Extra Easy Days: SW meal wrong turn out?

[Littlestar_kc]

Hi everyone

I've tried making some of the SW recipes which look so yummy in the book and a great alternative to the shop bought jars being low on the syn count but it never turns out as expected they are not as tasty or more like a purée than a sauce. They just don't look like they are ment too! Does anyone have this experience? Or maybe it's just that I'm doing something wrong? Any tips or advice?

Tried SW meat ball sauce.

 

[NewMe14]

no this has happened me in fact last weekend actually then I ended up picking at cooked ham from the fridge all evening because I didnt eat much of my dinner. so this week I'm not trying any new receipes. I think though the more you cook something the better it gets each time.

I made sw chips last night and OMG they were the best batch ever!

 

[ladybird23]

No, definitely not just you! I do love SW....mostly! The trouble is, their suggestions and recipes do try and "trick" you into expecting to eat something that tastes and feels like it did before, and I honestly find in most cases this doesn't happen. In particular, making gravies and sauces thicker or more textural is something I've now worked out for myself. I spent hours right at the beginning making a SW curry recipe with loads of very odd ingredients and just about every kitchen gadget and utensil you could think of, and it was like eating a few bits of meat with a tin of baby food - revolting! It all went in the bin. All the weird ingredients had to be cooked and then liquidized, which I assume was to give the dish some bulk and thickness but just succeeded in making it taste horrible.

I admit I'm a bit of a food "purist" - I wouldn't use Smash, ever - let alone in a cake, nor would I use instant gravy granules or packet sauces. Reduced fat cheese.......?............is not cheese, more like a flattened rubber ball! Most of the SW dessert recipes use yoghurt or creme fraiche which means they are not what they say they are. For example, an Eton Mess is strawberries, meringue and cream - once you change the cream to something else (that doesn't taste like real cream) then it isn't an Eton Mess any more.

After a lot of experimenting I have now managed to work out how to successfully thicken sauces and gravies - or if I can't do that without using almost a whole day's syns in one meal then I don't attempt it and I eat something else. After all, it was the food I WAS eating that got me here in the first place, so it figures I'm going to have to go without a few of the things I made before SW!

 

[i_am_plankton]

I find this quite a lot too - I have never made a batch of SW chips that look anything like the ones in the magazines so I just always make wedges with the skins on 'cause they come out fine! I find being vegan that there's not a lot of low-fat alternatives in the same way that they use things regularly like mullerlights, fat-free fromage frais etc so I often just adapt what I can and try and fill up more on the savoury stuff

 

[PeggyDee]

Lol, you are not alone. Success comes and goes with the SW recipes. There are some recipes I will NEVER make again because I ended up snacking on yoghurt and fruit while my yucky attempt went in the bin. There was a time a short while back when I nearly gave up in frustration after trying a different recipe almost every night for a week and not enjoying any of them. And it doesn't help to browse here to ask what does work, because for every recipe I have hated there is somebody here raving about how wonderful it is.

Just keep trying. As ladybird says above, some recipes are trying to trick you into thinking you are eating something that you are familiar with and of course it doesn't taste anything like the original. I have avoided the quiche recipes for so long because I don't believe they will taste like a quiche should, but after so many great reviews I have crumbled and went out this morning to buy the ingredients. Will be making it tomorrow.......... but I am still doubtful.

 

[AnnaFaraday]

The "quiche" won't taste like a quiche should. Because it isn't one! The nearest equivalent would be a sort of frittata. Lots of people love them so as long as you adapt your expectations you might too.

I do find with lots of the SW recipes that they use far too much liquid. I often half the amount of stock, or whatever.

And I really don't like yogurt in sauces - unless it is a full-fat variety it will nearly always split when heated, and it never tastes quite right. And I have given up on quark as I find the texture odd. Creme Fraiche works much better, and tastes nicer, and the lower-fat versions work quite well.

I don't usually bother with the puddings. If I can't have the real thing then I would rather not bother, and have some fruit with some yogurt instead.

 

[lauuuu10]

I have made lots of SW dishes and a few times the finished meal never tastes or looks good. It can be frustrating especially when you've spent an hour cooking the thing lol!

I really like SW chips though, really yummy comfort food and taste so much nicer than the frozen variety, only thing I've found is that they take around 45 - 50 minutes to cook, not the 25 minutes (ish) that SW advertise sometimes.

 

[ladybird23]

"The "quiche" won't taste like a quiche should. Because it isn't one! The nearest equivalent would be a sort of frittata. Lots of people love them so as long as you adapt your expectations you might too."

This is precisely my point Anna - why call it a quiche if it isn't?! I don't see why we should have to adapt our expectations to take into account that we are being told is bending the truth.

If a recipe tells me that I'm making quiche, I expect a quiche - not something that turns out to be a "sort of frittata". Tell me though that I'm going to make a "sort of frittata" and then I won't be disappointed. I'm sure lots of people do like them but that's like saying you want some chocolate but you can't have it so you have an apple and liked it - doesn't make it chocolate though just because you liked it. I've been quite annoyed to have spent not inconsiderable amounts of money, not to mention time, trawling around the shops for specific ingredients to make a recipe only to discover that it doesn't turn out to be what it purports to be - and because of this I do believe some of SW's claims to be very misleading. I've had queries on a couple of their recipes and mailed them, but they don't respond to customer's mails which is another thumbs down.

As PeggyDee rightly says, for every recipe I don't like there are plenty who do - and vice-versa. It's just a question of learning what does and doesn't work for you and experimenting and adjusting until you get it right.

 

[AnnaFaraday]

Why call it a quiche when it isn't? Well - good question!! I once asked that question on this forum and got soundly told off by another member who said she could call it what she liked! Well yes, feel free, but it doesn't change the facts.

I have been cooking for a good many years and am quite experienced, so I can look at a recipe and say, well that won't work, or that's too much liquid, or that's far too much gelatine (another common SW thing that drives me mad!), but recipes should be written so that anyone can follow them and come up with something good. And something which meets their expectations.

I have only had "quiche" once - never, never again!!

 

[ladybird23]

I do think if you really like cooking and have reasonable experience and some good skills then these "pretend" recipes just aren't going to work for you. I shall take heed of what you say Anna and ditch the quiche from my wish list! And also remember that liquidised swede does not a curry make. Won't make that mistake again either!

 

[PeggyDee]

If you have some cooking experience it is probably better to SW'ise your normal recipes. For example, take your favourite non slimming curry recipe and make it without the oil, substituting fry-lite for the initial sautéing of onions, spices and meat. Take your favourite cake recipe and play around with low fat butter or spread and sweetener instead of normal butter and sugar. I am not saying that this is easy and you will need some cooking knowledge.

And today is quiche attempt day, despite the comments above. After all, I especially added the ingredients to my shopping yesterday in planning for this. Hey, if I don't like it I don't have to make it again, right? I am pretty good about adjusting recipe quantities to serve 1 (I am the only slimmer in my house so have lots of experience with this), so I will make a really tiny quiche to try it, and it won't be too much waste if it ends up in the bin. Perhaps I should rename it so I am not disappointed. Something like ..... oh, I don't know...... ham-and-mushroom-slice? Wish me luck.

 

[AnnaFaraday]

And you might absolutely love it!

 

[PeggyDee]

Hey! It's not bad. It's not a quiche, but it's tasty and filling. Will make it again but definitely agree to change the name

 

[jogirl]

Perhaps I should rename it so I am not disappointed. Something like ..... oh, I don't know...... ham-and-mushroom-slice? Wish me luck.

Ha! I make several variations on the "quiche", but I call them "sausage slice", "pasta slice" etc! They are yummy, but they're not quiche!

I have always found the SW recipes very hit and miss, and prefer to "SW-ise" other recipes. My own personal favourite failure was the "ice cream" made from Muller Lights that I rashly attempted a while back. I ended up with a purple substance the consistency of bricks.

 

[Littlestar_kc]

Hi all thank you so much for your response to my thread. It is great to read your opinions on the matter and have your advice .

 

[ladybird23]

Lol - I won't be trying the purple stuff that tastes of bricks then!

Agree - definitely better to tweak your own style of cooking if poss. As I don't eat yoghurt or anything with the same culture in it, if I want a creamy sauce (which isn't too often these days) I use a bit of Elmlea cream. I wouldn't use it just as cream on it's own but a dribble into the pan when I'm making peppercorn sauce does just the trick.

 

[Littlestar_kc]

Yep total agreement tweaking is the way to go with SW meal making, maybe it would be an idea to mention any tweaks that work does any one have any suggestions as I know I would be interested as I'm not the best cook in the world lol

 

[PeggyDee]

What kind of food do you like littlestar? I am pretty good in the kitchen and tweak a lot of my food. As I already said earlier any curry that does not contain coconut milk or cream can be tweaked because most curry ingredients are free or superfree, it's just that they are usually started off by cooking in oil. All you need to do in that case is start off in frylight. The coconut and other curries need a bit more tweaking but it can be done.
Some recipes are simply not SW friendly in the slimmer version - a mac n cheese is never quite the same as it should be, but hey, we can but try.

I think it would be a great idea to have a challenge. Let's suggest a recipe that needs tweaking and we could challenge each other to come up with the best version.

 

[SallyVater]

THe SW recipes are definitely a bit pot luck IME. I have cooked some fantastic ones, but in the main I find the recipes to be too bland for my tastes and the other thing that I find infuriating is that the cooking times always seem grossly under estimated (although this is probably a liquid problem as well, as said earlier in the thread)

I find the best way to cook on SW is just to adapt "normal" recipes to fit in with SW principles and I alsofeel there should be some acceptance that using syns in your cooking will almost always produce better results. (I'm talking about using proper oil, butter sometimes, full fat cheese etc etc)

 

[ladybird23]

Absolutely Sally - when I'm frying mushrooms - or anything that soaks up the fat, I use so much spray oil that I probably would be better off just using normal oil or butter. I do miss the taste of butter, that's high on my list "most missed" foods. But then I could easily just slice off a piece of butter and eat it! (Oh, dear what a gross admission). I've always shied away from using "spreads" as they have so much garbage in them. I've found a kind of compromise with Bertolli olive spread - but unfortunately, not the light version - that was a spread too far for me. I think my brain sees "light" or "reduced fat" on food and decided in advance that I'm definitely not going to like it!

One of the best things for me so far is to use a Knorr stock pot as a gravy or sauce base and if you leave it to reduce it does thicken a bit. And adding a stock pot without dissolving it into a casserole will add a bit of thickness and quite a lot of flavour. I do tend to use a lot of my syns in cooking - a blob of cream, a bit of cornflour, even a small amount of ordinary flour. I'd rather enjoy what I'm eating nda let the weight loss be a little bit slower - if I don't enjoy my food then I know I'll give up as I'm definitely in the "Live to Eat" category, not the "Eat to Live".