When bloggers do a “what’s in my bag”, or a “what’s on my bedside table” post. We all know that this stuff isn’t really in their bag right? Their bedside table doesn’t actually look like a Sense and Sensibility set at any other time than when the photo was taken for the blogpost. I mean, I love candles but I don’t feel the need to sleep with one inches from my face or keep a collection of classic books to rival the British Library’s back catalogue adjacent to my elbow. “Look how messy it is!” they proclaim. Hahhahaha. No.
Where’s the clicker? (remote controls to you normal people) the snotrags, the scrunchies that you wouldn’t be seen dead in outside of 1992? It’s an illusion.
Which is why I was a little bit nervy when my first Weight Watchers challenge turned out to be photographing the contents of my fridge post-Christmas. Of course, I did what any normal person would do and took out the two Quarterpounder Feasters (microwaveable burgers), and the Pepperami. But what you see in the photos below is not an illusion. It was also quite bare considering the Big Day had not long passed, I guess that accounts for the 6lbs I managed to put on over the festive period.
I swear those yogurts were not planted there by a Weight Watchers crack team
So, what have we got here then? A crap-ton of garlic, coriander, ginger, madras etc. type pastes… because they can turn nothing into everything. Some tired looking vegetables, many yogurts, leftover coleslaw, a tin of corned beef (it’s easier to slice cold!), mattesons sausage, the chocolate/treat container (shh), butter-esque spreads, and a bottle of mini champagne in-case something nice happens one day.
The thing that surprised me looking back at the photos, is this… considering how little there is in the fridge, there’s an awful lot of cheese in there. We’ve got: cheddar, parmesan, dairylea, lowlow grated, blue, edam slices, and babybel. Just how much cheese does one poorly-stocked fridge need?
So why am I showing you the contents of my fridge anyway? Ladies, the challenge from Weight Watchers HQ was simple…
This week we want you to sort your fridge by hiding all your high PPV foods.
Store that Stilton, move that muffin and put all these temptations into containers or drawers that are hidden away.
Turn all the leftovers you can into tasty low ProPoints values meals and share one recipe you’ve made.
I’m not storing my Stilton! Stilton is a bleedin’ lifesaver when you’re trying to create tasty-but-virtuous meals thanks to its potency. The reality is, you only need to use a little bit to really lift the flavour of something… and that’s what I’m going to show you in my “leftovers” recipe below. In-case you were wondering, the mattesons sausage totally got stored. I also went through my freezer and gave my stash of beef mince to my Mum who picked me up a few packets of turkey mince on her next food shop.
Anyway, the recipe…
Cauliflower, Turkey, and Blue Cheese Bake – 10 ProPoints Values
Now, I know it looks a bit like baby vom and at the very least needed a sprig of parsley artistically placed somewhere but believe me when I tell you that it tasted better than it looked. I’m no Smitten Kitchen when it comes to cooking but this was pretty yum for a weight loss friendly, fridge-rescue mission. I do have one confession to make though… I stole the turkey to make it from my Mum’s fridge, hers was (and still is) heaving!
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
15g butter
15g plain flour
140ml semi-skimmed milk
50g blue cheese
200g roast turkey meat, pulled into pieces
black pepper to taste
1. Steam the cauliflower until tender and transfer into a baking dish.
2. Make the roux by melting the butter in a saucepan on medium/low heat. Once melted, quickly stir in the flour before adding the milk – a little at a time until you have a creamy sauce.
3. Crumble and add the blue cheese to the sauce, keep stirring until it melts and then remove from the heat. Grind a little black pepper into the sauce if you wish.
4. Add the turkey pieces to the baking dish and pour over the blue cheese sauce.
5. Pop under a hot grill until the top begins to darken.
The rich flavour of the blue cheese and the unadulterated creaminess of the sauce makes this meal seem far naughtier than it is and I felt no guilt when I logged on to the Weight Watchers website later in the evening to track my day’s progress.
How’s your fridge looking in the gloom of January’s dull presence? My first food shop since Chrimbo came on Friday and I must say, it’s looking a lot healthier this week!
* I am a Weight Watchers blog ambassador and my links to their website are affiliated. I have received no payment for this post.
Love this post! My fridge is currently slightly shocking- 3 ready meals, 4 pints of milk, some vodka, WW biscuits and cheese. Oops. The recipe looks delish, I’ll have to try it soon- LOVE cauliflower cheese. xx
Never mind my fridge, its my pantry cupboard you need to really have a look at. Crisps, chocolate, biscuits, cakes- all of the variety a ten year old would find pleasing.
Really glad you’re on the WW journey: from a fellow travelling companion, we can do it!
Hahaha I always think I should do a genuine “what’s in my bag” – ie, seven lipsticks, three empty packets of airwaves, several random fluff-covered airwaves and a polo (how did that get in there?), receipts covering the last four weeks except the one I really need, some bog roll with chewing gum in it, a phone charger, no phone and a dead rat. Not really. Cough.
Also I have too much cheese. It’s brave of you to announce your fridge contents, mine is embarrassing and I’d probably stage some broccoli or some asparagus, even though asparagus is minging. In reality we have several packs of edam. What the hell are we going to do with this edam? If you see on the news a house made of edam, it’s probably us.
Anyway, good luck with the dieting. I bloody hate dieting.
Love it! Reminds me that I should probably take a good look inside my own fridge tonight!
I salue this post
Your fridge is so clean and tidy – puts me to shame. Although it inspires me to go home and clean mine so can’t be a bad thing 🙂
Mine is 30% cheeses and at least 20% kale at the moment! I’m hoping to do a proper clearout before this week’s CSA box arrives, which means it’s time for soup.
Haaa, I’m one of those truly obnoxious people who actually does have a perfectly neat bag and bedside table, but that’s because of a heady mixture of OCD and having too much time on my hands (I’m living at my mum’s and only working part time at the moment so I don’t even have to worry about things like feeding myself at regular intervals).
Your fridge, on the other hand, puts mine to shame. This is mostly due to my mum’s poverty thing of always having to have the fridge and all cupboards stocked to bursting point. We’ve also got about five thousand different types of cheese still left over from Christmas which is currently calling to me. Oy.
Oh your fridge looks lovely and clean – mine has usually got crumbs in it, but where they come from I have no idea. I love the recipe – I’ll definitely try that when I next have left over turkey (I actually quite like turkey and so eat it outside of Christmas). And I see that you have squeezy lemon so you are definitely prepared for pancakes although it needs to be well out of date for authenticity.
I have Minstrels in my wardrobe, don’t think WeightWatches would approve.
I just joined last night (online)! I am so worried I won’t be able to follow everything but to be honest it seems quite good, it doesn’t look too difficult so hopefully it will work out.
Good luck with it, if you need any help shout me on twitter x
Can I give a little warning here? I absolutely support WW, I did it myself now 8 years ago, lost 30kgs, never put them back on and lived happily ever after (not really but, on the BMI front, I am).
BUT the WW products are not always that great. The offer you the convenience of not counting points because the value is written on them, but they’re not always the most balanced or the lightest on the market. I find that especially their ready to eat meals have a high point content for a small portion. So overall their products aren’t light, they’re just easy to count points with. I’m sure you can find other yoghurts that will be at least as good, probably cheaper, and not higher in point value.
End of rant, and good luck with it, it took me a year to achieve my goal but I never regretted doing it!
Hi Mariella!
Counting points isn’t really an issue for me with the iPhone app, it’s super-easy – I usually aim to have two days a week where my dinner is a Weight Watcher’s meal (well, it could be any ready meal that’s low in points – I just haven’t sussed out which ones are yet!), purely because it ensures that I have a lower pointed main meal twice a week.
I’m a bit of a bugger and tend to save my points up for my evening meal…having a convenience meal twice a week forces me to have a good breakfast on those days and leaves room for a treat (chocolate) before bed. Having said that, I haven’t used my ready meals that I have in the freezer this week, simply because I’m finding myself a bit hungry later in the evening after them. When I was on the plan last April/May, I was ok with the ready meals but I guess that after the Christmas “binge” my stomach is used to wanting more food than normal. So yes, for the meantime I’m definitely finding the portions are a little small!
As for yoghurts, you know…. I really can’t. Except for using plain yoghurt, sweetened with honey (something I’m not a fan of), I can’t find an alternative that’s as low point – they usually come in at around 3 points a pot. Trust me, I’m all about saving money and have tried!
But definitely, I agree on the whole “sometimes the portions are just tinier to make up the lower points value” thing. The WW pitta breads are miniscule! I’d rather have a Warburtons squareish wrap or simillar… I guess it’s all about finding a balance. Thank you for the advice and well done on your weight loss (and more importantly, keeping most of it off), I’m all about maximising my points 😀