Extra Easy: Danielle's SW Journey

Hi all!

After reading an inspiring thread about one woman's day to day munching and body magic, I have decided to do the same in the hope it will keep me motivated and drive me to success!

Here's a bit about my journey so far... I started doing SW from home back in March 2013 after my mum joined in January 2013 and told me it was the best diet she had ever done. (Although I wouldn't call SW a 'diet', more of a healthy lifestyle choice!) After a lot of huffing and puffing, she finally persuaded me to do it with her and I'm so glad I did. And I am so pleased to say that within the last year, my mum has lost a fantastic 2 stone and looks absolutely amazing!

I had a great loss of 3lbs on my first week and this kept me motivated to carry on, eating well and going to the gym regularly, ready for my holiday in August. By the time my holiday came around I had lost 12lbs! Not as much as I wanted to have lost but it was still fantastic! When I got home I got straight back on the scales and found that I had lost another 2lbs! How this happened, I have no idea! Perhaps I'll move to Greece if that's what their food does to me!

Since then I've just been yoyo-ing and I've gained 6lbs :sigh: I've been slacking at the gym ever since then, particularly in the winter months when it's cold and wet, and all I want to do when I get home from work is curl up in my pjs under a blanket! But this week I've started afresh and I'm determined to lose the 2-3 stone I really wanted to lose in the first place! So I'll try and keep a regular food and exercise diary on here in the hope that it keeps me motivated and my virtual friends can give me a boost now and again!

Thanks all, you'll be hearing from me again very soon xx

Hi Danielle!!


Same boat as you - 2 stone to lose and on Extra Easy too. Glad you are sharing your food diary as I find it really helpful reading about other people's food for the day

Xx

Saz85 said:

Hi Danielle!!


Same boat as you - 2 stone to lose and on Extra Easy too. Glad you are sharing your food diary as I find it really helpful reading about other people's food for the day

Xx

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Well I desperately need something to keep me motivated because I've hit a brick wall if I'm honest. If I keep a food diary on here for everyone to see then there's no hiding if I'm bad I hope I can motivate people too, like yourself! So keep your eye on my thread if you like xx

So tomorrow is weigh in day for me! I'm not optimistic if I'm honest, but that's what the diary is for! To keep me going and keep me from hiding if I cheat I don't want to start my diary the day before my weigh in so as of Monday I will be recording my every move

So while you're waiting, I have GOT to share with you a recipe I found on the SW website that I have literally fallen in love with!

Chocolate & Orange Squares (24 squares - 2.5 syns per square)

INGREDIENTS

• 4 eggs, separated
• 50g caster sugar
• 5 tbsp artificial sweetener
• 150g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp finely grated orange zest
• Juice of 2 oranges
• 120g Kraft chocolate Philadelphia
• Tin of mandarin oranges (drained of syrup)

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 5. Line a cake tin with non-stick baking parchment, approximately 24cm x 17cm.
• Place the egg yolks, caster sugar, sweetener, self raising flour, baking powder, orange zest and juice in a bowl and whisk until thick and pale.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until softly peaked then fold them into the egg yolk mixture. Spoon this mixture into the prepared cake tin and cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cake has risen and is firm to touch. Leave to cool.
• Warm the chocolate Philadelphia in the microwave for a few seconds, then turn the cake upside down, remove the baking parchment and spread the chocolate Philadelphia over the top.
• Cut into 24 pieces and place a mandarin orange segment on the top of each square.

I made these a couple of nights ago and there are only about 5 left! They are fantastic if you get a chocolate craving and you get a really good size square for 2.5 syns! They are absolutely scrummy!

The recipe says you need 2tbsp of orange zest, but I barely used half a tsp worth with the juice of the two oranges, and the cakes were so orangey (lovely!) so I really don't think 2tbsp are necessary! Also, I know a lot of people aren't sure about the Chocolate Philadelphia, me included, but 4 other people besides me were sceptical before they tried the cakes and they couldn't believe how tasty they were, and couldn't believe they were low fat! Perfect for entertaining friends who aren't dieting like you and want something naughty. They won't suspect a thing, trust me!

Eeek!

Well Saturday's weigh in saw a 3lb loss for me which I am super happy about! Especially considering I only made two trips to the gym last week, so I'm made up! I'm finally back on track and I'm so happy I can now begin my food diary...

Sunday:

Breakfast: I skipped breakfast :wave_cry: I know it's terrible! *slaps wrist*
Lunch: Chicken sandwich (HEXB + 2 tsp Clover lighter butter = 2 syns) with a tbsp. of Heinz 70% less fat salad cream (1 syn)
Tea: Roast chicken dinner cooked by mum in law - chicken, mash, roasties (cooked without fat), 2 small Yorkshires (3 syns each), small portion of stuffing (2 syns) peas, carrots, baby corn, cauliflower, broccoli, gravy (2 syns).

Total: 13 syns

I'll update you on today's food diary a bit later on

xx

Here to sub!

Well done on your 3lbs, that's a great chunk to lose in a week.

Hi Danielle, well done on your fab loss :clap: . I've subd. I'm loving the choc orange squares although I would worry about portion control if I made it .

Kay xx

Kay003 said:

Hi Danielle, well done on your fab loss :clap: . I've subd. I'm loving the choc orange squares although I would worry about portion control if I made it .

Kay xx

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Thanks for subscribing Kay!

They really are scrummy and I worried about that myself. But they do make good size squares so after eating 2 I'd had enough, because it does make a reasonably thick layer of the chocolate cheese on top and too much of it is quite sickly, and I have a very sweet tooth, particularly for chocolate! I still have a couple of them left which is a miracle!

Let me know, if you do end up making them, what you think

Danielle x

coughdrops said:

Here to sub!

Well done on your 3lbs, that's a great chunk to lose in a week.

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Hi Niamh, thanks for subscribing! Congrats on your losses so far, it's great to have people who have done so well subscribe to my thread. Hopefully you can give me some pointers where I need them and share your stories too!

Danielle x

You might not think so when you read this I tend to be hit or miss with the old sticking to plan!

http://www.minimins.com/slimming-world-weight-loss-diary/329233-my-diary-coughdrops.html

Quiche!

Morning all! Who else hates Tuesday's? Such a nothing-y day...

Thought I'd share another recipe with you I made some syn free mini crustless quiches last night, and I've already had two of them for my breakfast

(Pinched from a site called Low Syn Life)

Makes 12
1/2 syn per quiche on Extra Easy or Original (or make them syn-free by omitting the cheese)

Ingredients
6 eggs
100g quark (or fat free natural cottage cheese)
Fillings of your choice e.g. ham, bacon, mushrooms, red pepper, spring onion, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, caramelised red onions, etc.
28g parmesan or strong cheddar (6 syns or HEA) (optional)
Fry Light
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180ºC and spray a 12-hole muffin tin with Fry Light
2. Beat the eggs with the quark and salt and pepper
3. Prepare your fillings by chopping into fairly small pieces (so they cook in the time allowed)
4. Distribute the fillings between the muffin tin compartments and pour over the egg mixture
5. If you are using the cheese, sprinkle some on top of each quiche
6. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the mixture is cooked and light golden brown

I chose to scrap the cheese just purely out of laziness, but I have made them with cheese before and they are to die for. I very rarely use my HEXA so if I made them with cheese I could eat the whole lot in one day for absolutely nothing! But even if you choose to use your HEXA for something else, 1/2 a syn per quiche is well worth it.

I love these because they are a great way to load up on your super foods. You can put absolutely anything into them, as long as it is small enough to cook through in the 20 minutes! I only used ham this time, again out of pure laziness. (It was quite late last night when I made them and I didn't feel like standing there chopping - cut me some slack ) But I like to put spring onions in with the ham, and as it says above, you can put in mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, anything! I'm quite looking forward to making them caramelised red onions - that sounds amazing!

I noticed on the website I got this recipe from, a couple of people said they had a problem with the quiches sticking to the muffin tin. You shouldn't have this problem if you use plenty of fry-light or a silicone tray. Mine just slide out, no problem. But I know some people don't like fry-light, so someone suggested using ham as a sort of case for the quiche, in place of the pastry. I haven't tried it myself but I'm sure it's scrummy.

If anyone decides to try this recipe, please let me know how you get on, what ingredients you've used, etc.!

Roasties!

Hi again!

Just having a read through my thread so far, and reading Sunday's food diary made me remember a yummy recipe I found for low fat roast potatoes a while ago. I had to tweak it a little but the finished result was divine!

(Pinched from BBC Good Food)

Ingredients

• 800g roasting potatoes, quartered
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 200ml vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
• 2 tbsp olive oil*

*tweaked to roughly a tsp.

Method

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the potatoes and garlic in a roasting tin. Pour over the stock, then brush the tops of the potatoes with half the olive oil. Season, then cook for 50 mins. Brush with the remaining oil and cook 10-15 mins more until the stock is absorbed and the potatoes have browned and cooked through.


It's as simple as that! I didn't use 2 tbsp. olive oil... I just poured a small amount into a bowl, and brushed tiny amounts over the top of the potatoes, then the same again when I took them out towards the end. It doesn't say to turn the potatoes over at the end, but I did. I thought they'd be a bit soggy at the bottom if they didn't have oil.

I did worry when I took them out to turn them over that the stock just wasn't being absorbed. I thought they would just be a disaster and we'd be eating chicken sandwiches! I put them back in and hoped for the best, and after 15 minutes I couldn't believe the difference! The potatoes were crispy and the stock had disappeared! So don't worry if you try them and this happened - you won't believe the difference the extra 15 minutes makes!

My OH really isn't fond of potatoes, but he absolutely loved them! And they were only about a syn per portion, maybe 1.5 syns, I don't know exactly how much oil I used but it wasn't a massive amount. I reckon you could probably use Fry-Light, but I don't know if you'll get the same result. It's worth a go though!

Again, if anyone tries this, let me know how you get on!

Hi Danielle hope your well. Your recipes are fab , thanks for sharing. I'm not sure if you are aware but you can also copy paste them on the `World Recipes' section where all recipes are posted by members on mins, that way more members can see them, also this way you can keep your diary to post your daily eats. Just an idea, hope you don't mind me suggesting so.

Hugs Kay xx

:bighug:

Kay003 said:

Hi Danielle hope your well. Your recipes are fab , thanks for sharing. I'm not sure if you are aware but you can also copy paste them on the `World Recipes' section where all recipes are posted by members on mins, that way more members can see them, also this way you can keep your diary to post your daily eats. Just an idea, hope you don't mind me suggesting so.

Hugs Kay xx

:bighug:

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Nope, I wasn't aware, but I am now! Thanks Kay, I'll post them on there as well from now on. I do a lot of research so they're only recipes I've copied but I like to share them because they are just so scrummy!

I'm very well thank you, hope you're well too. Hope your day is going okay, SW-wise! x

Monday!

Hi again!

Here is today's food diary

Breakfast: 2 mini crustless quiches (see recipe above)
Lunch: Jacket potato with a mix of ham, cheese (HEXA), spring onions and 2 tbsp. 70% less fat salad cream (2 syns). 4 more quiches
Tea: Made a big bowl of pasta with tuna, sweetcorn and light mayo but barely touched it as I started to feel a bit sick, so I had about a syns worth of mayo. Also had 250ml Cranberry & Raspberry juice (6 syns)

Still haven't had my HEXB yet so might have some toast soon if I start to feel a bit better.

Hi Danielle, I hope u feel better soon. Your food diary looks really good for today, it's proper filling . Love the quiche recipe . Cranberry juice is really healthy, do you drink the unsweetened one because I think that's less in syns and it tastes good too .

Kay xx

Well that was my plan! I found the no added sugar version, but picked up the wrong one by mistake!!! So I'm saving it for when I have lots of syns left

Hey Danielle, here to subscribe. Like the sound of the quiches. I have never been able to stomach cottage cheese, is it still lumpy in the quiches or does it smooth out when mixed with the eggs?

Lindsey-g said:

Hey Danielle, here to subscribe. Like the sound of the quiches. I have never been able to stomach cottage cheese, is it still lumpy in the quiches or does it smooth out when mixed with the eggs?

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Hi Lindsey, thanks for subscribing!

To be honest, I've never made them with cottage cheese, only Quark. But from reading other recipes that use cottage cheese, a lot of them tell you to whizz it in a blender first to make it smooth. Quark is very smooth already so you don't have to bother with that.

It is such an easy recipe and it's great if you're not very good at eating speed foods, because they can all go into the quiche! You could pack so much yumminess into them - I'm a bit annoyed that I was too lazy to bother with anything other than ham when I made mine the other day I'm so glad they're syn free too, because they are SOOO moreish!

I've attached a picture of the quiches I made... as you can see, out of the 12 I made, there are now only 2 1/2 left

Let me know how you get on if you end up making them!