I lost 5 on it! #Flex #WWworks

20^th November 2017

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, that’s why inventors put erasers on pencils!

Can I get a Whoop Whoop - it worked, I lost 5lb in my first week, finished on track, used all my daily and weekly SmartPoints and a few of my FitPoints.  Now I know as I start to experiment with some of the foods on the zero list, it will also get even easier to follow Flex.  I need to find things to do with the zero plant based proteins, not only because they are zero but also because they are really, really good for us. 

I’ve woke up with a bad throat so hopefully that won’t linger and mom gave me a bit of a fright last night when she had a bit of a fall going up the stairs to bed, thankfully she’s just a bit sore this morning it appears there’s nothing too serious.  

So food wise yesterday I blew my entire daily points on breakfast, it was immense, I had the whole avocado, ½ would’ve been plenty but no one else eats it and it doesn’t look good if left (I could’ve thrown it away I know!), had it on a olive ciabatta bread roll – delicious but for 8sp I’m not sure I’d buy again, again half would’ve been enough of that bread roll.  I’d bought a packet of smoked salmon for 4sp from the Coop reduced to 92p (bargain), the other packets gone in the freezer, oh ma’an why didn’t I think to do that with half the bread!  Anyway with my poached eggs and sweet chilli cherry tomatoes it was all super lush and I didn’t find myself wanting anything else till 5ish.  Oh and my poached eggs need to be left for less time or took of the heat as they were still a little overcooked after 4 minutes, but I'm getting there.

I also enjoyed a bowl of sugar free jelly, yogurt with mango puree.

I made some tandoori chicken pieces using my Skyr natural yogurt and tandoori rub that I found in the cupboard, then had them with squaffles, I do like these now roasted then I put a bit of salt & vinegar on them like I would my chips.

I still enjoyed my wine too. 

I spent the morning running errands and doing a bit of housework (boo) but I eventually got to have a little play in the kitchen and made a chick pea curry to eat today, I tweaked a recipe I’d found online, here it is;

Coconut Chickpea Curry (17sp total, serve 4 at 4sp each)

 

It looks better than this today! 

Spray light

3 red onions

14 ounces/400g fresh tomatoes, diced (if using canned, drain the tomatoes)
I used 3 cherry tomatoes I had left & a carton of chopped tomatoes, there was no juice)

sea salt & ground black pepper, to taste

16 ounces/454g can chickpeas, drained (I threw an extra carton of these in too to bulk it up)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ tablespoons garam masala

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

13.5 ounces/383g can reduced coconut milk (16sp)

1 teaspoon cornflour (1sp)

1 small lime

Instructions

·         In a deep pot over medium high heat, add the spray light

·         Add in the onions and tomatoes. Grind some sea salt and ground black pepper over the mixture and stir together. Lower heat to medium and allow to cook down until juices of the tomatoes are naturally released and onions are soft, about 10 minutes.

·         Add in the chickpeas, garlic, garam masala, curry powder and cumin. Stir to combine.

·         Add in the coconut milk and stir again. Add in the cornflour which helps to slightly thicken the curry. Bring the curry to a boil, and then reduce to medium-low so that the mixture continues to simmer for 10 to 12 more minutes.

·         Taste the curry and season with salt and pepper if you desire. Remove the curry from the heat and squeeze a lime lightly over the top of the curry, stirring to combine. Don't skip this step! Allow to cool slightly and then serve. Enjoy!

I want to make falafels next as I know I like chickpeas cooked that way, I’m still undecided about the chickpea if I’m completely honest, but I will persist and find ways to enjoy them, it’s all about the flavourings, it’s the texture I’m struggling with so mashing them up I reckon is the future for me!

Anyway, moving on we all love throwing it in the slow cooker and leaving it to it.  Here’s a recipe I’ve just had from the BBC website, worth a try I reckon.  Especially as the only points in it is the oil, so 2sp a serving!

Slow cooker dal

Serves 4

Tasty and filling, dal makes a cheap, healthy and satisfying meal.
Try freezing it in portion-sized containers - it will keep for up to 2 months.

Ingredients

300g/10½oz yellow split peas

1 onion, chopped

200g/7oz chopped tomatoes (from a tin or fresh)

thumb of fresh root ginger, finely grated

2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp crushed finely in a mortar

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 garlic cloves, one crushed, one thinly sliced

10 freeze-dried curry leaves

700ml/1¼ pts hot vegetable stock

1 hot green finger chilli, thinly sliced

2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil (9sp)

lemon wedges, to serve

1.    Place the split peas, onion, tomatoes, ginger, ground cumin, turmeric, crushed garlic, curry leaves and stock into a slow cooker. Add most of the chilli and stir to combine. Cook on high for four hours, until the split peas are tender.

2.    Season the dal generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Just before serving, heat the oil in a saucepan. When the oil is very hot, add the whole cumin seeds and the sliced garlic. Fry until the garlic is golden-brown and the cumin smells toasty and almost smoky. Spoon the hot spiced oil over the dhal, scatter with the remaining green chilli, then serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.

Let’s start another busy week, can’t wait to get in my meetings tomorrow and the rest of the week to see everyone’s results, excited for going to work this week for sure! 

Bring it on, here’s to my week two, losing weight in the run up to Christmas is the plan this week and very, very doable as I’ve seen members having a good time this weekend and staying on track.

WOO HOO BeYOUtiful, let’s make Monday mega, you could even make it a Meat Free Monday!   Get some of those protein based beans and pulses in ya belly ;)