Vegetables but not as we know them!

February 16th 2016

As I told you in my first blog, I will be 40 in June this year and instead of a party I am taking a few close friends and family to Royal Ascot for Ladies Day.  I hate not being organised so I have already been looking for a suitable dress to wear for this special occasion.  Having tried a few and discarded them, I came across a beautiful dress from Whistles in the sale on the John Lewis website...the only problem - they only had a size 10 but ever the optimist I ordered it anyway to give it a try...and....I can fasten it!!!  Now it could look better but did I mention that I fastened it!!? A size 10!!  So in the words of another screen character Carrie Bradshaw: 'The dress has upped the ante!' and while I would be more than happy with the eight pounds I set out to lose at the start of this blog, my ultimate aim for June is to weigh 10 stone 5lb which would be a fabulous two stone weight loss since I first joined Slimming World in January 2014.

Weigh in

So after missing a weigh in last week, I've put on half a pound.  As the lady at the scales said it's neither here nor there but I know I need to put in a bit more effort.  Attending group each week certainly keeps me on track and this week I am going to do a food diary which will either tell me where I'm going wrong or encourage me to stick to plan.  I will keep you posted!

Spiralized Veg

Inspiralized.com describe spiralized vegetables as: The art of turning vegetables and fruits into noodles. Simple as that, but so revolutionary. Spiralized vegetable pasta or “Inspiralized” pasta is inherently gluten-free, paleo, vegan and vegetarian friendly, low carb friendly, and of course, it’s a cleaner, more wholesome way to eat. Spiralized pasta is not only nutritious and filling, it’s easy to make. Spiralizing is for all ages, diet lifestyles and skill levels. The spiralizer allows you to transform a healthy, low-calorie, low-carb vegetable into a giant bowl of pasta! Top with the right sauce and protein and you’ve got a delicious meal that won’t break the diet bank– in minutes.

I have purchased a spiral cutter to have a go at making my own but if you are short of time then most of the supermarkets have their own versions of spiralized veg.

I tried a bag of Butternut Squash noodles (or Boodles!!) from Sainsbury's and I have to say I was not impressed.  I cooked it, took one taste and thew it out! To be honest I'm not a huge fan of ready prepared, pre-bagged vegetables as I find they become slimy very quickly, but don't let me stop you.

Sainsbury's also do a 300g bag of Courgetti for £1.20

 I found a carrot spaghetti on the Tesco website but it is currently unavailable to purchase

Waitrose do a Courgette Spaghetti at £1.29

Cauliflower Rice

As well as spiralized veg, an alternative to rice or cous cous is Cauliflower.  This has always been suggested by Slimming World as a good option especially if you are trying to follow the SP diet.  I have to say I have never tried it before now although I do like cauliflower so I'm not really sure what put me off - probably the time consuming preparation!  It seems that producers have cottoned onto this and like other pre-prepared veg we can buy to save time on our busy lives they are now selling cauliflower rice.

Here are a few options I found looking around:

The cauli rice pouches come in different flavours but it is useful to note that only the original one is free.  I haven't got round to trying my cauli rice yet but I will let you know when I do.

See you next week