Recipe: Slimming World Chocolate Orange Roulade

Although I no longer attend a Slimming World class or follow the plan to the letter anymore, I’m still a big advocate of the merits of this healthy eating regime and often like to look out for new Slimming World recipes or recipes that I can make Slimming World-friendly. I also have a bank of trusty Slimming World recipes that I keep on going back to and the Chocolate Orange Roulade is one of my old faithfuls.

As much as I love many of the Slimming World savoury recipes, I don’t often think they do sweet treats so well. To be fair, how easy can it be to make a less sinful version of a fat-laden chocolate cake, and how nice would that even taste?!

That said, the Chocolate Orange roulade is light and lovely, and a firm fave of mine. I’m not afraid of a naughty cake but when I’m making a dessert for one of the ‘Come Slim With Me’ nights that friends and I occasionally get together for, or I’m trying to watch the pounds but fancy something sweet, then this is my ‘go to’ recipe.

Even if you’re not following the Slimming World plan, you’re sure to want to sample this! (If you do following Slimming World, it’s three syns per serving – bargain).

Serves 6

Ingredients

• Frylight
• 6 eggs, separated
• 70g caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons sweetener
• 2 level tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted, plus 1/2 level teaspoon to dust
• 2 satsumas, cut into wedges, to decorate

For the filling

• 175g pot vanilla yoghurt (fat-free)
• 250g quark
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• A few drops of vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon sweetener
• 3 oranges, peeled and separated into segments

Method

• Preheat oven to 180-degrees C/fan 160-degrees C/gas 4. Line a swiss roll tin (I just use a baking tin) with baking paper.
• Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and sweetener together in a large bowl until pale and thick. Carefully fold in the cocoa powder using a large metal spoon.
• Put the egg whites in a large clean bowl and beat with hand whisk until they form stiff peaks. fold in the egg yolk mixture. Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 15-18 minutes, until set and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin.
• For the filling, whisk together the yoghurt, quark, orange zest, vanilla extract and sweetener until smooth.
• To assemble, place a sheet of baking paper on a work surface and turn the sponge out onto it. Carefully peel off the paper. Spread the yoghurt mixture over the sponge and scatter over the orange segments.
• Roll up the sponge lengthways and transfer – carefully! – onto a serving plate. Dust with cocoa powder.

Et voila – Enjoy! x

*FYI – This is not a promoted post – I really am just a Slimming World fan! *

The Ultimate Inspiration to Keep on Working Toward Your Goals

Earlier this week, I shared details of my new foray into running. It’s still very early days for me and my new hobby but so far, I’m really enjoying it and am setting myself new little challenges week on week as I strive to improve. My goal for 2015 is to run  a 10k race, something I have never done before. As I begin to prepare myself for my challenge, I am massively inspired by a good friend of mine, Helen Scott, who I met nearly 15 years ago at university.

Helen has made huge changes to her health, fitness and lifestyle in just under five years – losing 13.5 stone/189lbs in weight and successfully completing London Marathon in 2014 being just two of her amazing achievements. She now lives in Sydney, Australia (lucky thing!) and I’m delighted that she is sharing her inspirational story here on the blog.

Helen’s story

In around 2011, I knew that something had to change as I wasn’t happy. I knew deep down that, even though I had denied it for years, that thing was my weight.  Diets had been endlessly tried but with very little success. I now know this was purely due to my love of food and not diets.  However, one thing I had never tried was exercise.

I began by doing workout routines. The most I could do in the early days was the warm up!  However, I powered through them week after week.  I replaced the bad takeaways with healthier versions and along with my workout DVDs, the weight started to come off. I began by shutting myself in my bedroom, with people under strict instructions to never enter the room.  But as I became more confident and a pro at the likes of Davina McCall and Ministry of Sound’s workout routines, I made it into the main living area with more space to do my thing!

I recall a day where it was really hot and sunny.  We lived by water so I would often see people running outside and I wished I had the confidence to run like them. I told my Dad this, who is an amazing inspiration to me when it comes to running – still running at 60!  He said he wanted to go running with me and so we planned to run as much as I could and then walk when I needed to walk. He would stick with me, doing it at my pace.  That day I ran probably about 200 metres before I had to walk again. This continued for the whole run and it was hard.  However, that didn’t stop me and I continued that route on a weekly basis and got better each time.

That route was about 3k. I remember the feeling when I ran the whole way without stopping. That’s when you know what an achievement you’ve made.  I extended the route to 5k and later 7k.

However, I knew that the Great Manchester 10k was coming up and decided that I wanted to be part of it.  So I applied.  I started training, which meant that I would go out running more frequently, probably about four times a week.  The day arrived and I was nervous but also excited.  I also managed to raise money for Alzheimers, a charity close to my heart, so I had a good incentive to complete the run.  One hour and three minutes later I had completed by first ever 10k run and I was in a state of shock about my time.  I was so happy.  It is definitely on my list of best days of my life.  And that was it!  I had officially caught the running bug!

I set my sights on a three-year plan.  The 10k was completed, the next year I wanted to do a half marathon and the year after that I wanted to try and do a marathon.

One year later, I conquered the Sheffield Half Marathon at one hour and 58 minutes.  Again, another great day and a challenge to add to my list of achievements.

I continued running and was thinking about what marathon I would do and if anything, whether I could even run a marathon.  However, in December 2013, Children with Cancer asked my fiancé, Steve, to run for their charity.  Steve immediately told them about my background and asked if they would give me a place.  I know how hard it is to get a place for the London Marathon so was overwhelmed that they gave me a place too. I, of course, would do it and I would give it my all, however long it would take.

I would say the training was the hardest.  It was throughout winter and the cold frosty mornings and wet late evenings were tough.  I also started to pick up knee injuries so the training became punishing.  However, 13 April 2014 came around and I achieved my final challenge with a time of four hours and 52 minutes.

Running is now part of my life and daily routine.  It relieves my boredom and is part of my ‘me’ time.  It also releases my inner competitor, someone I never knew existed.  I compete only against myself though and my challenges now consist of being faster.

It has, of course, also helped me to lose weight whilst still being able to fit in a pepperoni pizza now and again.  I’ve lost a total of 13 ½ stone and have recently undergone excess skin surgery, which I joke will make me more aerodynamic!

“I want to motivate and show people who think that they’ll be unfit and/or overweight forever that they must never accept that.”

I want to remain fit and I want to run faster and see what else I can achieve.  I would love to do a marathon again and have my hopes set on New York.  I want to motivate and show people who think that they’ll be unfit and/or overweight forever that they must never accept that.  I was almost that person and will never let that happen again.

My advice to a new beginner or people thinking about doing it is just go out, take it easy, run when you can and walk when you need to.  Then repeat.  Whether it’s once a week or four times a week. Just keep going and don’t give up.

Thank you so much, Helen, for sharing your story! This is true inspiration for anyone to strive towards their goals, whatever they may be.

Helen is really keen to help motivate and encourage others who are looking to make a change to their lifestyle and fitness. She has recently created an Instagram page to offer support and daily motivation. Follow her at: https://instagram.com/pursuit_of_perfection_

Nākd competition: And the winner is…

A few weeks ago, I announced a healthy (and very tasty!) competition on my blog to win a box of delicious Nākd bars from the lovely people over at Natural Balance Foods.

The competition asked readers to share with us one change they’d like to make in 2013 towards a healthier lifestyle and I’m delighted to now announce that the winner of the  competition, selected at random, is Joanne Meager!

Joanne’s pledge for 2013 was to:

“Get out on my bike more this year. The weather was so awful last year that I just couldn’t face it.”

Congratulations, Joanne – the box of assorted Nākd bars is on its way to you! Thank you to everyone who entered! Keep your eyes peeled for more competitions in the future.

COMPETITION: Get Nākd this new year!

First of all, allow me to begin my first blog post of 2013 by wishing you, dear reader, a very ‘Happy New Year!’

So, the party season is officially over (boo!) and 2013 is now upon us. Whether we believe in making resolutions or not, I’m sure the vast majority of us will have made plans to cut back and detox after the excesses of the Christmas period.

Personally, I well and truly filled my boots over what was a lovely Christmas break, but am now back to following a healthy eating regime. If you’re in a similar boat and could do with a little boast to help you get back on to a healthier track for the new year then the Jenny on a Plate blog may be able to help!

The lovely folks over at Natural Balance Foods have a box of their healthy, but also very tasty, Nākd bars to give away to one lucky reader!

Just a few of the healthy snacks that could be winging their way to you!

Available in a range of delicious flavours including Pecan Pie, Ginger Bread, Cashew Cookie, Cocoa Orange, plus many more, Nākd bars are healthy snacks that are dairy free, wheat free and gluten free, with no added sugar. But these snacks don’t compromise on flavour. Deliciously simple, the Nākd bars are made with dates, cashews, raisins and natural flavours. They’re suitable for vegans and vegetarians, and what’s more, most bars count towards one of your five a day, too!

Nākd bars are ideal for lunchboxes, grabbing on the go and refuelling between meals, and you could be in with a chance of winning a selection – it’s the perfect way to begin a healthy, but tasty, new year!

All you need to do to enter the competition to get your hands on some Nākd bars is:

• Subscribe to this blog (enter your email address in the field under the ‘Subscribe’ header to the top right of the screen) or ‘like’ the Jenny on a Plate Facebook page

AND

• Leave a comment below, telling us one change you’d like to make this year towards a healthier lifestyle. Don’t forget to leave an email address so I can contact you if you’re the winner!

The competition will close at midnight on Sunday, January 13, 2013 and the winner, selected at random, will be announced soon after!

Good luck!

Recipe: Slimming World Roulade

The finished product

I don’t have a massive sweet tooth but since I’ve been doing Slimming World, I’ve not found it too easy to find low ‘syn’ options for when you’re fancying something sweet. But then a couple of weeks ago, I came across a page on Facebook, in which a very lovely lady kindly creates and shares Slimming World friendly puddings and sweet treats.

Coming across this Facebook page came in handy last week when I had my first taster night at Slimming World to attend and wanted to make something new to take along with me. I decided to try and make the Slimming World roulade recipe I came across and I’m glad I did because it went down a treat at the taster night! What’s more, it hits the spot when you fancy something sweet – and only costs half a syn (as long as you don’t dust with icing sugar, it counts as roughly two syns if you do!)

Here’s how it’s done…

Ingredients

• 1 tub of Quark
• 4 eggs
• 5 tablespoon sweetener
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (1/2 syn)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• Strawberries sliced (or fruit of your choice)

Method

• Separate eggs
• Mix the yolks with 1/2 tub of Quark, baking powder, vanilla essence and 4 tablespoons of the sweetener and whisk.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff.
• Whisk half of the egg whites into the other mixture then fold in the rest of the egg whites.
• Put greaseproof paper onto a swiss roll tin then add the mixture and spread evenly.
• Cook at gas mark 4 (or equivalent) for 20 minutes.
• Leave to cool, mix the one remaining tablespoon of sweetener with the other half of the Quark and spread onto the cake. Slice the fruit and place evenly onto the top of the Quark.
• Roll into swiss roll using baking paper.
• If using icing sugar to dust, count as two syns.

Ditch The Diet On International No Diet Day

I promise my blog is not going to go all ‘diet preacher’ on you but my interest was sparked recently when I became aware that this coming Sunday (May 6) is International No Diet Day, and I was compelled to put some words together to raise awareness of the occasion.

International No Diet day has been in existence since 1992 and was originally created by UK-based Mary Evans Young, a recovering anorexic and author of the book Diet Breaking: Having It All Without Having to Diet. The occasion is not just about raising awareness of eating disorders however, it’s also a celebration of body acceptance and body shape diversity.

International No Diet Day has several goals, which include:

• Raising awareness of and helping to end weight discrimination
• Dispelling the myth that there is one ‘right’ body shape
• Honouring the victims of eating disorders
• Presenting the facts about the diet industry and discouraging fad diets
• Declaring a day free from diets and obsessions about body weight

Healthy eating is important and something which should be encouraged. As you may know if you have read any of my previous posts, I am currently following the Slimming World plan – a diet which I believe is healthy, sustainable and enjoyable (three very important factors for a successful diet). It doesn’t involve having to deny myself of anything, it really is just all about eating sensibly and not going crazy on fatty foods, which you are still allowed to treat yourself to every once in a while if you really fancy them, you just have to ‘syn’ them up.

Diet plans such as Slimming World (and Weight Watchers, although I have never followed that plan personally) promote healthy eating and living, and make a lot of sense to me. What doesn’t make sense to me, however, is following some extreme, faddy diet that demands you deprive yourself of any major food groups, and leaves you hungry, tired and miserable when you haven’t dropped a dress size in the first week, as the diet promised you would.

These kinds of diets are not only unhealthy but they leave you unhappy and out of touch with your body and yourself. Extreme dieting comes with a wide variety of risks, ranging from losing touch with your body’s hunger and satiety signals to heart failure, at the extreme end of the spectrum. Not to mention the range of eating disorders that, sadly, extreme dieting can lead to.

I’ve never successfully stuck to a fad diet and I wonder how many people out there can honestly say some ridiculous diet that means starving themselves has brought them positive results – I mean, really?

So this coming Sunday, ditch that diet and celebrate yourself! Choose to celebrate the person you are (inside and out), listen to your body and stand up to society’s warped view that life is only going to be fantastic if and when you are stick thin. Some ways in which you could celebrate International No Diet Day involve:

• Listening to when your body tells you it is hungry and full
• Thinking of the reasons why you have dieted in the past and considering how successful those yo-yo diets have been for you
• Doing a physical activity that you enjoy
• Refusing to allow yourself to think those ‘fat’ thoughts that may sneak in every now and then
• Cooking a delicious and nutritious meal

… and if you want that bar of chocolate (although I’d prefer a pork pie, personally) then allow yourself to have it every once in a while!

What Slimming World Has Given Me

I joined Slimming World the week before Christmas, weighing 12 stones 1lb and keen to get into shape in 2012. I initially felt pretty despondent after the first class because I was overwhelmed by all the different pages in the Slimming World handbook – Free Foods, Superfree Foods, Healthy Extras, Extra Easy days, Green days, Original days – arrgh! However with support and guidance from my two sisters, who also went along to the group with me, I went away and had a crack at Slimming World’s Extra Easy plan and was surprised by how easy and enjoyable it was.

It’s now four months on and last week, I hit a big milestone – I received my first ‘stone award’, weighing in at 11 stones. It’s been a slow but steady journey so far; I’ve been in no rush to lose weight quickly, I’ve just wanted to feel assured that throughout the journey I have continued to lose pounds, instead of standing still or even gaining weight.

I’ve still got a way to go to reach my target – which, at the moment, is 10 stones 7lbs, but if I feel I can feasibly do it for my height, I may adjust my target to be 10 stones. So to date, Slimming World has taken one stone in weight from me, but what has it given me? Here are a couple of things:

• Body confidence: As soon as I lost those first four pounds or so, I started to feel and see a small difference in my shape and it boosted my body confidence tenfold. Suddenly, fashion became more appealing again and when browsing the shops, I no longer felt in a foul mood with myself about the fact that the size that once fit me comfortably no longer fit very well at all. I even began to re-discover things in my wardrobe that I had long since stopped wearing because they didn’t fit right. The downside is that I’ve started spending more money on new clothes than I used to!

• Confidence in the kitchen: In my house, my boyfriend has always been the better chef by far and whilst I’ve always loved his cooking, I often used to feel under-confident about the culinary skills that I could literally bring to the table. Since I’ve started Slimming World however, I’ve found a plethora of healthy meal ideas that are so tasty and, as much of a cliche as it may sound, you really don’t feel as though you are on a diet. Slimming World recipes are so easy to follow so I’ve started cooking a lot more now. I have a few of the recipe books and also follow some recipes from the Slimming World website. My favourite book is ‘Extra Easy Meals in Minutes’ because it’s great for cooking up something tasty after work when you don’t feel like spending all night in the kitchen!

I’m looking forward to the next part of my journey with Slimming World and feel confident that I will follow the plan even after reaching my target as it’s fast become a way of life. The only regret as such that I have is that before Slimming World, I never ever weighed myself, instead following the philosophy that it’s better to go on how you feel in yourself rather than how much you weigh – if you feel you need to lose some weight, then do so. That approach clearly didn’t work for me and as a result, I look back at old photos now and have no idea how much I weighed at that time, whereas others around me have been able to look at old photos of themselves and say: “I weighed X amount then so I was bigger/smaller than I am now”.

Are you following the Slimming World diet plan at the moment? If so, what has it done to improve your lifestyle? What are your tips for slimming success?

Feeling Flushed

Yesterday I had a completely new experience. A friend and I went to Barnsley to redeem the colon hydrotherapy treatments we’d bought each other for Christmas from KGB Deals. We don’t usually buy each other such weird presents, we’d just agreed it was something we both wanted to give a go so decided we’d try it out together. Benefits of colon hydrotherapy are said to include better function of the colon, clearer skin and even weight loss.

Although I had strangely been looking forward to the treatment – in the hope that it would boost my diet and I’d come out feeling lighter – I was still super nervous when we arrived.

I was the second one to go in for the treatment so I had plenty of time to sit in the waiting room wondering just how intrusive this intrusive treatment was going to be. I listened out for my friend’s screams but there were none, just the occasional peal of laughter. A promising sign, I thought!

When my turn came to go in, my nerves increased. The lady performing the treatment, however, was lovely, talking me through what would happen and reassuring my concerns. As I lay on the treatment bed, she even asked me whether I’d prefer to listen to Adele or Will Young throughout the experience! As much as I prefer Adele, I thought Will’s voice would be less strident and more relaxing for what I was about to encounter so I opted for his CD.

I’ll spare you the graphic details of what happened next but I will say that the treatment was not at all painful (as I feared) and didn’t feel half as intrusive as you’d expect it to. Although I expected to feel light as a feather straight after the treatment, I didn’t feel much different to begin with. Later on in the evening and this morning, however, I have definitely been able to feel a difference. I feel lighter, brighter and cleansed and although it’s not the kind of treatment I’d go for regularly, I’d definitely consider it again in the future.

Slow But Successful Slimming

I’ve ummed and arred about posting this update on my Slimming World progress for two reasons:

1) I’m careful that my blog doesn’t turn into a slimming blog (not that there is anything wrong with slimming blogs, it can be highly supportive and motivational – for writers and readers – to share their experiences, but I just set out to create a little more wide-ranging blog and I’m keen not to lose that).

2) I’m a little sheepish about my progress this month.

Why? Well, January has been my first full month of doing Slimming World and after my festive Baileys-related setback, I have gone on to lose some weight every week, resulting in me being awarded Slimmer of the Week three weeks ago and Slimmer of the Month last week. Great stuff and I was very chuffed in lots of ways but despite the fact the I have lost every week, I have lost a grand total of 4.5 pounds this month. It’s still an achievement and is indeed progress, and for that I am very happy, but I’m aware that people in my group have lost more in one week than I have done in the month so I feel a little bit of a copout, when they should be celebrated for their bigger achievements. I feel a little bit like I’ve been awarded these achievements by default!

My modesty aside, I’m really pleased to be making progress and enjoy the Slimming World approach to weight loss – the group is supportive and the members area of the Slimming World website is packed with information and tips to help you stay on track. I’ve really enjoyed trying out some of the recipes – from both the website and Slimming World cook books – and never go anywhere without my little Slimming World bible, listing all the free and superfree foods, and the Syn values of all the naughty stuff.

So here’s hoping February is another positive month. My main mission is to incorporate more exercise into my new healthy eating lifestyle. I’m also really looking forward to the first Come Slim with Me night that myself, my sisters and my niece are planning to hold, so we can enjoy a sociable night of eating and drinking at each of our houses, without letting our Slimming World regimes slip!

Tried and Tested: The Baileys Diet

I made the arguably ill-advised decision to join Slimming World for the first time a week before Christmas. I thought it would spur me on to be a little more careful about what I ate over the festive period and give me a head start on my New Year’s resolution to shift some timber.

In my first week, I was mostly very well behaved food-wise (apart from a massive piece of chocolate fudge cake and about 26 jalapeno poppers at a friend’s buffet) and lost 2.5 pounds. A great start, but then came Christmas itself and the diet went out of the window. I was conscious of the amount I was eating, which meant I didn’t scoff as much as I have done in the past at Christmas, but I didn’t deny myself of anything I wanted and the main thing I want at Christmas – since I don’t drink it at any other time of the year as a rule – is Baileys!!

So every evening for five days, the one thing I consumed unregulated was Baileys – as much as I wanted, no holds barred – since my boyfriend’s mum and I had three bottles between us at hand (although we didn’t manage to polish it all off!). When I went for my post-Christmas weigh in last week, I discovered I’d gained 4.5 pounds, weighing more than I did when I started the diet! Now I’m not saying it’s entirely the Baileys that’s to blame but I think that is definitely the main culprit, with a bit of cheese and chocolate following closely behind.

Since my last weigh in, I’ve managed to get back on track at little more and now the New Year is here, I have officially started the Slimming World diet with gusto – no more excuses or Baileys to set me back!