wedges on the side.

2 x wholemeal bread (HEb) smear of light mayonnaise then add a lettuce, top with a flattened cooked chicken breast, bacon, grated cheese (HEa), red onion (slice tomato if you want!) then smear the top piece of bread with a tomato relish. Add the top piece of bread to the sandiwch press down to push together, slice in half and serve.

Roast Potatoes / Chips

Roast Potatoes / Chips

Put peeled (sliced potatoes for chips) potatoes in a dish, top with boiling water and put in microwave for 10 minutes.
Drain and leave to cool & dry out, when you're ready to cook spray with fry light and put on a tray, add salt & pepper, garlic and any other seasoning.
Cook for 45 minutes on Gas Mark 7. About half way take out and shake the tray to mix up.

Slow cooker

The slow cooker in the best thing for a stew. Cook off any type of meat throw it in, add plenty of liquid using passata as a base then add any veg you want to and spices. This is one of the only ways I will actually eat veg, because it is cooked slowly for a long time the contents of the pot just fall apart. Really tasty with roast potatoes. If you want to add a it of spice to the pot serve with rice.

Cous Cous balls

I don't know where I got this recipe from but people seem to think I made it up, I don't think I did but you never know cause I do randomly do that sometimes! Like the stuffed potatoes they're great for with main meals or with salads. Not the best picture below but they are really tasty.

Make up a packet of cous cous as instructed, add 1 egg and shape into balls (about 6) then put in a n oven dish and cook for 25mins. Perfect for a snack hot or cold.

Stuffed potatoes

This was a recipe my Uncle did when we went to their house for a birthday, good accompanyment for any of the other recipes on here and good idea for a jacket potato if you're gettinga bit bored with the normal way of doing them! My Mum says I have asbestos finger which is why I can do these so fast so be careful when your scooping out the middles cause it will be scalding hot.

Cook potatoes of whatever size as if you're jacketting them. when they're soft in the middle take out of the oven and slice in half. Scoop out the middle and put into a bowl, add HEa cheese, bacon, spring onions (any other fillings you fancy!) then pack the potato skins back up with the filling. Put back in the oven for 10 mins and then serve.

Breakfast

Breakfast for me is normally fruit & a yoghurt because I get up, get ready for work then go. I can't be bothered to do much else unless I'm off. When I am off I try and do something a bit more filling as I know I'll be picking all day if I don't fill myself! Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and I miss my full english breakfasts in Wetherspoons, but on SW it can be done (minus the black pudding!). Add tomatoes, mushrooms etc any other veg you like.

Bacon (minus the fat), baked beans, scrambled egg, 2x 1 syn sausages + HEb bread. (Total 2syns)

Waffles (2½ syns each), baked beans and scrambled egg.

This next recipes is somethign quite special and quite tasty. Called Croque madame from the SW magazine. basically an open ham and cheese toastie topped with a fried egg. I tried this as soon as I got the magazine and thought it was fab! Next time I would probably do two it was that good.

1 x brown bread toasted, top with ham and grated cheese (HEa) and put under the grill. Fry an egg, take out from grill and put egg on the top. Beautiful!

Smash mash pizza

To be totally honest I am still perfecting this recipe myself but maybe you can do something with it yourself to make it just right. The first time I tried it the base was too potatoey (Yes I realise it is infact mash potato!) So the next time I made it I added cheese & mixed herbs to it and now it's almost perfect.

60g smash mash mixed with as little boiling water as you can to make a 'dough', add some grated cheese (from your HEa) and dried mixed herbs. Here comes the hard bit...

You need to flatten the 'dough' and make into a base on some greaseproof paper/ non stick tray (or Fry Light a tray), then put it in the oven and cook for about 25mins to make a big flat potato cake. flip over cook that till it's solid then add your toppings. It seems like a long process I know but one slice of normal pizza could be anything upto 15-20 syns. This way you can have a whole pizza for free (HEa). It's worth it when you get the right mixtues.

Salads

Trying to get the 1/3 superfree inside myself was a problem at first and during winter salads don't seem that appealing. If you like vegetables you won't have a problem. I started finding that if I had fruit and a yoghut for my breakfast and a salad for my dinner I could have whatever free foods I wanted for my tea and I would get a loss as I was getting more than enough superfree during the day.

If you don't think a salad will fill you up, add pasta or cous cous to 'pad' it out a bit. They will fill you up and cause they are free it isn't a problem. The other good thing about a salad is you can put almost anything in them, chicken, ham, cottage cheese, tinned/ fresh tuna/ salmon and more besides.

Potato wedges

These are great as a side dish or as a snack, I've had them as both and you can top with loads of different things if you want to. I chose bacon & cheese for my first attempt.

Slice your potatoes into wedges and boil in a pan till soft, put in oven for 30mins then top with cooked bacon and HEa cheese.
I served with BBQ sauce, you could of course add the BBQ sauce before the cheese!

Chicken pasta bake

I love pasta bake. I've always loved pasta bake and what's worse is I love garlic bread! You know those baguettes with all the garlic butter in? One slice is like 5 syns so I wondered if I could make my own using the bread as my HEb? I tried it and it's not bad! Considering it's free (HEb) compared to one measly slice for 5 syns!

Cook your pasta then add a tub of passata, diced and cooked chicken breasts and add any spices and a crushed garlic clove.
Put in an oven dish and top with HEa cheese, put in oven till heated through (40mins ish).

For garlic bread, toast/grill HEb and top with fry light and rub with a garlic clove. Yummy!

Scan bran chocolate cake

I have discovered the joys of cooking with scan bran(!) I made this cake and wanted to share the recipe with you all, I found it online originally but lowered the amount of sweetener in it as I find it very sickly sweet! One whole cake is 12 syns.

5 scan bran (softened w/ boiling water then drained and mashed up)

3 eggs
1oz cocoa
1oz sweetener
1tbsp golden syrup
Gas mark 5 190c for 15/20mins

After cooking the one pictured I added chocolate spead to the top, you would have to syn your chocolate spread but it works as well without it.

SW Quiche

So this was a very basic plain and boring Quiche Lorraine. Again dubious about the use of cottage cheese(WTF?!) in a quiche and no cheese(?!) A very odd concept to me, the Queen of Quiches.

Mix 3x eggs with a tub of cottage, and then add ham/bacon into an oven dish.
Put in the oven on 7 and cook for about 20-25mins or until it's all solid.

You can use your HEa cheese and it makes it quite tasty and obviously add any vegetables you want too!

Diet coke pork

Diet Coke Pork. I have never been as dubious about a recipe in my life as this one, it just sounds wrong.

I imagine the Diet Coke sauce will work with any meat, the pork was lovely (My Dad's only comment was there wasn't enough of it). I did it for 3 people but the recipe I'm gonna write is for one serving so just multiply it by the amount of people you are serving. It's free on EE.

Basically it's 3tbsp passata, ½tbsp Worcester sauce, 200lm diet coke. All in a pan, stir and let it reduce (which it eventually will) then add you chosen meat and you're done. I kept tasting the sauce and got it to how I wanted it so this is a round and about recipe!

Served with salad and potato wedges. It works better with a less reduced sauce with rice.

Syn free lasagne

This is so tasty, much better than the packet ones and much better than how we used to have it. The difference being instead of cheese sauce (which is now too rich for me even if I did syn it) use fat free yoghurt or cottage cheese. I know it sounds absolutely rank, honest to god try it, it's Amazing.

From bottom to top: lasagne sheet, passata& mince then yoghurt (twice) then a lasagne sheet, and yoghurt on top then layer of cheese on top is HEa.

Put in the oven and cook for 30/40mins on 6.

Nicoise salad

A lovely dinner. Fancied doing this for a while but I can't be doing with the 'extras' as I call them (Extras being foods I don't like, in this case tomatoes, french beans, anchovies& olives!) Feel free to use them if you do like them!

I did, lettuce, spring onions, red onion, potatoes, tuna & a boiled egg w/ lemon& black pepper dressing (1syn). So tasty!

Syn free houmous

I've never really been a fan of houmous, I was more of a cheese & chive / onion & garlic dip with a bag of hand cooked crisps kind of girl and after seeing the syn values and nearly dying I thought I'd try this. It's taken from the SW magazine but I changed it slightly to my tastes.

Use the pitta bread as your HEb.

215g chickpeas boiled, drained then blitzed, add
75g 0% fat free yoghurt
2 x garlic cloves
1/4 red onion, finely chopped (added after pic was taken!)
lemon juice
salt& pepper

Put into a container and store in the fridge.

Typical Food Diary

Before I Start with the food diary, here is just a few things:

I don't go to the gym.
I eat all my syns (by GOD do I eat all my syns).
I go crazy Every week after WI eating anything and everything I've fancied all week.
I do the Extra Easy plan but I don't like vegetables, I like fruit but not too much.
I try and change what I eat everyday, but eat the same things over the week.
I drink Water, and only water.
I flexi my syns, I start on Friday with 105 and take them off over the week, if that means I have syns left then that's what happens, if not then so be it.
I don't drink any alcohol (I stopped when I started SW, I don't miss it).

People keep asking me what I eat to be doing so well, so I emailed some of the girls on Twitter a food diary. Thought I would put it on here as well.

My food diary is pretty much scrawl just so I can keep track of what I eat so I'm gonna try and translate it for you into 6/ 7days worth of actual meals! I do however only drink water, as much as I possibly can a day but always over 2/3 litres. I stopped drinking in September when I started SW.

Because I don't use all my syns I count things as free that are only maybe 1 or 2 syns so you might want to double check some of the mugshots/ yoghurts. I'm a bit lax to be honest on syn counting/ HEbs but it's never gone wrong for me. I think sometimes you can be 'too' strict with yourself. My HEb is basically 2 pieces of any brown/ wholemeal bread whatever the size of it.

Any questions just comment me back and I can explain anything.

(Syn values/ HEa/b in brackets, everything else is free/ superfree)

Friday (13syns)

Breakfast: Activia snackpot & banana
Dinner: Sweet& Sour mugshot
Tea: Salmon pasta salad, light mayo (½syn) with lettuce, carrots, red onion, spring onions& beetroot with 2x babybels chopped in (HEa)
Snacks: 2x Alpen light bars (HEb), apple& pineapple, creme egg (8½syns), pork pie (4syns)

Saturday (27½syns)

Breakfast: Activia snackpot
Dinner: cheese (HEa)& ham sandwich with beetroot& red onion (HEb) and a smear of mayo
Tea: Black bean beef, onions and carrots (2½syns) with boiled rice, chips (3syns)
Snacks: Muffin (22syns)

Sunday (20½syns)

Breakfast: Egg, beans & bacon
Dinner: Black bean beef, onions and carrots (2½syns) with boiled rice (other half from last night)
Tea: Chicken, potatoes, stuffing (4syns), broccoli, carrots
Snacks: 2x Alpen light bars (HEb), glass of milk (HEa) 2xpiece of Toblerone (14syns)

Monday (4½syns)

Breakfast: Activia snackpot & melon
Dinner: chicken pasta salad with lettuce, carrots& spring onions& light mayo (½syn)
Tea: boiled rice, ½can of chunky chicken (4syns)
Snacks: 2x Alpen light bars (HEb) -
No HEa today, prob forgot or couldn't be bothered picking what to have.

Tuesday (19syns)

Breakfast: Activia snackpot & 2x Alpen light bars (HEb)
Dinner: rice& tuna lettuce, carrots& spring onions& honey& mustard dressing (2syns)
Tea: Fajita chicken w/ cous cous balls (cous cous free with HEa cheese) dip (1½syns)
Snacks: Kit Kat (5½syns), Aero (10)

Wednesday (6½syns)

Breakfast: Activia snackpot & 2x Alpen light bars (HEb)
Dinner: tuna sandwich (HEb) with lettuce, carrots& beetroot, mayo (1½syns)
Tea: Pasta bake with chicken& bacon, tomato passata& cheese (HEa)
Snacks: Wine (6½syns)

Thursday WI Day

Breakfast: Activia snackpot & 2x Alpen light bars (HEb) & banana
Dinner: Thai mugshot (2syns)

(92½syns)

The Slimming World Plan

The plan is so simple to follow but takes a bit of getting used to. There are 3 main parts:

Free Foods
Heathly Extras (HE's)
Syns

Free Foods & Superfree Foods

Free foods are free because you can literally eat as much of them as you want to. No weighing or measuring, no portion sizes or quantities to stick to, fill your boots!

Superfree foods are very low in calories, useful to snack on and fill your plate with. The aim in a day is to eat roughly 2/3 Free and 1/3 Superfree.

Free foods include:
Meat & fish (without the fat)
Potatoes, rice & pasta
Eggs
Fat free dairy products (yoghurts, cottage cheese etc)

Superfree foods include:
Fresh & frozen fruit
Vegetables

Heathly Extras (HE's)

Heathly Extras come in two form a's & b's and are the extra bits you need for a healthy balanced diet. You get one of each a day Healthy Extra a's (HEa) are high in calcium. Healthy Extra b's (HEb) are high in fibre.

HEa's include:
Milk
Cheese

HEb's include:
Cereal & cereal bars
Ryvitas & crackerbreads
Bread


Syns

Syns are your treats, all the good things you like to enjoy just in moderation. You get 5 - 15 syns a day. Use them wisely as some things have a much higher value than they are actually worth. Wine is quite high (10syns a glass) whilst a short with diet coke is 4syns.