Back to basics!

Thursday 24th October 2019
Don't wait for everything to be perfect to enjoy your life. 

Yesterday we talked about how to remotivate yourself so today I thought we'd look at some of the logical things you can do, GO BACK TO BASICS! 

Know your daily and weekly allowance, work out the portion sizes you should be having.  If a packet of food says 'serves 2', there's a clue there, you're supposed to share it or eat it at 2 separate meals.   The portion thing has been instrumental in me saving some money, eat less, eat the correct portions, save money - logical really. 

Also don't assume you know stuff, take baked beans as an example, I opened a can from Aldi and assumed they were all more or less the same points, but they aren't, they vary a lot, I've got to say the taste in the Aldi ones was bang on, I enjoyed them, but looking at a taste test online https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/27/baked-beans-taste-test-heinz-v-supermarket-own-brands the winning taste was Morrisons with 8/10!  Aldi got 5/10 and Heinz 6/10 but I'd happily accept Aldi, just wished they weren't so damn high in Smart Points;

Weight Watchers from Heinz 9SP
Heinz/Morrisons/Asda/Sainsburys 11SP
Corale (Aldi) 13SP

It's 6SP for half the can which is a portion by the way ;) most are 5 or 6 for 1/2 the can so it depends how important that extra Smart Point is to you and how often you eat beans.  I want to try the Morrisons ones out of curiousity now, I'm no bean connoisseur normally I'm not a fan at all but I enjoyed them a lot.  Doh, but of course if I was to take the time I could make my own for zero points, yeah, maybe that's what I need to do, 

If I have some haricot beans in the cupboard that might be what I do, although I don't think I have passata but we'll see.  It can go on my shopping list for when I do go.

There's another basic tip - buy the right food, you can only eat what you buy, get your store cupboard basics right, your shopping list healthy and you've got a head start there. 

Know what you're spending, I mean Smart Points not money here, track it, write it down or use your app, take a marker pen shopping with you and scan the foods whilst you there and write it on the package so it's all done for when you put it in your cupboards.  I've not been able to get an internet connection in our new Aldi, but I was told this week that they have free wifi, so I'll check that out next week when I shop. 

I started using my Alexa to make me a shopping list yesterday, now when I run out of something I can just say, "Alexa, add ...... to my shopping list" this will ensure I don't overspend when I go shopping and I'll only get what I need. 

Finally, use those zero heroes they were chosen because they help form the foundation for a healthy eating pattern, they're tasty too, there's more than chicken and eggs on that list!  

On the app you can find recipes by Smart Points, I know everyone raves over the zero Moroccan-style veggie shepherd’s pie, I might make me a zero omelette for my breakfast, add mushrooms, peppers, spring onions, yeah perfect.  

Don't expect to lose a stone in a day, make changes you're likely to continue and enjoy the journey.  Try new foods, new recipes, get a little adventurous, if you don't make changes, nothing changes.  Attend your workshop each week to keep you on track, to get ideas and to share successes and struggles - you know it makes sense.

Mwah, 

Love ya 

Love me xx