Squeezing in those superfrees...

[parisienne]

Hi everyone, I'm interested to know how everyone is getting in ther 1/3 superfree onto their plates at meal times? I don't find breakfast to difficult as I just make sure I have fruit with my cereal or porridge, but struggling to find more imaginative ideas than salad for lunch or tea? I know in some cases the SF may be mixed in with a meal (e.g. chilli with lots of veg, soup) but what if you're just having chicken and potatoes + ?. Salad can get boring and its an expensive choice; I'm shopping for one at the moment and the salad things always seem to go bad so quickly! Would appeciate tips on how to get the SF stuff into the meal in an interesting varied way? Cheers!

 

[Aston]

I agree with Jezzi, especially that tinned tomatoes are a godsend. I also chop onions, mushrooms, peppers & courgettes (or whatever else we have in, but onions/mushrooms/peppers are mainstays) and spread it over a baking tray with some Fry-Light and whatever seasoning fits with what we're eating (sometimes Peri-Peri, sometimes garlic & herb mash mix- whatever you like), and that cooks the whole time I'm doing the rest of the dinner. As long as your dinner takes more than 15mins you can guarantee the veg will be cooked through. I also find that this goes with most meals.

There is also a frozen bag of finely diced veg sold by Aunt Bessie (tiny cubes, smaller than corn kernels) which can be stirred through most 'wet dinners' and go unnoticed.

Another good 'swap' is sweet potato in place of 'normal potato', so whether it tops your cottage pie or you're making chips, that tackles a bulk of your superfree in itself.

 

[Aston]

Sweet potatoes are free but not super free according to the 2012 pack...

Swede or celeriac are super free though, an make a good potato sub.

I may go into mourning over my oversight!!!! I am definitely wearing black tomorrow to mark the loss of a 'superfree' staple

Butternut squash is another favourite of mine- don't tell me I've got that wrong too?

 

[Money-penny]

I just divide my plate into thirds and bung some grilled veg onto the third... I always eat it first before I touch the other two thirds of my plate so that it fills me up before I get to the good stuff.

If I have leftovers and have eaten all my superfree then I will have the rest for lunch the next day, whether or not I have superfree depends on if I have time to make it (with my job sometimes I just have to grab from the fridge and go). I try not to panic about not getting the superfree though, just fit in fruit for snacks beforehand.

I don't have 1/3 superfree with my breakfast and I'm not that bothered or anal about it even if it's not strictly following the plan rules since breakfast tends to be when I fit my healthy extras in. Some other SWers will no doubt have a problem with this since I'm 'not doing it right' but this is a plan for life, and everyone is different - I'm doing it in a way that i know is sustainable for me. To get obsessive over it like a few people I have known is not something I regard as healthy, by all means everyone should do their best to get their third superfree in, but don't beat yourself (or others) up if you/they don't always manage it.

 

[Rochelle1]

I just discovered stirfry packs, I'm sick of salads and gonna start cooking up half a pack the night before work if I'm only taking a mugshot. They are nice as a quick lunch with some supernoodles too.

 

[AnnaFaraday]

I have salads a lot, but with all sorts of different things in. Salad is not just lettuce and cucumber - I never get bored because the salad is never the same two days running. Today it was finely sliced fennel and button mushrooms with a small amount of plain yogurt and some hard-boiled eggs. Yesterday it was tinned artichoke hearts and tomatoes, with sliced chicken. Tomorrow I have some of those long red peppers, not sure what I will do with them yet.

it helps if you start planning the meal with the superfree, then add the other elements.

 

[Ophelia105]

I always like salsas as well. There are some many recipes out there - most are SW friendly or can be adapted. I love mango salsa - it can go with so many different things like curry.

 

[vodpod]

Dependent on what we are having I will make up a big bowl of salad which we share, or I'll roast a load of Mediterranean style vegetables (peppers, onions, courgettes etc) or I'll steam some carrots, broccoli, peas and spinach. A really simple option is just baked beans on the side

 

[Princess_Stevie]

A really simple option is just baked beans on the side

Baked beans are not SuperFree. They are free, and SuperSpeed, but they cannot be counted towards your 1/3 SuperFree.

 

[blonde8]

I agree with Jezzi, especially that tinned tomatoes are a godsend. I also chop onions, mushrooms, peppers & courgettes (or whatever else we have in, but onions/mushrooms/peppers are mainstays) and spread it over a baking tray with some Fry-Light and whatever seasoning fits with what we're eating (sometimes Peri-Peri, sometimes garlic & herb mash mix- whatever you like), and that cooks the whole time I'm doing the rest of the dinner. As long as your dinner takes more than 15mins you can guarantee the veg will be cooked through. I also find that this goes with most meals.

There is also a frozen bag of finely diced veg sold by Aunt Bessie (tiny cubes, smaller than corn kernels) which can be stirred through most 'wet dinners' and go unnoticed.

Another good 'swap' is sweet potato in place of 'normal potato', so whether it tops your cottage pie or you're making chips, that tackles a bulk of your superfree in itself.

Where do you get the aunt bessy veg from. I can't get it anymore. Used to love it x

 

[Aston]

I found them in Asda I think... haven't been over there for a few weeks now but definitely had them within the last 6 weeks. Hope they're not discontinued

They're great they save you so much time!!

 

[Fizzybee]

Good thread for ideas

I use Birds Eye frozen mixed veg (small-diced carrot, green beans, sweetcorn and peas) to eat as a side to things like mash and quorn sausage. Also I add these (cooked first) into my cheese omlette to make a sort of frittata without potato. Corn on the cob is a good addition to jacket spud with beans.

 

[parisienne]

Good thread for ideas

I use Birds Eye frozen mixed veg (small-diced carrot, green beans, sweetcorn and peas) to eat as a side to things like mash and quorn sausage. Also I add these (cooked first) into my cheese omlette to make a sort of frittata without potato. Corn on the cob is a good addition to jacket spud with beans.

Oooh I'd never think of adding stuff like that to an omelette, just getting hooked on omelette's too so will defs try that!

 

[sunnyrae]

Alternative would be to make and freeze a batch of veg soup then have a small bowl before dinner.

Would fill you up so you need less main course, and you wouldn't need as much veg on the main plate.

I love that idea thank you i am going to give that a go next week

 

[Miss_J]

I make a salad with EVERYTHING lol that way i make sure i have my 1/3 x

 

[shopoholic]

Growing lettuce/rocket salad leaves is really easy in a small pot in the widowsill or hanging basket. Just pick what you need for the day and save on wastage!

 

[Slinkydawg]

I have onions and mushrooms in almost every evening meal and usually a pile of stir fried mangetout.
I snack on strawberries/melon/apples throughout the day and at lunch i usually have a salad with an omelette/boiled egg.
If its a cold day, i have a bowl of syn free mushroom and onion soup before lunch or before my evening meal.

 

[hollys nan]

And my problem is that I detest salad and have a problem mixing veg up. So I do the red and green plans. However, I do try and have quite a lot of superfree in the form of fruit. I do like tinned toms,mushrooms and onions, so my spag bol, chillies are some of my favourite meals.

 

[parisienne]

These are all great ideas! Is there any advice from people's consultants about how to balance your fruit and veg intake? I don't go to groups and was just thinking that if you eat too much fruit surely thats a lot of sugar going in? Or does it not matter as long as you're sensible?

 

[Pickle81]

Onions, mushrooms, peppers and chillies tend to get chucked in most things here. I usually have cucumber and spring onions on top of my crackerbread (wholegrain HEB) with LowLow (HEA) for lunch. I use loads of passata/tinned tomatoes and often cook frozen green beans and broccoli to go on the side.