Recipe - Apple Pie Baked Oats

Ah, baked oats. My Non-cake, cakey friend. Really, baked oats are the closest I've come to an edible Slimming World "cake". Let's call a spade a spade because SW cakes are basically just sweet omelettes, aka eggy abominations. I'm not a fan. These baked oats are still oats and egg but seem less horrendous in terms of taste, maybe the texture of the oats adds something, I don't know. If you're a Slimming World purist, you should syn the apple as it's cooked, but Slimming World make it so blimming difficult to work out the syns for cooked fruit. The syn values on the website (as far as I can tell) are for the fruit once it's been cooked, so 100g or cooked eating apple is 2 1/2 syns. But for this recipe I used I small eating apple raw, then baked it with my oat mixture. So how the eff am I meant to work out the syns for that? It was definitely less than 100g, probably about 70g raw by the time I'd peeled and cored it, but then how much would that weigh once cooked? More, less, the same? Whoooo knows, who cares? If you're a Slimming World saddo purist, allow a couple of syns. If you, like me, couldn't give a rat's backside, enjoy your cooked apple!

To make one portion of Apple Pie Baked Oats you will need:

• 35g oats (HEB)
• 1 small apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
• cinnamon
• 1 toffee mullerlight, or 125g fat free yogurt of your choice
• 1 egg
• sweetener to taste

Put your apple chunks into the bottom of a small oven proof dish and sprinkle with some cinnamon (just a sprinkle will do, or it's like eating christmassy sawdust). In a bowl mix the oats, egg, sweetener (about a tablespoon), a pinch more cinnamon and 90g of the yogurt. Pour on top of your apples and bake at 200/gas 6 for around 20-30 minutes, until golden on top. Serve with the rest of your yog and pretend you're eating cake.

I weighed in this morning, and over the last two weeks (with a very wobbly week thanks to illness and birthdays, and my new strategy of eating more for lunch) I lost 4lbs. Pretty pleased with that, hoping for 2 next week for my next award and shiny sticker to go on my book. I'd prefer an all you can eat chinese buffet as a reward but hey ho. It's the little things.

Hx

Recipe- Slimming World Classic Overnight Oats

In my world, a Healthy A choice is meant for cheese. If you think differently, you're wrong. On the odd occasion where I've had milk for my HEA I've regretted it instantly and been grumpy for the whole of my cheeseless day. But that means I'm limited for breakfast choices as cereal with water does not float my boat. Usually that's ok with me, as I'm not a huge cereal fan but sometimes a bowl of porridge is just what I want after the school run, and that's where overnight oats come in. It uses your Healthy B in the form of porridge oats, yogurt and fruit and it's so easy to make.

To make Slimming World Classic Overnight Oats for one person you will need:

• 35g porridge oats (HEB)
• syn-free yogurt of your choice (I used an Aldi greek style vanilla and coconut)
• fruit - berries (fresh or frozen), banana, apple, pear, peach - whatever you have/like just make sure some of it is speed
• depending on your yogurt you may also want sweetener and a splash of water

Mix the oats and yogurt (add sweetener if it's too sharp, and a splash of water if you think it's too thick). In a suitable receptacle (doesn't have to be fancy, a clean jam jar does the job just as well) layer your fruit and yogurty oats until you've used them all up - I did a layer of blueberries, yogurt/oats, layer of raspberries, yogurt/oats, layer of strawberries, yogurt/oats topped with a layer of banana. Pop a lid on and leave in the fridge overnight (or for an hour or so, at least. I sometimes make it up before I take the kids to school so it's ready when I get back) and enjoy a convenient breakfast in the morning.

You might want to experiment a little with this - some people like to mix their layers before refrigerating so the juices from the fruit soften the oats a bit more, but I like a bit of texture in it. Also, different fruit with give you different levels of moistness (mmm, moist), especially frozen fruits, so see what works for you. If you're leaving it overnight and using frozen fruits, there's no need to defrost them first as they will do their thing in the jar. If breakfast is something you struggle with, give it a go!

Hx 

Recipe- White Chocolate and Strawberry Baked Oats

Yep, you read that right. Chocolate. You can eat chocolate on the Slimming World plan, that's what your syns are for! Some people use their syns on booze, some prefer crisps or takeaways, but I keep sane with a chocolatey treat most days. Now, that's not to say you can have a family sized bar of Galaxy and a tub of Roses every day, but there are a few low-syn chocolates that can be enjoyed guilt free. This includes some low calorie hot chocolate powders, and they come in lots of different flavours including white choc which just happens to be my weakness. It's surprisingly satisfying, too. Don't go mixing it into quark or microwaving it with an egg to try and make a cake, because all you're heading for there is powdery disappointment. But with a bit of planning you can make something actually edible, chocolatey and good for you. What more do you want? A half naked man to feed it to you? I'll see what I can do.

To make White Chocolate and Strawberry Baked Oats for one you will need:

• 35g of any old porridge oats (HEB)
• 1 egg
• 100g strawberries (1 1/2 syns since they will be cooked)
• 1 sachet Options white hot chocolate powder (2 syns)
• 90g vanilla mullerlight (about half a pot) or any syn-free vanilla yogurt you like
• Tablespoon sweetener of your choice.

Whip the tops off the strawberries and chop up into smallish pieces - I cut each berry into 8. Combine all the ingredients and give them a good stir. Pop it all into a small oven proof dish and bake at 200/gas 6 for about half an hour, until the middle is set and it's golden on top. Serve with more strawberries and the rest of your yogurt, and pretend you're noshing on a Milkybar.

This isn't something I'd have everyday - at 3 1/2 syns it's quite indulgent for a breakfast, especially when you can have a full on Slimming World style fry up for free. If you're that bothered you can swap the strawberries for raspberries and save yourself a whole half a syn. 

Well, I'm off to find that half naked man to see if he fancies taking the bin out for me...

Hx

Salad days

A couple of years ago, I developed an allergy to tomatoes, which, in my world, is devastating. I love and adore tomatoes, in all shapes and sizes and various forms. I was practically weaned on tomatoes and usually grow my own in the summer (although this year's monsoon weather put paid to that). Now, if I eat them, it makes my mouth really sore and my chest tight  which is just a bit scary.

To me, a salad isn't a salad without a tomato. Or it used to be. This recent allergy has made me look at the way I see salads. A salad is a dieter's friend, but it can soon get rather boring if you're eating lettuce, tomato and cucumber at every meal... So I've been coming up with some ways to spice up your salad.

Chose your leaves

Are you an iceberg fan, or do you favour a little gem? The leaf is usually the basis for a good salad, and there are so many available now there's no reason not to vary them. I like to buy bags of pre-washed salad leaves, for convenience mostly, but also because of the variety. Our favourite is a babyleaf salad, but you can try rocket, spinach, beetroot leaves, watercress. Whatever takes your fancy. A good old round lettuce can be a nice change from the more "exotic" too!

Once you've got your leaves, what goes on top. I often find myself piling everything remotely salad-like on top, but you really don't have to. Chose three or four "toppings", such as:

• cucumber
• tomato *sob*
• peppers
• carrot (grated, cubed, thinly sliced with a speed peeler or get the flipping spiraliser out if you must)
• olives (8 for a syn)
• herbs (I like basil or mint)
• beetroot
• mushrooms
• radish
• celery
• onions

Know your onions

A good onion can add a sharp kick to your salad, but again you can vary them. Spring or salad onions are quick and convenient (snip them with scissors) but try red onion, spanish onion or even a couple of pickled onions for variety.

Pickle it

Talking of pickled onions, pickled beetroot, gherkins or cauliflower can also be a great addition to a salad. Add a blob of sweet pickle to turn your salad into a ploughmans (check the syns though).

Fruity twist

Still missing that tomato? I've been experimenting with adding fruit to my salad. Grapes, strawberries (great with balsamic dressing), melon, mango, apple or raisins will make a great addition to a good salad.

Protein power

Now you've got your basics, add the protein you need to make this a meal. Chicken salad will get boring really quick if you have it regularly, but combine it with bacon and a mustard dressing, or with mango and a curried mayonaise and it's a completely different meal. Other great protein sources for salad are:

• lean ham
• prawns
• tuna
• boiled eggs
• cottage cheese
• chorizo (quite fatty but a little goes a long way!)
• lean bacon or turkey bacon
• crab sticks
• omlette
• reduced fat cheese (try feta or mozzarella)
• quiche (crustless quiche recipe coming soon!)

Dress it up

Now here's a stumbling block - the dressing. You don't want to add a load of calories at the last minute, so chose wisely. I like to use balsamic vinegar, but raspberry vinegar is nice too. If you're buying a shop bought dressing, go for one that contains less than 50 calories per 100mls or is marketed as a lighter choice (my current favourite is honey and mustard). If you're a fan of mayonnaise or salad cream, chose on that's "extra light" or "lighter than light" and try mixing it with fat free fromage frais to make it go further. Or water down some fat free natural yoghurt and add some finely chopped mint, for a dressing that feels really creamy and indulgent, without all the fat.

Things to avoid

This may sound obvious, but if you're trying to keep your salad healthy there are some things to avoid:

• croutons
• full fat cheese
• crispy onions
• crispy bacon
• creamy or oily dressings
• chips on the side!

And here's a bit of a contentious one - avocado and nuts. Both of which are insanely healthy (in moderation, I'm not talking about a giant pack of dry roasted) but are very high in syns, so use them wisely. To be honest, I'd avoid slimy green bastard avocado completely. Yuk.

I enjoy salads, and I always have, but it can get boring, very quickly. I hope I've given you some ideas and inspiration to spice up your salad! Let me know your suggestions too.

Hx