Try something new every day

March 1st 2016

Weigh in

I did it! 2lb loss and my 1 stone award. I am so happy! Yes I know I'm not a great advert for the Slimming World diet as it has taken me since last July to achieve this award but I stuck with it and I've finally achieved the award.   

Something new
My challenge to myself this week was to try something new everyday.  I don't necessarily mean a new food although most of them are!

Wednesday: Cloud Bread
I had heard of this before but an item on the radio yesterday morning made me look into it to see what it was all about.  Cloud Bread is a carb free, gluten free alternative to bread and it turns out that is the case because it is predominantly egg!!  Now as I have said before, I don't do eggs but I decided to give the bake a go.  The recipe I followed was 2 eggs, separated, whisking the whites with 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder until stiff peaks and mixing the yolks with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese (I used Quark to keep it totally Syn free).  You then fold the yolk mix into the white mix until pale yellow and cook in an oven at 150 for about 20 minutes (to create bun like shapes).  It is not something I would have again but I did try it.  To give you a better idea, I gave it to some friends and I had comments such as 'tastes like Yorkshire Pudding' 'It's like eating cotton wool - not literally, its just very light and fluffy!', 'It's a bit like souffle', 'It tears exactly like bread' and 'I'd be happy to eat that with a slice of ham!'.  So the verdict - definitely worth a try - you can add herbs or spices to the mixture to give it a different taste.  Search Cloud Bread on Google for a selection of recipes.

Thursday: Cauli Rice
I started to talk about cauliflower rice in my 'Vegetables but not as we know them' blog and I have been putting off trying it until today, but in the spirit of trying something new I decided it was time to open the pouch.  I purchased Cauli Rice plain in a pouch for £1.99 in Sainsbury's.  You can heat in the microwave or, as I did, warm it in a pan on the stove with just a couple of tablespoons of water.  The smell is quite pungent when you open the pouch but this goes away as it cooks.  I added cumin to the 'rice' and served it with a Slimming World version of Chilli Con Carne.  My verdict: It was better than I expected and I would have it again, great if you are doing an SP day or want to cut down on your carbs.  It's not rice but it's not a bad substitute.

Friday: Exercise on the Wii
Using the Wii to exercise isn't new to me but we've had a problem with our machine so it's been a while since I've used it.  While I was in Game searching for a gift I came across pre-owned Wii games and one in particular - Dance on Broadway was only £2.99 so I made a purchase.  I love musicals and its full of songs I know so i have enjoyed dancing along to the characters on screen and some of my favourite songs from the musicals.  Body magic is encouraged by slimming world and its all about moving more so while the weather is still a bit grotty I will be dancing around my living room!


Saturday: A different hair colour
Like many women, I colour my hair on a regular basis to keep it looking fresh and to cover my (very few!) greys.  I use Avon hair colours as they are very reasonably priced and suit my hair but I always use the same colour which is basically my natural brown hair colour.  On my last Avon order, however, I ordered one with a reddish tint and today I tried it out.  It's always a slightly nervous moment after you have coloured your hair as the colour does not show correctly until you have dried it but I am pleased with my new colour and will be purchasing more of it, and maybe even another different one!

Sunday: A fresh(er) start!
An article in Essentials magazine (April p65) suggests 5 ways to start the day with a spring in your step.  In the article they state that coffee on an empty stomach stimulates hydrochloric acid and promotes the release of stress hormones, so today as they suggested, I have had a glass of water as my first drink to kick-start my metabolism. (I've still had my usual coffee, just delayed so it wasn't on an empty stomach!).  I will continue doing this to see whether it makes a difference.

Monday: Carrot crisps
I was purchasing petrol in Tesco and came across Crunchy Carrot Slices by the till.  All natural (tick), oven dried (tick), 1 of your five a day (great), ingredients listed as only carrot and lemon juice - fab, or so I thought.  Thinking how virtuous I was to have chosen these over crisps or chocolate I ate them on my journey.  When I finally had time to input the details into my App to find out if there were any Syns (I was expecting 2 or 3 at the very most) I was shocked to find they contain 5.5 Syns! Needless to say I won't be purchasing those again (they are £1 for 30g if anyone is interested and they also do sweet potato and apple versions) 

Tuesday: Nespresso Caramelito
After yesterdays disappointment over the carrot slices I was concerned that the new flavoured Nespresso capsules I had purchased would be dangerously high in Syns.  Nespresso is not listed on Slimming World so I hunted the internet in search of someone that might know.  There are many sites and forums on Slimming World but none of them have come up with a conculsive answer, giving anything from zero to 5 Syns as a guesstimate.  Once again I checked the packaging and the nutritional information states 0g in all areas, making it zero Syns...Yey.  Now I can have a Caramel Latte (using my HeA) with none of the guilt.