Cinnamon Rice Pudding with NoodleSlim Rice

I will admit that I wasn't sure if this would work at all but nothing ventured, nothing gained and I really like how it turned out. Rice Pudding is such a great comfort food so I really wanted to come up with a low fat version and put my own spin on it.

Cinnamon Rice Pudding

1 portion of NoodleSlim rice

1 tbsp cinnamon 

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp vanilla extract

150ml almond milk

2 tbsp cornflour 

1. Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until combined

2. Heat over a medium heat and continue stirring 

3. When the mixture starts to thicken, reduce the heat and continue stirring

4. When it has thickened sufficiently, remove from the heat and serve in a bowl.

You can add fruit as a topping. I chose bananas but you could choose berries.

The cinnamon gives the distinctive brown colour to the pudding. You may think the seasoning is quite a lot but NoodleSlim rice has no flavour on its own so it needs strong flavouring or the pudding would be tasteless. The NoodleSlim rice softens but does retain more bite than ordinary rice. This reminded me a little bit of semolina pudding.

The recipe makes two generous portions which are 4 Smartpoints each. The pudding can be kept in the fridge and is delicious cold! 

So it's a bit of an unusual way to use NoodleSlim rice but sometimes it's good to try something really different and I wanted to show the versatility of the NoodleSlim products. Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Made to Measure

I just realised today that it's over a month since I measured myself. As my weight loss seems quite slow at the moment, I thought it would give me a boost to see what I have lost in inches. My previous sets of measurements were

3rd Feb

Chest - 47 inches

Waist - 47 inches

Hips - 49 inches

Thighs - 25 inches

Calf - 17 inches

Upper arm - 14 inches

3rd March

Chest - 46 inches

Waist - 45 inches

Hips - 48 inches

Thighs - 24 inches

Calf - 16 inches

Upper arm - 14 inches

Today's measurements are

7th April

Chest - 45 inches

Waist - 43 inches

Hips - 47 inches

Thigh - 24 inches

Calf - 16 inches

Upper arm - 14 inches

I found this really interesting as I have only lost inches on my chest, waist and hips compared to last time when I generally lost at least an inch everywhere. Maybe this is because my workouts this month have been designed to be fat burning and these are the areas where I carry the most fat.

It's inspiring for me to look at what I have lost in inches as it confirms my progress.

Chest - 1 inch lost this month and 2 inches lost in total

Waist - 2 inches lost this month and 4 inches lost in total

Hips - 1 inch lost this month and 2 inches lost in total

Thigh and Calf - no loss this month and 1 inch lost in total

Upper arm - no loss at all

My Achilles' tendon injury means that my workouts will have to alter for a while and I am planning more arm work so it will be interesting to see what my measurements will be next month.

I really do recommend taking your measurements to track your progress. If your loss on the scales slows down, this can give you the boost to keep going. Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Wednesday Weigh In - Week 13 - Better Than Expected

So I hardly exercised, tried to stick to my diet and I lost half a pound this week.

That takes my total weight loss to 20.25 pounds.

I'm pleased with this as it could have easily been a gain. I've eaten out this week because my daughter is on holiday and last night I was so fed up because of my Achilles' tendon that I comfort ate a jam doughnut. Maybe I will pay for that next week!

So the week ahead will have to mean being very strict about my food. I've got some new recipes I want to try so that will inspire me. Plus I've been thinking about how to adapt workouts while my tendon heals. The problem is that I really need workouts that are fat burners. I may just have to settle for toning up this week.

The good news is that strapping up my ankle seems to have helped. I'm walking quite easily and the only thing that is painful is walking downstairs.

So it's a case of onwards and upwards. A positive attitude will go a long way and at least I still lost this week.

Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

A bit of a setback

My exercise plans have been thrown into complete disarray. Sad times.

I've damaged my Achilles' tendon. Basically I felt a tweak last week mid workout so I stopped and then rested over the weekend. Yesterday I was desperate to go for a run while my daughter was at her friend's house as I knew it was my only opportunity. In hindsight I shouldn't have but I did and this is what happened. 

I had some pain when I started but it was more of a stiffness so I tried to keep going. I stopped to cross the road and when I started to run again, the pain was so severe that I had to stop. I managed to limp home, took some painkillers and assessed the damage.

It's sore to touch around my tendon and I can't go on tiptoe so I know it is my Achilles. I can however walk with hardly any pain and there is no real swelling in the area.

I'm treating it using the R I C E principle. That means Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. I'm cutting out leg exercise completely for the next 10 days. If I don't see any improvement or if it feels worse then I will go to the doctor. I'm hoping that the damage is minimal so it will heal on its own.

I will keep you posted but for now this lovely ankle support is my constant fashion accessory

I was really upset yesterday and I will admit that I limped home crying. I'm feeling more determined now though. It is a setback but I won't let it defeat me and I will just have to develop a different workout routine while my Achilles' tendon heals.

Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Monday Motivation - Stop Plodding!

I'm trying to give myself a bit of a mental kick up the butt this week. Rather than just getting through the school holidays, I need to concentrate on continuing to push myself as much as I can.

I have potentially two kid free days this week so I need to make the most of them. My youngest is being picked up by her friend's mum in 30 minutes do I'm going for a run after that!

My other motivation this week is regarding this blog. You may have noticed a change in the appearance over the last few days. This is due to my lovely new template from Pipdig. I love the fresh look it has given the blog and it has really inspired me.

Here's a few of the images and quotes that are motivating me today.

Hope you are having a great start to your week. Stay motivated! Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Low Fat Raspberry Mousse

Saturday night is probably the only time when my family eats dessert. So for the last 12 weeks I have been sitting there sulking while my daughters have tucked into cheesecake, eclairs and various other tasty dishes.

If you follow my Instagram then you will have seen the picture I posted last week of a raspberry mousse. This was a recipe from @deliciouslyella and although it was gorgeous, it was too many Weightwatchers points for me to eat except as as a special treat. So I set myself the task yesterday of making a low fat version and this is what I came up with

Low Fat Raspberry Mousse

100g raspberries 

75g low fat Greek yoghurt

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon cashew butter

1. Put all the ingredients together in a bowl and then blend. I used a hand blender but you could do this in a food processor or even something like a Nutribullet.

2. Spoon carefully into a small dish and put in the fridge for a couple of hours.

3. Garnish with a sliced raspberry and a drizzle of honey.

The honey and the cashew butter balance out the tartness of the raspberries and yoghurt. You could also use almond butter if you prefer. 

The best thing is that the raspberry mousse is only 3 Weightwatchers Smartpoints so you could easily fit it into your daily points.

Let me know if you try it. Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Treat Yourself

We all deserve a little treat now and again. When you are on a long term plan to lose weight, it is especially important to build little rewards into your life. Try to avoid making the rewards all food and drink though as you want to move away from the idea of food being a reward. I used to be terribly guilty of this. I would think to myself that I really deserve this bar of chocolate or a couple of glasses of wine because I've had such a hard day!

I decided that I should treat myself to things that would inspire me. My first treat was these

I've been running in cheap old trainers that weren't very comfortable. Hopefully my new babies will spur me on to greater efforts

One of my other treats was fitness clothes. When you are larger, it can be harder to find clothes to work out in which is a shame as it doesn't really encourage you. My first choice was Karrimor as my daughter has a lot of her running clothes from them.

The leggings were lovely but there is no way that top is the right size! I'm keeping it as an incentive but I wouldn't wear it out of the house until I've lost another two stone!

The adidas t shirts I got were more successful. Maybe it really is a case of needing to pay more in order to get quality.

My final treat wasn't anything to do with fitness. I don't usually wear makeup apart from foundation so I treated myself to some bits and pieces from Avon

None of this was hugely expensive as the Nikes were in a sale but it has definitely lifted my mood and I feel more determined to keep on pushing myself. Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx