Any one for Orzo!

8^th July 2018

Be strong – even if it breaks your heart. 

Well it’s been a very, very great week!  Mom’s 80^th = huge success, Food demo’s in meeting = huge success, Charity Fundraising = huge success, England match = huge success, yeah it’s been a very, very, great week!

This week has also reminded me that I am 100% living the life I chose and wanted, of course if it was possible mom wouldn’t have Alzheimer’s or Vascular Dementia but the rest, I wouldn’t change a thing.  I like my hassle free, drama free, low stress, simple life, it’s awesome and I’m blessed to have a beautiful home and garden to live in.  Truly content… Nobody gets everything they want, there will always be something, and new problems will arrive.  Instead of striving for perfection, strive for contentedness, find a way to be happy with what you already have and you’ll always have exactly what you need. 

Right my food demos in the meeting, we’ve been loving Orzo salads this week and they have all been tasty.  I took cooked orzo to the meetings, cooked with either a stock cube earlier in the week but then I switched to a spoonful of turmeric because that coloured it better and turmeric is good for us, it has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant.  If you don’t know what orzo is, it’s a pasta that looks like a rice but actually it looks like the pearls of barley because orzo is Italian for ‘barley’ anyway I digress.  You point it as you would pasta, if you have your Weight Watcher scales you can type in ‘pasta’, it works out 1SP per 10g dried weight or 4SP per 100g of cooked weight.

In each meeting members chose what ingredients we put in, starting with a herb, we had coriander, basil, thyme, chives, mint, of course you can use any herb that you like.

Next we threw in diced fruit and veggies such as tomatoes, carrots, apple, pear, spring onions, celery, watercress, spinach, mushrooms, pineapple, again any fruit or veggies you enjoy.  Diced apple is definitely my new favourite salad ingredient. 

Then any other ingredients, we had sultanas, walnuts, parmesan, sundried tomatoes, olives, ham, you could add prawns (I’m allergic), tuna, chicken, salmon, again the options are endless.  It’s okay to use things like sultanas and nuts, I know they’re high in points but you’re not going to use a lot so you can use a tablespoon or two.  I also added chick peas to every one of them we did, they really work in the salad and they’re a zero hero so that’s a bonus, you could use butter beans, or maybe a tin of mixed beans, Sainsbury’s do one in a mild chilli sauce or one in vinegarette, so you’d already have your dressing there!

Then the final and probably the most important I think, the dressing.  We had some amazing combinations, all the Weight Watcher sauces and marinades in the meeting worked really well, I wasn’t sure at first it was okay to use the marinade because they’re meant for cooking but trust me, they work well, stir a sachet of lemon and herb marinade through the bowl of orzo and mmm, tasty.  I used ½ packet (250g) of orzo in each session.  They’re really low in Smart Points too which helps to keep the points down, salad dressing sachets are zero points and the marinades are 2SP per pouch.

We also use the Flava-it marinades, the mint one (8SP) and the sweet chilli (7SP) were very good, higher in Smart Points than the WW ones but if shared between 4 or 5 people not so bad.

Another combination we did was pesto (2SP per tablespoon, or the Eat Smart on from Morrison’s is 6SP per 100g) and parmesan (1SP per tbsp), that was very tasty and would’ve been delicious with some pine nuts thrown in.

Then on Thursday in one meeting we did a Hawaiian pizza style one, ham and pineapple, made the dressing from mustard, low fat natural yogurt and a ham oxo cube. 

I did a curry one using a tablespoon of mango chutney, some garam masala, curry powder, paprika, low fat natural yogurt as the dressing.  I threw in some sultanas, celery, spinach, spring onions, and tomatoes, there could’ve been other diced salad that I can’t remember, but again throw in whatever YOU like.

We finished the week with the mint Flava-it marinade and another one using low fat plain yogurt, Weight Watchers garlic and chive dressing and parmesan, we were trying to recreate a ‘Caesar dressing’ with the ingredients I had to hand, I have to say it turned out well, let’s say there wasn’t much of it left at the end of the meeting.  

The options are endless, the finished salad will keep 3 or 4 days in the fridge, great to take to work for your lunch, to eat in the garden on a hot day when you don’t feel like cooking or to take to a BBQ.  Eat it on its own or serve it with a cooked chicken breast or salmon for a boost of zero pointed protein. 

Get experimenting, I’ve just noticed the Old El Paso seasoning mixes, they might work.   I didn’t do it but I know it would work, a tablespoon of mint sauce would be perfect, or add some low fat natural yogurt to that and that would work too.  Honey and lemon mmm, you could make your own dressings if you have the patience, https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-salad-dressings-you-can-make-minutes have some ideas, or just type “salad dressing recipes” your search engine or on Pinterest.  Go to recipes on your WW app and type in salad dressing, that’ll give you ideas too. 

If you don’t come to my meetings or you didn’t make one this week and you’ve got any benefit or ideas from reading this blog, is it worth a donation?  If it is, help me get my Justgiving total a little higher before the end of the weekend, we’re currently at £1,320.95 which is just absolutely incredible, the easiest way to donate is to text BAYF58 £1 or whatever value you want to send to 70070 or click the link and donate via this page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/moms80

Right that’s me done, I’m absolutely starting this morning, all I’ll say is we had a Prosecco party whilst watching the football.  I however put mom to bed and stayed with her getting an early night myself, whilst my guests went over the local with a couple of mates, let’s just say the state they got back in around midnight, they’re gonna be a little bit poorly this morning.  Then there were one of the neighbours down the street having a full on argument over something (just not necessary in the middle of the night), it’s one thing being kept away till the early hours by people coming home being loud and full of cheer and laughter after celebrating the football win but having to listen to anger is not how I want to be woken up.  Another reminder of why I love my simple, uncomplicated life though, if it doesn’t bring you love and joy, why are you even involved?

Here’s to a very, great sunny Sunday in the garden with mom, I fancy an egg sandwich for my breakfast on white, I’ll wait for the Co-op to open and go buy a loaf I think.  Hopefully that’ll be the most difficult decision I have to make today.  Enjoy your day BeYOUtiful.

There aren't any photos of the sauces etc because my computer is playing up this morning and won't upload them!