{"id":3453,"date":"2021-08-24T09:08:45","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T08:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slimmingworld.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/?p=3453"},"modified":"2021-09-02T10:47:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T09:47:35","slug":"inspire-fakeaways-reignited-our-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/inspire-fakeaways-reignited-our-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe fell in love with fakeaways \u2013 and reignited our marriage\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At Slimming World, there’s no need to give up on your favourite takeaway dishes. In fact our tempting selection of fakeaway recipes helped Slimming World\u2019s Couple of the Year 2021 Nicola and Chris Guilfoyle achieve a life-changing weight loss and put the spark back into their relationship. We asked them to share their favourite meals to show you how you can enjoy all the taste of takeout, without taking anything away from your weight loss progress! Nicola tells us more…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE ON THE BLOG: Grab a taste of Slimming World fakeaways<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Chris and I joined Slimming World, we were stuck in a bit of a rut. Each evening we\u2019d rush to feed our three children \u2013 Charlie, 16, Deborah, 11, and Eden, eight \u2013 and get them ready for bed. By the time we finally sat down to unwind, we didn\u2019t have any energy left to cook for ourselves, so we\u2019d nearly always order a takeaway. We loved kebab and chips, creamy curries or a Chinese, all washed down with a few glasses of beer and cider. At one point, we were spending more than \u20ac100 a week on takeaways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon, my weight had crept up past 22\u00bdst and Chris\u2019s clothes were feeling tight, too. We still loved being with each other; looking back now, though, it\u2019s clear we weren\u2019t making the most of our time together. Life had become about what we couldn\u2019t do. From activities we had to miss out on with our kids \u2013 the rides we couldn\u2019t go on, the games we couldn\u2019t play \u2013 to more day-to-day things. We couldn\u2019t even sit together on a plane because we both needed two seats to feel comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend of mine had lost weight with Slimming World, so in January 2020, we joined our local group. During the new member talk, our Consultant, Siobhan, explained that, while we could still enjoy a takeaway if we wanted to, cooking the majority of our meals from scratch would give us the best chance of losing weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nicola<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We got lots of ideas from the other members for fakeaways we could try, like the chicken fried rice and crispy chilli beef recipes. It was like having taste buds for the first time! The recipes and tips we picked up in group showed us that we could enjoy food that\u2019s full of flavour in a healthy way, and we found we didn\u2019t miss our takeaway nights \u2013 nothing tasted as good as what we were eating at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I\u2019ve lost 12st and Chris has lost 5st 1\u00bdlbs, and our approach to cooking has completely changed. Chris usually helps me with the prep and then tidies up while I cook, and we\u2019re always sending each other ideas we\u2019ve seen on the Slimming World app to add to our meal plans. Even better than the \u20ac100 we\u2019ve saved a week on takeaways are the memories we\u2019ve made by cooking and enjoying delicious food together. We\u2019re loving our lives now, and that feeling is priceless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE FOR MEMBERS: From slimming-friendly starters and sides to classic curries and Asian-inspired dishes, you can find a <\/strong>full menu of fakeaway recipes<\/strong><\/a> on the exclusive Slimming World member website and app.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicola\u2019s favourite fakeaway recipe<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve adapted so many of our favourite takeaways to be Food Optimising-friendly and this one is a big hit in our household. Chicken fried rice was one of our go-to orders before we joined Slimming World, and as I got more confident with cooking, I decided to try to make my own Food Optimising version. Personally, I think my recipe tastes better than a takeaway and it makes more than enough to feed a hungry family of five, which is an added bonus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicken fried rice with curry sauce<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Chicken<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

serves 5
Free
ready in 45 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you need:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

350g dried basmati rice
low-calorie cooking spray
500g frozen peas
3 eggs, lightly beaten
6 tbsp soy sauce\u00a0
6 spring onions, finely chopped
4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
3 peppers (1 red, 1 yellow and 1 green), deseeded and sliced
2 onions, diced
1 tbsp lemon zest\u00a0
Slimming World Chip Shop Curry Sauce<\/a>, to serve (available from Iceland)
leafy green salad, to serve<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you do:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Cook the rice according to the pack instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again, shaking off any excess water and set aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Spray a non-stick wok or a large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a high heat. When it\u2019s almost at smoking point, add the cooked rice and stir-fry for 3 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Add the peas, stir-fry for 5 minutes and season lightly. Add the beaten eggs and stir-fry for another until cooked through and rice is piping hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Stir in the soy sauce and spring onions and cook for 2 minutes or until the eggs have set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Spray another non-stick frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium-high heat. Remove the skin from the chicken, add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle over the lemon zest, plus 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper and 2 tbsp soy sauce, and mix well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Stir in the egg fried rice and heat through for 2-3 minutes. Serve with a pot of Slimming World Chip Shop Curry Sauce and the salad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris\u2019s favourite fakeaway recipe<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the best things about losing weight with Slimming World is how it\u2019s encouraged me to experiment with different foods and discover exciting new flavours. Crispy chilli beef is a definite date-night dinner for us \u2013 the flavours are unreal! We love it extra spicy with coconut or egg fried rice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crispy chilli beef<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"crispy-chilli-beef-slimming-world-blog\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

TRY THE RECIPE: Cook a batch of our crispy chilli beef<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GET THE FULL STORY: Find out how Nicola and Chris lost 17st and gained the active family life they thought was impossible<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about joining Slimming World here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spending \u00a385 a week on takeaways put Nicola and Chris\u2019s health and relationship under strain. Here\u2019s how they ditched the fast food and delivered a 17st weight loss<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20,22,29,25,26],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slimmingworld.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}