Feeling good whatever the scales say today!

17th November 2016

Life is about these moments, these pieces of time, these slices of life that flash by, but they stay in your heart forever. Don't forget to notice them!

We can never be told too often that we're doing something well or that we look good.  Positive feedback is a great motivator!  Because they temperature has risen this week, I've not been wearing a cardigan this week and I've received some lovely compliments about my weight loss.

Last night I had a trainer and a training manager in my meeting and they gave me really positive feedback which I'm not gonna lie, left me buzzing! 

That's why Weight Watchers meetings work so well, everyone is encouraging everyone else to do well, the trainers in my meeting last night noticed how everyone even though they'd arrived with friends and had little groups, all interested with each other and were one big group there having fun and encouraging each other - I was a very proud leader.  I have the best helpers too that make the meeting a comfortable place to walk into and stay, blessed I am to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.

It's day 50 of my 12 week challenge, my goal was to stay on plan and track it all and I'm doing just that, this week might not have been the easiest of the last 7, but it's improved as the weeks gone on and I'll take whatever the scales say this morning, I've lost 9.5lb and achieved my 5% in the first 6 weeks so I'll focus on the positives, then focus on making more positive results over the coming weeks.

I'm well aware as we get nearer to Christmas it's going to get tougher, I'm out this Saturday, off to the theatre, I don't plan on going crazy though.  One week at a time, I won't think about December until it arrives!  It's not Christmas yet...

I made my recipe yesterday, it was a rustic potato cake, I was truly disappointed, give me good old fashioned cheese and potato pie any day of the week!  I won't bother to share the recipe with you because it was a lot of points for not so much taste, was better cold but still rather have cheese and potato or cheese and onion pie mmm.

Not sure what's on the menu today, I made my grey peas, had a bowl last night, I will see whats in the fridge and where my mood takes me, fancy fish actually, might take some out the freezer, yep with mash and veg, that sounds good.

First though to get ready for work, let's make Thursday tremendous, let's make sure we track it all!

If you have any low pointed sweets / treats recipe ideas send them to me so we have some ideas for Christmas, everyone likes a bit of sweet this time of year but we don't want to undo all the good works we've done this year.

What about delicious meringues, they do these giant meringues at Weston park, they're too big to be honest so you could share if you made them large! 

Lightest ever meringues

Prep: 25 mins Cook: 1 hr Plus cooling

Easy

Makes about 18 - 3sp each for basic recipe

Whisk up a batch of classic meringues, then get creative with citrus swirl, Turkish delight and chocolate varieties

Freezable

Nutrition: per serving

Kcal 53 saturates 0g sugars 13g protein1g

4 egg whites

225g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

plus your choice of flavourings (see below)

1.    Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment and set up a piping bag with a medium-size star nozzle.

2.    In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff – the whites should stand in stiff, not floppy, peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Once you have reached this point, pour in roughly half the sugar and the vanilla extract and whisk again until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick, firm and shiny. If you like meringues with soft, mallowy centres,  just add 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp white wine vinegar to the mix along with the sugar. (these are how they are at Weston park!)

3.    Carefully spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Push any air out of the top and tightly twist the end of the piping bag to seal. Gently squeeze until meringue is visible at the end of the nozzle, then begin piping onto your lined baking sheets. Pipe spiralling circles, about 6cm wide and 3 layers high – like you would ice a cupcake to make roughly 18. The meringues will spread slightly as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. Bake in the oven for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ after 30 mins.

4.    Remove from the oven – they should peel easily away from the parchment – and cool on a wire rack. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or frozen for up to 3 months, between layers of parchment, in an airtight container.

To make Cream & chocolate meringues for dessert, put 100g dark chocolate (27sp) in a glass bowl and melt over a pan of gently simmering water. Carefully dip the base of each meringue in to coat, then place on their sides on a plate or tray to set. This takes them up to 5sp each.

Citrus swirl meringues

Gently fold zest 1 orange and ¼ tsp yellow or orange food colouring into the basic meringue mix, then spoon 4-6 large shapes onto baking parchment covered baking sheets. Bake for 45 mins at 140C/120C fan/gas 1, then for a further 45 mins at 120C/100C fan/gas ½. 

Turkish delight meringues

Make the basic meringue mix minus the vanilla extract, then gently fold in ¼ tsp rose water and ¼ tsp red or pink food colouring. Shape and bake as in the basic meringue recipe.