SW please explain how it works in detail >ever so confused!

[Dunnyjo]

I was going to join tonight but as i am away mid week decided to leve it till i get back and go next monday. however i tried sw before and i was so confused it put me off and i stopped.
So could someone kindly please explain how this works!

Basically you have a choice of 2 days: Red or Green. You have to decide what day you're on when you wake up in the morning and stick to it. It is easier to do seperate days to begin with, until you get used to what foods you can eat on what days and so on.

On a red day, it is mainly meat and a green day is unlimited amounts of rice, pasta, potatoes.

In the book you get, there are 12 pages of Free Foods. These are the foods that you can eat as much of as you like on that day. The more free foods you eat, the more you lose weight.

Then you've got Health Extras. You pick 2-3 of these every day. Things like brown bed, milk, cheese and so on.

Then there's syns (the best part!) You can have 15 syns a day but it is better to try and aim for 10 in the first few weeks until you get to learn the syn value of things. Syns are basically used for things like chocolate, ketchup, crisps, biscuits.

Some of it you have to measure, like your healthy extras, or you're only allowed a certain amount. But the free food, you can pick at all day long, providing you stick to you red day green day!

Thankyou Loopy!
Do you still use SW? if so could you describe your typical couple of days on what you would eat?

On a green day I will eat loads of pasta because I love it! I tend to use a lot of quorn on a green day because (as long as it hasn't got breadcrumbs on!) it is free. You can have a whole fry up on a green day, using quorn rashers, sausages, proper fried eggs using fry light! It's great! Spaghetti bolognese is really easy to do and doesn't take that long. Only trouble with quorn is getting used to it, I'm afraid, unless your a veggie! Bovril in the mince makes it taste like meat and you can have it because again, it is free! If you want details of how to make it, let me know and I can post it for you!

Ona red day I'll eat lean mince, skinless boneless chicken, turkey rashers, turkey ham. Any meat that is low in fat. I'll use sauces as syns.

I use my healthy extras for thngs like tea (250ml semi skimmed milk is 1 healthy extra) and cereal or bread.

It is hard to understand to begin with, but it does get easier! Another fave on a red day is homemade burgers and chips, everyone loves them although they can take a little while to make.

I can give you a couple of recipes to get you started if you want to attempt it before you join next week if you like?

oh loopy that would be great! Thankyou!

Must admit always thought it was too good to be true as there is so much you can have, i suppose its all about changing it around a bit.
I once met a mum who had 4 children (this was at the sw last time) she lost 5stone and she looked great so i know id=t does work.

My personal fave, Spaghetti Bolognese

Packet of Quorn Mince
Tesco Healthy Living Pasta Sauce (6 Syns for whole jar, divided by the family
Tinned chopped tomatoes
Herbs
Garlic
Bovril
Spaghetti

Put the mince (still frozen)into a saucepan, boil the kettle and lob some bovril on top of the mince while the kettle boils. When it's done, pour enough boiling water to cover the mince and mix. Crush the garlic clove and lob that in to. Heat back to boiling point on the hob mixing it as you go. When it is boiling again, pour out the bovril and garlic, but leave a small amount at the bottom of the pan.

Add tomatoes, herbs and sauce and stir for a further 10 minutes. As this is doing, cook the spaghetti as normal.

You can use 28g of Cheddar Cheese as a healthy extra on this one!

Fried Eggs

Eggs
Fry light
Frying pan
SAucepan lid (glass ones are better if you have them because you can see what is happening!)

Spray the frying pan with fry light, crack the egg into the pan and cover with the saucepan lid. Don't cook them too high because all the bottom will burn before the top! Slowly and gradually will do the trick! Put the lid over the egg, the heat will cook the top as the bottom cooks.

Thankyou loopy i am writting them down now

Homemade burgers and chips

lean mince
onion
herbs
salt and pepper to taste
potatoes
fry light

chop the onion into small pieces and chuck in with the mince. stir it all up adding the herbs too. If you like spicy food, you can add chilli powder for a kick!

leave the mixture in the fridge to make the chips. Peel and 'chip' the potatoes. Par boil them for about 10 mins. As they are boiling, turn the oven on to about 200. When they are done boiling, put them on a baking tray and spray with fry light. cant remember how long they take off the top of my ead, but you have to leave them for about half an hour before cooking the burgers.

shape the burger mixture and put under the grill, turn frequently.

You don't have to add salt and pepper, but they are nicer with it!

Found my Green day recipe book, so will copy a couple out of there for you! When I find the red
one I'll do the same!

Quorn Hot Pot (FREE on Green)

1 onion chopped
fry light
1 leek, chopped
350g quorn pieces
1/2 swede, diced
227g/8oz parsnips, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 red or green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1/2 pint stock made with Vecon
can chopped tomatoes
1/2 pint passata
mixed herbs, dried

1. Spray a large non-stick frying pan with fry light and cook the onion, leeks for 5 mins. Stir in the quorn pieces and continue frying for about 2 mins.

2. add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 30 mins, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.

this recipe can be frozen, takes about 50 mins from start to finish and serves 4

Stir Fried Quorn with sweet and sour sauce

1/2 syn on green

sauce

3 tbsp light malt vinegar
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp light siy sauce
pinch salt (optional)
1 level tsp soft brown sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red chilli, desseded and finely chopped (optional f you want it hot!)

Stir Fry

Fry light
175g pack quorn pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper deseeded and sliced
28g/1oz mangetout
57g/2oz baby sweetcorn, halved
57g/2oz broccoli cut into flourets
2 courgettes sliced
142g/5oz mushrooms, sliced

1. To make the sauce, stir the vinegar, water, soy sauce, salt and sugar together in as saucepan and bring to the boil. take off and allow to cool

2. mix the garlic ginger and chillis together in a small bowl and stir in the cooled sauce. set aside.

3. to make the stir fry, spray a frying oan or wok with fry light and fry the quorn pieces for 2-3 mins until brown, remove from the pan. lightly re-spray the pan and add the onions, carrots, red peppers, mangetout, baby sweetcorn and broccoli, stir fry for 5 mins or until cooked.

4. add the courgettes and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 mins. stir in the cooked quorn and sauce and heat through. serve immediately on a bed of noodles.

ready in 40 mins incl cooling time, serves 2. you don't get much sauce with these amounts though, so i double it up, making it a total of 1 syn per serving.

All of them except the burgers are green day recipes. Have you got enough to be getting on with, or would you like some more? When I com across my red book, ill let you have some of those too!

This is great to be getting on with loopy, the recipies look great! I cant wait now! THankyou so much x x

That's ok! Glad I could help. If you want to know anymore, you can email me at [email protected]. Might be worth checking out the sw site too for ideas. i think the password cheese is still working, but havent been for 2 weeks so not sure!

Todays password was peanut.

2 1/2 stone gone thanks to SW.