The wonderful world of Weetabix Muffins!

Who doesn't love Weetabix? With warm milk or cold... With a handful of choc chips or covered in syrup or honey... With fruit piled on...

Since starting slimming world I had to abandon the choc chips and syrup because I knew I wouldn't stick to my Syns! My favourite became cold milk, strawberries or banana - or both! - and a drizzle of honey for 1 syn. I used my Healthy Extra B Option for my 2 Weetabix.

Then the lovely Anne Moore shared a recipe for Weetabix muffins and it was like a whole new world! 

This recipe takes 5 mins to prepare and 20-25 mins to cook and is so worth it. You'll be amazed at how you can transform those dull little blocks into something so tasty and syn free!!!

You will need:

2 Weetabix (HEB)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp sweetener

Half a pot of muller light yoghurt - the syn free flavours.

A selection of fruit. 

**Please Note: You can use the synned varieties, just be sure to count the syn value in your recipe to help protect your weightloss!**

Method:

Beat the eggs well for. Minute or two. Crumble in the weetabix, add the sweetener and the half pot of yoghurt. (Set aside the remaining for serving with the fruit later.)

Combine all ingredients well! It will look a little unappetising but stick with it! 

Spoon the mixture into a silicone muffin tray. The mix should be enough to make 4-5 muffins.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees/GM 4 for 20-25 minutes.

Serve warm with a generous helping of chopped fruit drizzled with the remaining yoghurt.

2-3 muffins with fruit is a great breakfast and the remaining muffins make a great accompaniment for a nice cup of tea or coffee!

Excellent for snacking hot or cold and totally Syn Free if you use your Weetabix as a your Healthy Extra B!

Want to use Syns?!

Why not add:

Choc chips

Honey

A spoonful of Nutella

Peanut butter

Sultanas

Blueberries

Raspberries

Banana

Apple and cinammon...

Please check your syn values!

Enjoy these tasty treats - double your mixture for a bigger batch but remember they are only syn free when using the Weetabix as your healthy extra!

Loves...

Sian x

Tasty Tandoori Delight!

I enjoy cooking new things. I don't enjoy cooking with a hangover usually, but today was different - this was so simple and leisurely to cook and prepare that it didn't feel like a chore. Preparation was maybe 20 minutes, with 3-4 hours marinating time - great for the weekend and if you have time in the morning before work.

I followed a really simple recipe for the tandoori marinade. I warn you now, I'm not big on measuring and weighing food so this is a rough guide and this recipe is slimming world friendly - Syn free in fact!

Slimming World Friendly Tandoori Chicken Skewers:

You will need:

Fat free natural yoghurt (200g or about half a large/family sized pot)

Tandoori spice seasoning

Cumin

Chilli powder

Salt

Pepper

Chicken breast x 4 (skinless, no fat)

So, from the cupboard I took my tandoori seasoning, cumin, salt, pepper and chilli powder and grabbed the yoghurt from the fridge.

I poured half the yoghurt pot into a bowl and added roughly the following amounts of seasoning:

2 tbsp of Tandoori seasoning

1 tsp of cumin

A pinch of salt

A pinch of pepper

**You can tweak these measurements to include more or less, and at this point you can also add 1 or 2 tbsp of tomato purée. I didn't, and it was delicious. I may add it next time to see how the recipe varies.**

Combine these well and leave to stand while you cube your chicken breasts into generous chunks. The marinade will be quite thick and will be an orange/red colour (dependent on purée!)

Add the chicken to the bowl and coat with the marinade, then cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or as long as possible. 

Once ready to cook, preheat your oven to 180 degrees or gas mark 4, add the chicken to the skewers and space evenly. Don't cram too much on, they can be quite filling! 

Place prepared skewers onto a baking tray spritzed with frylight or lined with foil. 

Spoon any left over marinade onto the chicken, sprinkle a little chilli powder and salt and pepper over the top and place onto the middle shelf of your oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until the sauce appears to have "dried" somewhat and begins to char slightly.

Quickly prepare a mint yoghurt sauce by adding a teaspoon of mint sauce to 3 tbsp of fat free natural yoghurt!

Serve with basmati rice, on a salad, in a sandwich/wrap/baguette with a drizzle of mint yoghurt... However you fancy it! We went for basmati rice, salad and yummy spicy rice balls - the recipe for which I will share now. These are great to prepare while your chicken is marinating and they make a great snack as well as the perfect bhaji replacement/accompaniment in their own right!

Spicy rice balls - preparation time 15 minutes.

**Please note - I am not responsible for any "tweaking" of recipes and am aware that some slimming world members consider these as just that - a tweak. If "tweaking" causes your weightloss to slow then don't do it. I'm not forcing you to try these out and am clearly stating that they MAY be considered a tweak... Whether or not you eat them is YOUR responsibility.**

You will need:

1 pack of batchelors savoury rice (I used chicken)

I/2 a pack of smash.

1 tsp Tandoori seasoning

1 tsp Curry powder

Salt and pepper.

Cook the rice according to packet instructions.

Make up the 1/2 a pack of smash according to instructions, adding the water gradually until the mash is thick but smooth. Add the curry powder, tandoori seasoning and salt and pepper. It should look like this:

Add the rice to the seasoned mash and form into balls about the size of a gold ball. You can easily get 10-12 from this amount of mix. 

Place on a baking tray spritzed with frylight, then spray again to lightly coat the tops. Bake alongside your tandoori chicken for 20-25 minutes

This was our meal tonight - tandoori chicken skewers (syn free) with basmati rice (syn free), salad (superfree) and spicy rice balls (syn free). Mint yoghurt is also syn free if prepared the same as mentioned above.  *Based on Tesco mint sauce measuring at 0.5syns per tablespoon.*

I can't even begin to tell you how enjoyable tonight's meal was.

I prepared everything with plenty of time and it was such a pleasure to be able to watch my husband enjoying something I had cooked and prepared in a healthy, slimming world friendly manner. We still squeezed in our superfree by way of 1/3 of our plate being salad. And the food was good, clean, wholesome and healthy. 

Any questions, feel free to comment. Pop this on the menu this weekend to replace the naughtier treat of Indian takeaway :)

Enjoy!

Loves...

Sian x