Meal Planning 2013 - Week 47

I got back from two weeks in America on Sunday; the last time I had a holiday of that length it was also in the US and I put on six pounds, and by my reckoning I've done the same thing again or maybe more! So I decided that before I went away, I would follow the 7-Day meal planner in one of my Slimming World magazines as closely as possible. I don't usually bother as I like to plan my own menus, and am really fussy so don't like half the meals anyway, but I think I will need to try very hard to lose weight after my holiday so this might be the best option! My parents are coming to stay half way through the week though so we will have a few meals out and I will be making cake, so I won't be sticking to the SW plan religiously... but I will do the best I can! This meal plan is from the Nov/Dec 2013 issue of Slimming World magazine, with a few adaptions where I don't like the suggestions or will have to make something different for my boyfriend.

Monday
Breakfast I was meant to have cinnamon porridge topped with fruit but didn't have time so had a Mullerlight instead
Lunch Ainsley Harriott Moroccan Medley couscous (1.5 syns) with roast chicken pieces mixed in, followed by fruit
Dinner I have a choir rehearsal this evening so can't have the suggested meal of bubble and squeak grill; really the only thing that is easy to eat is a sandwich.
Today's snack: salmon pate made from smoked salmon, parsley, lemon juice and Greek yogurt, eaten with veg sticks (syn free); apple; low fat jelly pot (half a syn).

Tuesday
Breakfast sausage sandwich with brown bread and quorn sausages - may have to precook these and reheat in the microwave at work (syn free)
Lunch SW menu suggests ham and lentil salad which sounds dreadful but I have a work lunch at a restaurant today so I will make the best choice I can.
Dinner Oriental chicken noodle stir fry for me (half a syn- SW recipe), chicken fajitas for the other half who doesn't like stir fry. Dessert: meringue nest (3 syns) with fruit and fat free Greek yogurt (free).
Snack: salmon pate if there is any left, plus fruit. The SW menu plan suggests Slimming World syn-free chips (ie home made oven baked) as a snack but to me chips aren't really a snack! Also, they take about an hour to cook which I don't have time for if it's not part of my dinner.

Wednesday
Breakfast SW menu suggests scrambled eggs which I don't like. Instead I will have poached eggs (Syn free)which I can cook in the microwave at work. Unfortunately we don't have a toaster though.
Lunch tuna pasta with rocket and fat free vinaigrette (syn free)
Dinner Out- I'm singing in the Royal Albert Hall tonight!

Thursday
Breakfast SW menu suggests Hi Fi bars (their version of cereal bars) and a Mullerlight (syn free yogurt) so I will have a version of this.
Lunch SW menu suggests fried rice with peas and ham, which isn't very appealing, so I will have the leftover stir fry from Tues (half a syn).
Dinner SW menu suggests Mediterranean one-pan salmon but my parents are now staying and they don't really like salmon. Also, my mum prefers to cook dinner so they can eat as soon as I get home from work, but probably won't want anything that needs too much fuss. Gammon steaks with mashed potato and parsley sauce is quite easy and everyone likes it. I can make Slimming World tiramisu from the Love Desserts book quite quickly after dinner (3 syns).
Snacks as before - I will try to eat lots of fruit.

Friday
Breakfast SW menu suggests fry-up (healthy of course) but I won't have time so I will have a Hi Fi bar and yogurt and fruit (syn free).
Lunch SW menu suggests roast beef sandwich with grated beetroot. One thing I don't like about the weekly meal plan is that it doesn't help use up ingredients you may have started earlier in the week. I suppose it might work if you are cooking for a lot of people but I'm not buying a packet of beef to only have it in one sandwich. Instead I will make a double portion of tuna pasta for Wednesday and have the other half today (syn free).
Dinner SW menu suggests mushroom and bacon carbonara. My boyfriend and I don't like mushrooms and he and my dad don't really eat pasta, so instead I think steak and chips would be nice as everyone likes that. For dessert I'm going to try to make Islands in the Stream as it doesn't take long and I can do it when I get in from work. It's not a Slimming World recipe but doesn't look like it would have too many syns.

Saturday
Breakfast SW menu says fruit salad with orange, apple and kiwi and yogurt. I don't like kiwi or eating orange segments but that's no reason why I can't have a version of this for breakfast.
Lunch SW menu says pizza rolls- a wholemeal roll topped with tomato puree, ham and cheese. I'm not sure I fancy the idea of it on a roll. A pizza base is 23 syns whereas a Weightwatchers flour tortilla is 5.5 syns so I will use that as a base, or if I can find multigrain wraps from a company called BFree (that I've never heard of), those count as a Healthy Extra so no syns. Everyone else can have a regular pizza base. A limited amount of cheese is free as a Healthy Extra and there are plenty of other syn-free toppings I can have - I just need to stay away from eating a whole ball of mozzarella (my favourite!).
Dinner Tonight I intend to have a Doctor Who viewing party as the 50th anniversary episode is on tonight, and my boyfriend and mum are big fans. I'm still working on the menu - and will do a blog post shortly after - but I think it will involve K9 hotdogs and Sonic Screwdriver cocktails!

Sunday
Breakfast My parents are leaving this morning and so I would cook a big breakfast but they like to have the same cereal for breakfast and will have lunch when they get home, so I will have cereal or yogurt and my boyfriend can have toast.
Lunch Going back to the SW meal plan, today should be chicken noodle soup which I can do but I know without having bread with it I will be starving! My boyfriend can have tomato soup.
Dinner Sticky BBQ chicken with SW chips