Becca Jane St Clair

Personal Blog

Why I Left Slimming World

I used to post a lot about my Slimming World journey. As some of you know, I did manage to lose a bit of weight through Slimming World, then gained some of it back and struggled quite a bit. Then, the pandemic hit and I felt that there wasn’t really much support out there and I decided not to return after the pandemic, and especially after they upped their prices! I know Slimming World struggled during the pandemic and they tried creating virtual meetings via Zoom and giving us half-price meetings if we already had purchased a countdown before they had to shut down groups, but I just didn’t feel as though there was support. We obviously were expected to weigh ourselves at home, too, and I don’t even own a scale because I would honestly step on it multiple times per day to check my weight if I did. And it’s very hard to receive personal attention over a Zoom call. There was nothing personal about it. I don’t even recall our consultant contacting us if we stopped attending the Zoom calls. I certainly felt as though the £45 I paid the week before we had to stop meetings was completely wasted!

But let’s get back to my struggling. When I first joined SW, my goal was to get my weight down to a weight that a doctor told me I needed to get down to for a procedure. I got down to the weight I was told, and they basically told me I hadn’t that I actually needed to lose more and get down to an amount that I wasn’t comfortable weighing. But I returned to Slimming World anyway and I struggled whenever we would get told to “remember why you walked through that door.” or “remember your goal”, because I no longer actually had a tangible goal.

I also struggled with “do you know why you gained weight?”/”Do you know why you didn’t lose anything this week?” because I felt like it was shaming people for the choices they made throughout the week. If it was my birthday, anniversary, or heck, just a bad day and I wanted to have a piece of cake…I was going to have the piece of cake.

We got told to “eat in moderation”, yet foods like pasta, rice, and potatoes were “unlimited”…talk about a carb overload! Speaking of carbs, I actually did lose 30lbs before I joined Slimming World by cutting out carbs entirely. Even now, I don’t eat pasta as often as I used to, and rarely rice, but I do like potatoes and bread. Other “unlimited”, sorry, “free” foods included yogurt brand Mueller Light and people were not discouraged from eating an entire 6 pack of yogurts in one day. Pickled onions were also considered “free”. I’m allergic to onion so I never ate them, but you would see people posting pictures of the weirdest plates with their little onion garnish.

Packet of lunchmeat? Fine. Eggs? Fine. Apples? Fine. Banana? Fine. But don’t you dare put that banana in a blender or press the juice out of the apple. Now it’s synned. A tin of chickpeas was fine, but if you roasted chick peas, you guessed it…synned.

Now I’m not saying that the plans don’t work. I’m sure they do for some people, and I know people who have had great success on the plans. In fact, I have an entire category on my blog dedicated to my experiences on Slimming World and recipe sharing. The problem is, you pretty much have to be on the plan for life. The “maintain” part of the plan involves you weighing in every week and if you fall above or below something like 3lbs off your original goal, you either get put back on the plans, or told to eat more.

And the plans just don’t work if you have other dietary restrictions. For example, people who require Gluten Free foods will struggle on the plans. As a diabetic, I struggled because a lot of the “free” foods still had quite a bit of sugar in them, including the yogurts. I’m allergic to onions (and garlic), so that made some of the recipes hard to follow as a lot of them rely on adding a ridiculous amount of either. I’m also allergic to maple syrup, so can’t use that as a sugar alternative. If you can’t drink cow milk, you can’t use almond milk as your dairy option. In fact, I don’t even know what someone would do if they were both gluten and lactose intolerant as one of the big daily requirements is a Healthy A (dairy) and a Healthy B (Bread/Wheat).

The plans also struggle to cope with any amount of exercise or training above just going on a walk. In fact, they claim you don’t need to do any exercise at all and you will still lose weight. I recently started running, and I know that if I was still at SW I would get reprimanded for a “gain”, when actually, I’ve lost inches on my waist and hips and the fat on my calves has all been converted back into muscle.

I also know some people who developed eating disorders because of Slimming World and the idea of “binging” on pasta or potatoes. or the idea that meeting night is also “cheat night” so you could stuff your face after the meeting and it wouldn’t matter because you’d get right back on the plan on the following morning. We were encouraged instead of using our 15 “syns” per day, that it was ok to save them up for one big meal during the week instead. My own view of food is pretty skewed and I barely make pasta anymore because I feel like I used to make too much pasta but I ate it anyway because it was “free”.

But no, I shouldn’t completely poo poo on Slimming World. I have made several really good friends through the group who I still talk to regularly. I gained confidence in cooking and creating recipes. And yes, I did lose some weight, even if I’ve put some of it back on.

But I won’t be returning to Slimming World, or Weight Watchers, or any of the other “weight loss plans” that claim they aren’t diets while being diets.

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DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Quick and Simple Egg Fried Rice

The lockdown has me reaching for easy and quick recipes since I haven’t been able to get a delivery slot in over 2 months and my husband’s been doing the shopping. I like to find recipes that don’t have a lot of specialist ingredients or that can use plenty of substitutes to make the shopping easier and this egg fried rice has so many possible ways to make it!

You will need:
bite sized meat or meat substitute of your choice, enough for 2. (I’ve used chicken, quorn chicken, and pork in the past)
1 packet of Bachelor’s Golden Vegetable Super Rice or generic version (or other flavour)
1 bag of mixed vegetables
3 eggs
soy sauce

Directions:
1. Stir-fry meat with soy sauce.
2. Check rice packet for instructions and add required amount of water and rice packet to the frying pan with chicken and bring to a boil.
3. Steam vegetables (unless you want a crunchy stir-fry, then skip this step)
4. Add steamed vegetables to the pan.
5. Whisk the eggs with a little soy sauce and once the rice has absorbed all the water, add the egg mixture and constantly stir until eggs are cooked.
6. Divide between two plates, use more soy sauce as needed.

If you are following Slimming World, the only syns are the syns in the packet of rice, which depending on brand range from 1/2 to 1.5 Syns per serving.

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DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including personal images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Eggs Benedict without the Muffin

I became inspired by a fellow Slimming World member who used a giant mushroom as a pizza base, so when I spotted big field mushrooms in Asda, I had to get them and this became Sunday Brunch.

Mushroom Benedict (SP)

You Will Need:
2 Large field mushrooms (look for mushrooms the size of muffins)
2 Thick tomato slices
2 Slices smoked salmon
2 eggs
(I added a handful of sliced gherkins because I like them, but they’re optional!)

1. Remove the stem from the mushrooms and put them under the grill for 10-15 minutes until tender.
2. While you’re grilling the mushrooms, put a pot of water on to boil.
3. Grill tomato slices for 5 minutes.
4. While you’re grilling the veggies, bring a pot of water to the boil. Once it reaches the boiling point, carefully crack in two eggs and poach for 3 minutes.
5. Layer each mushroom with a tomato slice and smoked salmon.
6. Top with a poached egg.

If you follow Slimming World, this recipe is FREE and can be used on an SP day!

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Slimming World Style Japanese Ramen (Wagamama Fakeaway)

A few days ago, a member of my slimming world group posted a picture of a delicious looking Japanese Ramen style soup her husband had made. Based on her photo, and a recipe I found on BBC Good Food, I came up with this. It reminds me of the kinds of meals you can get at Wagamama.

Japanese Ramen, Serves 2. SYNS: 0

You Will Need:
2 blocks of Ramen noodles (medium chinese noodles)
2L water
2 chicken stock cubes
6 sprigs purple broccoli
1 carrot, diced
200g baby corn, sliced into rounds
1 spring onion stalk, sliced
2 boneless chicken breasts
2TBS Chinese 5 spice
1TBS soy sauce
2 handfuls spinach
2 eggs, hardboiled and sliced in half

1. Slice chicken breasts into strips and coat with the Chinese five spice. Spray a pan with fry light, and fry strips until golden, or use a griddle pan. Set aside.
2. Add the water, stock cubes, soy sauce, purple broccoli, baby corn, spring onion, and carrot to a pot and bring to a boil. Allow vegetables to cook through.
3. Add Ramen and cook according to package.
4. Place one handful of uncooked spinach in the bottom of each bowl and slowly ladle the broth and vegetables on top. Use tongs to extract 3 broccoli sprigs per bowl. Evenly divide the noodles and chicken between the bowls and garnish with egg.

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaonthemoon
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Blog: http://blog.beccajanestclair.com
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[Recipe] IKEA Swedish Meatballs Fakeaway

Ah, so who doesn’t use a trip to IKEA as an excuse to eat Swedish Meatballs? Just us, then?

We love the Swedish meatballs, and we love that now you can even buy frozen meatballs and sauce packets to take home with you. I always buy 2 bags of frozen meatballs and at least a half dozen packets of sauce mix to keep us going between visits….but eventually, we run out. And as we haven’t had time or a need to go to IKEA in about a year, I needed to get creative. I found this recipe on a facebook group page for Slimming World, so this recipe also is Slimming World friendly. The sauce itself is free, and the meatballs can also be syn free depending on what you use.

You will need:

Your favourite meatballs or meatball recipe
4 vegetable stock cubes or pots (I used 1 pot and 3 cubes)
Enough water for half the stock cubes (this varies from type of cube. The ones I used needed 500ml of water per cube, so I used 1L water)
3-4 TBS fromage frais

I know, I know, the recipe sounds a little vague. But really, hear me out.

1. Cook meatballs as directed on their packaging or per your recipe. This time around I used Quorn Swedish style meatballs, but you can use the Slimming World meatballs (FREE) or any other type of meatball. Even make your own from mince if you prefer.
2. Add stock cubes and water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil until the cubes are dissolved. Continue to boil the stock for an additional 10 minutes.
3. Remove concentrated stock from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before stirring in 3-4 TBS of Fromage Frais. This should make your sauce creamy and a little thick. If it’s not thick enough, add more Fromage Frais.

I served ours with Smash and some frozen mixed vegetables. While it’s not exactly the same as what you will get at IKEA, it’s still pretty tasty as a mock Swedish meatball sauce. I’m sure any Swedish friends reading this are shaking their heads in horror now….

***

Please note: While I used to work for IKEA (in 1998 and then again in 2006), I do not currently work for IKEA and they have not compensated me for writing this blog post. Nor have any of the brands mentioned in this post.

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

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[Recipe] Cauliflower Cheese & Bacon

Do you ever watch those recipe videos on Facebook and get really hungry? Me too. Last night, one of my friends linked to a video for Loaded Cauliflower Casserole and it got me hungry and wanting to create this dish to be Slimming World friendly. So I went out shopping today and picked up a Cauliflower and we had this for Tea tonight.

You Will Need:

1 Head of Cauliflower (chopped into florets)
300g frozen mixed vegetables
200g bacon medallions
250g Quark
3 heaped spoonfuls Fromage Frais
1 TBS dried or fresh chives (or use spring onion if you have them. I forgot to buy some but had chives)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp mustard powder
45g reduced fat cheddar cheese

1. Boil or steam the cauliflower florets until tender and cook the frozen vegetables. Drain both.
2. Grill bacon. Chop bacon into bite sizes bits.
3. Combine quark, fromage frais, chives, pepper, and mustard.
4. Stir quark mixture into vegetables, add chopped bacon.
5. Spread into a casserole dish and top with 45g cheddar cheese
6. Bake at 200C 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is golden.

Syns per recipe: 6 (for the cheese).

This recipe is easy to adapt for vegetarians, just omit the bacon or use veggie bacon. If you are following a Low Carb High Fat diet, use full fat cream cheese and sour cream instead.

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Easy Carbonara Slimming World Style

14054558_10154537219342160_5208478823754869133_o Breaking up the Austria posts to bring you a recipe, because I am trying to be back on the SW train. I actually managed to lose 3 pounds over the three weeks I was away, but then since being back I actually gained a half stone. Grrrr. But I’ve got my SW planning journal and a new countdown and I’m trying to be ON IT. FOCUS! I’ve regained so much weight after my great success and it really upsets me a lot. Anyway….

Tim asked me a while ago to come up with a carbonara, and it took me age, but I finally have come up with one that’s really tasty!

This recipe serves 2 (so double it for 4) and it is FREE on Slimming World (Extra Easy)

You will need:

6 bacon medallions, diced
3 spring onion sprigs, chopped
150g frozen sliced mushrooms
4-5 balls of frozen spinach
200g diced lean ham (or deli ham)
200g dried pasta
300g Quark
1 TBS Fromage Frais (could be omitted)
Salt
Pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package and add the frozen spinach the last 5 minutes.
2. Spray a wok or large frying pan with fry light and fry the bacon, spring onions, and frozen mushroom for about 10 minutes
3. Add the ham and while the ham is heating up, drain the pasta and spinach and rinse in hot water.
4. Tip the pasta and spinach into the wok and stir in the quark and the fromage frais. Season with the salt & pepper
5. Divide between two plates and serve with a large salad.

We both loved this, but it did make a lot for even the two of us and I couldn’t eat all of it. I wouldn’t freeze this because I’m not sure how quark would freeze. If you wanted, you could use your HEA and use cream cheese instead of quark or even use some laughing cow wedges.

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

Many of the Amazon UK links are affiliate links, so if you click on them and buy something, I do get a tiny percent.

This post has not been endorsed by Amazon or any of the products and websites mentioned in this post and I have not received compensation for writing this post or making any videos.

The contents of this post, including personal images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

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[Slimming World] Let’s go Camping!

This post is here because I posted this on my local Slimming World group, and one of the members asked if they could share it elsewhere. Since you can’t share posts made on closed groups, I’m sticking it here. So there aren’t any pics to go with it (yet), but I might edit it tomorrow when I get more time.

Tips for staying on Slimming World while camping!

Tip 1 – If you are going to be without electricity to keep food cold, a day or two before you go cook up a batch of something like pasta sauce and then freeze it in either a plastic container or in a zipper top bag (double bag it!) and use this as a cold pack in your cooler. After it thaws out, you can cook some pasta and heat up the sauce, but it will keep your food cool for a bit longer.
Tip 2 – UHT milk cartons. For Tim and I, we go through 1 500ml carton of semi-skim UHT milk per day of our camping trip, so it’s not left out for very long, but this way you can have milk for coffee, tea, and cereal. You also can freeze them and use them as ice packs in your cooler.

Breakfast:

1 – you can make up your own instant porridge packs in plastic baggies. 2 tsp of dried powdered skim milk is 1 Syn. Measure out 35g of porridge and 2tsp of dried skim milk into your bags and in the mornings pour into a bowl and add boiling water. You can add some frozen berries (use them as an ice pack as they thaw!) for some added S foods.

2 – Make hash browns/fried potatoes. Get a tin of new potatoes (it’s only around 20p!), slice them or cut them into chunks, and fry with some fry light. Super easy, and they go great with some fried eggs, tinned tomatoes, and baked beans.

3 – cold cereal with UHT milk in a pinch.4 – French toast. Dip wholemeal bread into a mixture of UHT milk and an egg and fry with fry light. You can make these sweet or savory by either sprinkling with cinnamon and sweetener and serving with thawing berries, or savory and serve it with fried eggs or scrambled eggs.

Main meals:

Tip 1 – Boil in bag rice is FREE and it’s easier to cook when camping as it won’t be as hard to clean and you can reuse the pot right away

Tip 2 – Find a metal colander that fits inside your large pot when you make pasta so you just have to lift out the colander when the pasta is done and dump the water instead of finding a place to pour the pasta pot into the colander.

Tip 3 – Another option for pasta is cooking it at home ahead of time and putting it into a zipper top bag and immersing the bag in boiling water to heat up the pasta

Meal 1 – Vegetable Soup: This is super easy. All you need is a tin of mixed vegetables, a tin of tomatoes, 2 vegetable stock pots, and a handful of pearl barley (optional, but bulks it up). Pour the tins into a pot, add the stock pots, add the barley, and top up with water. The barley takes about 20 minutes to cook (although the longer you leave it, the softer the barley). A larger family might need 2 tins of each and 4 stock pots. You also could open a bag of boil in bag rice and toss it in instead of pearl barley.

Meal 2 – Poor Man’s Ramen: 1 Egg noodle nest or block per person, soy sauce, an OXO veg cube per person, tinned peas, carrots, and tinned corn. Toss it all in a pot, crumble the OXO cube on top, and bring to a boil. Takes about 10 minutes. You can drain it OR have it soupy and use soy sauce to taste.

Meal 3 – Stir Fry: serve with either boil in bag rice or egg noodles.

Meal 4 – If you premade/froze pasta sauce, pop it in a pot and cook some pasta. If your sauce is in a plastic bag, you could even cook it in the pot with the pasta in the bag, or stir it into the pasta after you drain the pasta to heat it through. . (My recipe for camping is really simple – quorn quorn mince, passata, tinned tomatoes, italian spices, worcester sauce, and cinnamon)

Meal 5 – if you have leftover sauce, dump a tin of kidney beans and some chili powder to make chilli and serve over rice.

Meal 6 – Pasta N Sauce with some added tinned vegetables, or make poor man’s mac n cheese with pasta and tinned veg and while the pasta is still hot, stir in laughing cow wedges. Make it cajun style with some cajun or jamaican jerk seasonings and you could add quorn chicken pieces. We like this especially with the laughing cow blue cheese.

I also like to make up some SW barbecue sauce before we go and I use one of those lock n lock tube shaped containers for it. The balsamic vinegar preserves it (Tim just used some I had in the fridge for 2 months and it was fine). If you are taking a grill or can get one of those disposable grills, you could have a barbecue with quorn burgers, or you could even make the burgers on the camping stove in a frying pan. If I was doing a barbecue, I would cook corn on the cob (it’s probably very American! lol), heat up some beans (baked beans is also a big barbecue thing in the US), and fry some potatoes (or if you have a campfire or charcoal grill – stab potatoes and wrap them in foil, then bury them in the coals)

Another good grill option for camping is veggie skewers with rice.

That’s all I have for now, if I think of more I’ll add it!

***
***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

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[Slimming World] Motivation

12789884_10154066861462160_2100876990_o Ok, so this is a Subway salad. You’ve seen them before, and if you follow Slimming World, you probably eat this a lot when you’re out and about. You know the deal. Lots of Speed, a little bit of P foods, and around 2 syns for some Ranch dressing. But. When I was in town today I very nearly strayed and went to Burger King.

So, let me back up bit. The other day, a friend messaged me to tell me she had joined Slimming World, and she wanted to know if I had any tips for her. I drew a blank. How can I offer tips to someone when I’ve spent a year mostly gaining weight instead of losing? So I gave her a generic “stick to the plans”…..and I thought oh, you dummy. How about YOU follow the plans?

So back to today. I’m in town. I need Lunch. Options are – fast food or a sit down restaurant. Out of the fast foods, we all know Subway is the best option…..but when you can smell the chips…….

In Lincoln, the BK is inside the shopping centre off the high street. To get to it, you have to either take the escalator down into New Look and walk out of New Look and over to it, or you have to walk the length of the upper level and then go down to the lower. So I walked into New Look and just looked at the first item in my path. It wasn’t anything in particular that I would wear, but I looked at the size on the shirt. 10. Could I some day fit into a 10 and take that shirt into the dressing room just to see what it looks like? Would eating at BK really help me on my way?

I turned around and walked to Subway.

….just don’t ask me about the rest of the day 😉 (I’m kidding. It wasn’t a bad day at all!)

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

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[Recipe] Stuffed French Toast

12250765_10153827925177160_1136318101_o Walk into an American diner, and one thing you’ll spot on the menu is French Toast, and about a half dozen (or more!)) ways to have it , including stuffed.

French toast is known as eggy bread in the UK, the only difference being that eggy bread is more of a savory dish, and French toast is usually a sweet. And to further confuse things, in the UK we also have something called fried bread, which you would think would be similar, but nope. Fried bread kind of grosses me out.

If you order Stuffed French Toast in a diner, you will usually get two really thick slices of white bread, dipped in a mixture of egg and milk, and fried. Between the two pieces of bread they lay on the sweet cream cheese and then it’s topped with fruit mixed in a sugary syrup. Sounds disgustingly delicious, doesn’t it?

Since Tim was swapping over to night shift on Saturday, I knew we would be up late on Friday night (to try to sleep in on Saturday to help him switch over) and Saturday by the time we got up we would be having Brunch instead of Breakfast, and I decided to make French Toast. Then, when I was getting the milk out for my coffee, I spotted the dish of thawed out frozen berries and a container of quark, so I decided to make mine stuffed!

Stuffed French Toast
Syns: 0, but this will count as your HEB. If you’re not having it as your HEB, you will need to syn the bread.

You will need:
2 slices of any Healthy Extra B bread option
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
100g frozen mixed berries, thawed (or fresh berries)
2 TBS quark
Fry Light

1. Spray a frying pan with Fry Light and pre-heat it on the hob (that’s stove for my American readers!).
2. Whisk the eggs with the cinnamon in a bowl or dish large enough to fit a slice of bread.
3. Soak one slice of bread in the mixture and fry until golden brown (3-4 minutes per side). Repeat with the second slice of bread (you might need to give the pan another spray of Fry Light too). If your frying pan is large enough, you could do both slices at once.
4. Spread one slice of French toast with quark, top with mixed berries, and place the second slice of French toast on top.
5. Optional: top the whole thing with some agave syrup, treacle, American pancake syrup, or golden syrup (and make sure you calculate the syns for your syrup!)

Not only is this a great Slimming World brunch choice, it’s great for a diabetic! If you wanted to make a “full fat” version, use cream cheese instead of quark and you could use tinned fruit in syrup.

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

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[Recipe] Queen Cakes from Beamish

12244841_10153828556132160_1633251543351578338_o Last year, my husband gave me an experience day at Beamish for our 5th anniversary. I went on the baking course, and it was loads of fun! Not only did we get to use recipes from the Victorian era, we also baked on a coal stove, similar to the Esse stove I have in my kitchen (which I still haven’t used…..). We got to take home everything we baked and we were given a packet with the recipes to use at home. The goodies were enjoyed by my husband and I over our weekend break up North, and also given to my in-laws. We enjoyed everything we made, with the exception of the bread as it had too much yeast in it for our tastes. I held on to the recipe packet, and today when my pictures from the baking day popped up on my Timehop, I asked Tim what from that day I should make again. He suggested queencakes.

If the measurements look a little odd, its because the recipe from Beamish was in ounces. Fortunately, my digital scale can be switched from grams to ounces, so I swapped it over and then swapped it back to see what it was in grams so I could share this in an easier to measure measurement. I also worked out the sys for this since I wanted to know if I could have any and if you make 12, they come out at 3.5 Syns each. The batter filled up the tins, so I debated making 24 with the mixture, which would make them 1.7 syns each (round up to 2), but I think they would wind up being too small.

12248077_10153828555067160_3088441615694560511_o

Queen Cakes
Makes 12, 3.5 Syns each

You will need:
114g self-rising flour
56g caster sugar
56g Flora light
1 egg
2 TBS semi-skim milk
31g currants

1. Preheat oven to 180C and spray a 12-hole bun tin with fry light.
2. beat the egg and milk together and set aside.
3. Cream together Flora and sugar.
4. Alternate adding egg mixture and flour to the mix.
5. Stir in currants.
6. Divide evenly into the bun tin and bake for 15 minutes.
7. allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn onto a cooling rack.

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] A Trio of Cheap and Easy Crock Pot Soups

12214067_10153817709282160_257290123_o I regularly make Slimming World speed soup because it’s super easy, and the ingredients are almost always in my cupboard and if they’re not, the local co-op stocks everything I need. I’ve been on a Crock Pot (Slow Cooker) kick lately, especially with it becoming colder outside and Tim wanting to take food in a hot food flask for his pack-up. Last year, Tim wound up with microwave curries most days (at a hefty cost of £6 for 2!) or a Bachelor’s Pasta N Sauce. But I decided to try to not only save us some money, but to also give him some healthier meals, as the only way his curry was Slimming World friendly was if I went to Iceland and bought the SW frozen curries, but more often I wound up popping down to the co-op at the last minute! Using the crock pot to make soup means I can make it in bulk to last the whole week. A few weeks ago, I made Parsnip and apple soup, last week was butternut squash soup, and this week is Tomato Speed soup. The best part about the tomato soup is it’s less than £3 for all the ingredients as this works great with the value ranges! And if you’re on an early shift, you can put this in the crock pot the night before!

Parsnip and Apple Soup

You will need:
6 Parsnips, chopped
1 large cooking apple
2 Celery ribs, diced
1 Vegetable stock cube, made up with water to make 500ml vegetable stock
2 tsp Nutmeg

Dump everything into a 3L crock pot and turn on low for 8-10 hours. In the morning, use a stick blender or transfer into a blender to blend until smooth. You will need to weigh your apples before putting them in the crock pot to determine the total number of syns for this soup, then divide it by the number of portions. This should make at least 4 servings and each serving should be 1-2 syns. I did not peel the parsnips or apples as I relied on the stick blender to smooth everything, but you could take an extra step and peel them first. If the soup is too thick, add more vegetable stock to thin it out.

Butternut Squash Soup

You will need:
1 Butternut (or other squash) squash, quartered and de-seeded
1 Sweet potato, roughly chopped
2 Celery ribs, diced
3 Spring onion sprigs, chopped
2 Vegetable stock cubes, made up with water to make 1L vegetable stock

Put all ingredients in a 6L crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. In the morning, use a stick blender or transfer into a blender to blend until smooth. I did not peel the squash or potato as I relied on the stick blender to smooth everything, but you could take an extra step and peel them first. If the soup is too thick, add more vegetable stock to thin it out, but we liked it as a thick soup. I also added leftover mashed potatoes and leftover carrot and swede mash to it this time, and it gave it some extra flavour and helped to stretch the servings. This soup has no syns!

Tomato Speed Soup

You will need:
6 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 tins of carrots (or 6 carrots diced)
2 tins of baked beans (for this, I bought the cheapest beans Tesco sell)
2 Celery ribs, diced
3 Spring onion sprigs, chopped
4 TBS Italian herbs
2 tsp chili powder (optional, to give it a kick)
3 TBS Worcestershire sauce
2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled

Dump everything into a 6L crock pot and turn on low for 8-10 hours. In the morning, use a stick blender or transfer into a blender to blend until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add more vegetable stock to thin it out. Makes 8 400ml portions. This soup has no syns!

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Weetabix Tea Cake

12227914_10153816110347160_259533549_o When a new Slimming World recipe book comes out, I always flip through it with a set of tabs and tab off the recipes I’d like to try. One of the recipes I marked in Best Loved Extra Easy Recipes was Weetabix Cake (p156). I finally decided to make it today, but unfortunately I didn’t have the Skim Milk or the mixed spice it calls for, so I needed to get a little creative. I thought about the recipe for my Lincolnshire Plum Bread and how you soak the sultanas in tea, so I decided to try it with the Weetabix Cake, and for the spices, I used the mixture I use for Plum Bread (which is actually Pumpkin Pie spice). So really, alternate names for this could be Weetabix Plum Bread or even Pumpkin Spice Weetabix Cake. But I called it a tea cake on my Instagram pictures, so Tea Cake it is. This cake is not only suitable for someone following Slimming World, but it is suitable for a diabetic as well.

12189402_10153816157467160_8269485207765961146_o

Weetabix Tea Cake
2 Syns per slice if divided into 15 slices / 30 Syns for the whole cake (for you to divide by number of slices) [PLEASE NOTE: You cannot use the Weetabix as your Healthy Extra B choice as it is considered a tweak and the 6 syns for the Weetabix have been calculated into the Syn value.]

You will need:
2 Weetabix
200ml very strong tea (I used a chai spiced, but any black tea will work)
100g sultanas
100g self-rising flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice OR 1/4 tsp each of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, All Spice, and Ginger
2 TBS sweetener (I used Splenda)
2 eggs

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line a loaf tin with some parchment paper or spray with fry light
2. Place Weetabix and sultanas in a large bowl and pour over the tea. Leave to soak for 5 minutes.
3. Whisk two eggs in a separate bowl, set aside.
4. Add all dry ingredients to Weetabix and sultana mix and beat in the eggs.
5. Pour mixture into prepared tin and spread out evenly
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean
7. Cut into 15 equal pieces.

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Slimming World] Always double check your Syn Values!

chocolate-cake-cup-by-roreMy slimming world mojo has been at an all-time low lately, and I took to Pinterest to look for some ideas and inspiration. Searching just “slimming world” gives you hundreds of results – links to recipes off the official website, charts showing syn values for snacks most often eaten, inspirational quotes, and recipes that other people have come up with. In fact, many of my own recipes I blog wind up on Pinterest, repinned by many. One thing I always leave in my disclaimer is that my Syn values are accurate at the time of posting, based on my exact ingredients and using the online Syn calculator, and I always encourage my readers to double check the syn values for themselves.

While scrolling through the results on Pinterest, I came across a link to 5 under 5 Syns Chocolate Treats. Now, I’m not a huge chocolate eater, but I do like the occasional chocolate treat, so I decided to check out the suggestions/recipes on that page. To my surprise, the last recipe was for a one syn chocolate cake in a mug.

The Slimming World website has a feature on meals in a mug, and one of theirs is a low-syn chocolate mug cake using an Options hot chocolate. I assumed this would be the same recipe, but to my surprise, it wasn’t. Her recipe uses a chopped apple and 2 TBS raw cacao powder (I won’t retype her entire recipe, as it’s hers. You can find it on her site I linked to above). I was interested, but curious as to the syn value as I know you need to syn cooked apple and I had never heard of raw cacao powder. I did some digging, and it turns out her 1 syn desert is actually a whopping NINE syns. 3.5 of them come from the hidden syns in the cooked apple and 5.5 come from the 2 TBS of raw cacao. I left her the following comment:

Hello, I always double check the syns when I find an online recipe (and encourage people who view my recipes to check for themselves, too) and I have a question for you……How is the chocolage mug cake only one syn? I can’t find raw cacao powder in the online syn database, but I found raw cacao nibs, which come in at 4.5 for 25g. I looked up nutritional information for The Raw Chocolate Co. Cacao Powder and ran it through the online Syn calculator, and it gives me 5.5 syns for 30g (2 TBS). You also would need to syn the apple, as it’s being cooked. 100g of an eating apple is 2.5 syns and 100g of a cooking apple is 1.5 syn. I just weighed a braeburn apple out of out a bag from Tesco, and it came in at 134g, so it would be slightly more than 2.5 syns (3.3 to be exact, I’d round it to 3.5, whicn nicely covers the dash of almond milk). Unsweetened almond milk is .5 syn for 100ml, although a dash is probably only around 50ml. So….. 5.5 + 3.5 = 9 Syns for your chocolate mug cup, not counting the chocolate yogurt on top. It’s a bit misleading to people to show this as only being 1 Syn.

I am sincerely hoping this was just a mistake on her part or a miscalculation online. But it just highlights the importance of double checking the syn value for recipes that other people are blogging. Obviously, the recipes that are on the Slimming World website, Slimming World cookbooks, and the Slimming World magazine will be accurate….but take anything else posted with a grain of salt. Including my own recipes, because I make mistakes, too.

[update 14/03/17]
Since I’m still getting comments on this both on my blog and on the original post, I thought I would add in a screenshot of Cacao powder from the Slimming World online syns database. You can clearly see that the lowest syn values found for cacao powder is 2.5 syns per TBS if you buy that specific brand. Other brands are listed as 1 syn per teaspoon, and there are 3 teaspoons in the UK Tablespoon (4 in a US one). The recipe calls for 2 TABLESPOONS of Cacao powder, so you’re still looking at 5-6 Syns for the Cacao, plus syns for the cooked apple (again, 3.5 for your average apple based on weight). Even if we overlook the almond milk or the dash comes from your HEA allowance, we’re still looking at almost 10 syns for this “low syn” dessert option.

***

Chocolate cake in a mug picture from http://food.thefuntimesguide.com/2009/11/microwave_cake_cup.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Orange Chicken [Slimming World]

11414983_10153468711902160_2078282423_o I love Chinese food. But Chinese food isn’t very Slimming World friendly unless you make it yourself…and the biggest hurdle for me has always been making a tasty sauce. My husband and I like gooey Chinese food, and lots of the recipes I’ve found online just aren’t gooey enough. I have tried using orange Fanta, and while that was good, it still wasn’t satisfying. The other day I was looking at a recipe for orange chicken and suddenly it dawned on me to use orange squash (which is free on Slimming World).

If you follow my exact recipe, this is a syn free meal that serves two comfortably, three if you bulk it out further. The nice thing about a stir fry is you can make it as big as you need it to be. Because all the ingredients are free on Slimming World, you also can play around with the taste of the sauce to get it to fit your specifications. I’ve made this three times, and the first time I didn’t do any measuring other than the squash, the second time I did measurements so I could blog the recipe accurately, and the third time I did a combination of measuring and estimating. All three times it turned out quite tasty!

You will need:

400G diced chicken (or there about. I sometimes cut up two breast portions, and I also used a packet of stir fry turkey last time)
6 TBS double concentrate orange squash (I used Robinson)
4 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS tomato puree (called paste in the US)
2 TBS red wine vinegar (I’m sure other vinegars could be used)
1 TBS Chinese five spice
2 Oranges, broken into segments (I used satsumas)
(optional 1 TBS sweetener)
Stir-fry vegetables of your choice
Dried Chinese noodles or rice (whichever you prefer. I prefer noodles)
Fry light

1. Spray a wok with fry light and pre-heat on the hob
2. Toss diced chicken with Chinese five spice to coat, then stir-fry chicken for 5-10 minutes.
3. Add squash, soy sauce, puree, and vinegar. Give it a stir and let it come to a boil.
4. Add vegetables and stir-fry an addtional 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are to your liking.
5. Cook noodles or rice according to package instructions.
6. Give your sauce a quick taste test. Too sweet? Add a splash more vinegar. Too sour? Add the sweetener. Not enough orange flavor? add another splash of squash. Not spicy enough? Add more five spice.
7. Divide noodles or rice between bowls and top with stir-fry. Garnish with fresh orange segments.

***

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.

Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Four Syn Cupcakes [Slimming World]

11400971_10153490155457160_3990479385781041299_n Recently, at my Slimming World Group, we had a taster night in honour of one of our member’s birthdays. It wound up being a double…no, triple celebration as my friend was celebrating her 40th birthday, reaching target, AND losing five stone! So proud of her! Anyway. Since it was her birthday, I really wanted to make some kind of low syn cake treat. The Internet is full of suggestions for low syn cakes. Most of them are flourless and use beaten egg whites to make the cake part, or use crushed Scan Bran or Weetabix or Ryvita. But I wanted proper cake. Enter, this Weight Watcher’s recipe! The original recipe states that you can use ANY diet soda with ANY box cake mix. But since Slimming World and Weight Watchers use different criteria for determining points and syns, I needed to use the online calculator to work out the exact syns for my cupcakes. So if you use the exact ingredients I’ve used and make 24 cupcakes, each cupcake will be 4 syns. Any other brand or type and you will need to use the syn calculator.

You will Need:

For the cake –
1 box Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake Mix
1 330ml can (12 oz) Doctor Pepper Zero
24 cupcake papers

For the icing –
500g Quark
1 mug Truvia or other sweetener
(optional) food colouring

1. Preheat oven to 180C and put the liners in the cupcake tins
2. combine dry cake mix and Dr Pepper Zero. No other ingredients are needed.
3. Evenly divide between the cupcake papers. I discovered 2 Tablespoons per cup will evenly divide it.
4. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
6. Pour Quark into a bowl and slowly mix in the sweetener. I used about a mugful, but you might need more or less depending on your sweet tooth. I also added some red food colouring (but I wasn’t satisfied with the result, so I added blue to make violet). If you don’t add colouring, your icing will be white.
7. Pipe or spoon the icing onto the cupcakes.

You will need to store these cupcakes in the fridge because of the Quark icing.

About a week later, I made a Carrot Cake mix with Fanta Zero, and I would be willing to try a yellow cake with Sprite Zero. I bet a chocolate cake made with Cherry Coke Zero or Cherry Pepsi Max would be good, too.

***

[DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.]

[Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.]

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Easter Traditions [Slimming World]

Once again, on my phone. Usual disclaimers apply….double check your syns and I’m not affiliated with Slimming World.

wpid-img_20150405_195739.jpg

For some reason, Easter makes me homesick more than Christmas.  This year, I decided to replicate some of my family’s favourite Easter staples, and managed to make it fit in with Slimming World!

First up, Heavenly Spuds.

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The original calls for lots of cheddar cheese, butter, a creamy based soup, and butter. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it?  I don’t even want to think about the syns.

Here’s my version that comes in at 10.5 syns for the whole dish!

You will need:

3 large tins of potatoes(you could use raw potatoes, but you would want to boil them first)
1 tin of mushrooms (I used my chopper)
1 tub quark
1/2 tub fromage frais
50g mozzarella, shredded
35g Kellog’s corn flakes, crushed
Pepper
Fry light

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C. (200 if not fan assisted)
2. Drain and chop the potatoes  (I used my chopper attachment on the stick blender).
3. Drain and chop mushrooms  (ditto).
4. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, mushrooms, quark, fromage frais, and cheese.
5. Spray a casserole dish with frylight.
6. Spread potato mixture evenly in dish and top with crushed cornflakes.
7. Spray the top with butter flavoured fry light (if you have some, or use regular).
8. Bake 30-45 minutes or until bubbling.

The second food I missed was red beet eggs. This one is really easy.

You will need:
2 eggs per person
1 jar of sliced beets
Vinegar

1. Hard boil and peel eggs.
2. Place eggs in a large bowl.
3. Pour beets and juice over eggs.
4. Top with vinegar until eggs and beets are covered.
5. Cover bowl and refrigerate. The more time you have, the better tasting the eggs!

Happy Easter!

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[Recipe] One Syn Yorkshire Puds [Slimming World]

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One thing my husband has missed with his Sunday dinners since I started on Slimming World has been Yorkshire Puddings. Especially after I got good at making them. Today, someone shared a one syn Yorkshire Pud recipe on one of the Slimming World Facebook groups and I decided to try it. The result was light and airy Yorkies with no guilt!

[DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.]

[Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.]

You will need:

50g flour
120ml semi-skim milk
40ml water
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
Frylight

– Pre-heat the oven to 200C. While the oven is pre-heating, put in a 12-cup yorkie tin (I used a cupcake tin) so it can get nice and hot.
– Whisk (or use a hand blender) together all ingredients, until foamy.
– Carefully remove tin from the oven and spray each cup with Frylight.
– Evenly distribute mix between the cups. I found measuring spoons helped.
– Bake for 18-20 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.

Serve with your favourite roast dinner for only one syn each!

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The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Rat-onna-Stick (aka Chicken Satay) [Slimming World]

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Terry Pratchett’s death has hit both my husband and I hard, perhaps him more than me. While discussing dinner tonight, Tim jokingly suggested Sausage-inna-bun and Rat-onna-stick ala CMOT Dibbler. So, I decided to make Chicken Satay.

[DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Slimming World, I am not affiliated with Slimming World beyond being a paying customer/member, I get no personal benefit from writing this post other than the joy of sharing.]

[Please note: Syn values are based on my exact ingredients using the online calculator. Your Syn value may vary based on your ingredients and the size of your baking containers and portions, so use this number as a guide only. Syn values also frequently change, but these values are correct at the time of publication.]

If you make 7 sticks, each stick is only half a syn.

You will need:

2 TBS PB2*
1 TBS water
6 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS sweet chili sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
7 wooden skewers

*PB2 is a powdered peanut butter available on Amazon that has only 1 syn per Tablespoon. You will need to recalculate the syns and omit the water if you use a different brand.

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Slice chicken breasts into strips
3. Combine PB2, water, soy sauce, and sweet chili sauce and whisk until smooth.
4. Add chicken to bowl and leave to marinade at least 20 minutes (if you have time, I bet this would taste better marinaded overnight!)
5. Soak skewers in water and thread chicken on in a zig zag pattern
6. Place skewers in an oven proof dish, pour remaining marinade over chicken and bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

***
The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission. If you are not reading this on http://blog.beccajanestclair.com, my facebook page, Networked Blogs, the RSS feed(s), or through an e-mail subscription, please notify me.

[LJ readers reading this on the LJ RSS feed: Please click on the link at the top of the entry to go directly to my blog to leave a comment, as comments left on the LJ RSS do not get seen by me. Facebook users reading this from my Networked Blogs link can either comment on facebook or on my blog. If you are reading this through an e-mail subscription, you might need to go directly to my blog to view videos and images.]

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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[Recipe] Slimming World Friendly Chocolate Cupcakes

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I really wanted cupcakes today. It’s a Sunday, so I either had to bake with what I had or what I could buy at the local co-op. I searched on the Slimming World website and found the recipe for the chocolate log….but I didn’t have the ingredients for the filling. I  also prefer to reduce sugar where possible, so this is my cupcake recipe loosely based off the chocolate log. This should make 10 cupcakes for a total of 15 syns or 1.5 each.

Posting this from my phone, so I don’t have my usual disclaimers. But please double check your syn values if you use different ingredients.

Recipe:

50g self-rising flour
50g Truvia  baking blend
15g cocoa powder  (my American self used Hershey cocoa)
4 eggs

Preheat fan assisted oven to 180 (think that’s 200 on a regular oven)
Combine dry  ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Whisk eggs until foamy (I used an electric whisk)
Spoon dry mix into eggs and gently stir.
Spray 10 silicone cupcake cases with frylight and evenly spoon in mix (about 3 dessert spoonfuls per case).
Bake 10-12 minutes until edges come away from the case.

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