Hi irene
Wholewheat pasta is really nice.. its got a lovely texture and more flavour.
I was very bad yesterday,ate stuff i shouldnt and drank over a bottle of wine... oh well back on it today.

Nicole x

Hi Nicole
Thanks for that info - my sister said the same earlier when I was speaking to her, I like w/m bread and brown rice just have not tried w/m pasta.
Hope you are having a better day today, I am doing well up to now. Hubby cooked a lovely roast dinner
Going to make some soup now for lunches this week and also some humous dip for tonight.
Thanks Irene

I've just had brown rice and lentil and squash tagine.Yummm....

Sounds nice hbrac... well ive been very good today,i had jacket potato with low cal coleslaw just now and been good all day,even though i was a bit hungover lol

Nicole

Hi
Any chance of the recipe for the tegine or is it in a SW magazine?
Thanks in advance.
Irene

Irene...it's not a SW recipe.I sort of adapted it to cut down on the syns. I cut out the olive oil and used frylight instead, used the prunes as a Healthy extra B and counted the honey and flaked almonds as a couple of syns. Not very scientific but it's quite healthy. I have it on a green day.It serves 4.

400g pack shallots peeled
2 tbsp olive oil( or frylight)
1 large butternut squash about 1.25kg /2lb 12oz peeled, deseeded and cut into bite sized chunks
1 tsp ground cinammon
1 tsp ground ginger
450ml /16fl. oz strong flavoured veg stock
12 small pitted prunes
2 tsp clear honey
2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks
3 tbsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp chopped mint plus extra for sprinkling

FOR THE COUSCOUS
250g /9oz couscous
1 tbsp Harissa ( Moroccan chilli paste). I only use 1.5 tsp..can't take fiery stuff !!
400g can chickpeas rinsed and drained
Handful toasted flaked almonds

Method

Fry the shallots in the oil/ frylight for 5 mins until they are softening and browned. Add the squash and spices, and stir for 1 min. Pour in the stock, season well then add the prunes and honey. Cover and simmer for 8 mins.

Add the peppers and cook for 8-10 mins until just tender. Stir in the coriander and mint.

Pour 400ml boiling water over the couscous in a bowl then stir in the Harissa with 1 tsp salt. Tip in the chickpeas then cover and leave for 5 mins. Fluff up with a fork and serve with the tagine, flaked almonds and extra mint.

Now I sometimes adapt it and put the Harissa in the tagine itself. Check the seasoning and add more if you want. Let me know how you get on.

Morning
Just having a look at the site while I am at work and noticed that the reply I put on last night at home is not there. It was to say thank you very much for taking the time to give me details of the recipe and I will let you know how it goes - probably be the weekend after I have bought the ingredients.
Thanks again.
Irene

No probs Irene. Only just managed to get on today Let me know how you get on when you do get round to making it.

Hi guys, I've decided to come to you for support.
Started my diet last week and weighed on Tuesday so I'll be weighing again tomorrow....fingers crossed!!
I am following WW roughly but not going to meetings this time. I have cut out tea and have replaced it with hot water with a slice of lemon and have made WW no point soup for lunch.
It'd be great to hear any tips or experiences you've had
Sunaholic

Hi everyone
First weigh in today and i lost 2lb,not bad considering how bad i was saturday
So today is the start of the next 7 days.... hope i can loose the same next week but hubby is home from work all weekend so its gonna be hard

Nicole x

Well I weighed today and lost 4lbs so very pleased that all the effort payed off. I just hope I can keep it up now!
Hope everyone else is still 'on the wagon', the box of Celebrations in the cupboard were calling my name before, but I managed to resist.

Hi everyone
Congratulations to all the 'losers'
I didn't get a grip of 'my good intentions' just back from class to discover not suprisingly I had put on 1lb - apart from one other member everyone else lost this week!!!! That is it tomorrow is the start of a new week and there are 4 of us who sit together that have set ourselves a challenge to lose at least 2lb, hopefully it is the shove I need, otherwise I am going to waste the money I paid last week for my 12 week countdown and thinking long and hard I could get to or be very close to my target weight by then. I have got to go for it haven't I?
Will keep in touch and will probably be look for some support which I know I will get.
Irene

Well managed to lose 3.5lbs of the 4 lbs I put on over Xmas, so really pleased about that. Only 3 lbs to go to target, but think I might change my target to 7lbs lower, so in that case only 10lbs to go!!!! - I'll see what our leader says next week.

Good luck everyone and well done!! Denny

well done everyone on you're loses and dont worry irene.... just get back on it this week.
And regarding peeling butternut squash which is a real pain.... i just usually cut it in half and sprinkle it with salt,pepper and herbs and bake it in the oven.... lovely

Nicole x

Hi all. Well done for everyone's losses this week. I weighed last night and have put on 3lbs. That is taking into account that I have not weighed since before christmas, so I was really pleased with that. I was expecting the worst so it was a nice surprise. The funniest things was the lady who weighs me took a gasp of breath when she looked at my weight (I know her so I wasnt offended). I thought "this is it, its at least 6-7lb on!" . Fortunately, it was just the 3 so she was forgiven.

I did buy the new SW magazine and there are some lovely and very tempting recipes in it. I going to try and get my head around them and have a good week. Its back to basics for me - from weighing my milk to resisting even that nibble of a chip! It would be lovely to achieve at least a 2lb weight loss for next week. I am now back to 7lbs off my target so i've got a bit of work to do but with a little support and a lot of dedication, I will do it.

Circumstances dictate that we probably wont be going on holiday abroad this year, but we have booked a week away in May to Cornwall so its something to aim for. May not be bikini destination, but it will be warmer by then and skirts and tshirts will hopefully be in order along with a new trimmer version of me!
everyone for a good week.

Sarah

I have found a site called minimins.com
It is a weight loss message boards site and has loads of tips whatever diet you are on.
There is a woman on it who has lost 9 stone in a year on weightwatchers!!!... she really is an inspiration

Nicole x

Hi
Went to my first weighing session after joining WW last week....managed to lose 4.5 pounds it was seriously hard work and there was many time when my hand reached out for a large packet of butterkist popcorn...

I managed to fight off the " I must have something sweet and yummy " urge, by making sure that I had breakfast ,filling up on loads of fruit and using my exercise bike 5 times a week.

Roll on next week!

Blooming well done diva!!!!
And keep up the good work xxxx

Well done everyone, this is such hard work!
Has anybody got one of the many new exercise dvds that are out?
I have bought the Dirty Dancing Dance Workout one and wow it's hard!! It's just so quick, I think I'm going to get a different one!
Jokes aside, it's not that I don't want a hard workout, but it would help if you could even keep up with it!
If anybody could recommend one that would be great! Thinking of the Vicky Binns or the Natalie Cassidy ones, at least they're 'normal' people and not super fit dancers!!