I ate Slimming World Iceland frozen meals for a week and this is what happened

As followers of the Slimming World food regimen plan will know, it may be a good way to drop some pounds – however you possibly can find yourself spending a heck of loads of time making ready meals to get the perfect outcomes.

Not like different diets, you do not have to calorie rely on Slimming World, as an alternative meals are divided into completely different classes together with ‘free’ meals of which you’ll be able to eat limitless quantities, and every day measured parts of ‘Wholesome Additional A’ (HEA) and ‘Wholesome Additional B’ (HEB).

It has proved to be a preferred plan for individuals who love their carbs, as amongst these ‘free’ meals are issues like pasta, rice and noodles so you possibly can eat limitless quantities and nonetheless drop some pounds, though it is advisable be sure you’re not including any extras like fat and sugars that are restricted to quite a lot of ‘syns’ every day.

READ MORE: The Slimming World breakfast “cake” recipe mums are swearing by

However typically you simply don’t need the faff of making a syn-free lasagne or rooster curry from scratch.

Which is the place Slimming World’s vary of prepared meals handily step in – for individuals who need the comfort of a micro-meal, with out having to fret what number of syns are in it.

The frozen meals are solely obtainable at Iceland, and all of them are ‘free’ meals on the Slimming World plan – so SW devotees know, in concept, once you’re consuming them you are sticking religiously to the regime.

For the brand new yr, Iceland and Slimming World have expanded the vary with some new dishes and new recipes of outdated favourites – and despatched me an enormous field of all of them to attempt.

Certainly, it was sufficient to maintain me in lunch and dinner for every week – which made me hatch a crafty plan.

I’m at the moment following the Slimming World plan myself (with round a stone and a half left to lose to hit my private goal).

So I believed what higher solution to style check the vary – and test if they really work in serving to you to drop some pounds – than to eat them everywhere in the course of every week after which head to weigh in on the finish of it?

This is how I acquired on.

Day 1

Rooster tikka and rice lunch bowl – £2.75

A good way to kick off the week of style checks – with one of many lunch bowl meals – designed, because the title suggests, as a lighter daytime possibility.

This can be a new one to the vary and I loved what was a satisfying mixture of crunchy greens, rice and attractive tikka-coated rooster items which was additionally fairly filling.

Score: 4/5

Rooster carbonara – £3.50

I used to be not holding out a lot hope for this one because it smelt barely disagreeable because it cooked away within the microwave.

Billed as a ‘comforting pasta dish with seared rooster, smoky pork strips, mushroom and spinach in a white sauce’ it didn’t look all that inspiring or comforting after I poured it into my dish.

There have been round eight items of rooster and some strips of pork, and my first thought was that it appeared to style very salty and the consistency was a bit gloopy.

For me, I feel I might somewhat persist with making my very own carbonara – because the Slimming World model (with ham and egg each ‘free’ meals) is a reasonably easy and less expensive recipe to make from scratch.

Score: 2/5

Day 2

Cauliflower and chick pea dahl – £3.25

This may be eaten by itself or as a facet dish. It most likely would have been higher as a facet dish if I am trustworthy as I discovered it a bit unfulfilling as a lunch dish.

It had a pleasing curry hit although and I just like the crunch of the cauliflower with the chick peas.

Score: 3/5

Chilli Con Carne – £3.50

A extremely hearty dish with giant chunks of meat in a wealthy sauce and the rice was properly herbed up.

Should you weren’t doing Slimming World you’d assume this was only a common chilli prepared meal, which might be the perfect praise I can provide it.

Certainly, my good friend’s strapping 16-year-old lad ‘by chance’ microwaved himself one among these and gave it an enormous thumbs up as properly, so it is positively good within the ‘beneficiant portion’ stakes.

Score: 4/5

Day 3

Cowboy hotpot – £3.50

It is secure to say this was the dish I used to be most wanting ahead to.

I imply, it has cowboy in its title and sausages and potato in it so what’s to not love? Effectively, sadly the dish itself was what I couldn’t be taught to like.

It stated on the packet it was finest cooked within the oven and I adopted the cooking instances to the tee, nevertheless it got here out very dry and stodgy. It simply did nothing for me in any respect – the sausages have been agency and dry and the potatoes additionally had a powdery consistency on high.

So disenchanted with this one, positively not a yee-ha second from me.

Score: 1/5

Beef vindaloo – £3.75

Nonetheless, tea time properly and actually gave me one of many highlights of the week – within the new beef vindaloo dish.

This was an actual deal with. A extremely sensible hit of spices in a wealthy tomato sauce with flavoursome lumps of beef.

Score: 5/5

Day 4

Moroccan fashion rooster soup – £2.25

Once more, a really off-putting scent from the microwave, however as soon as cooked this one was fairly scrumptious.

A extremely attention-grabbing spice combine with a good quantity of warmth, and plenty of pulled rooster which made this one a warming and filling soup dish that I might positively purchase once more.

Score: 4/5

Beef Lasagne – £3.50

This one has been a favorite of many SW-ers for some time now, however they’ve simply launched a brand new recipe. So it’s pretty much as good because the outdated one?

Effectively, I used to be fairly enthusiastic about this one – as a result of it is even higher. The brand new recipe has lastly nailed the elusive creamy tacky side of the lasagne that isn’t simple to do with out utilizing up all of your HEA for the day.

Taking a nosy on the recipe card on the within, it seems to be a mix of butternut squash, potato and the magic Quark that has created the pleasant crispy tacky topping right here.

A phrase of warning on this one although – whereas it may be cooked within the microwave, it does say for finest outcomes stick within the oven. And, whereas it does take a mammoth 50 minutes, it tastes sooo a lot better this solution to get that tacky crunch.

Score: 5/5

Day 5

Bare beef burrito – £2.75

quantity of spice kick on this one, and it is fairly a satisfying lunch pot.

You probably have your HEA of cheese obtainable I really feel like it will be nicer with this blended in – I added some peppers and salad on the facet.

Score: 3/5

Hunter’s rooster – £6.50

This one must be cooked within the oven and is a big portion for 2, so my Different Half acquired roped in to consuming this one with me.

It had a protracted cooking time of over an hour this one – and I am unsure if that is why the rooster was a bit dry and chewy. And one’s factor for certain, it appeared completely nothing just like the shiny picture on the packaging when it got here out of my oven.

However the general flavour was okay – though the barbecue sauce was a tad on the watery facet. My feeling is that this one could be a lot simpler and higher to easily recreate your self at residence – it is only a rasher of bacon plonked on some rooster actually.

Score: 2/5

Day 6

Colcannon Mash – £2

Operating a bit out of choices at this stage, I resolve to attempt the colcannon mash which I group with steamed broccoli and salmon.

The mash is, like loads of the meals, a tad on the salty facet however groups properly with salmon and I like that you could style the cabbage within the mash combine.

This can be a handy one to have within the freezer for these moments you possibly can’t be bothered making your personal mash.

Score: 3/5

Smoky meatball tray bake with potato wedges – £7

The meatballs have been on the dry facet, however had a good flavour punch, and have been extraordinarily nice when mushed along with all of the smoky tomato and chick pea sauce. There was a good measurement portion for 2 of us, though we did add numerous greens for velocity.

This was a extremely tasty one – however I am afraid it may well’t get full marks this one for the sheer faff issue. It took 1hr and 5mins to prepare dinner within the oven which is available in very low on the comfort issue – as does the huge measurement of the packet that I wanted to try to wodge in my not very sizeable freezer.

It is also fairly costly for this fashion of dish.

Score: 4/5

Day 7

Slimming World chips – £2.50

It is the final day, so I am going all out with the curry and chips on the menu. And there is actually nothing else left to eat. So I bung a few of the frozen chips within the oven and serve them with some baked beans.

Now with these frozen chips, individuals both love them or hate them from my expertise at Slimming World group.

I’ve personally perfected an excellent flavour by sprinkling some syn-free spice on them after which spraying them with low-calorie spray.

They do have a barely unusual consistency, however they’re a handy choice to have prepared made within the freezer when you possibly can’t face peeling and chopping up potatoes and cooking from scratch.

Score: 2/5

Rooster tikka rogan josh – £3.50

Ending the week on a excessive with this basic curry. The Slimming World rooster tikka masala has been a little bit of a staple for the reason that Iceland vary was first launched, however this new rogan josh model may even trump it for me.

Liked the spice on this one, and the added lumps of tomato and pepper. You can nearly be consuming a “actual” takeaway curry.

Score: 4/5

Did I truly lose any weight?

Effectively, that is the large query is not it?

After an entire week of consuming the prepared meals, and sticking 100 per cent to the Slimming World plan all through the remainder of the day, I might have been gutted if I did not lose any weight.

However guess what? I did. I misplaced a whopping 3lbs.

Which simply goes to point out sticking to ‘free meals’ and the remainder of the foundations of the Slimming World plan does do the trick.

What else did I eat?

Whereas the prepared meals bulked out my lunch and dinners for the week, I caught to plan for breakfasts and snacks all through the remainder of the day.

Breakfast for me on most days was fruit and fat-free yoghurts, and my HEA choices have been largely milk or espresso via the day and for HEB both granola for breakfast, or saved to make use of on a cereal bar snack.

The actually key factor all through (as your Slimming World advisor will often let you know) is to ‘add numerous velocity free greens’ to each dish that you simply’re consuming to super-power your weight reduction and offer you numerous vitamins.

The decision

The advantage of this vary is if you happen to’re doing Slimming World, they provide prepared meals that you could depend on to maintain you 100 per cent on plan.

Additionally they all embrace the total recipe on the packaging, to encourage you to save lots of the recipes and make these at residence to proceed to stay to plan.

The highlights for me have been dishes just like the lasagne and beef vindaloos – recipes that I discover tough to recreate at residence and could be time-consuming and expensive, so the prepared meal variations are an important choice to have within the freezer.

However dishes which might be simpler and cheaper to make at residence, like a carbonara or chow mein, imply for me, these prepared meals will not be one thing I might personally wish to purchase once more.

They’re additionally not precisely the most cost effective of prepared meals in the marketplace, with the principle meals priced at £3.50 and the tray bakes (for 2 individuals) as much as a hefty £7.00.

You may typically get them on supply at Iceland, and the present deal has the lunch bowls at 2 for £5.

But when I had purchased the entire above meals, it will have are available at an eye-watering £50.25 for the week and that is with out the worth of contemporary/frozen greens on high.

Naturally, it is unlikely you would be consuming ALL prepared meals over the course of 1 week as I did for this style check, however a few of these are an important choice to have within the freezer to assist preserve you on observe if you happen to’re following Slimming World.

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