Vanishing act...

I'm sorry, I haven't vanished again I promise. I just thought I'd quickly stop by and tell you where I'm at...

I have missed two weigh-ins the last two weeks, I haven't wanted to weigh in because I know I'm making bad choices again and binging. Also because I don't feel like I have the energy to think about nutrition, because it really does take up a lot of time and energy. This isn't just me feeling lazy (although it is a part of it) but some things happening in my life at the moment are just draining me mentally and physically.

First up, my little boy is starting school tomorrow, and it's overtaking my life! First there was buying the school uniform, shoes, book bags, PE kits, getting his hair cut, and then he suddenly outgrew all his underwear overnight too. There's been the school dinner debate, making sure he'll drink water during the day at school, labelling everything down to the last sock, and on top of everything he's bouncing off the walls because he's so excited. Exhausting.

Then, my sister in law had a baby three weeks ago. They knew very early on in the pregnancy that she had a hole in her heart but that it was a small one and would be fixable with surgery when she was about a year old. But once she was born they discovered it was two holes not one, and since then she has developed a leaky valve too. So, in short, she is very very poorly at the moment, so much so that we are going to visit at the weekend and it might be to say hello and goodbye at the same time :( It's breaking my heart and it's all I can think about, when I'm not rushed off my feet with my own two pickles.

Mr FGS's job is not going terribly well at the moment either, so on top of all that we are struggling with money. So when I am hungry instead of reaching for the fruit bowl, I'll pick something cheaper and more filling (usually bread, not exactly the best thing to have) and save the fruit for the kids. And theor are other things that are just making me a bit sad and down, that I don't want to talk about here, but it is all contributing to a downward spiral.

So like I said, food wise the best choices aren't being made and I'm suffering for it. Feeling bloated and no energy. Ollie starts school tomorrow, so I'm hoping to have more time to cook and exercise, and just clear my head. I'm not giving up, just shifting it to the back burner for a day or two. So don't panic if I don't update for a while!

I hope you're all well! If you're that way inclined a little prayer or thought for my niece would really be welcomed. Thank you.

Hx

Salad Days

I've recently developed an allergy to tomatoes, which, in my world, is devastating! I love and adore tomatoes, in all shapes and sizes and various forms. I was practically weaned on tomatoes and usually grow my own in the summer (although this year's monsoon weather put paid to that). Now, if I eat them, it makes my mouth really sore and my chest tight  which is very very scary!

To me, a salad isn't a salad without a tomato. Or it used to be. This recent allergy has made me look at the way I see salads. A salad is a dieter's friend, but it can soon get rather boring if you're eating lettuce, tomato and cucumber at every meal... So I've been coming up with some ways to spice up your salad.

Chose your leaves

Are you an iceberg fan, or do you favour a little gem? The leaf is usually the basis for a good salad, and there are so many available now there's no reason not to vary them. I like to buy bags of pre-washed salad leaves, for convenience mostly, but also because of the variety. Our favourite is a babyleaf salad, but you can try rocket, spinach, beetroot leaves, watercress. Whatever takes your fancy. A good old round lettuce can be a nice change from the more "exotic" too!

Once you've got your leaves, what goes on top. I often find myself piling everything salad-like on top, but you really don't have to. Chose three or four "toppings", such as:

• cucumber
• tomato *sob*
• peppers
• carrot (grated, cubed, thinly sliced with a speed peeler...)
• olives
• herbs (I like basil or mint)
• beetroot
• beansprouts
• mushrooms
• radish
• celery
• onions

Know your onions

A good onion can add a sharp kick to your salad, but again you can vary them. Spring or salad onions are quick and convenient (snip them with scissors) but try red onion, spanish onion or even a couple of pickled onions for variety.

Pickle it

Talking of pickled onions, pickled beetroot, gherkins or cauliflower can also be a great addition to a salad. Add a blob of sweet pickle to turn your salad into a ploughmans.

Fruity twist

Still missing that tomato? I've been experimenting with adding fruit to my salad. Grapes, strawberries (great with balsamic dressing), melon, mango, apple or raisins will make a great addition to a good salad.

Protein power

Now you've got your basics, add the protein you need to make this a meal. Chicken salad will get boring really quick if you have it regularly, but combine it with bacon and a mustard dressing, or with mango and a curried mayonaise and it's a completely different meal. Other great protein sources for salad are:

• lean ham
• prawns
• tuna
• boiled eggs
• cottage cheese
• chorizo (quite fatty but a little goes a long way!)
• lean bacon or turkey bacon
• crab sticks
• omlette
• reduced fat cheese (try feta or mozzarella)
• quiche (crustless quiche recipe coming soon!)

Dress it up

Now here's a stumbling block - the dressing. You don't want to add a load of calories at the last minute, so chose wisely. I like to use balsamic vinegar, but raspberry vinegar is nice too. If you're buying a shop bought dressing, do for one that contains less than 40 calories per 100mls or is marketed as a lighter choice (my current favourite is honey and mustard). You can also buy 1 calorie salad sprays that are intensively flavoured so that just a few sprays (at 1 calorie each) are needed. If you're a fan of mayonnaise or salad cream, chose on that's "extra light" or "lighter than light" and try mixing it with fat free fromage frais to make it go further. Or water down some fat free natural yoghurt and add some finely chopped mint, for a dressing that feels really creamy and indulgent, without all the fat.

Things to avoid

This may sound obvious, but if you're trying to keep your salad healthy there are some things to avoid:

• croutons
• full fat cheese
• crispy onions
• crispy bacon
• creamy or oily dressings
• chips on the side!

I enjoy salads, and I always have, but it can get boring, very quickly. I hope I've given you some ideas and inspiration to spice up your salad! Let me know your suggestions too :)

Hx

Weekly Weigh In - Back in the zone

Morning!

Monday again, so I trotted off to the pharmacy and hopped onto the scales. Ok, so it was more like dragged myself to the pharmacy and forced myself onto the scales - it is Monday! But, it paid off since I have lost 2.8lbs this week :)

Last week's weight:

13st 13.8 lbs/ 88.9kg (195.8lbs)

This week's weight:

13st 11.0lbs/87.6kg (193lbs)

I'm surprised at how easily I have just slipped back into this dieting lark. It's like I have a new found determination. Long may it last!

Goals this week:

2l or water (been slacking a little bit on this)

Some form of exercise at least once

Carry on food optimising with the Slimming World Extra Easy plan

How has your week been?

Hx

*EDIT* I've just realised I only have 3lbs to lose to get back to where I was at my last Weight Watchers weigh in...can I do it this week? Maybe that's my incentive to work out...

Jenny Craig Competition

I think at one point or another most of you reading this blog will have considered using something other than your own will power and nutrition knowledge as a route to losing weight. Wouldn't it be so much easier if things were done for you - if you were told what to eat and when, and even had it prepared for you. There are many plans like this available, including Jenny Craig.
If I'm completely honest, if I had the money, I would totally go down the route of using a weight loss plan where food is delivered to me and all I would have to do it heat it up and eat it. Of course, it's not going to stop me buying a slab of chocolate or snacking unhealthily in between meals, but it would take a huge load of the stress of dieting off. I love cooking, but sometimes I want to be cooked for! But, like I said, £50 a week is way out of my budget - in fact, I usually feed a family of four for around this amount.
But to celebrate their newly launched website Jenny Craig Uk are giving bloggers have the chance to win some fantastic prizes (including £400 to spend at Evans Cycles!) just by asking a question.

The prizes on offer include:
1st Prize – A £400 contribution towards a brand new bike from Evans Cycles (http://www.evanscycles.com) and a 28-day Jenny Craig weight loss package including food hampers and personal weekly phone weight loss consultations.
2nd Prize – A £50 voucher for Sheactive (http://www.sheactive.co.uk) and a 28-day Jenny Craig weight loss programme including food hampers and personal weekly phone weight loss consultations.
3rd Prize – Three 3rd prize winners will each get one 28-day Jenny Craig weight loss package including food hampers and personal weekly phone weight loss consultations.
For your chance to win all you need to do is:
A) Cook up a tasty nutritional question to spice up Jenny Craig's new blog;
B) Describe the question you would like Jenny Craig UK's weight management experts to answer on your own blog and link to the contest in your post;
C) Tell us about your entry by leaving a comment with the URL of your entry in the comments on this post on their blog, or tweet @JennyCraigUK using the hashtag #AskJennyCraig before 11.59pm (UK time) on 13th September 2012.
I think my question would be:
I am a big snacker and often eat out of boredom. What would you recommend for some healthy snacks (that aren't boring!) and to keep my mind off food between meals?
Let me know if you enter, I would love to know your questions too!
Hx

Food plans and sticking to them!

I feel I have been doing really well at sticking to my food plans recently, and that has been helped greatly by posting them here. But I can't help but think it's a little boring to fill my blog up with food diaries! So, I've decided to make my food diary into a google doc, which you can still look at if you want to! That way I can combine it with a tracer of sorts, and if anything changes during the day I can add to it easily and make changes as I need to. I've been doing this for the past few day, and it's really helped to have a spreadsheet that I can just pull up and add my syns and healthy extras into as and when I eat them. For instance yesterday I had planned to have some cheese on my chilli at dinner time for 3 syns, but changed my mind and had a treat size milky way (teeny kids chocolate bar) for 3 1/2 instead. If I wasn't keeping track I might have just had both. I was really proud of myself for making the choice to have the small chocolate and dropping the cheese instead. Baby steps!

So, here is my google doc with my food planner/diary, for anyone interested. I will add a button to my side bar and will try to keep it updated every day, and add a new sheet each week. Another tool in the armoury for staying on track!

Then once a week (hopefully) I will take pictures of what I eat all day, and do a "what I ate today" sort of post - so it's a bit more interesting! I love looking at pictures of what people are eating and find it really gives me inspiration for my own meals, so I'm looking forward to this too!

How do you plan/track your food intake? Are you a pen and paper kinda person? Or have you got it locked down in your head? If you want to use my google doc template, please feel free, and let me know how it works for you!

Hx

Recipe of the week - Pineapple upsidedown cake

Yep, cake! I'm not a huge cake fan, but the kids were bored and I said we'd make one. This recipe has no fat and looked Slimming World friendly. I worked out the recipe contains 49 1/2 syns for the whole cake, so if you divided it into 10 that's just 5 syns per portion - not too bad for a treat and much better than processed junk! I served mine with coconut Greek 0% yoghurt (Muller, 1/2 syn per 120g pot) for a retro pina colada vibe ;) (The syn values are for all plans)

Pineapple Upsidedown Cake, 10 servings, 5 syns per serving

150g tinned pineapple, drained (2 1/2 syns)
100g sugar (18 syns)
170g self raising flour (27 syns)
2 eggs
100ml skimmed milk (2 syns)
Frylight/low calorie cooking spray

Heat half the sugar and the pineapple in a pan until the sugar caramelises.

Beat together the rest of the ingredients to make a batter.

Grease a loose bottomed baking tin with frylight before tipping in the pineapple and caramel. Pour the batter on top.

Bake in a hot oven (220 degrees or gas mark 7) for 15-20 minutes.

Once cooked, turn out onto a plate as soon as it comes out of the oven or it will stick to the tin as the sugar cools!

Yum!

And now I have this in my head, so I thought I'd give you all an ear worm too ;)

Hx

Today's Food Plan Tuesday 14th August 2012

Morning!

After yesterday's success I'm excited for this week! So here's today's food:

Breakfast:
Porridge magic muffins made with 35g porridge oats (HEb), 2 eggs, Mullerlight and fruit (will post recipe if they work!)

Lunch:
Pasta and broccoli with 60g Kerry Low Low soft cheese (HEa) stirred through

Dinner:
Chicken stir fry with baby sweetcorn, peppers, onions and mange tout, with noodles

Snacks:
Fruit (apples, bananas, plums in the fruit bowl), yoghurt, cucumber, cottage cheese

Drinks:
Water!

Hx