Slim.Fast 321 Plan

Slim.Fast 321 Plan

Slim.Fast, the iconic weight loss brand, is set to launch a new plan: ‘Slim.Fast 3.2.1’. The updated plan will continue to offer a simplified approach to weight loss, offering a variety of delicious and nutritionally-balanced, portion-controlled meal replacements to help people lose weight quickly, easily and safely.

The name ‘3.2.1’ simply refers to the daily meal plan regime of 3 snacks, 2 shakes and/or meal bars and 1 balanced meal. The new product range provides built-in portion and calorie control, so there are no counting calories or points, or weighing of foods.

Each Slim.Fast meal replacement contains a precise balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fibre and healthy fats, together with essential vitamins and minerals. This guarantees you get the nutrients you need while losing weight, packed into tasty shakes and crunchy meal bars. This unique combination makes slimming with Slim.Fast not just healthy, but enjoyable too.

Slim.Fast is committed to understanding the motivators that lead people to lose weight and help them navigate the challenges of dieting. The Slim.Fast principals on which the 3.2.1 Plan is based have stood the test of time for over three decades. Plus, Slim.Fast has over 10 years of clinical evidence showing people using Slim.Fast can lose more weight and keep it off for longer than with a conventional calorie-controlled diet.

I have tried the latest snacks and shakes from Slim.Fast and I must say I am pleasantly surprised.

The powder shakes now come in Café Latte, Summer Strawberry, Rich Chocolate, Blissful Banana, and Simply Vanilla. They are only 230 calories each if made with skimmed milk, perfect for breakfast or lunchtime.

When Slim.Fast first launched (or at least became popular) their powder shakes used to always be gritty as if the powder hadn't dissolved enough no matter how long you shook it for ... they seemed to have solved this and now the shakes are smooth and creamy.

The ready to drink shakes are the same, smooth and creamy, quite tasty and easy to drink on the go. Each bottle is 325ml and contains only 220 calories, there are eight delicious flavours to choose from and you can use these to replace one of your daily meals (breakfast or lunch).

Also each Slim.Fast Ready-to-Drink Shake has 22 essential vitamins and minerals and provides protein and fibre. The flavours include: Rich Chocolate, Simply Vanilla, Café Latte, Blissful Banana, Raspberry Crush, Fruits of the Forest, Summer Strawberry and limited edition flavour Lemon Meringue.

In addition to the shakes Slim.Fast also have a range of meal bars. Perfect if you are not a big fan of milk or during the day you are not near a fridge - you can keep the meal bars in your bag or pocket. Each bar is 210 calories or less and there are three flavours to choose from: Chocolate Crunch, Fruits of the Forrest and Yogurt Muesli.

I haven't tried the bars, but I did try some of Slim.Fast's snacks and they were quite tasty and filling for a small packet.

I would like to emphasize that although Slim.Fast products are full of essential nutrients and can help aid weight loss you must always talk to your doctor before starting a diet such as Slim.Fast and keep in touch if you start to feel ill or 'under the weather' while following the plan.

At no time should Slim.Fast be used to substitute all your meals, the plan is designed for breakfast and lunch replacement only ... you must always eat a balanced and sensible dinner (main meal of the day). The packs and website will help you with recipes and meal plans to suit your lifestyle.

For more information on all products and weight loss please visit: www.slimfast.co.uk

Christmas Cookie Cutters

Christmas Cookie Cutters

Day 2 of the Christmas Holidays and all you can hear is "I'm bored!". Piles of presents wrapped waiting to be opened and the kids are driving you insane. Its too cold to go out anywhere, the shops are packed and anyway ... your totally skint! so what can you do?

Bake.

Baking together is a great family tradition, it gets everyone together and regardless of age or ability there is always something everyone can do.

So aprons on, hands washed and away you go. Recipe book out and mixing bowls at the ready but what should we bake?

In my house one key item decides whether we are going to make cakes or biscuits - eggs! If I have tons of eggs in then fairy cakes are made, if I am running low (or the eggs aren't exactly fresh) then we make biscuits. Icing is simple as its only icing sugar and water .. and we always have a ton of sprinkles to decorate.

http://www.thingsathome.com/ stock an excellent set of Christmas Cookie Cutters. Well made sturdy metal cutters to cut the thickest of rolled out dough. Each cutter is around 7-9cm in size which are a great size for little and big hands to create masterpieces with.

I also sometimes bake a massive sponge cake in a deep tray then cut out shapes of sponge using cutters, Emma decorates just like regular cakes and they look fantastic. These Christmas Cookie Cutters are also suitable for cutting sponge cake as they are nice and deep.

With an angel shape, reindeer, tree, star, Santa and candy cane, your family will make some great cookies with these cutters. I'm not suggesting they will be edible (depends on your cooking skills) but everyone will have fun anyway!

Recipes for both biscuits and icing are included in the box the set is £8.95 (free postage & packing in the UK).

For more information and other Christmas Gifts please visit: http://www.thingsathome.com/

Dairy Diary

Dairy Diary

There is always one person in your family who is really really hard to buy for at Christmas, this year I have found the answer to the "What do you buy a female relation who falls into the 25-100 age bracket?" (as we all ask that question out loud don't we!).
A Dairy Diary

The Dairy Diary isn't a diary with cows on the front! Its a very informative handy to keep diary.
The front cover is hard wearing and inside is a handy pocket for keeping notes, recipes, shopping lists or anything else that you would like to slip in for safe keeping.

After the usual diary stuff - personal info and a yearly planner .. the magic starts:
Printed in easy to read text is a whole section about Facts & Figures :) including Home Budgeting, Metric Conversions, Height & Weight Charts, Anniversary's, Birthstones and Flowers, and even Roman Numerals. Printed clearly is a ruler .. for when you are out on the move and quickly need to measure something (Its only 6" so don't get too excited girls!).

I was beginning to love this diary as when I hit the next section 'Food for thought' I called out to Andy "Andy Andy! They have included a recipe for a simple white sauce!". Andy really wasn't bothered with the white sauce but did have a good read of the recipe for a caramel sauce.

The following section is 'Home And Leisure', this contains hints and tips for everything from preparing fresh flowers to stain removal. All handy and interesting stuff, included is even a simple step-by-step introduction to cross stitch ... all in a diary!!

With 'Health & Beauty' which includes a fantastic section on First Aid, 'Travel' with maps and timezones then 'Diary Recipes' you could be reading for hours .... all this is before you even get to the actual diary part.

Each diary page is set as one week over a double page spread. Each day is a good sized box to write information in, and in the bottom right hand corner of each week is a very tasty seasonal recipe. With room for your own notes and a recipe index .. this diary will almost certainly keep you interested and entertained all year! Its a fantastic gift and a must-have for every woman.

The Dairy Diary on its own is £6.50 but for an extra £2.75 you can buy a Dairy Diary Gift Pack (See photo at the top).

The gift pack contains a Mini Diary and a Wooden Book Stand as well as a fully informative Dairy Diary. This is an excellent set and a perfect gift.

Please visit www.dairydiary.co.uk or call 0845 0945 128 for more information and to order.
My rating: 10/10 it's great!!

Total Greek Yogurt

Total Greek Yogurt

I'll admit ... Greek Yogurt has always been, well, a bit Greek to me! When buying yogurt I have always been lazy (and unadventurous) and have purchased the usual 6-pack of strawberry processed rubbish because, well its easy and everyone likes them.

I have had the chance to broaden my culinary skills by trying Total Greek Yogurt, available from leading supermarkets it is on the shelves ready to buy ... its just that I never have - until now.

Did you know that you can use Greek Yogurt with Roast Shoulder of Spiced Lamb? No nor did I until the lovely people from Total sent me a really good cookbook to tempt me. The yogurt for the lamb is actually a marinade, now fancy that! You can use Total Greek Yogurt for soups, pate, salads, fishcakes, chicken, loads of fancy puddings and even good old fairy cakes.

I am astounded! Its like Total have opened my eyes to the fact that cakes are not always made from butter, sugar, flour and eggs - if you add yogurt you still produce a cake, but a much smoother more muffin type cake .... you can use Total Greek Yogurt for the toppings too.

Above is an example of a recipe - I know you cannot read the details properly (don't worry its only an example).

http://www.totalgreekyoghurt.com/site/ChocolateChipCookieYoghurtCheesecake_270.aspx Here is the link to the above recipe online.

http://www.totalgreekyoghurt.com/site/recipes_147.aspx Plus! If you visit this link there are loads of different recipes for you to choose from, everything from Starters to Desserts ... scrummy stuff.

Also from their website is the following information about TOTAL Greek Yoghurt that you may not know:
Total Greek Yoghurt is made from completely natural ingredients. Total Greek Yoghurt is live, pasteurised and contains no artificial additives, preservatives or thickeners. Total has no added sugars or sweeteners, just naturally occurring lactose.

Total Greek Yoghurt is a good source of protein. Protein is essential for the body to function properly. It’s used to help build up and maintain body tissue and for enzyme development.
Yoghurt plays an important role in nutrition. Produced by fermenting milk with healthy cultures, yoghurt contains the same number of calories as milk – but it’s easier to digest.

Vegetarians can eat Total Greek Yoghurt. And it’s also suitable for diabetics, pregnant women and people on gluten-free diets.

So now you can tuck into that Total Banana Smoothie, followed by Total's Penne with Wild Mushrooms, with Total Christmas Pavlova to finish .. and not feel an ounce of guilt as Total Greek Yogurt is good for you.

For more information please visit: http://www.totalgreekyoghurt.com/
Available from all major Supermarkets - look out for deals in the chilled areas.

Excuse me ... I'm off to make a Carrot Cake with Total Greek Yogurt cream cheese topping!