Tell me your HEXA & HEXB choices

[littlecupcake]

I'm rejoining SW tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. Haven't got loads to lose, but I've been trying to watch what I eat but too many naughty treats find their way past my lips and the stone that I'd like to lose just won't shift.

I really struggle to use my HEXA and HEXB choices wisely, so I'd love to hear some creative suggestions about how you use yours before I plan next week's shopping/meal plan.

As an example, I used skimmed milk for my HEXA today and porridge for my HEXB. There was only a little bit of milk left after making the porridge so I have cut down my tea and coffee intake today!! I know I could syn it, but I'd rather use that for 'proper' treats! Lunch was soup but I wish I'd saved my HEXB for some bread because I've been hungry all afternoon and tried my best not to pick. I did have a white bread wrap and know I will have to count the syns when I find out how many but I've still been hungry.

So, how can I make better use of my syns?! Can't see a way of using four cheese triangles in a day, but that's another matter altogether

I use my HEXA and B at breakfast usually- I have the 40g weetabix and then some of my skimmed milk allowance. I then keep the milk measured for the day and use the rest of it for the occasional tea and sometimes for a hot chocolate using an options sachet!

Overnight oats (40g oats as hex b)

Dairylea triangles light (4) for healthy a often in mash potato to make it creamy without adding syns

2 slices of bread as hex b today with lean bacon and eggs in and 1 tbsp of ketchup made me a great breakfast for only 1 syn.

I generally use my hexa for milk because I like a lot of hot drinks,then syn cheese if I have it. For breakfast I often use oats for hexb but do them as baked oats so use natural youghurt (syn free), if I don't have oats I'll have bread or ryvita at lunch time.

I use my A for milk for coffee and B for toast for breakfast. I very rarely deviate from this.

I have skimmed milk everyday as like tea and coffee. I use whatever is left at the end of the day to have a milky coffee. I usually have two hifi bars as my B, I've got a really sweet tooth and find evenings are the time when my willpower is weakest so I try and save them for the evening and often have them with my milky coffee.

I always always always have fruit and cereal with yoghurt which frees up milk for drinks.

HEXA I use for milk.

If I have porridge I have overnight oats made with yogurt.

At the moment my HEXB is a gluten free wrap used for lunch, previously I used 3 slices of crustless small loaf whole meal (Kingsmill)

I always use my hexa for milk and on,y milk. I cut out cheese and most other diary when on SW, and I drink a lot of tea so it's a necessity as far as I am concerned.

I always use my hexb on two HiFi bars, which I have as a dessert daily. I find it easy to cut out bread.

I tend to use my syns on sauces and gravies as I can't stand dry food.

Usually I use both at breakfast for cereal and milk but today I split my HEX A between milk in tea and 1 babybel light (although I'm not actually sure if that's allowed) and used my B for a special K bar

Wow, loads of replies already - thanks everyone!

I'm going to keep using my HEXA for milk, but save it for tea, coffee rather than waste it on cereal! I'll give overnight oats a try (but I worry that it'll just taste like cold, lumpy porridge)!

If you use your HEXB on breakfast of cereal bars, what do you then eat for lunch? Sandwiches, crackers and soup all would be out because the allowance will have gone, but they're staples for me!! I struggle with lunches at the best of times.

I love the sound of egg with HEXB bread and lean bacon. I'm making a note of that one!!

I'm trying to list some meal combinations that would work in one day - I think my problem is that I don't plan ahead properly, then when I do fancy something in particular for dinner I realise that I used my allowance for the breakfast, if that makes sense? But if I plan combinations of meals where I can use the HEXA and HEXB wisely, I might be more successful!

Thank you again x

I use 1/2 HEX A for skimmed milk and the other 1/2 for 3 laughing cow lightest or 1 babybell.

1/2 HEX B on 2 ryvita and 1/2 on an Alpen bar.

I drink more black coffee and peppermint tea than I ever did before! I use the cream cheese instead of butter in jacket potato/ mash etc.

I don't eat bread now, but I do miss it. I make soup which includes pasta so I don't need the bread with it.

For lunches I have things like-

Baked potato with beans and ham with salad
Poached eggs, ham, spinach and mushrooms
Chicken and bacon salad
Omelette with ham, mushroom and tomatoes
Smaller portion of whatever I had the night before.

I often have beans on toast with grated cheese on top. 30g cheese hexA,toast hexb, beans free, fills me up nicely.
OR; poached eggs on toast (hexB) I'd another fave
when I'm working I take 2 weetabix for breakfast with milk (hexa&b)

I have never counted the milk in my tea as hexA I like really strong tea so hardly use milk.
I've never tried overnight oats. Might try it tomorrow.

I never make porridge with milk. I use water and just keep mixing it to make it creamy. My As are either milk for coffee or cheese if we are having pasta for tea. Another B if I am not that hungry at breakfast is 45g of blueberry wheats.

At the moment I'm using HEXA dairylea triangles and HEB wholemeal bread (2 slices from 400g loaf) as a supper type meal when I'm getting munchies after dinner.

I don't have hot drinks though, so if I'm not having cereal I don't miss milk (last time I did SW I would have HEXB whetabix with a mullerlight but not sure I can stomach that at the moment)

HEX A is nearly always milk, for coffees.

B...cereal bars or toast usually...not always at breakfast time though, usually later on, sometimes baked oats, occasionally yon Jordan's oat bran stuff made into cakes or biscuits.

I'm sure I'll get into the swing of things again. But if I use hexb for a sandwich at lunchtime what are the quick and easy breakfasts that I won't have to syn? I'm thinking eggs and bacon or Muller light with fruit. Anything obvious I'm missing?

I really do think it's a case of planning a whole day in advance rather than living from one biscuit/snack meal to the next.

It's all cheese for me as don't drink milk. Occasionally I'll have porridge, but prefer cheese.

B choice is usually bread, hifi bars for something sweet or I make baked oats. I also like dried apricots.

I tend to use them for breakfast. These are the ones I tend to eat:

HEXA

• Laughing cow extra light triangles
• Almond milk (in teas/coffees)- if I have cheese for breakfast then I tend to syn the almond milk for teas/coffees throughout the day

HEXB

• 40 g porridge oats
• 4 black rye ryvita (I spread cheese on them)
• 2 small slices of wholemeal bread (usually for when I have beans on toast or a nice breakfast with eggs, etc)

If you want to save bread fo sandwiches you could have egg muffins for breakfast? Or an omelette? Or you can syn the bread you have at lunch?

Tbh, I've pretty much given up on bread. You get so little and I'm not mad keen on wholemeal. I occasionally have a bacon sarnie for breakfast and use it then. If I have soup I just have it on its own, make sure its a good bowl full! You could try making a soup with pasta in it or beans, they are pretty filling.

I think you're right littlecupcake - the way ahead is to plan! I was the other way from you and was scared to use HexA and HexB and syns early in the day in case I wanted them later and then found I got to the end of the day without using them. Not only a waste but not healthy either!

So now I plan (obsessively) to cater for them. If I know I'm going to have HexB with lunch or dinner (e.g. a bun in a burger for dinner) I will have eggs for breakfast. I quite like frozen spinach cooked in the microwave in minutes and then a couple or more poached eggs on the top. Not everyone's cup of tea but I like it.

Same with milk/cheese but then I drink tea black so I don't really have to save much milk for drinks.

I use muller light yogurt with my overnight oats and add berries. It's so yummy, and you're only using your HEXB.

Or fruit and muller light yogurt, which is speedy for the fruit and the yogurt is free.

How about having some brown pasta or rice salad to fill you up?