Still In The Fight!

You haven't heard from me in quite a while, I have been AWOL from Weight Watchers the last few weeks. I had all but given up entirely. I had a lot of changes in my life over the last few weeks, I finished up being a leader with Weight Watchers and I started a new job working at Benefit Cosmetics. I love my new job, but as I was settling in over the last few weeks, I found it to difficult to focus on that & eating right. to be very honest, I didn't care one single bit, I didn't want to do weight watchers any more, I was tired of it, I wanted to eat whatever the heck I wanted and not care about gaining weight. that was true for a while, I truly didn't care, I was eating anything I felt like and I was happy, for a while at least.
Then the novelty wore off, I started to notice the lbs I had gained, I started to feel sluggish & tired and I became very unhappy & distressed over my weight, but I didn't know what to do, I felt like I couldn't stop and go back to Weight Watchers & my healthy habits. So I continued on that path for a while, guilty & miserable but pretending I was happy with my choice.

I feel like I have been through 10 rounds in a ring, I am emotionally battered & bruised, my will power is hanging on by a very, very fine thread. But I have realised that it's still there, that I do want this & I am still in the fight! I have hope that I can get back to my fighting weight.
So, I took my battered self and my tattered will power off to class this morning & I emerged from that class feeling shiny & new again, my will power firmly back in its place. I can do this, I will do this! Just the act of attending class this morning and knowing that I am now back on track has made me feel lighter, honestly it has. I feel in control again. its a wonderful feeling.

So, if you have been struggling & giving up hope, if you have stopped going to class, go back. it will help. Attending class is honestly the only way to do this, we need the motivation & support of our leaders & fellow members, Think of them as your coach and your cheerleaders. They want you to succeed!

1 Pro Point Mini Pizzas

When it's May and it's supposed to be summer but it's cold and wet outside you need a little bit of comfort. For me this week that comfort was pizza, I just wanted pizza! I started thinking about the mini pizzas from my childhood and how I loved them. I wanted the mini pizza comfort of my childhood, but I didn't want the Pro Point damage so I created a version that is surprisingly tasty and satisfies the need for comfort food.

Mini Aubergine Pizza

Whole recipe - 6 Pro Points
1 Pro Point per 2 Pizzas

Ingredients

1 Aubergine
2 Tbsp Tomato Puree
80g Light Mozzarella
Dried Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Fry Lite

Method

Slice the Aubergine into 6, 1cm rounds,
Place the rounds on kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little Salt,
leave for 30 minutes (this draws out excess moisture & stops the Aubergine from going soggy)
Spread each round with Tomato Puree,
Sprinkle with Pepper & Oregano,
Slice the Mozzarella into 6 & top each pizza with one slice,
Spray with Garlic Fry Lite & bake at 200oC for 15-20 minutes or until the Mozzarella is bubbling & golden.

Serve & enjoy with a side salad & home made garlic bread (make sure to add extra Pro Points)

My 13 Week Challenge - Week 3: A Huge Sigh of Relief

Tonight I had my 3rd weigh in of my 13lbs in 13 weeks challenge.

Week one, I did plenty of activity, but over did it with the Easter chocolate and gained 2lbs.
Week two, I kept up my activity and worked hard at making the right food choices, unfortunately 2 days before weigh in my period came and I gained another 2lbs, I was so upset and annoyed that I couldn't bring myself to blog about that one. I moved on from that and used my anger as fuel to have an absolutely fantastic week.

This week, I kept up my activity, I even went on a 13km walk with my friend and I clocked up 28 activity points over the week. I put in a huge effort with my food and stuck with Simple Start for the week. I did go off track for one meal out when my parents came to visit, but I managed to reign it back in right away and I am so proud of that. I had a very enjoyable week and I feel great.

So you can imagine my huge sigh of relief when I stepped up on the scales tonight and finally saw a minus. I was secretly hoping for 2lbs but I wanted to be OK with any loss so I was trying not to get my hopes up. I lost the 2lbs, but not only did I lose the 2lbs I had my single biggest weekly loss ever. I lost 4.5lbs!

Thank Goodness! I am so relieved to see a loss after 3 weeks. It was definitely well deserved on my part. Now I am on schedule with my 13lbs in 13 weeks challenge.

8.5lbs to go and 10 weeks left. I can do it!

Avocado & Greek Yoghurt Dip With Home made Tortilla chips

Chips & dip is a wonderful combination, great for parties, for snacks, nibbles for watching a movie. Unfortunately they are typically very high in calories and therefor not so great for us weight watchers. I have come up with a wonderful chip & dip combination that wont break your Pro Point bank. And if I do say so myself it's absolutely delicious!

Avocado & Greek Yoghurt Dip with Home Made Tortilla chips

Serves 2

7 Pro Points per recipe on the Pro Points plan

4 pro Points per recipe on the Filling & Healthy plan

Avocado & Greek Yoghurt Dip

Ingredients

1  Large Avocado 

Juice of half a Lime

3 tbsp 0% Greek Yoghurt

2 garlic Cloves, Crushed

1 Inch piece of Ginger, peeled & grated

Half a tsp Smoked Paprika

Half a tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Small dash of water\

2 Weight watchers Wraps

Calorie Controlled Spray

Sea salt & Ground Black Pepper

Method

Half the Avocado, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh,

Add it to the blender,

Then add the remaining ingredients,

Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides half way through

Home Made Tortilla Chips

Preheat oven to 180c

Cut the wraps into triangles,

Place on a lined baking sheet,

Spray with Calorie Controlled Spray,

Sprinkle with Salt & Pepper or seasoning of your choice,

Bake for 8 minutes or until crisp and lightly golden

leave to cool

Serve & enjoy a very tasty savoury snack!

   

My 13 Week Challenge - Week 1: The Easter Bank Holiday

Last night was weigh in night and the first one of my 13 week, 13lbs challenge and I was up 2lbs!
Ok, so it didn't go to plan, I didn't lose the 1lbs I was aiming for but i'm not disappointed with myself either...sounds a bit strange I know but I feel fantastic!

Let me explain.
My plan for the long weekend was not to drink any alcohol, just eat one Easter egg worth 25 Pro Points from my weeklies and do plenty of activity and loose 1lbs.

Beautiful beach

Here is how it went.
My week started of with a great start, I woke up last Thursday morning and I headed out for a walk, I hadn't gone for a walk in weeks but I managed to do a 5Km walk and I felt great. I came home and I ate well for the day. Thursday night we headed down to west cork for an extra long Easter weekend. Friday got off to a great start, the weather was gorgeous, we went for a walk on the beach and later that evening we climbed up to The Beacan at Baltimore to see the sun set.

The Beacon

Ok...so I did eat some chips and shared a slice of cake with William before hand, but still not so bad. Saturday came and we went for a wonder around the local market, and I decided to make some dessert for Sunday lunch the next day. I made a raw food, chocolate & avocado tart, it was amazing! we went for dinner Saturday night, I really wanted pizza but I ordered fish instead and just had one very small glass of wine. I opted to be the designated driver so that I couldn't drink more alcohol and I resisted more wine when we got home but I did eat a couple of triangles of Toblerone...oops!
Doesn't sound too bad now does it, my weeklies would have covered the treats I did have.

My Chocolate & Avocado Tart

Then came Sunday and that's where things started to slip. The sun was scorching, we were having 12 people over for Sunday lunch and I got carried away in the buzz of the bank holiday weekend. we climbed the small mountain behind the house before dinner, it was tough but I made it!

I drank more than I should have on Sunday. Cold beer just tastes so good sitting in the blazing sun in a beautiful garden chatting with friends and I ate far more chocolate than I had planned, we had an Easter egg hunt in the garden that morning and I couldn't resist, Monday was similar to Sunday, more chocolate and an ice cream cone on the drive back home. 

Sunday morning egg hunt

So as you can see gaining 2lbs is not that surprising really. I was kinda hoping that the activity would make up for all the chocolate I ate but I knew that was just wishful thinking. I don't regret my weekend because I had an amazing time with friends and family, it was almost like a mini holiday and those kind of weekends don't happen very often.

At the top of the little mountain

I feel fantastic because I did more activity that I ever did when I was losing my weight originally and I have kept it up too. I went for an 8km walk on Tuesday and a 6km walk on Wednesday. I am setting up a great habit for myself and I am learning to make activity a part of my lifestyle and enjoying it too!

I didn't reach my goal that I had set for the week, but I conquered one thing, activity and I am proud of that. This week I will conquer tracking and I know I will have a loss next Wednesday night.

one challenge at a time, one day at a time, one meal at a time and I will get there because Slow & steady wins the race.

Confessions of A Perfect Person

I started this blog as a means of tracking my weight loss journey & keeping myself motivated, It turned into so much more along the way and I have loved every second of it. I always wrote about the good times but most importantly I wrote about the bad times,

Me before I started at 13st 10.5lbs  & when I reached goal at 11st 7lbs

The last few months have been difficult for me, my bad habbits crept in, I lost control and my weight crept up and I have found myself 13lbs over goal. During the last few months I have avoided blogging, I felt that if I couldn't blog from a positive place then I shouldn't do it, I became a leader a year ago and since then I have felt that I needed to be seen as 100% focused and on track all of the time, I needed to be perfect. I was afraid to come on here and tell you all how horribly wrong things were going because I was trying to maintain the image of a perfect leader. So I didn't tell you about the time I ate a whole pizza, or the time I ate an extra large chocolate bar in one sitting or the time I went to the cinema and had a medium popcorn, 2 scoops of Ben & Jerrys and a share bag of minstrels all to myself...yes I have done all of these things! The truth is I am not 100% perfect.The truth is there is no such thing.

Me now at 12st 6lbs

I am a perfectly normal human being.

I have my struggles
I have food issues
I have weight problems
I can fall of the wagon
But I can get back on!

So that is what I am doing right now, I am owning up, I am being honest, I am writing about the bad times and I am getting back on track.

where I will be for the next 13 weeks and beyond!

I am setting myself a goal. I want to loose 13lbs and get back to my goal weight by July 1st, That gives me 13 weeks. I know this goal is realistic and achievable and that's very important, I lost 31.5lbs in 32 weeks to get to goal ,so I averaged out at a 1lb a week weight loss.

Do you need a goal to help keep you focused? Why not join in my challenge and aim to loose 13lbs by July 1st. In 13 weeks I will be confident in my summer clothes and fingers crossed wearing a bikini to the beach! who's with me?

Chocolate & Marshmallow Cupcakes

Happy Valentines Day!

I love you all very much and that's why I am willing to share these yummy, Weight Watchers Friendly, Chocolate & Marshmallow Cupcakes with you...well the recipe anyway, you will have to bake them yourself. Trust me, they are worth the very small effort involved.

These cupcakes are super easy, so don't shy away if your not a baker or a confident cook. They are so fool proof you could even ask your special someone or children to make them for you as your Valentines gift! 

Chocolate & Marshmallow Cupcakes

Serves 12

2 Pro Points Each 

Ingredients

1 box of Betty Crocker Devils Food Cake Mix.

1 can of Coke Zero/Diet Coke

12 x Dr Oetker Heart Shaped Marshmallows

4 Tbsp Marshmallow Fluff 

6 Squares of dark or Milk Chocolate (I used Tesco Finest 75%) 

Method

Preheat oven to 160oC Fan Oven

Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners

In a mixing bowl whisk together the cake mix and can of Coke Zero. Mix well.

using an ice cream scoop, fill each liner with one level scoop of batter

bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean

leave to cool on a wire rack

When the cupcakes are cool spread the top of each cupcake with 1tsp of Marshmallow fluff

Melt the chocolate and dip the top of each cupcake in the chocolate, covering the marshmallow fluff, place a heat shaped marshmallow on top and let the chocolate set (I put my cupcakes in the fridge for 5 minutes to help set the chocolate)

Serve & enjoy because your worth it!

A great start with a Chorizo & Feta Omelette

Happy New Year to you all!

This week is back to class time, as the kids get back to school, us weight watchers members get ourselves back to class and on the scales. It's a scary, daunting prospect for a lot of us, but it's a step in the right direction and its onwards and downwards from there!

I have a lovely recipe to get you inspired and you won't feel like your on a diet at all, thats the joy of Weight watchers, nothing if forbidden you can have everything in moderation, so there is no need to eat dry, bland food in order to loose weight.

Chorizo & Feta Omelette

Serves 1

7 Pro Points per serving
or
3 pro Points on Filling & Healthy

2 Medium Eggs
1 Tbsp Skimmed Milk
1 Tsp Oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste
30g Chorizo, diced
30g Light Feta, diced
1 small Onion, diced
1 tomato, halved & sliced
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar

Heat the grill to 200 degrees.
Whisk the eggs, milk, oregano, salt & pepper in a jug and set to one side.
Spray a small/medium frying pan with fry lite and heat to a high heat.
Fry the onions for one minute & add the chorizo, fry for a further minute.
Reduce to a medium heat.
Add the tomato & balsamic vinegar and simmer until the balsamic has caramalised with the tomato.
Pour over the egg mixture and sprinkle the feta over the top.
Cook until bubbles appear on the surface.
Place the frying pan under the grill until the omelette is fully cooked (alternatively you can flip and cook the other side on the hob)


Serve with home made potato wedges or a side salad & enjoy!

What would happen?

What would happen if you stick to the program 100% for a week?...

Well, you would loose weight!

That is the question my leader put to my class tonight when I told her that my challenge for myself this week was to stick to the Pro Points plan 100% for the next seven days. It seems pretty obvious doesn't it? However, sometimes we loose sight of that simple little fact, do it properly and reap the rewards!

For the last few weeks I have been up and down the same 1 or 2 lbs, it's been frustrating, but I am the only person to blame. You are not going to achieve your goals by messing around and cheating the program, you can't loose weight like that. As a gold member I know this, I know what to do in order to loose weight, for some reason over the last few weeks I chose not to do it. I chose to cheat, mess and guess. I willing engaged in behavior that I knew would cause me to gain weight and not lose it!

A reminder of what I have achieved

Why? why would I do that? 

I honestly can't give a straight answer to that question, I had a goal, I wanted to get back to goal for my tip to Krakow, that trip is now ten days away and I am still 6lbs to goal.

My tracker all ready to go!

I am not going to focus on what I didn't achieve over the last few weeks. So what, I wont be at goal for my trip, but I can lose a couple of pounds in ten days. I might not get to goal for christmas but I know I will get there in january if not. I wont allow myself to feel like a failure, what matters is what I do now, and now I can see that if I follow the program 100% I will lose weight and for the first time in many, many weeks it seems simple and I know that I can do it! 

Quinoa Buffalo Bites

Quinoa Buffalo Bites

The whole recipe works out as 6 Pro Points on the Filling & Healthy program

5 Bites are only 1 Pro Point on Filling & Healthy

1 bottle of Franks Buffalo Wing sauce

2 cups cooked Quinoa

1/2 Cups Paxo Breadcrumbs

1 Egg

Salt & Pepper

1 can Cannellini Beans, mashed

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

In a bowl combine the Beans, Quinoa, Egg & Breadcrumbs with 4 tbsp of Franks Buffalo sauce, add salt & pepper to taste.

Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Form into balls, using about half a tablespoon of mixture to make about 30 bites.

Heat a frying pan and add oil.

Add the bites and cook until crisp & golden on all sides (about 5 minutes)

repeat with remaining balls.

When all the bites are cooked, roll each bite in the leftover Franks sauce being careful not to break the balls.

Serve as finger food at a party or accompany with salad for a tasty lunch or dinner.

Or you could be a little naughty and serve them with home made oven fries with taco sauce and cheese for a friday night fake-away!

Starbucks Pro Pointed

I adore Starbucks and I always look forward to seeing what seasonal delights they bring out, Pumpkin Spice Lattes in the autumn, Mocha Coconut Frappuccinos in the summer and now they have just released their Christmas flavours for this year. I am very excited to try them out. So I thought I would do a bit of research and put together a list of Pro Points values for Starbucks drinks.

Starbucks Pro Points

(All drinks values are based on being made with skimmed milk and no whipped cream)

*Skinny Lattes & Cappuccinos are free on Filling & Healthy, you can add sugar free syrup for 0 Pro Points.

Seasonal Drinks

Christmas 

Toffe Nut Latte
Tall - 4PP
Grande - 6PP
Venti - 7PP

Gingerbread Latte 
Tall - 4PP
Grande - 5PP
Venti - 7PP

Eggnog Frappuccino
Tall - 7PP
Grande - 10PP
Venti - 11PP

Honey & Almond Hot Chocolate
Tall - 7PP
Grande - 9PP
Tall - 12PP

Autumn

Pumpkin Spice Latte
Tall - 4PP
Grande - 5PP
Venti - 6PP

Summer

Mocha Coconut Frappuccino
Tall - 4PP
Grande - 6PP
Venti - 8PP

Mocha Cookie Frappuccino
Tall - 5PP
Grande - 8PP
Venti - 10PP

Standard Drinks

Caffe Latte 
Tall - 3PP
Grande - 3PP
Venti - 4pp

Cappuccino
Tall - 2PP
Grande - 2PP
Venti - 3PP

Caramel macchiato 
Tall - 4PP
Grande - 5PP
Venti - 7PP

Chai Tea Latte
Tall - 5PP
Grande - 6PP
Venti - 7PP

Coffee Frappuccino
Tall - 2PP
Grande - 3PP
Venti - 4pp

Mocha Frappuccino
Tall - 3PP
Grande - 4PP
Venti - 5PP

Caramel Frappuccino
Tall - 3PP
Grande - 4PP
Venti - 4PP

Add In's

Regular Syrup
2 Pumps - 1PP
3 Pumps - 2PP

Sugar Free Syrup
2 Pumps - 0PP
3 Pumps - 0PP

Filling & Healthy Granola Yogurt Pot

Filling & Healthy Granola Yogurt Pot

Ok, so it's not really granola, but it certainly does the job when your on a Filling & Healthy day or even for those looking for a low pro Pointed breakfast or snack. 

Serves 1

Free on Filling & Healthy

2 Pro Points

3 tsp Filling & Healthy Jam, I used a mixed berry one I made during the week.

80g 0%Greek Yogurt

1 tsp Vanilla extract

20g Toasted oats.

1tsp Sweetener, I used Stevia

1tsp Cinnamon

Fry Lite

Preheat oven to 200

Place your oats in a small oven dish or baking tray, sprinkle with Cinnamon and sweetener and spray with a little Fry Lite.

Bake in the oven for 5 Minutes, mixing once half way. Oats should be lightly golden.

Place the jam in the bottom of a glass.

Mix the yogurt with the vanilla and layer it on top of the jam.

When the Oats are done and have cooled a little place on top of the yogurt. 

Serve and enjoy!

Candied Walnuts & Autumn Salad

Autumn is here with out a doubt and to be honest I am relishing in it. I love this time of year! ok, maybe not the rain, but I like the fresh chill in the air, I like coming in and putting the heating on in the evening and I love the warm, comforting food that comes with this time of year.

While out shopping today I came across some Kale for 99c a bag in Lidl. I've never had kale before, Its one of Autumns many seasonal veggies, so now is a great time to enjoy it at its best. I decided to give it a go and I made a really tasty salad with it using some Candied Walnuts I made earlier today.

Candied Walnuts

3 Pro Points for 10g

70g Walnuts
50g Sweet Freedom Syrup
25g Brown Sugar
4 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 150

Mix the syrup, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring frequently.
Pour the syrup mixture into a bowl and stir in the Walnuts, Mix well
Leave the Walnuts to soak for 3 minutes

Place a sheet of baking parchment under a wire cooling rack and spread the Walnuts over the rack
Leave the excess syrup to drip off for a couple of minutes
Place the Walnuts on a lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 5 minutes, toss half way.
keep a firm eye on them as they burn quickly.
Leave to cool on the tray and transfer to a jar or air tight container.

Autumn salad

Serves 4

8 Pro Points Per Serving

To bulk up the salad for a main meal add a grilled chicken breast for an extra 4 pro Points per serving

A bunch of kale (I used half a bag from Lidl)
Half a Butternut Squash, cubed
1 cup Cous Cous
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
70g Goats Cheese
30g candied Walnuts
Fry Lite

Bring one cup of water to the boil, stir in vegetable stock cube and add one cup of Cous Cous, Cover and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Spray a large frying pan/wok with Fry Lite and turn on a medium heat
Saute the Butternut Squash for 10 minutes, until tender
Remove from the pan and let cool,
Spray the pan again with fry light and add the Kale, Wilt the kale for a couple of minutes until it turns a dark green colour but is still crunchy.
Remove from the pan, let cool and chop roughly.

In a large bowl, mix the Cous Cous, Kale and Squash together.
Crumble over the Goats Cheese and Toss.
Sprinkle the Walnuts on top and serve.

The slight bitterness of the crunchy Kale meets the soft sweetness of the Butternut Squash. The creaminess of the Goats cheese contrasted with the sweet crunch of the Candied Walnuts, This salad is bursting with flavour and texture, definitely a must try this season!

Filling & Healthy Pumpkin Bread and White Chocolate, Pumpkin Muffins

I love pumpkin!

From Pumpkin Pie to Pumpkin Spice Lattes I have become a little Pumpkin addict! I am blaming my friend Mandi, who is originally from America for the addiction. I found cans of Pumpkin puree in my local Supervalu and I just about exploded with excitement, but at €2.49 a can, its pricey.
Mandi, however, very kindly gave me two cans of Pumpkin puree courtesy of her mothers care packages. I was excited to use it as soon as possible, pumpkin pie being the obvious option but not necessarily the most Weight watchers Friendly!
I came up with a few ideas and I settled on Pumpkin bread and some muffins to start with and off I went on a Pumpkin baking spree!

First off for these recipes you will need pumpkin puree and Pumpkin Spice. If you can't get your hands on canned Pumpkin you can make your own Puree from roasting and mashing fresh Pumpkins. Pumpkin spice is a mix of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove, All Spice and Ginger, here is the mix I used for mine - http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-pie-spice-recipe/

Filling & Healthy Pumpkin & Oat Bread

Free on the Filling & Health plan

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree (canned or home made)
1 Cup Low Fat Natural Yogurt
4 Cups of Porridge Oats
2 Eggs
2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice
3 Tbsp Sweetener of choice
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Dash of Skimmed Milk
Fry lite

Preheat Oven to 180

Stir together the Pumpkin and yogurt in a mixing bowl.
Add the Eggs, Pumpkin Spice, vanilla, oats, sweetener and baking powder and mix well, adding a dash of skimmed milk as needed.

Spray a 2lb loaf tin with Fry Lite and fill with the bread dough.
Bake in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and turn onto a wire rack to cook further.

White Chocolate Chip & Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12

1Pro Point each on the Filling & Healthy Plan

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree (canned or home made)
1 Cup Low Fat Natural Yogurt
4 Cups of Porridge Oats
2 Eggs
2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice
3 Tbsp Sweetener of choice
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Dash of Skimmed Milk
80g White Chocolate Buttons (Smashed in a bag using a rolling pin)
Fry lite
2 Squares White Chocolate

Preheat Oven to 180

Stir together the Pumpkin and yogurt in a mixing bowl.
Add the Eggs, Pumpkin Spice, vanilla, oats, sweetener, baking powder and White Chocolate,
Mix well, adding a dash of skimmed milk as needed.

Line a cupcake tin with Muffin Cases and spray the cases with Fry Lite.
Using an Ice Cream scoop, pack the scoop with the muffin mix and empty into the muffin cases.
Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack
Melt the 2 squares of White Chocolate and drizzle over the tops of the Muffins.

Filling & Healthy Lasagna

The joy of filling & Healthy is that you can enjoy lots of your favourite meals that may otherwise be high in pro Points, some small changes may have to be made for them to be Filling & Healthy but nobody will be any the wiser! One of my favourites, and a dish I didn't make very often when following the Pro Points plan is lasagna. Here is my take on a Filling & Healthy Lasagna

Filling & Healthy Lasagna

Serves 4

Free on Simple Start or Filling & Healthy.

500g Extra Lean Mince Beef

2 Medium Onions, Diced

1 Red Pepper, Diced

1 Green/yellow Pepper, Diced
1 Courgette Diced,

250G Mushrooms, Finely Sliced

2 Tins Chopped Tomatoes

1 Tbsp Tomato Puree

1 Clove of Garlic

1 Tbsp Oregano

1 Tbsp Basil

Pinch of Celery Salt

Salt & pepper

Fry Lite

Whole-Wheat Lasagna Sheets

White Sauce

2 Tubs Low Fat Cottage Cheese

1 Large Egg

1 Tbsp Oregano

Spray the bottom of a large, heavy bottom saucepan with Fry Lite.

Over a medium/high heat, fry the Onion for 2 minutes and add the Mince Beef, brown off.

Add the chopped Peppers and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Stir in the tins of chopped Tomatoes, Tomato puree, Garlic &Herbs.

Turn to a low heat and let simmer for at least 30 minutes,
Add in the mushroom & courgette and cook for a further 10 minutes

Preheat Oven to 180.

In a jug mix the Cottage Cheese, Oregano & Egg together, you can leave it lumpy but I blend mine with my hand blender.

Layer the Lasagna sauce and Whole-Wheat sheets alternatively and top with the cottage cheese mix. 
Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Serve with Filling & Healthy garlic bread and salad, enjoy!

Diet ''Cheat'' Cake!

I want cake...I want cake now!

Sometimes in life you just need a piece of cake. The great Thing about weight watchers is that you can indeed have your cake and eat it. Thats the topic I was discussing with my members in my classes this week. A slice of cake in a coffee shop (or even home made) can cost you up to 19 Pro Points! But there are lower alternatives available. 

Last weekend while away for a weekend with my friend Mandi we simultaneously got cake craving, Funny how that happens! Both of us ae following weight watchers so we started thinking about what we could make that wouldn't cost us too much from our Weekly Pro Point allowance. Mandi got to google searching and came across a very strange concept for a Weight Watchers friendly cake.

The concept is taking a box cake mix and mixing it with a can of diet soda in replace of the oil and eggs.

I am not normally a fan of using box cake as I love to bake from scratch but the idea of a low Pro Point cake was too good so we decided to try it out using Betty Crocker Devils Food Cake Mix and a can of Coke Zero. We ended up with a lovely moist chocolate cake! We made some extra light cream cheese frosting  and the cake worked out at 6 Pro Points Per slice! Apologies there is no photo of that cake, it got gobbled up before I thought to take one.

This weekend I decided to try out another cake using the same concept as the chocolate cake. 

I found the Betty Crocker Orange & Chocolate Swirl mix on sale in Tesco for 1.59 and decided to try it out using a can of Tesco Orange Zero, a 4 pack cost 1.69 so not only is this a really tasty Weight Watchers friendly cake, its very affordable too and works out at 4 Pro Points a slice.

Diet Orange & Chocolate Swirl Cake

4 Pro Points per serving

Serves 12

1 Box Bettry Crocker Orange & Chocolate Swirl Cake Mix

1 330ml Can of Orange Zero 

Preheat fan oven to 160

Spray a cake tin with fry light

Follow the instructions from the box adding the can of soda in replace of the oil & eggs.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and serve.

Really, it's as easy as that and nobody would know it was from a box or Weight Watchers friendly!

You can try out any variety of box cake & diet soda combination and let me know how it turns out if you try your own.

Sarah x

If you're gonna do it, do it right!

If you're gonna do it, do it right! These words have been in my head all day today...and no its not because I heard the song on the radio. I went back to class this morning. I haven't been in almost 6 months, not since I became a leader. Over the last few weeks I really have lost the plot altogether. My motivation was decimated and I have been stuffing my face. Really stuffing my face! On Monday night driving home i ate a large bar of chocolate, 2 small bars of chocolate and a share bag of jellies...

Yes I am ashamed to admit that but thats just a snippet of the kind of behavior I have been indulging my mouth in of late. I knew what I was doing was going to cause me to gain weight, I knew it was unhealthy and I knew what I should be doing about it, but yet I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was completely in denial and telling myself it was ok and that I deserved to eat the food and I needed to eat the food!

last night I got to a desperate point. I was very upset and disappointed in myself. something had to be done and it had to be done ASAP. What would I tell anyone else in the same position to do, what would I tell a member to do? Go to class! So, I text my leader Sue to let her know I was thinking about attending her class the following morning, she replied ''see you in the morning'' I had no excuse, I had no choice but to go then.

Off to bed I went, feeling a tiny bit better, having made the decision. It was the best decision I have made in weeks! I attended class, got weighed, 7lbs over goal, not pleasant for a girl who swore she would never, ever go back to her old habits, ever! 7lbs is almost a quarter of the total weight I lost to get to goal, that is a scary thought! The meeting this morning was great, exactly what I needed. I had a refresher course with Sue at the end just like a new member would have their get started session and sue gave me some great advice that I am going to stick by for the week.

I am not going to focus on the gain or my past behavior. I am going to act like I have never done Weight watchers before, I am going to do Simple Start for the week and I am going to do it 100% by the book, no adaptions, no cheating! I am going to do it right! 

Beetroot & Beef Curry

I adore beetroot. Growing up I could sit and eat a whole jar of pickled beetroot to myself. When had salads during the summer I would have to eat the beetroot last because I loved it so much.

As I have gotten older my beetroot taste buds have expanded, there is rarely a time now where you wont find a pack of vacuum packed beetroot in the vegetable drawer of my fridge. I love it in salad with rocket & goats cheese. I love it roasted along side my Sunday roast and I have even made chocolate beetroot cake, it was so good and definitely a post for another day!
So when I was doing my grocery shopping earlier this week, you can imagine the excitement that came over me when I spotted fresh beetroot on the shelf next to the turnips. Oh yes my friends beetroot season is here!

Enjoying a relaxed saturday at home I decided to see if there was anything a bit different I could do with my bunch of beetroot. A little google search and I found that beetroot Stews and curries were a thing. Beetroot Curry? Well that sounded interesting!

Beetroot & beef Curry

Serves 4

6Pro Points per portion.
Free on F&H

750g Beetroot
2 onions
450g Lean Diced Beef
2 tbsp Tomato Puree
2 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
1tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Chilli Powder
6 Cardamon Pods
2 tsp Sweet Freedom Syrup
2 tsp Cumin Seed
1/2 tbsp Ground Coriander
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
Ground Pepper
4 tsp Coconut Oil or Olive Oil
2 Beef Stock Cubes
2 tsp Garam Masala

Place the whole beetroots (or half if very large) in a pot of boiling water and bring to the boil,
reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20/30 minutes until tender.
Wearing gloves, run the beetroot under cold water and rub the skin off with your fingers.
Dice the beetroot into 1" cubes and let cool, set aside 2 3rds of the beetroot.
Place the remaining 3rd into a food processor with the tomato puree, garlic, ginger, chilli powder, cardamon pods, syrup, cumin, coriander, cloves & ground pepper, blend into a paste.
Preheat the oven to 150.
Heat the oil in the bottom of casserole dish.
Fry the beef until just brown and remove the beef from the pot.
Lower the heat & add the onions to the pot and fry until softened,
then add the paste and fry for 5 minutes.
return the beef to the pot along with 2 beef stock cubes and enough boiling water to just cover the beef.
Bring to the boil, then place the lid on and bake in the oven for 2 hours.
After 2 hours remove the lid and bake for another 30 minutes.
Place the pot back on the hob, add the remaining 2 3rds of beetroot and hear through,

Serve over brown rice and enjoy!