I've been keeping this all a bit hush hush to be honest. The diet that is. Well, that's if you can even call it a diet. Such a cliche, I know, but it really is a lifestyle change. I re-joined Slimming World a month ago and I am loving it.
I've tried it all - Weight Watchers, Cabbage Soup Diet, Calorie Counting, Eating Clean. Of course they all work if you follow them. Different people have different levels of success but they definitely all work on some level. I think it's more so about whether you will stick to them or not though. Weight Watchers worked for me as a teen. Now I dislike the counting, weighing and measuring. Eating clean just is not for me. I love my greens, love healthy food, but it is just not something I can stick to long term. Slimming World, on the other hand, is something I would be very happy to commit to for the rest of my life. And really, I suppose I have.
My love affair with Slimming World began a few years ago. I wanted to lose a stone before going to a wedding in New York. I did. It fell off me. I lost the stone in 6 weeks and I felt fantastic jetting off to the big apple. The holiday (and amazing wedding) passed and before I knew it I was in the midst of the "week after returning from holiday" where you proceed to eat like an absolute pig. Take-aways, convenience food and generally not being bothered. Before you know it you are back where you started and it is very hard to motivate yourself to go back and start from scratch.
To make a long story short. I lost weight, gained weight, got pregnant, lost weight, gained weigh, lost a bit and then maintained. I then re-joined Slimming World a month ago and it absolutely just clicked again for me. There really is nothing like it. It is the only "plan" that I can comfortably stick to, continue to eat delicious food, have the option to eat out and order a take-away, and still lose weight. It's true what they say, it's all about being organised.
That being said, I give you the.... Slimming World Spice Bag. I am a huge fan of Salt And Chilli Chicken so you can imagine my excitement when I first discovered a Spice Bag. They are glorious. I decided to give it a go and make myself a Slimming World version. I found this recipe for the Salt And Chilli Chicken on TheNakedBlondie website. I knew I wanted to give it a try. I thought how hard could it be to throw some chips, peppers and onions in to the mix. In theory I could create a syn free Spice Bag.
So I made a plan. We went out on Saturday night and I knew on Sunday I would be feeling a little tender. This, my friends, is knows as the danger zone. It's the time where you feel you need a take-away. Friday is our take-away night so another one just wasn't an option. I bought the ingredients, got my recipes sorted, and looked forward to giving this a bash on Sunday. To my delight, it couldn't have worked out any better. I slightly altered the recipe for the Salt And Chilli Chicken and it worked beautifully.
So here is how I made it.
For the Salt And Chilli Chicken I followed this recipe, but added half a tablespoon of sweetner to the mix. The Spice Bags I enjoy have a sweetness to the flavour so this worked out very well. It is also syn free.
I then made Slimming World Chips as normal using a recipe like this. However, before putting them in the oven I sprinkled on some salt, garlic granuales, chilli and a tiny bit of sweetner. I gave the tray a good shake to ensure the flavours evenly spread across every chip.
When the chips were cooking I diced one red pepper, one onion and half a red chilli. I then fried them in Frylite.
When the Chicken and Chips were cooked I added the Chicken, Chips, Peppers, Onion and Chilli in a bowl and gave it a good mix. I then added more salt, chilli and garlic granuales to taste. To serve I sprinkled on some more fresh chilli.
It was absolutely divine and I will be making it time and time again.
Enjoy!
Note - I would have some extra superspeed food with this. I had some melon and strawberries straight after and some raw carrot sticks before while I waited for it to cook.
Labels: Recipe, slimming world, spice bag
