Slimming World - Magic Pancakes

I recently jumped on the Slimming World bandwagon and so far, so good. I've just begun my fourth week and I have lost a total of 8lb. That sounds good but it's not really as I lost a whooping 7lb in my first week, maintained on my second and lost just a single lb on my third. It's my fault for my slow loss in the previous two weeks because as soon as it gets to the weekend I seem to fall off plan and sabotage myself. I don't necessarily pig out but I eat what I shouldn't, eat way too many syns and don't count them either. This weekend it is all change. No cheating this weekend!  

Slimming World is fantastic and it really is not a diet. It's a lifestyle change. I am really enjoying cooking fresh, healthy and balanced foods. We are saving a lot of money and as I cook every day now I feel like I am becoming a lot more confident in the kitchen.

One of my favourite treats have got to be pancakes. Smothered in nutella, stuffed with chopped banana and sprinkled with sugar. When I discovered there was a Slimming World alternative that was just as good, if not better! I had to try it myself. 

Magic Pancakes-

35g porridge oats (hexB)

Muller Light

2 Eggs

Sweetner 

Measure out 35g of oats into a bowl 

Pour in any flavour Muller light (I like toffee or banana and custard)

Beat in two eggs (Or more if you prefer) 

Add a generous helping of sweetner and mix it all up 

Heat your frying pan and spray with fry light

Pour pancake mix into pan, make them as big or as small as you like 

Cook on med/high for a few minutes

Serve

These pancakes are totally syn free and you can keep them syn free by serving them with sweetner and chopped fruit or with fat free yoghurt. I like my Magic Pancakes a little bit naughty with a tablespoon of nutella (5 syns) and chopped bananas. Delicious! Great for breakfast or brunch.But I prefer them as a night time treat once the baby is in bed. Mummy treat time! 

What are your Slimming World favourites? 

Slimming World

One of my new years resolutions is to start and stick to a diet. I decided to try out Slimming World as I am forever hearing positive weight loss stories and positive remarks about the diet. Although I wouldn't call Slimming World a diet, it is more like a lifestyle change. It changes the way we choose and cook our foods and I have already learnt so much in such a short space of time.

I did start Slimming World earlier on in the year but wasn't fully confident in it so I decided to give it another go this week and to stick at it and I feel a lot more committed this time around. I am on the Extra Easy plan and it is just that. Extra easy. Once you get your head around all the ins and outs it's like riding a bike. 

I try to have three meals a day but do find that I tend to miss or skip breakfast. When I do this I have a supper instead. I have always been more of a night time eater and I can't change that. That is why Slimming World is great. You don't need to change what you like and want, it's all in moderation and you tailor it to what works for you. 

There are free foods, superfree foods, healthy extra's and then the foods you have to syn. I bet it all sounds like gobildygook but once you are doing it, it all makes sense. I get 15 syns a day to use which I could spend on a curly wurly (6 syns) or even a bag of quavers (4 syns) and much much more. If you want it, syn it and you can have it! Some people go syn free all day by filling up on free and superfree foods and then splurge using all the syns they have saved throughout the week. Which is great if you haven't kicked the takeaway habit. 

I have had some fab meals this week; beef casserole with roasted, potatoes, parsnips and carrots. Tuna pasta. Piri Piri chicken, rice and peppers. Roast dinner. Chicken tikka. I've even had chips!! All slimming world friendly and containing no syns! 

I had put on weight before becoming pregnant, during and after so I have a lot to lose. I am aiming to lose 3 stone so I will be here for the long haul but I will be blogging all about my adventure and maybe post a recipe or two.

I also intend on being more active. Even if it is just taking Noah out in the pram for a good half an hour in the afternoons. I have been trying to get out and be more active but the weather is dreadful. I can't wait to be able to go on long walks on milder days, Noah loves it too. 

On to the scary part. It is my first weigh in tomorrow! Wish me luck! 

Degustabox Review & Giveaway

I have to say I am a sucker when it comes to subscription boxes. From beauty boxes, pet boxes to baby boxes they are all the rage at the moment! I had yet to try a food subscription box so when Degustabox contacted me I was very happy to try them out!

For £12.99 a month you can receive a box full to the brim of exciting well known and brand new food products. What is in the box each month is a total surprise and I have to say when my Degustabox arrived I was very excited to see what was inside. 

Here is a list of what was in my box:

Quinola Mothergrain Express - £2.55 - We use a lot of express rice in this house so we are looking forward to trying it. We plan on eating it this weekend with salmon fillets and veg. 

Jules Destrooper Butter Crisp Biscuits - £1.19 - These biscuits were heavenly. So moreish and delicious I ate the whole box in one sitting. Perfect with a hot cup of coffee. 

Dorset Cereal Berry Granola - £3.79 - We love Dorset Cereal and I was very happy to see the brand in my box. I ate it for my breakfast with lashings of natural yogurt. Great way to start the day. 

Go! Kombucha Tea - £2.19 - This tea is packed full of live probiotic acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidents. Extremely good for you. It was a strange taste and I found it almost medicine like but you sort of expect that from something that is so good for you. It is giving your body a good cleanse! 

Zico Chocolate Coconut Water - £2.00 - I'm not usually a fan of coconut water as it just isn't sweet enough for me but this chocolate coconut version is delicious.

x3 Maggie So Juicy - 99p - I see the Maggie adverts on TV a lot and have always wanted to try them out. I received So Tender Italian Herbs, So Juicy Mexican Chicken and So Juicy Sticky BBQ. I plan on cooking up some meals next week with these flavour packets.

x2 Goody Good Stuff Sweets - £1.50 - These sweets contain no gluten, dairy, soy or nuts. They are a natural and vegetarian option too. I have tried vegetarian sweets before and didn't like them but I really enjoyed Goody Good Stuff! They still had the chew like most gelatin sweets and they tasted very fruity.

Amy's Kitchen Chunky Tomato Soup - £1.69 - This was the first time I have tried anything by Amy's Kitchen. The soup is made from organic ingredients and it was so yummy. It tasted like freshly made soup, you wouldn't of thought it had come out of a can.

All in all I am really impressed with Degustabox! There was such a variety of products inside, something for everyone all at an affordable price. I would subscribe in a heartbeat, fantastic! 

I have a £3.00 off voucher for my readers who would like to try out Degustabox for themselves. 

Simply enter the code: SG0JN.

That's not all. If you would like to win a Degustabox of your own simply enter via the rafflecopter below. Please read the t&c's at the bottom of the page before entering. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
t&c:

1. 1 winner of 1 Degustabox.

2. Winner must be over 18 years old.

3. Winner must be from the UK.

4. All entries checked. If an entry is incomplete it will be invalid. 

5. Competition ends 03/06/13. 

- I was sent this product for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own. 

My Maternity Fashion Tip

I was asked by the lovely Angelique (co-owner and creator of the wonderful Snoob Scarf) to share my top Maternity fashion tip with her readers and mine. So here I am! 

Before I was pregnant I was fond of wearing floaty day dresses. I never wore tight fitting dresses and avoided them at all costs as I wasn't happy with my figure. Once I begun showing and my bump began getting bigger and bigger I realised that floaty just didn't work for me any more. Wearing something so loose made me look bigger than I was and didn't really show that I was pregnant. I just looked big and shapeless and it wasn't flattering. 

This led me to begin experimenting with my Maternity wardrobe. I didn't want to spend a fortune on maternity wear but I knew I needed a few pieces that would see me through the duration of my pregnancy and beyond. So I begun researching stores which stock fashionable maternity wear.

I came across a striped bodycon dress from Topshop and knew I had to have it. It wasn't my usual style but I knew I had to try something different. Like most high street stores you can only buy their Maternity range online so I bought my regular size and had it delivered to home. My first impressions when it arrived was that it looked far too big and like a sack. 

Thankfully I tried it on and fell in love. The dress was everything I was looking for; stylish, the perfect length, stretchy, comfortable, supportive and durable. It cost me around £40 and has been worth it's weight in gold as it has been the staple of my wardrobe for my whole pregnancy. 

So my top maternity fashion tip is: Show off your bump and bodycon it!

Baby Wishlist

I have to admit I have gone a little crazy when it comes to buying for our baby. I was buying items for him before I even got my positive pregnancy test! That sounds really crazy I know but I just knew I was pregnant. I have always had that love for all things baby so the minute we started trying to conceive it finally gave me that excuse to spend. He probably won't wear a lot of it and some people may consider it a waste of money but I don't. I really enjoyed buying every little item and what he doesn't use I will donate to charity. 

Although we have plenty for the baby already I do have my eye on a few extras. I've put together a little baby wishlist of items I want to buy for our little one. 

Owl Sleepsuit / Bear Knitted Hat / Christmas Pudding Jumper / Little Dude Long Sleeve Tshirt / Corduroy Turn Up Trousers

These days there are so many great shops both on the high street and online. If you want something extra special why not treat baby to his or her first designer clothes.

Monnalisa baby clothes stock some beautiful pieces which are are perfect for the the upcoming festive season. I can see why some parents spend more money on clothes for their children rather than on their own wardrobe and I am guilty of it already. 

This is a PR Collaboration. 

The Perfect Changing Bag

I am a handbag sort of girl so when I became pregnant I knew my obsession for handbags would change into a passion for changing bags. How right was I? 

I have two changing bags already, contemplating my third and our boy isn't even here yet!

Firstly I bought this lovely striped satchel from Babymel. I ended up getting a great deal and only paid £25 rather than £42. I thought the satchel looked really trendy and you couldn't tell it was a changing bag at all. On arrival I loved it but I found it was too small for me. Perhaps it will be good for the days where I don't need to pack as much but in those early days I think I will need something much bigger. Until then I am going to use it as a handbag!

Next up we have the Storksak Kate Chaning bag. This beauty retails at a whopping £110 and you can really tell, it is top notch quality. I was lucky enough to win this bag over on twitter! It is absolutely stunning, a cream patent leather body with tan handles. It has a dozen sections inside, insulated bottle holders, travel changing mat and is big enough to carry everything you need. I can't wait to use it once baby is here.

Last but not least we have the Not So Plain Jane changing back from Pink Lining. I have always admired Pink Lining bags even before I was pregnant. They are pretty, quirky and eye catching. This one is currently in the sale for just £37 marked down from £75 so I am trying to justify a third changing bag! I just can't resist the pink and the bows! 

What do you think? Have you any favourite changing bags?
What makes the perfect changing bag?