Not just one award but two!

This week I finally achieved my 1/2 stone award - and it feels like its been ages coming! I also got slimmer of the week which was icing on the cake! Now I have a giant bag of fruit to go with my two shiny stickers and magnet.
3lb off was more than I though I would achieve - thanks to the body magic. The aches afterwards were worth every ounce!

1/2 Syn cake - Yes please!

Today's cooking adventure was supposed to be a roulade, until I realised I don't have a Swiss roll tin. So I decided to change it into a layer cake - still tasted just as good.

Ingredients

1 Tub Quark
4 Eggs
1 Tsp Baking powder
4 Tbsp Sweetener (I added a lot more)
Vanilla essence 

Fresh fruit

Fat free fromage frais

1. Separate the eggs into two bowls - yolks in one, whites in another
2. To the yolks add half the quark, baking powder, sweetener and vanilla essence. Whisk together and set aside.
3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Whisk half into the yolk mixture, then fold in the other half of the whites.

4. Spray a swiss roll tin with Fry light (I also lined the base with greaseproof paper), pour in the mixture and bake at 180 for 15-20 minutes. Leave to cool.

5. In another dish add the fromage frais, fresh fruit and sweetener to taste, mix well. I used frozen raspberries and squashed them slightly with a fork.
6. Remove the cake from the tin when cool and spread the fruit mixture evenly, roll the cake from one end carefully. Slice to serve.

Looked really full of air when it first came out









 Unfortunately it sunk - didn't affect the flavour

Half a syn for the whole cake, it comes from the baking powder - yummy. 

Next I am going to try adding an options hot chocolate to the cake mixture

Mmmmm Burgers

Homemade burgers, salad and pickles, bun from my B choice
I always soften the onions in a little water in the microwave before mixing them into the mince with some dried mixed herbs. I never bother with the egg, squishing them together works just fine.













Side salad to cover the superfree - salad leaf, carrot, cucumber, tomatoes,







Griddled veg - courgettes, carrots, red peppers, sugarsnap peas

Black pepper wedges - the quick and easy way, zap a potato in the microwave and then cut into wedges. Spray with frylight and bake in the oven until golden

I always make a dip for my wedges, my current fave is BBQ. Mix 3tbsp of fat free fromage frais, 1tbsp of extra light mayonnaise and 1 tbsp of BBQ sauce. Yummy and only 1.5 syns for the whole lot!

Saturday's feast

 Breakfast: Stuffed mushrooms (ham, spring onions, tomatoes, quark), tinned tomatoes and fried eggs (done in fry light)

 

Lunch: Chicken, mushroom and tomato soup - honestly tastes better than it looks!

 Tea: Ham, pepper, sweetcorn and onion Slimming world quiche, plus steamed veg for me, and the same for the little man with the addition of chips. Who says you need to eat different food!

 Our puddings: Fruit salad, fat free yogurt and a meringue (2.5 syns)

Friday night curry

Curry feast

I love to cook - my favourite thing is to spend hours in the kitchen creating, and judging by mine and my partners round stomachs I am quite good.
Friday nights feast was a selection of curry's from this months magazine and the curry book. The Goan Prawn Curry was definitely a success,  not so sure about the mixed veg one may need some tweaking. At least they were all syn free!

Before and After

July 2009: When i first joined in 2009 I was at my biggest ever a size 22! My little boy was 4 months old, and I couldn't blame all of my weight gain on the pregnancy.

September 2011: This was taken at a friends wedding, around the point I stopped attending Slimming World. This is one of my favourite size 16 dresses and I have already lost 3 stone by this point.

December 2011: This is the picture that made me decide I needed to go back to class straight after Christmas - same dress at the staff party - you don't often see yourself from other angles, and I didn't like the view

Like many I have had several goes at losing weight, I originally joined Slimming World in 2009 and did really well at first. I lost 3 stone, most of that was baby weight, and for the first time I was lighter than way before I got pregnant. I even made it down to a size 16 - an achievement that made me run to the nearest shop and buy a dress.

Once I became complacent I stopped losing weight and eventually gave up for a time in August 2011. My busy life meant that I wasn't focused on losing weight and cheated more than I stuck to the plan.

This is my second attempt at losing the weight once and for all, and there is plenty of it still to lose! 

I hope to use this blog to motivate myself and others - and try not to write too much random nonsense!

I rejoined Slimming World on 10th January 2012, a break of 4 months and I gained half a stone. Not too bad I suppose, and I did make the most of being able to eat whatever I wanted over the Christmas period.

I have set my target as 12 stone a nice round number that puts me well into the healthy range for my height. So with 5 stone to go ... it is going to be a long journey!