Good day. Good morning. Good evening. How the heck are you? Did you have a terrific Christmas? Welcome to the more podcast. I'm Claire and this is. So we're talking about our favourite subject today. We are and it is food. Crosswords.
I mean, how well does she know she expects it? Of course, what is the least favourite? Which of that real food, don't we? Yeah, so this story line is unfolding with the New World, which you're going to hear about a lot more in group and also in your similar world magazines and the blog. And it's talking about this element about keeping weight loss real. And how some world does that? And real food?
think is perhaps something that people might not always associate with that diet mentality. It's revolutionary isn't it to think that you could lose weight and eat normal real food and that is what I fell in love with the moment I met food optimising and slimming world is that this is real food for real people to be eaten
you know so you're never hungry because I don't know about you I'm not a nice person when I get hungry and I like to eat food I like to eat a lot of it and I like nice food normal food not to feel like I'm being told I have to only eat lettuce so this is about real real sumptuous stuff
Yeah, and especially at this time of year, you know, we're sat here a few days after Christmas, still got the Christmas attire on, the Christmas tree is still twinkling behind you. And this can be a bit of a confusing time. This week can almost drift into what day it is, what month it is, what year it is.
And it can get a bit confusing by the messages we're bombarded with of eat more, eat everything, eat with your family, you will be happy, you know, express your love with food. And that can sometimes get us to a place which isn't necessarily great.
yeah there's so much information and messaging about you know to be content you should eat what you want and to lose weight you have to restrict and and for me the only way i've ever stayed content in my weight loss journey and weight maintenance by eating the food that i love but learning how to adapt the way i cook and i shop so that i can eat with my family eat with my friends still have the big bowls of pasta that i love but i have i've had to learn to do things slightly differently than i did before i learned how to food optimise
Well, on this episode, people will be pleased to know that behind us, the oven is on. The same thing. People get the choice on this podcast to either watch us as well as listen to us, because we are also releasing this on YouTube. So we will do the grand reveal of what's in Claire's oven at the end. But right next to me, I do actually have one of the latest Little World Cup books, which is One Pop Magic.
Just talk us through these cookbooks, Anna. So these come out in group. They're for members. Yeah. What type of things are in these cookbooks? So we have an incredible team at our head office that writes and creates these cookbooks and they are all food optimized meals. So these are meals that you can create using food that everyone is going to have in their homes and their fridges that create filling meals. But again, they're part of the plan because they're very filling but for very few calories and we use things like free food. That is the center stone of our plan.
So these are created like this book is brilliant because everything's done in one pan and I don't know about you I love that because there's no washing up apart from one pan. Again what we really try and do with our recipes is make them recipes that the whole family can eat whether that's you and your partner, you and your six kids, you and your family, whoever you need it to be these are
recipes that you would find in many other cookbooks but it's the way we've cooked them that has been different. Yeah and that idea that you find food that fits into your lifestyle as well and that everybody likes and you know there are thousands of recipes on the app in these cookbooks. I mean it blows my mind I've been around for a very long time at Slim and Wild and how every week I seem to find something different something that you know whether we want something Mexican or Thai or we want something traditional like a roast in there
we've thought of everything and food optimized it. And I love that a touch of a button, I can search in the search, you know, I've got an aubergine, what can I do with that? Equally, if I want to try something different, the new cookbooks that are ever evolving. You know, I can just think in the last year, how many different books we've had come out that meet so many different tastes. So I'm a massive fan of these because I am not very good with my imagination when it comes to food. And I can get stuck in the rut of the kind of same recycle of six.
kind of recipes and actually what I found is the cookbooks have taught me very simple ways to make tweaks. One of my favourite is called, you know, take five, just five little ingredients. But these are things that my daughter will eat, my husband will eat, my mates will eat, that I can cook and we both know I'm not the best cook. So, you know, it's taught me how to
using ingredients in maybe a way that I would have got stuck with before like for example pasta I probably had four pasta recipes and now I could name you 25, 30 different pasta recipes that I could make today. I mean you know the the idea behind some world is finding foods that fill you up yeah I never let you go hungry
and then you will still lose weight. You can understand how with people are new to the idea around Slimmerworld but that could potentially be quite a bit strange to get your head around because we are often fed this message that when you're losing weight, you want to die, you deprive yourself, you restrict yourself.
So I can, is there a way that we can kind of explain between us of how slim it will is different? It's very simple. I think understanding that notion, you don't have to be hungry to lose weight. What we need to give you is food that's very filling for very few calories. So our program food optimising is built on unlimited free food. Now this is food.
that is so low in calories but so filling well you can have in unlimited amounts as long as you're not cooking with fats oils or butters so it's understanding that once you're full you're far more likely to stay in a safe place because you're satisfied you're not getting that kind of emotional drive of being hungry and then seeking out anything
This is also food that is full of nutrients, so things like vegetables and fruit, lean meats, proteins, things like plant-based products. So again, it's really food that's really good for you, but because it's in unlimited amounts, it serves your appetite so that you don't get hungry because I've lost weight being hungry and it really didn't last very long because the hunger then drove me to triggers and actually when I'm satisfied by a brilliant free food meal,
I'm satisfied. I'm no longer thinking about my triggers and the things I want to eat. So it's kind of a win-win physically and psychologically. The thing that really surprised me about Slimming World, I suppose it was just that change that I was called upon for myself to make as a member. So what I mean by that is not just thinking about the food I'm eating in order to lose weight but actually to find a happy medium like a good lifestyle.
because ultimately the habits that we're changing and you know the behaviours that we're forming are ultimately to help us get to our target weight but not only that but stay there yes and enjoy the process so it's understanding how you behave around food the food that is going to give you the nutrients and the filling power and keep you healthy but also how you can sustain this long term and that's why it's really key
for me as a consultant and Slim World as a whole that you enjoy that process because again, I've lost weight where I've restricted everything and then the moment you start to bring in things like your crisps or your cake, you just feel like you can't balance it but actually what food optimising will teach you to do is fill up on that very low calorie, really dense food and you can have still the things that you like because you're choosing how you're going to integrate them into your lifestyle.
Yeah, I mean, there's so many different layers and ways to understand food optimising, but I suppose also the idea around flexibility, because not everybody has got time to stand, I don't know, say at this kitchen island where I chop right here and I've got the, I don't know, someone I married at first sight on repeat in the background.
And I'm chopping all my vegetables, but that could be like ages kind of planning and prepping doing lots of meals. Sometimes you just need something quick, get it done, get it gone. And the game changer, excuse me for stealing your word. So I'll let you have it. Game changer for me was when last year they released Slim and World Kitchen. And these are these recipe boxes where you literally in a bag have everything that you need and you have a little book. In fact, you can pull out a booklet. It's right. Because we're in my kitchen.
Look at these. So you get this booklet and I think I've got one somewhere behind me still ready with a couple of recipes left. But this allowed me to really mix things up, learn new recipes and within half an hour I've got everything that I need to make my tea. I can turn it round and be eating it. And that just shook it up a little bit for me and you don't have to be a Slim and World member to, you know, have a go and try Slim and World Kitchen to have a taster of what these recipes are. But this really helped me.
again that you know what this really helped me with it was another thing that was taken out of my thought process actually I made the order it was delivered I didn't have to think about my menu planning I just had to choose it I'm also a massive fan what's really helped me is like we have the Ranger Iceland and the lunch pots for me have them in my freezer eight minutes I can pop it in the microwave and don't have to think and that's what I've learned along the journey
is finding what works for me personally because how you live is very maybe different to how I live and I love the convenience of the Iceland range and buying the veggie ready chops. So it does fit with me. I don't have to fit with it. Yes, I've had to make changes to be able to lose weight and keep it off, but actually it's very versatile. You know, we have two very different lives and we're still food optimizing following the same programme, but in very different ways. But Slim and Wild Kitchen is so much fun and it allows you maybe to come out of your comfort zone like,
I can become very safe in what I cook, but actually, you know, cooking up, I made a Chinese recipe the other week. I'd never have thought to use those things. I didn't think I had the skill set, but this has given me the confidence that I'd go and replicate that tomorrow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think really generous portions as well was. Bye.
meal for two, often we can squeeze out another little cheeky lunch portion. Again, a thing that's really key to us as eaters is that I'm a volume eater, eaters. But I'm a volume eater, I like food and I like big portions and knowing that I can eat that safely and protect my weight loss and lose weight is a really comforting thing because
actually to think about living a life where I'm gonna be hungry and not satisfied terrifies me but actually knowing because I feel up on such big portions that's not something I then need to think about. Yeah yeah yeah and and actually you can watch where we own the box the Slim and World kitchen box and we were in the Slim and World kitchen kitchen. You were. Is that the right phrase? I don't know. The test kitchen won't make. Yeah you can watch that. It was on a previous YouTube podcast of Slim and World podcast.
So, how does the crooks of the plan work? Can you just give us a bit of an oversight of if someone was to join Slimming World, they're going to get their member pack. We've got one right here. It says on the front here, something wonderful is about to happen. You receive these packs. You can see that's I've got a food diary there, which is very well filled in with bases and everything. But they received this pack.
And it talks through what the food optimising plan is. Are you able to just give us a little bit of an insight? Yeah, so this three very, very simple steps. Step one is that unlimited free food. There's no weighing, no measuring, no counting. No hunger is the biggest thing. As long as those foods aren't cooked with any oils, butters or fats, they are unlimited. And it's really key you understand they are unlimited. And that is things like your lean meats, your poultry's, my favourite thing, the rice, the pasta, the potatoes.
and things like pulses and beans, I mean the list, the 357 of them, it's huge. So that is unlimited and that is to probably satisfy about 80% of what you're going to consume each day. Then in addition to all that unlimited free food, we need to make sure your fiber and calcium is protected so you get what are called healthy extras. And these are portions of food that are calcium rich and fiber rich.
But they need to be measured because those type of things are in quite small packages, but high calories. So we need to make sure they're measured to protect long term weight loss. And then the final step of our plan is called synergy, sins. And think of it about completing the home. We know that we like a glass of wine, a packet of crisps, a bar of chocolate.
and we need to keep those things in small measured amounts in so we can sustain a lifestyle. But they're almost the polar opposite of free food. So free food is huge portions and very few calories. What you've got to think about since as is very small packages and very high calorie. And normally where we have the biggest emotional attachment, so that's why they are in small measured amounts so that you can consistently lose weight. But it's really key that we get all three steps in so that we are feeling satisfied
We're getting our nutrients covered and we're also having that fun. Yeah, the food and the psychology of what I've learned, you know, next week we're going to be talking about support, aren't we? And the kind of community backing that you get as part of your membership.
that understanding of the role of food and maybe how I was using food emotionally in a way that I had never ever really thought about because I think you can see in the you know it's a very competitive industry in the health and fitness world where you can buy a pill for this and who knows gush take injections and there's all kinds of quite scary things out there but
I needed to kind of understand why and what I was doing and that layer of I don't know observing what I was doing and my behaviour so that that light bulb moment happened for me to learn for myself so that I unlock those layers of understanding of my journey and I always think of it as like changing my relationship with food.
because it really felt like when you talk about like sins and the synergy, there was no balance for me. The sins and the way I was using them was just, it felt like some kind of out of control. And I didn't really understand why they'd almost normalized that. And it took me a little while to kind of unpick some of the habits around that. But I knew I needed to, but what I didn't have until I joined Simmons World was the how.
Yeah, and I think that's what you gain in group and with the online community is the how are you going to make these changes? Why are you making these changes and how we're going to support you and how these can be built upon because sometimes we feel like with a weight loss journey we should have it very quick and actually learning how to cook learning how to
prepare food differently than learning the habit changes around foods that are triggering to you. It's really key that all those pillars are in place so that you can lose weight but more importantly keep that weight off. And that's what's so key about that individualised support that you'll get in group is that you'll learn about yourself. And this is for me and for members I meet on a daily basis, it's a journey of discovery.
It's a very personal journey, isn't it? Because the things that I may struggle with with food may be very different to yours, but at the the center of it all is that we want to make habits. We want to change our habits, but get them to stick. Yeah.
So in terms of places, if people want to start looking into Slim and World recipes, there are a number of different ways that people can do that, even if they're not a member. So be that in the magazine, Slim and World magazine. There is a Slim and World blog. Even on the YouTube channel, Slim and World YouTube channel, you've got a cook-along videos as well. I mean, it'd be really interesting, actually, if people who are watching this podcast on YouTube, just type in the comments right now.
What is your go-to slim and world recipe? Yeah, it'd be really interesting just to see all those different responses. Could you choose one? I don't think I could nail it down to one. Yeah, that's a tough one. It's a really tough one. Oh, I mean, chips. Something with chips. Oh, chips. One of the changes I really, Friday nights for me was always about fish and chips and mushy peas, yeah. And then a term vegan, and it wasn't even fish, but you can get
Like, you know, fishiest fingers, right? So I made the change to that. And I knew that the fishiest fingers, they were very low in sins. So not a free food, but the low in sins. I know how to make slim and world chips, and I know how to make mushy peas, sometimes with a little bit of mint sauce. Why do I feel like it?
In the mushy place! Yes! Try the vinegar in the mushy peas, babe. Bit of malt vinegar. Mmm. But you know what? That was one of those choice situations where I wanted to protect my weight loss. I wanted to continue my weight loss journey. But it was a habit that I had for Friday, so I looked at how can I food optimise this situation.
And I look forward to it. Yeah, and I truly believe, and we've done this before in the podcast, you've got food optimized anything. If you want a pizza, we can help you work that in. If you want, I don't know, southern fried chicken, we can teach you how to do that. So the only thing that's going to stop you is your self-limiting beliefs. And that's why I really loved the support of Greet because they always kind of challenged that for me and said, hang on, you want a pizza, we can sort you out a pizza. It's going to be a different looking pizza, but you will get what you want out of this. You just got to do it in a different way.
Should I go and get what's in the oven out because it's smelling pretty good? Yeah. You can talk through what the recipe is, you can do the gram reveal and then I will show. Oh! So is it going to look like this? So Claire has made, where am I looking? Peanut butter and called red bake. It's four and a half cents per serving because we're using peanut butter.
But I don't know if you can see this beautiful picture. I like to eat with my eyes, but this looks phenomenal. It says, take peanut butter off the toast duty and stir it into this utterly sublime riff of satay sauce.
Oh my goodness me. Don't burn the lights. No, no, no. Let's not burn the lights. I need to get a serving spoon. Now the thing about this is, you know, when you look at a picture or anything, hang on, the picture looks nothing like what I've created. It actually really looks like a picture glare. Yeah.
I mean, I feel like it's a bit chilly. Oh, but you always think that and then you taste it and it's brilliant. Now your gorgeous husband may have put this together. Did he enjoy making it? Hang on, I'll just go back to my mic otherwise you'll never. Oh, you'll never hear. You'll never hear what I say. Oh, bless you. Oh, bless you. I just need the kitchen cupboard. Oh, no.
um i would say yes thank you matt first of all i cannot take credit for that that's also something i really like in that matt my husband doesn't do swimming worlds but he really loves eating the recipes yes and i knew as soon as i saw a recipe in there that was peanut butter
He was sold. He got me. And he just loves that kind of satay sauce vibe. So it's got the courgettes in there, you know, the carrots have gone nice and crispy. I think there's fennel and I never knew what to do with fennel. Fennel's an interesting one, isn't it? Yeah, so that is what we're going to be having for tea tonight. I might let you try a bit. Oh, thank you. It's not going to be like when you made me the fish's fish cakes and you blew my head off and I couldn't speak three days. No, that was in my last kitchen, wasn't it? Yes.
Yeah, we had to end that episode with hiccups. And a fire brigade, yes. So yeah, I'd like to think that my cooking has improved since then. Oh, 100% your cooking has changed in the last six years, definitely. But you know, I love about this. This is very, looks very sumptuous, but again, that is free food, unlimited speedy food that is going to keep you full, but tastes delicious.
Where the joy opened up for me with some world is when I realised how to use spices. Because I'd always been somebody to have food very plain. And it's because I didn't know what to do. It was the type of person who just buy salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Yes.
and season all, because I didn't know what the difference was between Garam Masala and, I don't know, paprika. And now look at the spice rack. That's it, that's it. So, you know, actually digging into things like some more kitchen, one of the things that I had learned in the last few months was they have loads of mint.
Yes. Like they cooked mint in a meal. I was like, what? I thought mint was only meant to be in a mojito. I knew you were going to say that. But you know, it's so interesting because I learned a lot of things about flavoring from the iced image because I have the recipes on the back and kind of things I was a bit scared of. It taught me how to do that.
Mint is not just for a meter, it's not just for Christmas, Claire. No, exactly. Right. So we're going to tuck into this and enjoy this. We will leave you to enjoy the weird nomadic week that is between Christmas and New Year. And you can always catch up on our back catalogue, actually. We have lots of episodes. If you find yourself kicking heels and you're wanting a bit more inspirational motivation as you get ready for the next week,
want to start your new year with a new drawing line fresh start, then you can go check those out there on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, they're in the members area, if you're already a member, loads to get into. Yeah, next week we're talking real support, I think. Oh, that's going to be a good one. Yep, so yeah, we'll get more into that about the support aspects around Slimming World and in the meantime, you have a great new year and we'll see you very soon. Bye for now, bye.
