Onwards And Downwards Continues In July 2014

[AB Editor]

Hello all,

Welcome to this month's Onwards & Downwards. We welcome anyone serious about losing weight and we offer support and kind thoughts - not magic fixes, just sensible help.

This month we would love your low calorie breakfast ideas, thanks to OG. After watching a couple of semi-scary TV programmes this week about how bad our diet is in general some fresh ideas would be welcomed :-).

One programme even suggested that going back to a traditional FUll English is a good idea, less sugar and processed carbs etc!! Not sure if I have time for that every morning.

This sounds yum though:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1507665/skinny-pepper-tomato-and-ham-omelette

or

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1507664/cinnamon-porridge-with-banana-and-berries

Let us know how you start your day a low-calorie way.

Don't forget your weekly weigh on Wednesday and remember we don't judge!

Here is last months thread

[xstitcher]

Thanks Ed.

[AB Editor]

hi xstitcher, no problem, good luck this month x

[Old_Geezer]

Cheers.

[wendilla]

Thanks ed for the recipes . Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and always difficult to know what to have for a change to keep within our limits .

[xstitcher]

Fruit wise try and focus on berries..any type but beware of the higher sugar content....try halving bananas, apples pears etc. if you need sugar on something for breakfast try Stevia. I put the powder type into a largish salt shaker and use it on my porridge and anything else I want to sprinkle sugar on....mix it with cinnamon to top your milk foam on your cappuccino for instance.

[xstitcher]

I meant beware of the higher content so sugar in non berry fruit. This info is from my diabetes books.

[Marijn]

Hi Xstitcher, are you saying than berries have less sugar than other fruits?

[xstitcher]

Yes I am Marijn. You should still pace yourself with them but they do have less sugar. Bananas and grapes are among those that have most. I know that berries have short seasons but then there are the frozen ones...cherries are also in the berry class.

[Marijn]

Thanks Xstitcher :-)

[Maydup]

Thanks Ed, I'm looking forward to some new ideas for healthy breakfasts as I'm a bit stuck for choice at the moment.

I would however put a gentle caution against the delicious sounding banana and berry porridge which at 34g of sugar per portion is more upwards than downwards!

I use water rather than milk in my porridge or half and half if you prefer, but I think the Demerara sugar in the recipe is probably off limits. I would add the strawberries and half a banana and if it still needs sweetening, I'd add a teaspoon of sweet freedom. Sweet Freedom has less than 5g of sugar for a tsp which is all you need. I squirt a little on my porridge or on natural yoghurt and even use a dash in a tomato sauce as it reduces down. My current best friend!

http://www.sweetfreedom.co.uk/index.php/sweet-freedom-original

[wendilla]

Morning all I am quite pleased but not all down to me . I have lost 3 lbs but that is mostly due to water tablets dr prescribed as my leg was swollen . But its still nice to see a loss. Should be back to as normal next week. I have got out of the habit of having sugar sprinkled on breakfasts .I just use skimmed milk. Now the cinnamon on top of cappuccino Xstitcher is lovely.

[xstitcher]

Good morning all,
I agree with you Maydup that the delicious porridge definitely needs tweeking.
If your supermarket has Stevia I would really recommend it. It is a natural sweetner plant found in South America and now found in all forms of sweetner....cooking/baking, coffee/tea tablets, powder (for porridge etc) and liquid. Try Googling it. Also if you can get mini milk which has a fat content of 0.05% it is the best and it foams wonderfully for cappuccino.
I have gone down 2 lbs this week so my new regime is paying off, even though my walks are no longer than 15 min.
My newly found diabetic cook booklets are giving me much more varied choices than I had before and my portions are halved but I am never hungry. I feel that FINALLY I have found the key.

[Maydup]

Well done and congratulations xstitcher. That sounds like a real turning point for you and a good tip for us. Ie to cut out the sugar and research some recipes suitable for diabetics.

I will look out for that sweetener in the supermarket, although I don't use much I do like a dot on my natural yoghurt and porridge.

No change for me this week but onwards and downwards.

[Maydup]

Morning wendilla - I hope your leg is better now and you can enjoy the added bonus of the lovely loss.

There's a theme beginning here have you noticed? Cinnamon on Eds porridge and cinnamon on your cappuccino. Its supposed to be good for us isn't it?

[xstitcher]

Thanks for your pat on the shoulder Maydup and here is one for you Wendilla..well done!
Here is a tip ....I mix Stevia powder and cinnamon in a good sized IKEA spice shaker bottle (I'm sure this size is available other places) and sprinkle it on top of my cappuccino. You can also get Dr. Oetker vanilla mills which are good on berries and where ever you decide.
These diabetic recipes are also good for people wanting to loose weight and those with heart problems.
Don't let the price on the sweeteners throw you off. You will be using much, much less than if it were sugar.

[Old_Geezer]

It's still claiming my weight is higher than it has any justification to be. Let's just say it is still up ⅝ lbs on a fortnight ago.

The breakfast suggestions look tempting, but there is the age old problem of needing 3 others to join me, or wonder what to do with the egg yolks that were unused :-) Also, with the exception of the omelette, they are not overly different to what I do, except heavier on the fruit. Tempting nevertheless. Wish I had something to contribute, but having no ideas is why I suggested the area.

[Old_Geezer]

Mmmm I must go claim to my GP that have diabetes then. :-O

[xstitcher]

Would buying egg whites and egg yolks help OG ? I have never used them myself so don't know what their purpose is. Maybe one of our friends out there can help with this.

[Old_Geezer]

Taking advice from the suggestions here I had a look at the fruit & veg section of the hypermarket this evening. Trouble is berries seem to come in large cartons, too many for me to finished before they start to go furry, I think. There are smaller cartons but then the price is laughably high. So, I need 3 to 4 volunteers to share a carton I think. Any takers ?

[xstitcher]

Good morning OG,
I know that the berry purists will shudder at this but if you keep the berries in the fridge without any covering they should last. I have found that smaller strawberries last the longest and that strawberries definitely outlast any other berry. You can sprinkle them with Stevial sweetner sugar and freeze them but it's not the same is it.