I always take a couple weeks to get back into the healthy way of eating, maybe I shouldn't deviate so much when I decide to go mad really. Money being what it is for the moment, I'm not in a SW class so I'm doing it at home with my mountain of books and the Slimming World magazine.
Being back at the start means I'm sticking with basics for a while so that I can get stable before starting to experiment a bit more.
Today's breakfast was a SW classic. Bacon, grilled tomato, mushrooms and scrambled eggs. I do love having this when I've got time in the mornings as it's all free food if you're on red or extra easy. I never do green days as I'm pretty controlled when it comes to carbs (well, the healthier ones anyway).
For lunch I'm having a ham and cheese sandwich with fruit and a yogurt so pretty basic.
Then for evening meal it's Stew. Everyone loves stew and it's so healthy, especially now that stock cubes are free. Bearing in mind that I first did Slimming World about 18 years ago, it's funny to see some of the things that have become free over the years.
So anyway, Stew. Easy to do and all syn free. Get some lean casserole or braising steak cubes and fry them in a heavy saucepan with seasoning. Obviously you're going to use fry light or some other low fat oil spray to do that adding salt and pepper. Once the meat is browned, remove it with a slotted spoon and put to one side. I chop leek, onion, carrots, and parsnips. These I then add to the pan to pick up the flavour of the beef, just fry the veg for about 10 minutes, fully coating it in all the pan juices from the meat.
I then add a couple of dried bay leaves, pop the meat back in and add as much beef stock as need to completely cover the ingredients. Let this simmer away whilst you peel and chop some potatoes. Don't cut them too small or they'll break up completely with the slow cooking. I'd say I cut mine so that each one is half the size of a (woman's) fist. Once the pan has been on simmer for about half an hour, add the potatoes and if neccessary, more stock.
I then leave mine as long as possible. Normally a couple of hours with the lid on. I'll taste it after an hour and then add stuff to taste. It could be a little soy sauce (yup that's right!) some mixed herbs, some more seasoning,
Most people have their own preferences for stew so just add little bits, stir and taste. Just remember that dumplings aren't really an option this time!
