Life With The Hocks: Simple Slimming Suppers!- Monday 23rd February 2015

Hello everyone! Welcome to this weeks "Simple Slimming Suppers"

This week has been a great week for us weight-loss wise! Allan and I have both lost 3 lbs each and Colin has lost another 1 lb! we have been firmly back on plan since getting back from our mini-break away and our hard work has payed off! We have had a few treats over the week but have made sure we have stayed within our Syn allowance for the week and it's worked. That's why I love slimming world, you can lose weight whilst still being able to treat yourself now and again. The one thing I've struggled with when dieting in the past is that I have got fed up so quickly of eating the same "rabbit food" type meals every single day. However, with slimming world there are so many different recipes to try that you never have to worry about eating the same thing day in day out, you never have to get bored of it. I look at it as more of a healthy lifestyle than a diet.

Also this week, we have tried the new Slimming World meals range in Iceland. All the new meals are completely free on Slimming World and can either be cooked in the oven or in the microwave if you're in a rush. The meals come in portions for one so are ideal for when Allan is away at work and I'm on my own. I in no way intend to start living on frozen meals every day as I love cooking too much, but they really are ideal for days when I just can't be bothered (let's face it, we all have those days!). The meal range includes Meatballs and Pasta in a Spicy Tomato Sauce, Singapore Noodles, Chicken Pizziola, Roasted Vegetable Pasta, Chicken Tikka Masala, Sweet Potato Curry, Hot-Smoked Salmon Farfalle and Beef in Red Onion Gravy with Vegetable crush, Slimming world have also brought out Syn Free Sausages in bags of 6 and Syn Free Meatballs in bags of 16. So far we have tried the Meatballs and Pasta in a Spicy Tomato Sauce, Singapore Noodles and the Sausages, all which were very yummy! I have a few more in the freezer to try this week and I hope they are as impressive, I'm sure they will be from reviews I have read so far! As I say, I don't think they should become a reason to be lazy and have them every day, as I believe a healthy lifestyle is also about teaching yourself to cook and learning what is good for you, but they are very handy for days where you maybe feel a bit under the weather or just can't be bothered yet don't want to fall off plan.

Now for this weeks "Recipe Of The Week". This week I have decided to share a recipe for "Slimming World Pulled Pork". This recipe feels very naughty and indulgent, however, it's completely free so no guilt here! Yay!

Ingredients-

1 joint of gammon or pork, all visible fat removed (we had gammon this time, but I'd actually recommend pork as the gammon was a bit too salty for my taste, allan however loved it)
1 red onion
3/4 carton of Passatta
4 tbsp Sweetener
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
3 tbsp Worcester Sauce
1 tsp Mild Chilli Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method-
To make the BBQ Style sauce-

1) Finely chop your Red Onion and fry in a saucepan with Fry Light until Onions begin to soften.

2) Once Onions have started to soften, add the tsp of Chilli Powder and stir through the Onions for a couple of minutes.

3) Add the Pasatta, Sweetener, Balsamic Vinegar, Worcester Sauce and Salt and Pepper and give it a good stir to mix all the ingredients together.

4) Turn the heat to low and let sauce simmer for 10 minutes. The sauce should have thickened slightly and darkened after 10 minutes.

5) Put the joint of Gammon or Pork into a slow cooker, pour sauce over the meat and cook on low all day until you're ready to eat!

6) Once you're ready to eat, shred the meat with 2 forks then give it a mix so that all the sauce is mixed through the shredded meat. The meat should just fall apart with the forks.

7) Serve your Pulled Pork with a side of your choice! We had ours in a bap (healthy extra B) with Slimming World Coleslaw and Slimming World Chips. Yum Yum!