Recipe: Albodingas, mash and griddled asparagus

I am always on the hunt for a good recipe, that can fit in with the Slimming World plan and is tasty, nutritious and that my husband and I can enjoy on a week night! I found this recipe in an old copy of Slimming World magazine, so it fits the bill nicely.

Albondigas are Spanish meatballs, in a tomato-based sauce. You could play with flavours here and mix in some chillis, chorizo, anything you can think of! I kept this attempt plain and simple.

Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
794 g lean minced pork (though I am using beef)
3 garlic cloves
1 egg yolk
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
salt and pepper
For the sauce:
fry light
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove
2 x 400g chopped tomatoes
1/4 tsp artificial sweetener
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper

Handful fresh flat leaf parsley

Method:

1. Put the mince, garlic, egg yolk and spices in a bowl and, using your fingers, mix well until combined. Season. Cover and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Getting the mince mixture ready

2. To make the sauce, heat a large frying pan sprayed with fry light and add the onion and garlic.
Cook over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sweetener and paprika and bring to the boil.

3. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. For the meatballs, make small balls from the mince mixture (allow 5-6 per serving). Add the meatballs to the sauce in a single layer and stir gently.

5. Continue to cook over a gentle heat for 12-15 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and season to taste.

Bubbling away

6. Serve in warm bowls, scattered with chopped parsley.

While all the above is going on, I made the mash and griddled the asparagus in a dry griddle pan so it charred nicely. (This takes about 4 minutes each side).

The easiest and tastiest asparagus ever

Let me know if you make this - I would love to see pictures. If you are on the SW plan, this is free (aside from any margarine you might put in the mash). Enjoy! :)

Finished product

Slimming World update - Week 4

I am so surprised! I don't know how and I don't think I honestly deserve it, but I will certainly accept with grace the 0.5 lb loss I achieved this week. In last week's post I mentioned a couple of pretty big nights out and parties I had to go to, and I had some drinks and food that were far from Slimming World-friendly. I find that after big weekends, it can be so hard to get your head back in the game for the rest of the week. A bit of a 'I've already messed it up so much' mentality. I really suffer from that.

Monday night I made a huge pot of poached chicken and vegetable broth from Jamie Oliver's website. You can find the recipe here. This makes so many portions I can't tell you. I froze half of it, which will definitely do some lunches next week. (I think it was my SW saver this week!) Next week is a busy week at work, which is a challenge. Every week presents its own challenges doesn't it? It's all about how you react to those, there will never be a time when those challenges don't exist. So I need to adapt, not them!

This week's loss: -0.5lbs
Total loss in 2016: 3.5lbs
Aim for next week: -1lb

Slimming World Update - Week 3

Well, well, well. After what can only be described as some righteous nights out with friends and family the gain I was expecting was nowhere near the gain I escaped with - so that was a stroke of luck!

2 syns

I also had an Italian date night planned with my husband (focaccia recipe to follow), which involved several syn-heavy recipes and wine, prosecco, espresso martinis, limoncello... you catch my drift! Sometimes plans are made and it's worth sticking to your guns, abstaining, and driving. This week wasn't that case. So I really let my hair down and enjoyed myself, and I can deal with the fallout knowing I did that with a clear conscience. If you are following this blog for Slimming World posts, I am sorry I let you down - but I am more determined to be honest than to lie to you!

A great SW saver I had during the week this week (when I was trying to be better and pull it back a bit!) was the Cadbury's Highlights Bourneville hot chocolate sachets. I have quite a slender mug that holds my HEA milk, and I frothed it in my coffee machine. For 2 syns, you feel like you are having a really indulgent treat - just making the hot chocolate with milk rather than water really ups its game!

Normally January can be a really quiet time for us, but not this year. This coming week we have another two parties which are going to be a really big challenge for me. Otherwise I have a couple of good SW friendly things on our menu (the pesto chicken bake previously featured on the blog among them), so if I can pull the weekend back and just remain the same weight, I will be over the moon

This week's loss: +0.5lbs
Total loss in 2016: 3.0lbs
Aim for next week: STS

Slimming World Update - Week 2

Well this week was a mish mash of ups and downs! I was sick on Monday and that really threw me off, I wasn't able to take my pup out or get anything in the way of exercise and my eating was more centred around comfort than anything else! I still managed to drop 0.5lb, and anything is better than nothing, so I am not going to beat myself up too much about it.

We had a couple of gorgeous dinners this week, really filling, tasty and recipes that were low in syns. Albodingas (spanish meatballs) were a real hit in this house on Saturday night, while the chicken and chorizo jambalaya we made for dinner during the week was really indulgent.

A SW saver this week would definitely be this Muller Light Greek Style yoghurt in lemon flavour. At only 0.5 syns it feels really indulgent and dessert like, and so low in syns.

Only 0.5 syns each

This coming week I have a couple of meals out planned, so I am going to try and make really good choices with those and focus afterwards on really good weight loss. I am hoping for a 1lb loss bearing in mind that I will be wining and dining.

This week's loss: -0.5lbs
Total loss in 2016: 3.5lbs
Aim for next week: 1lbs

Slimming World - week 1

I know this says week one, and I know technically it's not my first ever week on the plan, but in order to start back in 2016 with a clean slate and a belly full of nothing but ambition, I am treating it like I am starting again. So week one came and it left. I was really happy with my progress this week, losing 3lbs in total! :)

I don't know whether it's the welcome relief of salads and soups after a glutinous festive period, or whether starting from scratch again made me really stick to the plan, but either way, a 3lb loss is a very welcome thing indeed.

This week was all about getting back to work and back into routine, and as a result I didn't really have many things standing in my way this week. No challenges, meals out or workarounds. Just plain old healthy eating, which is exactly what I needed.

Breakfasts this week were a mix of fruit and yoghurt, with the occasional omelette and eggs/bacon. Lunches were a good mix of salads and soups - my recipe of the week being one of these lunches. (See below) Dinner highlights this week included a wonderful hubby-concocted (and free) Chilli con Carne, while I made sesame turkey meatballs with chilli noodle broth, which I will definitely make again and do a recipe post for next time. They were supremely tasty, really filling and (best of all) very low in syns.

SW Saver - 1.5 syns

Cuppas in the evening with the telly were made a lot easier by my SW Saver this week - Lotus biscuits! If you haven't tried these, drop whatever you are doing and go bag yourself some. They are delicious, caramel-y and heavenly - and only 1.5 syns each, to boot.

My recipe of the week has to be this. It was so good, even my husband didn't mind the fact that I served him a salad. For dinner.

Not a picture of mine, but similar
to how the chicken *should* look (mine did not)

Warm balsamic glazed chicken salad

4 slices smoked bacon, all fat removed
4 chicken fillets
1 rosemary sprig, leaves torn off
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
596g new potatoes, halved
255g cherry tomatoes
Juice of 1 lemon
113g baby spinach leaves

How to
Wrap a piece of bacon around each fillet, secure with a cocktail stick. Place in a shallow bowl with the rosemary leaves and balsamic vinegar, turn a few times to coat and set aside to marinade for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until tender. Cook the tomatoes in a griddle pan until cooked through, turning frequently. Drain the potatoes, place in a serving bowl and keep warm.

Return the griddle pan to the heat, and add the marinated chicken and balsamic juices and cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the pan, slice and add to the serving bowl.

Add the lemon juice to the balsamic juices in the griddle pan and gently heat through. Drizzle over the warm salad and add the baby spinach leaves. Toss the ingredients together to evenly coat.

Serve.

The only things standing in the way this week are my dad's birthday, which means a cake I will have to try to resist, and a dinner out with friends. Other than that, things should be plain sailing this week, allowing me another good loss (I hope!)

This week's loss: 3lbs
Total loss in 2016: 3lbs
Aim for next week: 2lbs

Slimming World weigh in - Week 12

Well hello there, stranger.

No, it's me. Yeah, we used to be friends, SW. Til I cheated on you with every bad food in the world.

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, and really that's an excuse I've been bandying about. I have been awful. I haven't followed the plan, I haven't been exercising, I've been going out. I've not been taking care of myself. Which really isn't cool.

So I fully deserved the 2lbs on that I had last week. Slip ups happen, only this week isn't going too much better. There's a lot of stuff going on as we try to secure a mortgage to build our house at the moment, and I've really let the slightest thing get on top of me. Which is my main issue, and probably why I ended up overweight in the first place. I need some kind of intervention! Send help, and fast.

This week's loss: +2lbs
Total loss in Christmas challenge: -2.5lbs
Aim for next week: STS at this rate!

Recipe post - BBQ pulled pork

Halloween is the epitome of autumn. It's often chilly, dark and there's a magic electricity in the air. Ghosts and ghouls lie around every corner waiting to pounce. So.. don't go out. Stay inside, by a cosy fire, put Strictly on and enjoy this absolute treat of a meal - which isn't too sore on the purse either. This recipe is free on the Extra Easy Slimming World plan, and the wholemeal roll to serve is HEB.

Ingredients:

Sauce doing its thang

• 1.5-2kg pork shoulder, all fat removed
• 5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 500g passata
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 tbsp sweetener
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2  In a small bowl, mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Fat removed, waiting for sauce

3. Once ready, pour over pork joined in a deep baking dish, well lined with tin foil. Make sure all of the meat is covered.

4. Cover the entire tray with tin foil, leaving space between the foil and the top of the joint. Slow roast for approximately 3 hours (check packaging for exact cooking time required).

5. Once out of the oven, shred with forks, the meat should come apart quite easily. Stir in among the sauce on the tray. Serve with wholemeal rolls (HEXB) and a crisp spinach salad, seasoned and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

This recipe was originally for a slow cooker from the Slimming World website, however I have adapted it for a shorter cooking time in the oven. I am SO ANNOYED with myself that I forgot to take a picture of the shredding and the finished product. It really looks (and tastes) great. 

Slimming World weigh-in - Christmas challenge week 9

Overall, this week was quite smooth sailing, no major upsets to the journey! It was a busy week at work, so I was glad I had a series of meals prepared and ready to go for lunches. Except one day, but I'll speak about that in a bit..

I ended up 1lb lighter this week, which is grand. I was hoping for two (and I got back to my exercising) so maybe I'll see a bigger loss next week. I have a schedule in my head, a series of mini-goals to reach and I am now behind. Sometimes these can be helpful, to keep you geared up. Other times, they serve to make you feel a bit crap when you don't reach them. Until I reach my next goal, I don't think I will put dates on getting there, just have that goal in mind and when I reach it, I reach it. Dinners this week were nothing too spectacular, we enjoyed an amazing chicken and chorizo jamalaya recipe from BBC Good Food, which I might upload on here at some point. It was really, really tasty and filling. Wednesday and Thursday we had baked piri-piri chicken fillet burgers, which were simple, quick, free and delicious.

I have all my meals planned and groceries bought for the coming week, and I might upload a recipe or two. Another fairly quiet week ahead (a house-building October savings drive!) so it's a great chance for me to knuckle down to my Christmas weight loss challenge.

Subway salad - with dressing - 1.5 syns

I didn't really try any new SW savers this week, however I went to work without lunch one day. Subway was my life saver! I got a really hearty subway salad (chicken tikka) with honey mustard dressing (1.5syns). It was very filling and really cheap - an excellent backup if you forget your lunch!

I was really happy to get back to my exercise plan this week, and felt good about getting back to routine after a lonnngggg hiatus. I took my dog for a huge walk on Sunday, followed by a spin class on Wednesday and another big walk on Wednesday. Nothing that any Olympian would be proud of, but it's positive baby steps for me :)

This week's loss: 1lb
Total loss in Christmas challenge: 4lbs
Aim for next week: 1.5lbs

Pork steaks with mustard sauce

Autumn means several things in our house. The curtains start to get drawn around 7pm, when I get home from work and when it is dark. I love nothing more than locking the doors and closing the curtains, cosy in our own little nest. Autumn means cosy lighting and usually, at some point in the month, these pork steaks will be bubbling away on the stove waiting to make our bellies very happy.

Ingredients:

4 pork steaks

Fry light

2 tsp mustard powder

400ml chicken stock

Ground black pepper

Mustard powder

Stock ready to go in pan

Method:

Turn occasionally

1. Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Spray the pork with fry light and fry for 4-5 minutes, turning occasionally until golden. 

2. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp of mustard powder over the pork, add the stock and season with black pepper. 

3. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the pork is cooked. 

4. Serve with mash and green beans. 

   

This recipe was from Slimming World magazine in the March/April 2012 edition. I put some Flora light in the mash, so the only syns for this dish is any you add in mash to accompany it. It's a really uncomplicated and quick dish for a chilly autumn night. Light some candles, put on some music and dinner will not disappoint. Follow with a steamy cup of tea, a wee biscuit and some Netflix for added amazing. 

Bon Appetit!

Slimming World weigh-in - Christmas challenge week 8

I definitely had a vast improvement this week on last week's efforts! However, that being said, I didn't get my 4lbs goal I had set last week. At some point in the week, it felt a little like everything had come crashing down. Work had become quite stressful and routines were a little out of joint. This is a prime example of when I shouldn't let these things get in the way quite so much, and learn to manage being on plan when they crop up. Aim for the stars and you might catch one on the way down... And I did! 1.5lb off this week, which isn't exactly what I had hoped and aimed for last week, but it's better than STS and definitely better than a gain, so I will happily accept it.

This week I had a couple of unexpected meals out, and in the main I made the best decisions I could, which helped. OK, OK. I'll tell the truth. I also had a dessert on Sunday... And wine. I succumbed. All things considered this week, I was fairly pleased with the result.

For the coming week, I have all my meals planned. Tonight's dinner is a chicken and chorizo jambalaya, which is a brand new recipe I am looking forward to trying out. Saturday night, I made BBC Good Food's Healthier Chicken Balti, which I have made before and is really good. I use oil, as I think it binds the curry sauce a lot better, but you could make it completely free using Fry Light. Basque salmon stew and chicken burgers on the menu this week.. Trying to keep my syns in check!

1 syn per pot

I have really been enjoying switching up my yoghurts this week. Normally I am always faithful to the Muller Light yoghurts but lately I have been finding them a bit boring. I have started eating Glenisk's high protein 0% fat yoghurts, which are 1 syn per pot and are really filling - and keep you there for a long time. Great in work for breakfast and lunch.

I didn't end up committing to my exercise plan this week. I am useless when I am under any kind of stress at work - this is always the first thing I drop. Which is kind of a self sabotage. I am working on getting three exercise sessions in this week, the first I completed today when I took my pup for a big long walk in the forest this morning.

So, what's my aim for this week you might wonder.... I think I would be happy with a 2lb loss this week. I hafve no major schedule disruptions and nothing but my own mind to veer me off course. Let's see how we go!

This week's loss: 1.5lb
Total loss in Christmas challenge: 3lbs
Aim for next week: 2lbs

Slimming world weigh in - Christmas challenge week 7

So what with holidays and things, it's been a long while since I sat down and had a review of my SW weigh in. I was pretty much forgetting I'd ever seen the words 'Slimming World' when I was on holiday and I properly let go and enjoyed myself over my birthday. Sometimes I think that's necessary, even at an early stage! But I was delighted when I got home to discover I had only gained 1lb. I had some delayed birthday celebrations with the girls last weekend so I got to it fresh again on Monday. I have to say between Monday and my weigh in on Friday morning I really gave it everything. However I may have done some damage over the weekend with the ladies (wait... Cocktails aren't syn-free?!!) because when I weighed in this week I had completely stayed the same!

So Friday morning is my weigh in, and as I left the scales a little deflated I made my way to work for our annual MacMillan coffee morning. The torture! I was so incredibly proud that I managed to keep myself busy making tea and coffee for people and doing all the cleaning up so that I wouldn't be forced to deal with facing all the tables of buns, cakes and pastries. Another bonus was staying completely on plan Friday and Saturday this week. I have to go out for lunch today (Sunday) so I have had a look at the menu and will try my hardest to make good choices. 

I have my meals planned already for this week, so I am in a good place to stick to plan and get a good loss. I am going to take my little dog out for a big walk this morning, and get a couple of spin classes in before work this week. I have a spin bike at home, and it means a 5.40am start for me! But I do feel a renewed sense of determination since coming home from holidays, and with a load of things coming up in the next year - holidays, birthdays, weddings - I know that I have loads to motivate me. 30 has left me feeling somehow rejuvenated.

This week I found the most delicious item! It has definitely been a SW favourite - Twining's Gingerbread Tea. It's a green tea, and completely free on all plans, and genuinely smells and tastes completely like gingerbread. Perfect for these evenings getting darker, wetter and colder. Nothing like snuggling up on the sofa in your jammies with all the curtains closed and hearing the rain battering off the windows...

Little taste of heaven

This week, between my renewed aim of exercising (please let this one stick) and my meal plans I would love to see 4lbs off this Friday. It's ambitious, and if I do it I will be jumping for joy! So here goes...

Louisiana red rice with prawns

Prepping veg

So for dinner the other evening I made a brand new recipe I had never tried before. Sometimes I am a little scared of cooking shellfish, with the chances of causing serious illness and/or death a much larger threat. But it was Monday and I was feeling adventurous so I gave it a go. And boy, am I glad I did. With only two of us, this recipe made enough for us to enjoy for two nights in a row. It gives a filling, tasty and fairly quick meal. I made it on a Monday, only getting in the door at 7.30pm and we we're eating just after 8pm. So even on days when time is slipping away, it's a nutritious,tasty and quick option. This recipe was in the most recent edition of Slimming World magazine. If you aren't a fan of prawns or seafood, you could easily substitute for chicken or more veg (maybe squash and asparagus would work nicely?) if you wanted to avoid meat altogether and I don't think you would do so at the detriment of any flavour.

Starting to cook

Ingredients:
Low calorie cooking spray
6 bacon rashers (smoked is best)
1 large red onion, chopped
4 celery sticks, chopped
2 orange peppers (I used 1 red and 1 yellow), chopped
1/2 tsp celery seeds or 1tsp creole mix (I used jerk seasoning)
4 bay leaves
400g can chopped tomatoes
325g basmati rice
600ml chicken stock
400g large peeled raw prawns
Lemon wedges to serve
2 spring onions, sliced to garnish

Add rice

Method:

1. Spray a frying pan with spray and place over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crisp, then remove from heat and set aside.

2. Spray the pan with a little more spray, add the onion, celery and peppers and season. Cook for 10 minutes, or until soft and golden, then add the celery seeds or Creole spice mix, bay leaves, cooked bacon, tomatoes, rice and stock. Cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the prawns, re-cover and cook for a further 5 minutes.

3. Garnish the rice with spring onions and serve with the lemon wedges. Enjoy.

As mentioned this is a Slimming World recipe, and is completely free on the plan. I will definitely be making it again! Great for a work night, dress it up for date night with a 4.5 syn glass of wine or go all out for a dinner party. A really simple recipe, but the flavours will really impress your guests and will have them coming back for more....

Louisiana red rice with prawns

Slimming world weigh in - Christmas challenge week 3

Hi everyone,

I wanted to have a quick update on how things are going with my Slimming World plan. I have recently joined my mother-in-law in a competition to see who can shift the most lbs by Christmas! This was week three of the challenge and I managed to shift 1.5lbs - so I was pretty happy with that. That leaves me at 2.5lbs in total. My poor mother-in-law hasn't got any yet, so she tells me this is her week to knuckle down.

I had a good week, even being out at the weekend and sticking to my syns with non-alcoholic beer and driving home. That alone deserves a 1.5lb loss, right?!

I really enjoyed a couple of new recipes on the Slimming World website this week - in particular the Beef and Mushroom sauce recipe (a French cuisine sauce, as opposed to a Chinese sauce) and the Pesto Chicken Bake recipe I shared the other day.

Breakfasts have been pretty standard mix of fruit, yoghurt, special K cereal bars and overnight oats. Breakfast is the most challenging time I find, as I am always rushing out the door and end up eating at my desk when I get to work, so they can start to become a bit same-y. (Anyone any tips on overcoming this, would be welcomed) Weekends mean poached eggs, bacon and a bit of toast - always a treat! I have been dying to try doing a healthy SW fry, with the new sausages they have released in Iceland, so I may pick some of those up and I will let you know what I think of them.

Lunches this week included ham salads, soup and leftovers - nothing too exciting.

My snack saviours for that old sweet tooth that haunts me were the Cadbury's Fabulous Fingers. At 1.5 syns each, they pack a very chocolatey punch and work perfectly with that evening cuppa. And, as traditional during Bake Off season, I saved 11 syns on Wednesday evening for two French Fancies and a cup of tea. :) I can't watch people plan, make and eat cake without indulging. It's a weakness for sure and possibly a syndrome.

Have my meals planned for the coming week, and I'll be sure to put up any new recipes that I try and love. Fingers crossed for a successful week on plan, and another step closer to my goal.

Pesto chicken bake

Hey everyone,

So I figured a good place to begin blogging would be to cover one of my favourite pass-times, cooking. I love nothing more than trying a new recipe, and there's nothing I won't give a good go. At the minute, I am following the Slimming World plan in an effort to shed some extra pounds. I want to lose about 40lbs, or roughly 3 stone. I am like the vast majority of those who embark on such missions - facing an uphill struggle. But I've had a really good week and I am really determined - even attending a party at the weekend I managed to stay on plan. *Pat on back.* So this recipe is sourced from Slimming World, in case anyone thought I was genius enough to make it up.

Ingredients:
4 x 115g skinless chicken breasts
Low calorie cooking spray

For the marinade:
3 garlic cloves
6 tbsp freshly chopped basil, plus a few leaves to garnish
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp chicken stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blending the marinade

Method:

1. Make the marinade: peel and grate the garlic, place in a food processor along with the basil, parsley, vinegar and stock and blend until the mixture is fairly smooth. Season to taste.

2. Make 3 slashes on each chicken breast, place in a bowl and pour the marinade over, rubbing into the slashes. Cover, place in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours.

3. Place the chicken breasts in a roasting tin sprayed with low calorie cooking spray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes at 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 5, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

4. Serve the chicken pesto roast sliced and garnished with a few basil leaves.

Marinading

Now, that's the official recipe. But I decided to put a little twist on it, of the cheesy variety. I am using my healthy extra A (see Slimming World for details on the plan) as Parmesan, which I will sprinkle over the chicken for the final 5/6 minutes of step 3. I would use approximately 30g per chicken breast for really good coverage, 30g being a Healthy Extra A portion. A portion (one breast) is free on Slimming World (or 6 syns if you are not using your cheese for HEA). Alternatively, you could leave off the cheese and the whole thing would be free.

Finished meal

Alongside this, I served roasted new potatoes tossed in crushed garlic and rosemary, and spinach salad with balsamic vinegar dressing.

End of a long day - Bake Off :)

All in all this was a really simple recipe, especially for a week night. It would be great to rustle up the night before and have in the fridge just waiting to pop into the oven for 20 mins when you walk through the door. Just enough time to pop in the shower, wash the day away and get into some comfy fresh PJs. Which is definitely how I played it.

And for dessert... 11 syns of French Fancies and the Great British Bake Off with lovely sofa cuddles from my man. A glorious end to any day.      


Take care

C