Slimming World Chilli Recipe

This has quickly become one of my favourite ever meals, I will never in my life ever use a packet mix for chilli now I've started making this one. It's packed with Speed foods (formerly known as super free) and is a great winter warmer served with a jacket potato or rice... make enough and it's also great microwaved for lunch!

Ingredients:

- 450g less than 5% fat mince

- 2 tins plum tomatoes

- 1 green pepper diced

- 1 red pepper diced

- Mushrooms (how many is personal preference, I like a lot)

- 2/3 onions sliced

- 1 tin red kidney beans

- Beef stock cube/melt

- 1.5 tbsp lazy chilli

- 1.5 tbsp lazy chopped garlic (in white wine vinegar)

- 1 tbsp tomato puree

Method:

- Brown the mince and onions in a pan

- Add the two tins of plum tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms, tin of kidney beans & stock cube (i put the water from the tin as well as the kidney beans but it's up to you if you want to drain first)

- Stir and leave on medium heat for 5 mins

- add lazy chilli, lazy garlic and tomato puree

- leave to simmer on a low heat for 30-40 mins, stirring occasionally. 

If you want a hotter chilli, feel free to add more lazy chilli but do keep tasting as you add because it does pack quite a punch! The above photo is an EESP version of a chilli meal which was still very filling but if you're following the regular SP plan you could have a jacket potato or rice in place of the cottage cheese.

My week on Extra Easy SP

Well it's been a while since I posted on here, i've been so busy and just not in the right frame of mind to write but I'm back with a fresh batch of post ideas so look out for some new stuff on here over the next couple of days/weeks!

You may or not be aware that the Slimming World plan has changed a teeny tiny little bit in the new year meaning that we all now have brand new books regardless of when you started. I will address the regular plan in another post but this post is going to be all about Extra Easy SP which is the 'booster' plan to be followed when you want to give your weight loss a kick up the backside!

The basics of EESP is that you cut out any food in your book which doesn't have an 'S' or a 'P' next to it. On each plate you have 50% 'S' foods and 50% 'P' foods, you still have your Syns (5-15 per day) and you still have your healthy extras but you can have 2 Healthy B choices on EESP as opposed to just 1 on normal extra easy (you do still only get 1 Healthy A choice).

I've done a full week of EESP this week, admittedly it hasn't been without a slip up because it took a couple of days to get to grips with it properly but here's some of the meals I've enjoyed this week:

Turkey steaks (P), Boiled Eggs (P), Cottage Cheese (P), Lettuce (S), Pickled Onions (S), Beetroot (S), Cucumber (S), Tomatoes (S), Red Pepper (S) 1/2 Tbsp 70% less fat Salad Cream (1 syn)

Prawns (P), Lettuce (S), Cucumber (S), Red Pepper (S) Beetroot (S) 60g Bread Roll (HEXB) 2 Tbsp Colman's Seafood Sauce (4)

Salmon (P), Cottage Cheese (P), Beetroot (S), Lettuce (S), Pickled Onions (S), Yellow Pepper (S), Cucumber (S), Tomatoes (S)

30g Cheese (HEXA) & Onion (S) Toastie (HEXB) with Beetroot (S) and Pickled Onions (S)

Speed Food Packed Chilli (recipe to follow) with Cottage Cheese (P), Lettuce (S), Cucumber (S), Red Pepper (S)

Steak (P) Carrots (S), Broccoli (S), Onion (S), Peas (P), Gravy (1.5 syns)

Small slip up:

- I went to Nando's with every intention of being 100% on EESP but thought I was clever enough not to read my book before I went. I ordered Butterfly Chicken (3.5 syns) with corn on the cob (free) and spicy rice (2.5 syns) only to discover that corn on the cob did NOT have an S or P next to it meaning that it wasn't 'allowed' on EESP, I didn't end up having any S on my plate at all (should have gone for the side salad!) and to be totally honest I shouldn't have had the rice because although it's synned and you are allowed syns, it's obviously rice which is one of the prohibited foods.

Fear not though, a small slip up like this doesn't ruin your week, I can vouch for that because I lost 4.5lb this week! Like I said earlier though, the idea behind EESP is that it boosts your weight loss if you feel as if you're stuck or lacking inspiration. Doing it this week I found that I really enjoyed having 2 Healthy B's and I actually found a renewed interest in eating Slimming World friendly foods.

Have you tried EESP yet? Please feel free to ask any questions below and I'll answer if I can. (although please remember I'm not an SW consultant; nobody can replace their knowledge and expertise)

Slimming World Onion Bhaji Loaf with Yoghurt and Mint Dip

We had a tasting night at our Slimming World group the other week and one of my fellow slimmers, Jane, brought an onion bhaji loaf for us all to try... it was absolutely amazing and surprisingly simple to make so I thought I'd give it a go and share the recipe with you. It's a perfect snack food or great for serving as part of a meal.

Onion Bhaji Loaf (free or 1.5 syns)

Ingredients: 

- 1 tin of Chickpea Dahl (Asda Chosen by you is free, Mazadar from Morrisons is free, Tesco - 1.5 syns for the whole tin, try to avoid Sainsburys as this is 8 syns!!)

- 1 Packet of Bachelors Mild Curry Super Rice

- 2 Onions sliced

- 3 eggs

Method

- Cook the rice as directed on the packet

- In the meantime, fry the onion in fry light until soft & pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees

- Beat 3 eggs and add the chickpea dahl, onions and rice and mix together 

- Transfer into a loaf tin and put in the middle of the oven for 40 mins

Yoghurt & Mint Dip (syn free)

Ingredients:
- Fat Free Natural Yoghurt
- Colman's Fresh Garden Mint Sauce

Method: 
- This is all about personal taste really, I just emptied the pot of yoghurt into a ramekin then added the mint to taste.

The Thickest, Creamiest Syn Free/Fat Free Yoghurt on the Block

Yoghurts are my go-to snack/dessert when I'm craving for something sweet and up until last week I had always gone for Muller Light even though I've always thought they're a bit on the thin side... I've always craved for a thick, creamy yoghurt. I refuse to spend any syns on yoghurts so my choice is limited down to just a few brands/varieties but I came across Shape 0% yoghurts last week and I can tell you, I haven't looked back.

They come in a few different flavours in packs of 4, my favourites are Cherry & Blackberry and Strawberry & Raspberry... I tried Pineapple and Coconut expecting it to be more coconutty with a hint of pineapple but they're actually the other way around and I ended up chucking 3 of the 4 pots in the bin because I hated them. They are really, really thick and creamy though, like no other fat free/syn free yoghurt I've ever tasted and they're so satisfying. They don't have loads of fruit bits in them which pleases me because I actually prefer smooth yoghurts but these are that nice I'm willing to overlook the bits of fruit in these because they're so nice!

Do you have a favourite syn free yoghurt or do you prefer to spend a few syns?

A Week of Food Diaries: Day 5 & 6

Yet another weird food day, another day of grabbing what I can, when I can so just one meal again with some snacks.

DINNER:

6 x chicken breast dippers (12)

TEA: 

Slimming World Spaghetti Bolognese with Red Pepper

Syns & Snacks:

Chicken breast dipper x 6 (12)

Apple (SF + S)

Healthy Extras:

A: 250ml Semi Skimmed Milk

B: 2 x Weetabix

DAY 6:

Dinner

No photo unfortunately but it was another roast dinner with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, turnip, peas and sweetcorn with Pork, 100ml gravy with meat juices (5), 2 roast potatoes (2) and 1 small yorkshire (2.5)

Tea

2 x Weetabix (HEXB) with 250ml semi skimmed milk (HEXA) and Apple (SF + S)

Tomorrow is weigh day so we'll see what the verdict is...!

A Week of Food Diaries: Day 4

Yep, another 2am blog post. I've just literally finished work, had a quick bath and sat down to blog about todays food. To be honest it's been so hectic at work that I've had very little time to eat. I literally woke up at 9, got up at half past then forced some breakfast down me because I knew it was going to be a long day and I didn't know when I would have opportunity to eat.

DINNER

errrm...? I didn't have any. Well I lie I had a piece of jam roly poly and custard, one roast potato and half a small yorkshire. Not healthy in the slightest, I know but to be honest I was more concerned about just grabbing something and they were almost within my daily syns so I can deal with that.

TEA

We did a carvery style meal for the wedding we had on so I took advantage of the left overs and did myself a proper dinner with Broccoli (SF + S), Cauliflower (SF + S), Carrots (SF + S), Peas (F + SS), Turkey (F) & gravy (1 syn). I didn't eat everything on my plate because I was so full and it saw me right through the night which I was pleased about.

Syns & Snacks

Apple (SF + S)

Gammon (F)

Jam Roly Poly & Custard (13)

1 Roast Potato (1)

1/2 Small Yorkshire Pudding (1.5)

Gravy (1)

Total Syns: 16.5

Healthy Extras

A: 250ml Semi Skimmed Milk

B: 2 x Weetabix

P.S. Skipping meals is not a good idea. It's just that I literally sometimes don't have time to eat, I'm that busy I just forget about food. I still eat plenty so please don't think I'm depriving myself.

Quick & Easy Chicken Korma Recipe

So many of the Slimming World curry recipes are far too complicated and they require far too many ingredients for my liking. I found a recipe which is both cost effective and doesn't take an absolute age to do (no marinating etc. etc.). I'm gonna be honest with you and say i've yet to find a Korma recipe which tastes like creamy coconutty takeaway korma, this is actually more of a tikka masala.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2-3)

Diced Chicken Breast (1 or 1.5 packs)

1 Onion

2 Garlic Cloves

1 tbsp Korma Curry Powder (you could use any curry powder really)

200g Passata

400ml Chicken Stock

6 tbsp tomato puree

100g fat free natural fromage frais

METHOD

- Spray a pan with fry light and brown the chicken, onion and garlic cloves

- Add the curry powder, passata, tomato puree, stock and whatever seasoning

- Bring to the boil then cover and turn the heat to low

- Simmer for 20 mins or until chicken is cooked through (I always make sure mine is cooked before adding the saucy bits, I'm a bit weird about chicken)

- Put the savoury rice in the microwave (this takes 15 mins so you know the curry is almost done when the microwave dings)

- Remove from the heat and stir in the 100g of fromage frais

- Serve with whatever salad or veg you'd like, I chose spinach because I have a thing about it at the moment :)

And there you go, easy peasy 'korma'

A Week of Food Diaries: Day 3

Another weird day to be honest... I've had the same meal for both meals today, not that it's a bad thing because I really enjoyed it but still. 

DINNER & TEA

Slimming World Easy Chicken Korma, Savoury Rice & Spinach (SF & S)

Syns & Snacks

Nectarine x 2 (SF & S)

Muller Light Vanilla (FREE)

Morrisons Egg Custard Tart (13)

Total Syns: 13

Healthy Extras 

none.

A Week of Food Diaries: Day 2

Today's been a bit weird food wise, I didn't sleep properly last night which meant I didn't get up while 11am and then I didn't eat anything until 2pm so it kind of threw my meal times out and I've not snacked but hey ho still on plan...

DINNER

Sunday Dinner on a Thursday

Broccoli (SF)

Cauliflower (SF)

Carrots (SF)

Peas (FREE)

Sweetcorn (FREE)

Gammon (FREE)

Large Yorkshire Pudding (only ended up eating half 2.5 syns)

Mash (2 syns)

Gravy (1.5 syns)

TEA

Yep Salmon again, simple and easy

2 x thin salmon fillets (FREE)

Half pack Bachelors chicken savoury rice (FREE)

Cucumber (SF)

Pepper (SF)

Tesco Light Choices Sweet Chilli Cottage Cheese (FREE)

SYNS & SNACKS

Large Yorkshire Pudding (only ended up eating half 2.5 syns)

Mash (2 syns)

Gravy (1.5 syns)

250ml Glass Red Wine (9 Syns)

Apple (SF)

HEALTHY EXTRAS

A. 250ml Semi Skimmed Milk

B. 2xWeetabix

Quick & Easy Slimming World Cowboy Pie

The thought of Cowboy Pie repulsed me to begin with; baked beans in a pie?! blergh no thanks but I can honestly say I actually really enjoyed it and it's so easy to make, here's how...

INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6 depending on portion size):

5% fat lean mince (Lidl have it on offer at the moment, 2 packs for £3.50)

1 tin baked beans in tomato sauce (SS)

Tomato Puree

300ml Beef Stock

2 Onions

4 Carrots

6 Potatoes (approx, depends how big your dish is, they need to make enough mash to cover it)

1-2 tablespoons of Worcester Sauce (depends how much you like worcester sauce)

Seasoning of your choice

METHOD:

- Peel the potatoes and put them on to boil

- Put the mince in a pan to fry along with the chopped onions and carrots until the mince is browned

- Add the baked beans, beef stock, tomato puree, worcester sauce and seasoning

- Bring to the boil then leave to simmer and reduce for approx 30 mins, stirring occasionally.

- In the meantime mash the potatoes

- Then transfer to an oven proof dish and top with mash

- Pop in a preheated oven (180) for around 15 mins. You can top with cheese if you want to use a few syns or if you've still got your healthy A.

And there we go, serve with whatever veg you want (I had swede mash) and you've got a really easy syn free meal for you and your family!

A Week of Food Diaries - Day 1

So I put on a pound this week after spending weeks just messing about; you know how it is, half off, half on etc. etc. so this week I'm taking action to get 3 pounds off (would love 3.5 for my 5 stone award but we shall see). Obviously the first part in my action plan is to actually be 100% on plan 100% of the time... the second is to increase my intake of speed and super speed foods (to up my weight loss) and the third is to do these food diaries. These will hopefully not only encourage me to be on plan but they might also give you some meal inspiration. 

(You might wonder why I only have two proper meals per day, that's because I very rarely eat breakfast... and I also say dinner and tea not lunch and dinner because I'm common).

DINNER

Leftover Slimming World cowboy pie with swede mash and gravy (1 syn)

TEA

Baked Salmon Fillets with cucumber (S), pepper (S), spinach (S), potatoes and Tesco Healthy Living sweet chilli cottage cheese (FREE). 

SNACKS & SYNS

- Pineapple (S)

- Apple (S)

- Muller Light Vanilla (FREE)

- 50ml Bisto Gravy (1 SYN)

- 2 x Caramel Freddo (10 SYNS)

Todays Syn Total: 11

HEALTHY EXTRAS

A: 250ml Skimmed Milk

B: 2 x Weetabix

Easy Syn Free Pulled Pork

There are times in our lives when we don't have the time, inclination or energy to stand in front of the stove and cook something from scratch and the general misconception is that quick and easy things which come from the frozen or chilled area of the supermarket are ladened with syns. Well, that's not strictly true because Tesco have a little hidden gem in their freezer department...

I can't actually believe that this whole thing is completely free, but I have checked and double checked on the SW website and it definitely is... BBQ sauce and all!! You just put it in the oven for 1 hour and 25 minutes covered with tin foil, adding the BBQ sauce 10 minute before the end. Then you use a fork and pull the pork apart so all the tasty BBQ sauce goes right through the meat. 

The meat joint itself looks really small; the box says it serves 3 but by my portions I would say more like 1 or 2 people because there's a bit of fat on the top which I always take off but it makes a really tasty meat for either a pork sandwich with salad or a pork salad with new potatoes or chips. It tastes absolutely amazing and you'd think it'd be really high syn but it's not!

This is what my BBQ pork sandwich looked like... it was delicious!!

Tesco also do a few more meat joints in the frozen 'Simply Heat' range; Beef Brisket in ale gravy (free) and also Lamb Shanks in mint gravy (1.5 syns each) they're perfect for a saucy meat without the hassle, I think I'm going to try the beef next!

Have you tried these yet?

Big Mac in a Bowl

There's one reason why we're all following a healthy eating plan - we love food that makes us fat. Burgers, pizzas, creamy pasta etc. etc. it all tastes good but too much of it isn't overly good for the waist line. I've said this time and time again that people assume that because you're losing weight, you don't enjoy your food... well I can tell you that I enjoy every mouthful of food that passes my lips because there are some amazing SW friendly recipes out there which taste far too nice to possibly be on plan! Big Mac in a Bowl is one of those recipes which tastes so naughty but is actually totally on plan and it's so simple to do...

Ingredients:

Less than 5% fat mince or Quorn Mince

Iceberg lettuce

Gherkins

1 level tablespoon of Kraft Light Thousand Island Dressing (0.5 syns)

3 x Asda Chosen by You light cheese singles (HexA)

Method:

- Cook your mince (I used Quorn and it only tastes 5 minutes to cook half a pack in the microwave)

- In the meantime, line your bowl with chopped iceberg lettuce and gherkin slices (I know some people don't like gherkins, but I think they really make it)

- Once the mince is cooked pour it on top of the lettuce and gherkins

- Then tear the cheese into strips and lay it on top of the mince, you can either leave it to melt or pop it back in the microwave for 30 seconds (I put it in the microwave)

- Drizzle your tablespoon of thousand island dressing over the top and there you go... a Big Mac in a bowl!

McDonalds Big Mac syns: 24.5

Big Mac in a bowl syns: 0.5 (+1 HexA)

If you love Big Macs then you really need to try this, I've been doing SW since September and it's taken me 10 months to finally try it... now I'm asking why I didn't try it before now!!

Do you crave any fast foods??

Quick & Easy Meal Ideas with Tesco Vegetable Chilli

One of the main reasons why people struggle with the Slimming World plan is that they assume that everything has to be made from scratch. Trust me, my life does not allow me to make a lot from scratch so I rely on quick and easy meals which can be rustled up in minutes. I recently found out that a tin of Tesco Veg Chilli is only 1 syn for the whole thing so if you like veg and you like chilli, what's not to like?!

 Tesco Vegetable Chilli 400g can £1.49

It's packed with carrot, potato, onion, peppers, chopped tomatoes and red kidney beans with a mild to medium chilli sauce. It's really chunky rather than being mainly sauce and I think it's perfect as a jacket potato topping. I also added some extra super free on the side because I like to be on the safe side with my 1/3 super free and it was just nice to have something cool and crunchy to eat with the chilli. 

You could also do it with some rice or even with some potato wedges... chilli cheese wedges sounds amazing actually, I think I might try that next!! A can of this 1 syn chilli is ideal to have in your cupboard or for taking to work if you have access to a microwave!

So you want to go out & still lose weight?

One of the best things about Slimming World is that you can still carry on with your life as normal without your eating habits having to change what you do in terms of enjoyment. I have been on many a night out and eaten lots of meals in restaurants since I've been following the plan and I've always lost weight that week. One bad meal or even a bad day does not have to mean a gain at the end of the week. This is how I 'limit the damage'...

use 'flexible syns':- This is where you decide a set figure for the day/night and you count down from that to zero, when you get to zero you stop eating syns. If I'm on a night out I generally allow myself 40-50 syns, this sounds like a lot but if you follow SW you'll know alcohol isn't very syn friendly and one of my favourite tipples is white zinfandel which comes in at 9 syns per 250ml so for my syns I can have 4 large glasses of wine and have a few syns left over. Obviously it's upto you what you use your syns on but as long as you don't go over the amount you agreed with yourself, you are still maintaining a degree of control and therefore you should find it easier to stay on plan for the remainder of the week.

plan before you go:- If you're going out for a meal and you can get hold of a menu online then you need to be having a look at the different options available to you. My usual SW friendly choices include steak, jacket potato and salad & tomato based pasta dishes. There are of course lots of different things you could have within your usual daily 15 syns (or you could use flexible syns).

be good the rest of the week:- Might sound obvious but if I'm going out at the weekend I find it's a bit too close to weigh in day for comfort so I'll make sure I keep under 5 syns on all the other days and I also get straight back onto the regular plan afterwards. So many people think that a bad day has ruined their whole week so they'll continue to sabotage themselves for the days leading up till weigh day. There really is no need to do this, trust me I've been really naughty before and still managed a loss or a maintain on weigh day. 

Do you have any ways of coping with days/nights out?

What to buy on your first Slimming World shop

One of my friends from twitter (@what_a_twit) gave me a really good idea for a post on here the other day so I thought I'd get on and do it because I do think it'd be a massive help for anyone just starting SW, or even people who have been doing it a while. I think the first couple of weeks of Slimming World are the hardest because you struggle to know what to eat and it's the worst when you don't have enough in your fridge. Here are a few of my staple products that I ALWAYS have in without fail:

Salad items (lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes & peppers)

Eggs

Lean Meat (whatever takes your fancy)

Extra Lean Mince (less than 5% fat)

Fruit (not in a tin)

Frozen Peas

Veg (fresh or frozen)

Potatoes

Fat Free Yoghurts (my favourites are Muller Light and Weight Watchers... stay away from Yeo Valley)

Mug Shots (the ones with the black 1% triangle in the corner are free)

Bachelors Savoury Rice (these are all free)

Baked Beans

Alpen Light Bars (these count as a Healthy B)

60g Wholemeal Breadcakes (I buy Kingsmill)

Cottage Cheese

Semi Skimmed Milk

Babybel Cheese (great for grabbing as a healthy A)

Philidelphia Light or Lightest (great for spreading or cooking with)

Dried Pasta (white or brown)

Tinned chopped tomatoes (these are included in so many recipes)

Ready meals under 5 syns (for when you're in a rush)

Salt & Pepper

Dried Mixed Herbs (these can be used in lots of recipes)

And not forgetting some stock for your syn cupboard. This will obviously vary from person to person, if you're a savoury kind of person then you'll want low syn crisps which include Quavers and French Fries... I will be doing a full post about low syn savoury snacks so watch this space! If you're into sweet treats then you'll want to pick up things like treat size chocolate bars or a selection of chocolate bars under 10 syns.

As I said, this will vary from person to person, this is just an idea of what I always have in. Your first shop tends to be an expensive one but trust me, once you have got going it gets cheaper. You can buy frozen meat and veg if this is cheaper and easier for you, it doesn't change the fact that it's free/superfree.

What are your staple foods for living a healthy lifestyle?

Weekly Weigh in #35 - Yep you can gain this in one week!

It's been exactly 1 month since I posted on here, purely because May has been a hectic one for me. The pub was really busy at the beginning of the month then I trotted off to Florida on 8th May so I haven't really had too much to say on the weight loss front simply because I haven't lost any weight! After 3 weeks completely off plan I went back to group this week to face the scales (I already weighed at home so I knew roughly what to expect)

I gained 9lb 

Although I'm not bothered as such (well I am, nobody wants to gain weight when they're trying to lose), it does show how easy it can go back on when you're off plan. Over 3 weeks that averages out at 3lb per week which is a pretty big weight gain every week, but when you're eating nothing but *something* and fries every day you can't really expect anything less. I had zero intention of doing Slimming World while I was in Florida (don't get me wrong, it is doable) because I'd always wanted to go and I was just as excited to eat all the food as I was to go to Disney World! 

I'm not going to tell you what I ate because you all know how to put on weight and I don't want to get your mouths watering with all the wrong foods! What I will do though is show you what I had yesterday as it was my first day properly back on plan and believe me it feels so good to be back on it. Don't get me wrong I loved the food in America but behind every mouthful was me feeling just a little bit guilty, knowing it wasn't going to be good news on the scales when I got back. 

 Scrambled eggs (free) (no milk or cheese, just literally eggs) with mushrooms and plum tomatoes (both superfree) and beans on the side (free) - So nice and really filling, a perfect brunch kind of meal.

Spaghetti Bolognese cooked from scratch (usually I would use a jar which costs me 5.5 syns!)

Less than 5% fat mince, 2 tins of plum tomatoes, onion, green pepper, mushrooms, tomato puree, garlic salt, mixed herbs, oregano, salt. I just literally browned the mince off with the onion and mushrooms, then added everything else and let it simmer for about 20/30 minutes. Was the best spag bol I've ever made, packed with superfree and no need to count!

 I always have supper when I've come home from work at the pub, tonight was a side plate full of cucumber sticks, seafood sticks, 2 x Babybel cheese (HEXA) and 1 tbsp seafood sauce (2 syns)

Finished off with a 22g bag of Flamin' Hot Monster Munch (5.5 syns)

I've thoroughly enjoyed my first full day back on plan, I'm feeling full and a sight healthier. I'm so looking forward to having a good week this week, as long as I plan at the weekend with me being so busy I'm hoping for a really good loss on Tuesday!

If you love my blog and you'd like to nominate me for a Cosmopolitan Blog Award for Best Lifestyle Blog you can do so here

Ready Meals under 5 syns - Part One

Most of us haven't got the time or inclination to cook from the recipe books every single night, we all have lives and sometimes following a million and one instructions on a recipe just doesn't fit in! So I've been doing a bit of research and I've found 10 ready meals which you should be able to find in your local supermarket for under 5 syns. I think everyone thinks that ready meals are bad but there are some which you can easily fit within your daily syn allowance, just don't forget the super free on the side if it needs it!

WW Chilli with wedges 5

WW Chicken curry with rice 4.5

WW Shepherds pie 4

WW Sweet and sour 4

WW Beef hotpot 5

Tesco Healthy Living Moroccan chicken and rice 4.5

Tesco Healthy Living Szechuan chicken noodles  3.5

Tesco Healthy Living chicken and prawn paella 4.5

Tesco Healthy Living chicken with tomato and basil sauce (chilled) 0.5

Innocent Veg Pot Roasted Aubergine Moussaka (chilled) FREE

(Should be in the frozen section unless stated)

The only one of these I've tried is the Weight Watchers Chilli with wedges and I can say that it is very nice, the wedges are a really nice addition. As for the others I can't speak for them as I've not tasted them but I'm sure you lot will tell me what you think if you've tried them!

Weekly Weigh in #31 - Yep you can lose this in 1 week

So another week, another weigh in and it's getting very close to my holiday (next week, in fact), last week I said I wanted to lose 2lb over these next 2 weeks so I could get my 4 stone award for when I go to Florida. Well I kinda blew that completely out of the water because I lost 7lb this week giving my 4 stone award plus 3 more to put my nicely into it.

I've never lost this much in one week at Slimming World, even my first week was a 6lb weight loss so I have no idea how I've managed it this week other than being 100% on plan and also running around like a mad woman at work over the weekend. So I'm well and truly in the 4 stone mark and I'm definitely going to have a bit to play with when I go away.

Also in my 'news' this week is that today I went out, tried on and bought a pair of size 12 jeans from Next; honestly I think it was about 7 years ago the last time I could do that. It felt so nice today to be able to go into any shop of my choice and know that I will be able to pick my size of the hanger is such a good feeling. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the clothes in places like Evans but when you're totally restricted to certain shops, shopping for holiday clothes can be pretty soul destroying especially if you hate looking at yourself in the mirror. What I did realise today though, is that I need to tone up on my stomach and probably on my legs but that will come in time and I'll do that when I feel good and ready!

I'm hoping for another 1 or 2 pounds this week just to keep it going right up until the last minute but I've already exceeded where I wanted to be for my holiday so I'm feeling totally chuffed with myself to be honest!

Weekly Weigh in #30 - The one after Easter weekend

**This is a late post, been so busy and not had a chance to write anything up**

I honestly didn't think that Easter weekend would bother me, usually I work the whole bank holiday so I don't even get chance to be tempted by food or drink but this weekend saw me venture out into my home town for a drink (an occasion which only happens twice a year), I didn't watch what I drank and then came the hangover on Monday. Anyway, the results on the scales weren't as bad as I thought they would be and I got away with a 0.5lb gain. 

I'm not gutted because I do know where it has come from and I probably deserved more and that 4 stone award is still within reach by the time I go to Florida. If I can lose 2lb each week for the next 2 weeks I'll get my 4 stone award the same week I fly out which will be a great way to start my holiday! This week is going to involve lots of planning and some cooking, I'm at my mums for tea tomorrow but I've already been informed that it's a chicken dinner which is absolutely perfect for Slimming World. Other than that I aren't out for any meals this week, the only thing I might struggle a little with is Saturday; we have a big stressful function on at the pub so fitting in any kind of food is going to be tricky (I'm hoping for left over veg!). So I've got 4 evening meals to plan for and lunches/snacks in between.

Planning is definitely the key to me succeeding and if I know what I want on the scales then I generally find it easier to stick to it. Here's what I'm hoping to have this week:

Chilli beef noodles or a stir fry - I always said I didn't like stir fry but you know what I think I would love to try one now, I think before I started Slimming World I just wanted to avoid potentially healthy foods but now the idea of chicken with veg and noodles really appeals to me.

Mince with Gravy, potatoes and veg - I do love 'no fuss' foods, truth be known I hate having to faff around in the kitchen and I have to be really in the mood to follow a complicated recipe so mince and gravy is perfect for when I can't be bothered.

Salmon - I love salmon, I honestly cannot get enough.

Here's to another week of Slimming World!