Everything's Just Glorious!

I have been a bit lazy about my lunches the past few weeks, lets call it a Christmas hangover and so I have been buying soups to take to work with me. I also haven't made it to a meeting yet so I don't feel I have enough information to give Simple Start a go so I am still counting propoints. I usually feel a bit bad about not making my own as they are not as tasty or as kind to the pocket. I think the reason I have kept this going so long is I have discovered the tastiest low propoint convenience soups out there! I would def recommend making your own in general, but if you find yourself in the mood for something easy - or stuck for lunch one day, then grab one of these.

Ice Ice Baby

The weather does seem to be fading slowly into August so I may have missed the boat a bit with this post. Despite the sun having disappeared, it is still very warm and very muggy and it has taken until now for me to discover just how refreshing an Iced Coffee is. The fact that my new job is 2 doors away from a Starbucks has meant I have spent an unnatural amount of money on coffee. Before I do any serious damage I decide to work out the points in all the lovely iced treats. I've decided to post the points for the best value ones available, and anything that includes whipped cream is really not worth it (a tall skinny caramel frappacino is 8pp with whipped cream and only 3pp without). Nutritional info is on all the websites, but this just gives you a taste of whats available!

Saucy Saucy

I love fish. All types (except oysters) and lucky for me its incredibly good for you. Shellfish and white fish are unbelievably low in pro points and the oily fish like salmon and mackerel, while higher in pro points, are the best types of fat you need in your diet. So all in all a win win.

I have been seeing more and more of The Saucy Fish Co in shops and have tried a few of their products and they are great. What you get is good quality pieces of fish

Christmas treats

I have decided to calculate the propoints in some of the christmas treats that you may buy for your home, or be offered in other peoples homes over the holiday season. These are not neccesarily good options, though some are. The point of this post is more to be aware of just how high some things can be. I know I was shocked by some of these and would have "guestimated" them as lower, and others were about right. Not that I will be depriving myself of treats over christmas but the knowledge may help me make the best options possible when faced with temptation.

Cadbury Magical Elves - 2 propoints each

Summer's Here!!

So the sun has been out and that means one thing - ice cream temptation everywhere. Here is a list a few of the ice creams/pops available and the pro - points. If we are going to be tempted then its best to be armed with the information.

Walls
Loop de Loop - 2pp
Twister - 2pp
Super Split - 2pp
Calippo - 2pp
Solero Exotic - 3pp
Brunch - 6pp
Ice Berger - 5pp
Maxi Twist - 5pp
Feast - 8pp
Magnum, original or white - 7pp
Magnum, almond - 8pp
Magnum, double caramel - 10pp
Cornetto Original - 6pp
Cornetto Mint - 5pp
Cornetto Strawberry - 5pp
Choc Ice - 4pp

Mars 
Bounty, standard size 59ml - 5pp
Bounty, large 100ml - 8pp
Snickers Bar - 6pp
Mars - 5pp
Malteaser - 6pp
Galaxy Cone - 7pp
M&M Cone - 5pp
Starburst Smoothie - 2pp

I know its not the same but frozen fruit is a really nice alternative if you are organised enough to have it ready, I particularly like frozen mango, banana, strawberries, grapes and blueberries. I prefer to buy these fresh and freeze myself if I'm going to be eating them as is and using shop bought frozen fruit in smoothies and desserts. Also you can make your own ice pops using sugar free squash, or just water with lemon juice/zest or water and mint (best to let the water sit in the fridge for the flavours to infuse for a day or so before freezing).

But I hope everyone is making the most of this glorious weather while it lasts and getting out there and maybe even fitting in a little walking!!

Marks and Sparks!

So as I have said before I try to cook fresh as much as possible but as we all know that some times doesn't happen. When I can I cook up big portions of a pasta dish or a rice dish so I can freeze individual portions and have my home made ready meals to hand. Even with this there are some times when I am unprepared - I forgot to take something out of the freezer I was supposed to. Something comes up which means I just don't have time to cook or I am just feeling lazy. And there is an M&S on my way home from the dart station after work. So over the past while I have tried a few of these.  And here are my thoughts.

You have the 2 different ranges that tend to be weight watcher friendly - the obvious Count on Us and then the Simply Fuller Longer.

My preference is always going to lie with Simply Fuller Longer - if you read the ingredients on the back they are good ingredients and all recognizable. Sugar is pretty far down on the list of ingredients which is always good as it is usually one of the top ones in processed foods. And the big one, very few of the ingredients are listed as 'low fat' versions and yet these are still low in propoints. Things like feta