About
I am a Brit living overseas in Canada with my husband and son. I have tried many diets in the past (mainly Weight Watchers) and while I was successful at losing weight on Weight Watchers. I found it was a hard diet to maintain in the long run and have gone from losing weight to gaining weight, to losing weight to gaining weight again. Also, having a baby in between, which I might add is also not great for your waistline, well it wasn’t in my case anyway.
Of course Weight Watchers is a great diet and does work for a lot of people, it just didn’t work for me, as it is all to easy to use your allocated points on things you really shouldn’t .
Then after yet another gain of weight I had lost, I decided enough was enough and I was going to try and lose this extra baggage once and for all. But I knew I had to find a better diet plan that was suited to me.
That was the start of my discovery of the Slimming World diet. Not that I like to refer to it as such, and anyone following Slimming World will agree with me. It really does not feel like you are on a diet. However I did encounter a bit of a problem before I even got started on the plan. Which was the fact that they don’t hold any meetings in Canada (being a UK based company). My only option was to join online and I knew I needed a bit more motivation than that. That motivation I needed became the start of this blog (originally livinglifethextraeasyway). I thought it would be good to have somewhere I could record my thoughts, general ramblings and recipes and with that I found I had a real passion for cooking (which is probably one of the reasons I became overweight in the first place). I have also found I love the challenge of trying to convert my all time favorite meals into much more healthier versions, as well as creating brand new recipes and best of all I love sharing them with other people, so they get to enjoy them as much as I do.
Slimming Eats is exactly that. Yummy, delicious and filling meals that make you slim.
This site is brilliant!
I started SW in April and, like you, love to do lot’s of home cooking. I haven’t got a particularly sweet tooth, but that chick pea and lemon cake sounds delicious!!!!
Best of luck with your weight loss
Mandy xx
thank you, you should create your own blog also and take pictures of your recipes. It really helps with the motivation.
Hi hun
I am doing the same thing as you, and I stumbled across your blog on mini mins. I am going to link to you, I hope that’s ok. Let me know if not.
If you find other slimming world bloggers doing the same thing out there let me know cos I want to find a bunch of them and link to them all.
GREAT blog hun.
Vicky x
yep of course you can link to me
. I will put a link to your blog on mine also.
Just wanted to say I love your blog. All the recipes and photos you put up are Great.
Thanks very much for the effort you put into it and for sharing your ideas with us.
Congratulations on your weight loss so far.
Shell x
thank you, I love cooking and my blog helps motivate me.
what a fab site, i have gotten so many ideas from it, i lost nearly 5 stone 3 years ago with slimming world but then fell pregnant with my now 2 year old twins and unfortunaly fell back into old habits and put it all back on plus some more, i have been back at slimming world for 9 weeks and i have so far lost 2 stone 4lb, keep up the good work and keep us posted of your success
Take care
Rachel
thank you for your comment. I enjoy sharing my blog as it helps me stay motivated. You have done amazingly well in just 9 weeks. Keep it up.
Hiya! This is Joanne24 from mini mins just to let you know ill be linking you on my slimming blog
x
Hi Joanne, thanks for the link. I will add a link to your blog also.
Can anyone please tell me if the pasta n’ sauce & savoury rices are free on EE? I’m getting confused
yes some of them are (not sure which though as I live in Canada, so can’t get them). It is the batchelors branded ones and “I think” it is all the ones that are not cream based. You will need to check your syns guide though to be sure.
Thank you. I’ve got my head around green and red but EE seems too easy! All so confusing!
Hi BMIC!
So glad I finally found your blog! I have been drooling over your recipes on minimins for days now, so to have them all in one place is fantastic for me. Keep up the good work!
Kirsty (a.k.a. Mushy Peas on Minimins!)
thank you for your comment. I am glad you enjoy my recipes
. I really love sharing them. I love cooking, so if I can help other’s with tasty things to eat, then it helps motivate me all the more.
I am going to try your pavlova recipe and crab linguine tomorrow I think. I eat fish but not meat if you have any more fab recipes to share….
Hi BMIC!
I’ve found your blog after following a link on another site – just wanted to say its fab and well done on some yummy sounding dishes!
Very inspirational and makes me wish there were more than 24 hours in a day so I can spend more time in the kitchen!
Would love to get my own blog going, after reading yours may give it a try! x
Hi!
I am new to Slimming World, but came across your link on Mini Mins.. Your recipes look amazing! I’ve bookmarked your blog and will be coming back to try out a few new dishes.. And love that you’ve made a proper meat lasagne for only 7.5 syns!!
Thanks again
Annie x
thank you. I am glad you are enjoying it.
Hi, just to say thankyou for sharing your website. It’s very interesting to see how others are getting on with Slimming World and what kind of foods they are choosing. The recipe index is great and , if you don’t mind, I would love to try a few of your recipes. Well done you for the inspiration. Cheryll. Norwich UK
Hi
I started slimming world 3 weeks ago and love your blog! Habe started having a bash at the extra easy plan and I admit it does seem too good to be true – I have been making the dishes for the family to whip them into shape too. Will be logging on for tips and ideas – you are inspirational!
take care
Jo
thank you for your lovely comment, slimming world is fab. Good luck on your weight loss journey. Once you try extra easy you will never go back to red or green. I love extra easy
thanks for all the recipes on this blog i have quite a few im going to try in my meal planner for next week thanks again and keep the new recipes coming
found you via twitter
… doing extra easy and red , lovely to find you and your blog and recipes!
thank you
I hope you enjoy some of my recipes. I love making up yummy slimming meal ideas to share with others.
Recipe for French Toast – taken from SLW 100 daily menu booklet sold in the UK
1 HeB – 2 slices wholemeal bread from 400 g loaf
mix 2 eggs with sweetener and cinnamon
drench bread in the egg mixture and fry in frylight until golden brown (I pour any left over egg mixture over the bread)
serve with mixed berries (I use frozen and add extra sweetener) and low fat plain yoghurt
Enjoy! Wonderful for the weekend
this site is fab. I am a target member of slimming world.
well done for getting to target. I hope my recipes will give you some ideas for yummy meals. How much have you lost in total?
I lost 1 1/2 stone. (im just trying to loose some christmas pounds!) but i know i’ll get back soon.
I cant believe how good slimming world is.
came across this site while looking for inspiration for myself and my groups in the uk.
I do a recipe of the week in group to help motivate my members and your recipes are becoming a favourite in group (just thought i would let you know your helping many in the uk) i love to see what you are having each day and love the photo’s to go with them.
as a consultant i struggle to find the time to concentrate on myself and the ideas but seeing yours and your planners motivates me to get back on track!
I hope you don’t mind me sharing your recipes in group! x
Thank you for your message. It is lovely to hear that my recipes help to motivate you groups and of course I don’t mind you sharing them to your members. Just mentioning my blog is all I ask.
That’s great thank you! I have emailed you blog to many members and they love it x
Hi BMIC
have you ever cooked with buckwheat it’s free on slimming world i cooked with it for the first time yesterday and it’s delicious i’d be happy to give you the recipe for you site if you would like it!!
Jo
not used buckwheat. I keep meaning to buy some Quinoa to try, as I tend to have cous cous.
Thanks for brilliant blog! I’m cooking most nights for husband, 23 year old daughter and 18 year old (quite critical of SW type recipes!) son and have just printed off loads of your recipes! I have lost 21lbs so far, doing Extra Easy (the best SW plan so far!) but I have a good way to go yet and I’m not the fastest loser, so i’m in this for the long haul.
Louise
What a great site! Looking forward to trying some of your recipes! Thanks for sharing!
You should set up your own group and become a consultant in canada! You woudl be great!
Came across your site 2 weeks ago and printed off loads of your recipes. They are all FANTASTIC!!
Especially love the Yummy Beef Lasagne and the Bacon cheese and tomato quiche which is so cheesy and lush.
Keep up the good work.
Gaynor
You have really inspired me. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes.
Keep up the great work
Please please please could you let me know the measurement of what you refer to as a cup
a cup is approx 230ml. You should be able to buy a set of measuring cups from any food store that sells cookingware. They are very useful things to have.
Hi
THANK YOU for this web site. I’ve just started with SW (day 6) and have just found your web site. I wanted to say thanks for posting so many great recipes. I think you may have just saved me form crashing and burning on week 1! I’m a bit of a foodie (hence the need for SW!) and your recipes have convinced me that I can not only keep the SW plan going for the next months but that I will enjoy myself at the same time. The last two days I habe had the most incredible urges for something sweet. Yesterday at work I could only think of cake!!! I guess this is detox! And I’m not normally a cake person! I am cooking one of your couscous cakes (cherry and almond) at the moment to keep the urges at bay and I’m planning on cooking the honey, lime and chilli salmon tomorrow.
Thanks again.
I am a member of bodyoptimise too and I also live away from Uk, in Lanzarote. There are a lot of food items not available here like Quark but vff Fromage frais is. I tried straining that through a coffe filter and got quark so problem solved. There are no meetings here but a few of my friends meet at my house once a week and weigh in and chat about food recipes. Some follow weight watchers and others GI but we have a good laugh all the same and try to support each other. I am going to tell them about your site. Keep up the good work
Quick tip sounds nutty but when you really crave a sweet taste, take a small amount of salt and taste it . It really seems to works for me. takes away the sweet craving
Hi!!
I’ve just moved to Canada 5 months ago and have managed to put on a lot of weight since moving here-due to discovering all those canadian yummy foods like tim bits and beaver tails etc etc!! So I’ve decided I need to lose this weight once and for all and tried to look for slimming world classes but could only find weight watchers which i find very expensive here!! I’ve done slimming world in the past with my mum who has been a fan for a long time and I know I can lose the weight if I do it properly!! It’s great to see your blog and all those recipes, it will be an amazing help to me so Thank You!!!
Hi there, I have always done weight watchers in the past, and joined weight watchers for a bit when I moved here. I am always successful at losing weight with weight watchers, but the problem I found was maintaining the weight as it gets a bit tiresome counting points etc all the time. A friend had been doing slimming world back in the UK and was doing really well, so I signed up to slimming world bodyoptimise to give it a go myself and I love it.
It is hard to resist some of the yummy foods here, but I just stay focused on wanting to get myself healthy again.
You can find substitutes for most things here, I am sure you will do well
Hi there…
Fab site! -Returned to SW after about 3 years off. Finally ready to shift the last two stone and after stumbling across your blog through minimins the first thing I made was your squidgy choccy cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! Topped with dark chocolate highlights Quark its the choccy hit saviour I’ve been looking for all my life….
Thanks for taking the time to create such a fab blog!
Wyrd xxxx
Thank you for the delicious recipes. So far I have made the honey and mustard chicken, the spaghetti carbonara and last night we had the beef stroganoff. All were incredibly delicious and my husband said ” I thought you said you were trying to lose weight “. For the sroganoff I had to use vff fromage frais as we can’t get low fat narural yoghurt in Lanzarote. One blessing we have though is low fat coconut flavoured yoghurt which I use for curries. Keep up the good work
ooooh low fat coconut flavour yoghurt sounds yummy. Thank you for your comment. I am glad you are enjoying the recipes so far
Hi,
I just wanted to say how fabulous your website is. I found the link on the facebook slimming world page and thank god i did !! I can wait to make some of the recipes.
Michelle x
Hi -
we are following each other on Twitter and I am really enjoying your recipes!
I too am a yo yo and am also following Slimming World.
Promise to let you know any new stuff from over here!
x
Hi,
wow…. fantastic…. I love this site ….thank you so much, it’s so insperational, someone forwarded your link to me off Facebook, I was looking for the Diet Coke recipe and now there are so many to choose I dont know where to start !!……..Thank You x
Hiya, this is just what I need, I LOVE the pictures! I started SW just under a week ago so am only just starting to get to grips with it all. You’re a real inspiration and it’s so nice to have the work of calculating syns for delicious recipes already done for me, Thanks!
I am so glad that I found your website. You are going to be an inspiration to me, I can tell.
I was quite sucessful with SW while living in the UK.
Since moving back to Canada I have been missing it and wishing that I could join again.
I have lost my books and need a refresher.
I am wondering if it is worth joining the SW site.
What concerns me is that the nice thing about slimming world was being able to look up your syns etc. Is there at least an american site that you can join? It would be more relevant to me as I am living in Canada again.
Keep up the inspirational work. You are beautiful by the way.
Lisa
The SW body optimise site which is for online members has food lists for Canada/US. As you have probably seen I live in Canada, so it definately works
. They also have a syns calculator online so you can work out foods yourself. Of course the majority of the free foods, are stuff you can pretty much get anywhere, as they are all natural ingredients. There is also some great support places online, such as the facebook Slimming World group and Minimins forum.
I have found a few things like Quark at Zehrs/Canadian Superstore and if you can get to a Trader Joes they have heaps of stuff which are slimming world friendly (I love that place).
Good luck, you can do it.
Thanks for replying. I have gone and signed up for Body Optimise. I am so happy to be able to do slimming world again. As I was signing up I got goose bumps and my tummy did a flip flop. Thanks for pointing me it their direction.
Last night for tea we had a lovely quiche, chalk full of veg and ham, roast potatoes and a big side salad. It went down extremely well with the whole family. They all pigged out and thanked me for such a nice tea. Isn’t that so funny? For a (diet) meal?
Is Minimins strictly SW. I will have to check it out as SW does not have it’s own forum.
Speak soon. Thank so much.
What an amazing site. I really relate to your story above. been going back and forth to weight watchers for years and finally gave up and joined Slimming World 3 weeks ago. Im loving it completely. I’m on the Extra Easy plan and can’t wait to have a rummage through your site!
Thank you
Hullo. Found your blog when searching for SW cakes. I just made and sampled the chocolate, no flour, cake of genius and loveliness.
I think your other recipes look great and the photos practically make my mouth water, so I’ll be back.
Just wanted to say I’m a Brit in the US and glad to see I’m not the only overseas SWer! Sure, the US has meetings but as they’re in Texas and I’m not, they may as well be in the UK! Now, if I could only find quark in Vegas I’d be hard pushed to miss the UK at all!
Thank you for the effort you put into this thing!
Hey, nice to meet another slimming worlder who is overseas. I have managed to get Quark from our local supermarket, but if you have a Trader Joes near you, they do lots of great stuff which is suitable for Slimming World. The 0% Greek Yoghurt I find works just as (if not better) than Quark. Also the lowest synned breakfast sausages I have found was in Walmart. They are Turkey breakfast ones and 80 calories for 2, which makes them 0.5 syns.
Another thing they do at Trader Joes is the No Pudge Fat Free Brownie mix, you will see a post about it at my blog. Well worth trying, the brownies are yummy.
Good Luck
Just wanted to say how fantastic i think your blog and your recipes are. I’ve tried a couple now and they have been absolutely delicious and my partner and stepdaughter sometimes find it hard to believe that they are “slimming” recipes.
Please keep going, I check on this site all the time for new recipes and look forward to trying lots more out on the future.
thanks for stopping by to leave such a lovely comment. I am glad to hear you have enjoyed my recipes
I have tried many of your fabulous recipes and just wanted to say many many thanks, the family all love them and they can’t believe that they are SW. Thanks once again for such an inspirational site and keep up the good work.
Another SW girl in the US here–I was directed to your blog by the lovely ladies at Mini Mins. Just re-wrapping my head around the SW plan and really excited about getting back into a way of eating that has worked really well for me in the past. I joined WW here in January and lost 10lbs but it took me 4 months and I found (like you) that I was eating unhealthy stuff instead of healthy stuff–let’s face it, when a banana is 2pts and a chocolate ice cream lolly is 2pts it doesn’t take a genius to work out what most people will have
SW is giving me the push I need to cut back on the unhealthy stuff and load my plate with good stuff. Loving the recipes here, thanks so much!!!
Yours,
SW in Kentucky
What a marvellous site! You have worked really hard to put this together – it’s so informative and inspirational. Really looking forward to menu planning with your recipes! Thank you!
hey, good to hear from another SW girl overseas. Slimming World is great as it encourages you to eat healthy prepared unprocessed food and it is much more managable long term. You can cook up extra of recipes etc and either freeze some or keep in a tub in the fridge, that way you always have something on hand if needed.
For grocery shopping. I really love Trader Joes. If you have one near you, definately check it out, they do some lovely stuff. The also do a 0% greek yoghurt there, which is free and a great substitute for quark.
I also love the 100 calorie packs, all are just 5 syns, so you can use them as your treat, out of your daily 15 syns.
Good luck. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
We don’t have a Trader Joes near us
which saddens me greatly as I adore their spinach and basil pasta. Thanks for the 100 calorie snack pack tip–I’m trying to find alternatives to the foods I used to buy in Britain, with limited success. Although I do think I might have found Quorn burgers in our local health food co-op.
Loving your recipes, but what are these fabled couscous cakes and where can I find out how to make them?
I have replied to your post on minimins with a few things
Wow love all of this fab!!! xxxx
Thanks for fab recipes and inspiration to do my own experimenting! 8kg down on Body Optimise but would have crashed and burned without your site stopping me from getting bored. Wish I could get hold of the No Pudge stuff here in the UK for when the cake munchies strike but I’m going to try the apple and sultana cake at the week-end. Thinking of using pears instead of apples…
Helloooo!! Ohh, im moving to Toronto, Canada with my Boyfried in 6 weeks! im so excited! ive been printing of lots of your recipes ready for when i leave home! Cant wait to get cooking. Thanks v.much =) x
Hey, as a fellow brit living in Canada I totally understand how hard it is to stay slimming here – My bf and I lost 3 stone before leaving Britain and managed to get it all back in the first year or living here!!
You should really open your own group!
Your blog is an inspiration to us
Hi
I was forwarded this link via mini mins….and what an absolute treat!
Thank you so much for creating such a brilliant space and sharing it with others. I look forward to using the recipes and losing lots of weight!
Hey!
I am a transplant to the USA, and have been on WW the past 4 1/2 months. Like you, I found I was wasting way too muany points on things I really shouldn’t eat, and just having temptation of them was enough to throw me off the wagon now and then. So, 17 lbs lighter, I am moving to SW.
Question: Do you know about figuring out Morningstar Farm products? As a veggie, I am planning to use all green days and I can’t believe that veggie burger that are 1/2 syn or free in the UK (Tivall etc) are 6 syns here… Also, Tivall nuggets are 1/2 syn each.. do you think same is true for Morningstar Farm and Quorn nuggets?
Any help/ advice for figuring this stuff out?
thanks so much for a great blog!
Hiya- just wanted to say i find your blog amazing-for the past 2 evenings ive had your recipoes and only been on the plan a week!!!
I love the fact i can click a link-say chicken and i find something-most syn free. Please dont stop and seriously you need to do a book xxx
Hi, I am eating my way through your recipes and have not found a bad one yet. All are delicious. Here is one for you. Mole rubbed chicken
Serves 2,
1 rounded teasp unsweetened cocoa 1 syn
1 level teasp chili powder
1/4 teas cinnamon
A little salt. Mix the spices together in a plastic bag. Add 2 chicken breasts to the bag and shake to coat evenly. Fry in fry light for 6 minutes either side. Serve sliced on an angle. I had it with stir fried veg in a tomato and chili sauce and rice.
Another SW girl in the US here–I was directed to your blog by the lovely ladies at Mini Mins. Just re-wrapping my head around the SW plan and really excited about getting back into a way of eating that has worked really well for me in the past. I joined WW here in January and lost 10lbs but it took me 4 months and I found (like you) that I was eating unhealthy stuff instead of healthy stuff–let’s face it, when a banana is 2pts and a chocolate ice cream lolly is 2pts it doesn’t take a genius to work out what most people will have SW is giving me the push I need to cut back on the unhealthy stuff and load my plate with good stuff. Loving the recipes here, thanks so much!!!
+1
Loving your blog hun…. looks like I have loads to read and keep me busy…… keep it coming
Am SO glad to have found your website. I found the link on the Minimins forum!
I have joined SW online and although their website is OK – I find their recipie search really clumsy.
So am so happy to have found all of yours!
Like you I lost alot of weight with WW – but also like you I found it hard to maintain – and now I’ve put on 3 of the 5 stone I lost! AAARRGGHH!
So I am hoping SW is going to be that new way that finally allows me to do this!
So THANK YOU for all the inspiration!
Take care – Jo
Hello,
Just popping over from mini-mins to say hi!
This really is a lovely site you have, the food looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try out some of these recipes, maybe they’ll help me get off this last stubborn 14lbs!
Hi, I have just stumbled across your blog. My partner and I have been going to Slimming World since last October and have been losing enthusiasm lately, although we have lost 6½ stone between us.
Your collection of recipes looks fab, made even better by the lovely photos. We will be working our way through quite a few,starting with the chicken, bacon & tomato pasta.
Thanks a lot