Sunday, 17-05-26

Evening, everyone!

I'm starting with an addition to yesterday's post - after I had 'sent' it, I had another of the home made wraps, just plain, on it's own, to nibble.  It was delicious, way nicer than any commercial one within my price range anyway.

This morning my two-weekly Oddbox arrived and this is what I now have to use.  

A rather lovely cauliflower, two aubergines, a yellow courgette (I like them best and they look like sunshine), yellow peppers, tomatoes. avocados, a mini water melon, apples, easy peelers (rather ginormous ones!) pears and six green bananas which will ripen in due course.
I look forward to using up this produce.

Breakfast - some fruit plus some Greek yogurt with a bit of maple syrup (which I prefer to honey) that I didn't photo.

One swip.

Plans for lunch changed a bit.  I was sorting out the bread product bag in the freezer and came across one of the leftover portions from my last SWK order, chicken tikka masala.

I removed most of the rice and added grated cheddar to make a sort of fusion quesadilla (the hm wrap crisped up beautifully) and had it with salad.

Three swips and half a fibre for the wrap, one oil swip for the chicken tikka masala and one oil swip brushed over the wrap before crisping up.

Dinner started with evoo, balsamic and hm sourdough.  Delicious!

One healthy oils choice plus half a fibre and one swip for the bread

Then I had some roasted Med veg - courgette, aubergine, mushroom, onion and pepper.

Three swips for evoo.

And finally the lamb with sweet potato and orzo (and rice from the chicken tikka masala).

One oil swip.

Summary:

One oil, one calcium and one fibre healthy extra

Ten swips, almost all evoo

B:  I'll probably have an apple before I go to circuits and some fruit and yogurt later on.

L:  salad; imam bayildi (from the freezer)

D:  bread and oil; roasted veg;  lemon chicken orzo.  I know I had orzo today but this looks very different in flavour.  I found the recipe here but will adapt it to work with what I have - yogurt added at the end so it won't split, all evoo, fresh cooked chicken and baby leaves from my salad bag.

Fruit as and when

and I'm back at circuits, just for one week and then it is the end of the block.

Saturday evening, 16-05-26

Evening, everyone.

Breakfast:

A bowl of mixed fruit - pineapple, strawberries. grapes and apple

and some 0% Greek yogurt with sweetener.

Plans changed slightly. for lunch  After watching one of my favourite vlogs, Ali Lives Well on Less, where she made wraps, I had a go with quarter amounts and half and half white and dark rye flours.  I made three wraps and decided to have one for my fibre choice around the roasted veg.
The wrap was absolutely delicious and, seeing as it was a half and half, I am calling it half a fibre and three swips.  I don't think I will be buying any more commercial wraps, packed with UP ingredients.

The roasted vegetables had two swips worth of evoo - so that will be part of my healthy oils choice.

As I said, Ali is one of my favourite vloggers - she's very down to earth, straightforward and no-nonsense and I learn a lot from her.  Do go and take a look - she might become your favourite too.

Then I had a very easy salad with a hard boiled egg and some balsamic vinegar as a dressing.  Very nice indeed.

After was an orange and later on I had some grapes.

The chicken pasta arrabbiata . . . 

. . . with cooling yogurt and cheese.

Delicious.

Most of a healthy oil choice and a calcium choice.  Apart from that, it's all SW free.

Summary:
one calcium, half a fibre and two thirds of an oil
three swips

A good start but we all know it's one meal at a time.

B:  fruit and yogurt

L:  cheese salad wrap; side salad

D:  bread and evoo/balsamic vinegar; small salad; lamb and sweet potato orzo

Exercise starts properly again on Monday.

Saturday morning, 16-05-26

Morning, all.  I'm back from a lovely time at Center Parcs with family.  I did intend to post more but, to be honest, the food wasn't healthy and I didn't take many photos anyway!

I am not even looking at the scales until Friday at Slimming World but this is why I won't be happy with what they say . . . a typical evening photo.  Too much vino, too many nibbles, too much 'stuff'.
It was nice but I'm back on it, starting right now!

I have plenty of good stuff in the freezer and I have an Oddbox arriving overnight.  No excuses now.

These are yesterday's photos.
Breakfast was marmite on toast.

Lunch 1:  a simple salad of tomato, pepper, cucumber and beetroot

Lunch 2:  I sprayed two large mushrooms with evoo, added some sliced tomato and some grated cheddar and baked it in the oven.  Really simple and very tasty.

I planned to have fish and chips to finish off the holiday but couldn't be bothered to make the chips.  This is Harry Ramsden's battered cod goujons  - basically slightly posh fish fingers.

(not SW friendly!)

Today's plans:

B:  fruit and yogurt

L:  some roasted med veg and an egg salad

D:  a starter of raw veg to nibble on and then, probably, chicken penne arrabbiata.

And fruit.

As for exercise, I have plenty of housework and I want to go a bit in the garden too.

I will post again this evening to get back on track and into routine again.  

Tuesday, 11-05-26

Good morning, all.  Apologies for the silence - things were a bit hectic and now I am away again, this time for our now traditional five days at Center Parcs, Elveden - that's me, Beth and Alex.

I confess that these five days (four now) won't be very SW friendly or Mediterranean, but I'll bring you along for the ride, so to speak.  Posts will be in the morning because the internet connection in the evenings is dire.  So many people all going online at the same time, I guess.

Yesterday's food.
I polished off some chicken and some fruit as neither would last and I didn't want to either take it with me or waste it.
We had lunch straight after we accessed our lodge.  Toast with cheese and/or mushroom pate.

This was dinner, prepared by Beth.  A right royal feast, it was, and you may be relieved to know that we didn't finish it all by a long shot.

A close up of this because the 'tray' is mine - a gift from Beth.  It should have been for Mothering Sunday but it didn't arrive (Temu!!).  Nor did it arrive for Easter and I was away for my birthday.  

It has a cover that fits on securely and has handles so it can be carried.  It's very useful.

Today:

We have fruit, yogurt, muesli and bread for breakfasts this week.

Lunch will be rather like yesterday's dinner - sort of leftovers but planned!

For dinner, we are going to Huck's Diner.  That's Alex's choice as today we are celebrating his birthday (it was actually last Friday).  I'll probably have chicken fajitas but I'll choose after looking at the online menu.

As for exercise - it's swimming and plenty of walking!  Lovely!  

Saturday, 09-05-26

 Good evening, everyone.   Apologies for a few missing posts - life has been busy, meals have been all over the place and it's nice to get things back together again today.

I was out all day yesterday - fish and chips for lunch and a scratched together meal of bits and bobs when I got home.  No photos, of course.  

Lunch was most of the chicken and veg orzo made yesterday from leftovers with a mixed salad.  I could have made it look more Cretan by having them as separate items but it makes no difference really.

Two oil swips for some olives and one swip for the tomato sauce leftovers that I used.

Dinner1:  the butterbean dip with carrot slices

One swip (3/4 really but rounded up)

Dinner 2:  I was going to have salad but I had some orzo mix and some bulgur wheat and three colour quinoa so I mixed them together, added some grated hard Italian cheese and stuffed a couple of tomatoes.  Very delicious.

One oil swip and half a calcium healthy extra

Dinner 3:  at last, the imam bayildi and it was delicious.  I used about half amounts and ate a third of it so, working it all out, the other half of my calcium healthy extra for feta plus one swip and half an oil healthy extra for my portion.

I had a banana for afters.

Summary:

Healthy extras: one calcium and one oil, no fibre

Three swips

B:  fruit and/or yogurt, if needed

L:  Another portion of the imam bayildi, probably with salad.

D:  I have cooked chicken to use up so I might make a chicken curry.
Edit:  I'm going to knock together a sort of chicken souvlaki/gyros thingy with some chips on the side.  That will use us all sorts of odds and ends.

Wednesday, 06-05-26

Good evening, everyone.  This is a bit late because I've been out and about!  Good news though - no slip ups today.  Cheers!

Lunch 1:  the butterbean dip (very tasty) with a drizzle of evoo and some toasted sourdough.

I had two portions of the dip which made one and a half swips and half a tsp evoo was one oil swip.

Lunch 2:  a nice mixed salad with carrot, pepper, leaves, cucumber, tomato, olives and grapes and I also added a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Two oil swips for the olives.

Lunch 3:  I finally finished off the gigantes plaki and had them on a bed of mushrooms.

One oil swip for the bit of leftovers, one calcium choice for some grated goat's cheese and three oil swips to cook the mushrooms.

So, altogether, lunch was one fibre, one calcium, one and a half other swips and seven oil swips (one oils healthy extra and one swip)

And I think that's it because my Harvester dinner is SW free/speed - I have checked. 

Later - yes, that's all.  Just back from the Harvester and today has been very firmly on plan.  

Three cheers!

Summary:

one each of the healthy extras

two and a half swips

L:  
smashed avocado on toast
salad
spiced griddled chicken 

(Alex is over and will be sharing this with me)

D:

butterbean dip with crudités

stuffed tomato 
imam bayildi - an aubergine dish.  I have chopped tomato to use up so that works well.

Tuesday, 05-05-26, and a recipe (and posted late)

Evening, everyone.

Confession time - yesterday evening was one almighty car crash so now I feel yucky and have to start again.

More confession - so was tonight (Tuesday night).  Once you start, it is hard to stop!

So - back on it quickly . . .

Lunch:  They did have the salad at the Angel and it was very nice but - not much substance to it so, although I felt full and brought some home, it didn't keep me going and that's where the rot started, I think.
I'll have it again but have some griddled chicken with it to make it more substantial.

And I did have a great time with my friend, M.  We talked and talked and the time just flew.  We're doing the same again next month when she knows she will be in town again.  Lovely!

I'm not talking about dinner.  It won't help, might trigger and I want to move on.  Sorry but I need to keep this real and honest.

So - moving on . . . 

L:  

butterbean dip with toast

salad

Yesterday's gigantes plaki with mushrooms

D:  out with friends.  It is the Harvester so I know what I'm having - salad for started and then griddled chicken with more salad.  I might take a little pot of fat free dressing with me!  Then coffee.
It'll be fine as it's in the evening which is my danger time at home.

Exercise is personal training.

The butterbean dip was lovely (although I only had a little taste because the evening went all upsy downsy!) and this is how I made it.  All amounts are relative and were what I had so you can play about with it.  The only things I measured was the swip items

What I used and did.

In a blender place . . .

Butterbeans (with a bit of aquafaba, if possible) - I used what was left after making the gigantes plaki, and treated myself to a jar rather than using a can.  More costly but you get a lot more and they are lovely

Roasted red pepper from a jar - I just had a bit left but you can use whatever you have
Bit of chopped red onion
A squidge of garlic puree

Blend well

One level tbsp peanut butter powder (one and a half swips)

Blend again and taste.

A squeeze of lemon juice

A bit of salt and pepper

Blend and taste

Good pinch sweet smoked paprika

One and a half tsps evoo (three swips)

Blend and taste.
I left it at that but you could add whatever your taste buds tell you to add.

This made six portions - not huge but I didn't want huge - for four and a half swips so 3/4 per portion - so you could add a tiny drizzle of evoo over it when serving!  It's not really worth counting it as a healthy extra unless you want to work it out.  I am trying to keep it simple!