Replacing butter and salad dressing

[TigerJoy]

I'm very new to SW and trying to find healthy alternatives to the things I used to eat.

I'd normally have olive oil and lemon juice on salads but without the olive oil it's pants. Should I just syn it, or can anyone recommend a good syn-free salad dressing?

Also I want to make a sandwich tomorrow but deeply resent using syns for butter, and can't stand a dry sandwich. What else do people use? Mustard maybe? Yoghurt?! I'm hoping to have a ham sandwich tomorrow and want to save syns for a treat in the evening...

[ivykaty44]

I have sweet potato jackets as they don’t need butter to my taste

Balsamic vinegar and soya on my salads with sumac or other herbs

I don’t have sandwiches, have toast sometimes but use banana as a spread - it’s free and only have a third or half mashed on

I have pitta bread stuffed with salad and tomatoes, this doesn’t need butter

[raisinsraisinsraisins]

I have salad cream or low fat mayo and count the syns. I’d much prefer to have a salad I enjoy, and if I eat a salad with no dressing or a dressing I don’t like then I’m more likely to snack or cheat later as I don’t feel like I’ve had a nice meal.

[Butternutsqoosh]

I use Pizza Express house light dressing 1 sun for a tsp but I toss the salad with it in a bowl first so it's nicely coated and goes further, if I poured it on I'd have far too much in places and not others 😁

[TigerJoy]

Thanks @brienneoftarth! I made a nicoise salad yesterday and made a dressing on 1tsp olive oil, 1tsp mustard and lots of balsamic vinegar and the whole thing was incredibly delicious! And worth the small number of syns

[BrienneofTarthILoveYou]

Make sure you vary your food and enjoy it as otherwise the plan won't work. It really is about healthy eating and high fat / sugar / alcohol etc in moderation (as moderated by syns). Good luck with the plan Op.

[CottonSock]

Fat free dressing, available most supermarkets. Not bad. Or I like lemon juice

[Kungfupanda67]

I tend to top salads with things like beetroot salads (in the tub, near the coleslaw and potato salads in the shop, they’re free), salsa, pickled onions, some grilled veg and that sort of thing. It makes it more interesting so it doesn’t need a high calorie sauce or dressing, instead of just lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber type salad.

[Groovee]

Tesco do a garlic Mayo which is half a syn for I think a table spoon. I like it a lot.

[nothingtowearever]

For the butter you can have like 5 dairy Lea triangles as you HEA so you can use that as butter, just remember to make sure your bread is the 60g whole meal one as not all are classed for HEB. There are loads of Facebook groups that I find really helpful x

[ExpletiveDelighted]

A teaspoon of mint sauce stirred through chopped up cucumber and spring onion is nice too.

[florriepeck]

OP, a quick yoghurt dressing: stir one tablespoon mint sauce into a small pot of 0% fat Total ( mint sauces are free or minimal syns).
Tinned and chilled soups are low in syns, since changes a few months ago meant that there is now a "free food" allowance in their syn calculation.
Or make your own syn free soup, try Iceland free SW soups, or keep previous evening's leftovers for lunch.
Do meal planning before food shopping.

[TigerJoy]

@beyondmywits 🤣🤣🤣

I initially said 2 stone but it really needs to be at least 4 stone.

I think I will count everything for now, and use the oil to help me keep eating salads. Yesterday's was such a chore to eat and I usually really enjoy salads!

I'm finding it quite restrictive which is probably good. It's making me wonder if I was ever doing the calorie counting right. But I'm not hungry! And I can have bacon and eggs for breakfast!

[ExpletiveDelighted]

I tend to use my syns on salad dressings etc too, if I do get sweet cravings an ice lolly, can of diet coke or a few chocolate raisins do the trick. I'm fairly new and am taking it slowly aiming for 1-2lb a week to make the changes sustainable.

[BeyondMyWits]

I think it depends how much weight you want to lose - if like me it is 3-4 stone, a teaspoon of olive oil every other day will not make much difference - for me it will probably help to put some salad under it!...

however, if you want to lose 5 or 6 pounds all the calories count... forever...

[TigerJoy]

Thanks all! I actually have a salad most days but think I will use the oil and count it.

Same with butter on baked potatoes - if I'm not going to enjoy my food I will struggle to stick to this, and I'm better of using my syns on olive oil than chocolate!

I can't stand mayonnaise or salad cream but might experiment with yoghurt dressings - if anyone knows a good one please feel free to share!

I'm struggling with what to eat at lunch as a lot of things I used to think were ok e.g. low calorie chilled soups actually have loads of syns. Thanks for the advice everyone x

[ExpletiveDelighted]

I also use salad cream both as a salad dressing and a butter replacement in sandwiches - I like it as much as mayo and it has fewer syns

[ExpletiveDelighted]

I agree about Frylight, even the smell of it is rank.

[Magmatic80]

Yep! It’s the devil

[florriepeck]

*Magmatic", re the Frylight, I agree it'snot the best flavour, also I think it's ruined the non-stick coating on a few (expensive) frying pans of mine.
Have started buying olive oil spray: half a syn for seven sprays.

[Magmatic80]

My syns go on oil and butter. I hate frylight, and love to cook (and eat). I’d rather enjoy syns that way than use them on chocolate or ‘treats’ everyday.

[florriepeck]

OP, if the olive oil make such a difference to your enjoyment of your salad, just measure it, count the syns and enjoy it as usual : a tablespoon of olive oil is 6 syns, so you still have 9 daily syns left, and you might not have a salad every day anyway.
You are more likely to succeed with your weight loss if you don't feel deprived.
SW encourages the use of "savvy syns", like olive oil, ie healthy foods which are relatively high in calories but are nutritious.

[KnittingForMittens]

@TigerJoy I didn't find it impacted my weight loss as I only had it probably once a week if that? I was losing 1-2lb per week, roughly.

I follow 5:2 now so I can have it whenever I want except when I'm on my fasting days! You could always try balsamic vinegar and the olive oil spray like the PP said, but I honestly don't think it is the same. You cannot beat freshly baked sweet pointed peppers, drizzled with oil, salt and pepper!

[florriepeck]

I don't mind using syns for butter ( Lurpak Lighter Spreadable, one and a half syns for a level teaspoon), but maybe extra light mayonnaise would be nice spread on the bread when making a sandwich (Aldi's Bramwell is half a syn for a level tablespoon).
And same mayo for a salad, or balsamic vinegar, or Hellmann's fat free vinaigrette.

[TigerJoy]

Thanks @knittingformittens!

You're right, we do! And I really enjoy salads with an olive oil dressing but the ones I've had so far without have been a massive chore.

If you don't mind me asking, do you think adding the extra oil had any impact on your weightloss?

I've failed at so many diets I want to give this a good shot, and as my DH is Italian he's thrilled about the pasta!