Less of a recipe than a list of things that make up a cooked breakfast that are low fat and how to cook them so that they are dieting and Slimming World friendly. The Syn Free Breakfast is one of the major selling points of Slimming World in the UK and with good reason as they are completely delicious. Traditional ones are hugely calorific though but with a few tweaks they can actually be healthy.
The important thing to remember with all low fat cooking is that cooking without fat tends to dry food out. For this reason I advise having things slightly less well done then you may normally prefer, especially meat. Let the natural juices of it provide the moisture not the fat on it or cooked in it. A lot of the flavour is in the fat too and so you need to maximise what is left so removing the juices is also bad from a taste perspective too.
Bacon
I love bacon and lean bacon is free on SW (original and EE) and naturally low in fat. If you have the budget for it then you can buy bacon medallions but otherwise you can simply pick the leanest back bacon available and trim it yourself. I grill it on one side only. Serve it grilled side up and no one sees the underside plus it means it is cooked through without drying out.
Eggs
Scrambled without fat these are free on SW (all plans), so are poached ones and boiled and ones fried without fat. You can use frylight or other lowcal spray oils though. I have silicon rings to hold the eggs in place. Simply heat the pan, place the rings so that they are flat to the bottom, spray with pan and ring with frylight and cook. Without fat to spoon over it does take longer for the white to set so you can try one of these methods. Removed the rings (if using) and then flip over to cook the top. This gives an “over easy” egg that still has a runny yolk. If you prefer the look of “sunny side up” eggs then simply flash them under a hot grill until the white is set but the yolk still yellow.
Mushrooms
These are super free on SW (all plans) and according to SW rules one third of a meal should be super free 🙂 It can be difficult to get mushrooms right. Through trial and error I have come to the conclusion that flat mushrooms are the best. I remove the stalk and then microwave them whole for 2-3 minutes. Once cooked I drain off any liquid, pat dry and fry in the same pan as the eggs with frylight.
Tomatoes
Tinned or fresh they are free on both plans and a great way to add some superfree to a breakfast. You can of course have a slice of melon or other fruit to finish your meal. The fresh ones I season, spray with frylight and grill alongside the bacon.
Beans
Free on Green and EE (can be an HE on Original) these are not superfree though so don’t rely on them as such.
Hashbrowns
Deep fried, crunchy, salty and delicious, but also a bit of a dieting nightmare. However making your own low fat ones is easy enough.
- Coarsely grate potato (and onion if liked) and place in a colander. Add salt and cover with a plate.
- Add a weight to the plate (the can of beans will do just fine) and press to get rid of as much moisture as possible.
- Once you have done this, put the mix into a clean teatowl and squeeze. You want the mix as dry as possible.
- Add a beaten egg to the mix to help it bind (optional it will work without) and then press into mould that have been sprayed with frylight. Small muffin tins, Yorkshire pudding tins etc are perfect.
- Spray the top with frylight and bake in a hot oven (220 c)until golden brown.
These are free but not superfree on EE and Green. You can also make bubble and squeak with leftover mash and veg, or fry sliced leftover new potatoes in frylight to make homefries.
Sausages
Most sausages are filled with fat and filler but there are syn free and low syn ones out there. I am very fortunate in that my local farm shop makes ones that work out to be syn free. Now Syn is a trademark of Slimming World and they only assigne Syn values to branded products. This means that the sausages you buy in a supermarket will be on their database but ones from butcher’s shops will not and they are not permitted to use the phrase “Syn Free” they can be though and entering the nutritional information into the SW Syn Calculator will confirm that.
I believe that Quorn ones and some Linda McCartney ones are low syn or syn free but I am a carnivore and prefer meaty ones. I get mine from here Cannon Hall Farm Shop which are described as Sin Free rather than Syn free. They are delicious but a little dry. Nothing that dipping in an egg won’t sort but I repeat my warning about over cooking things… they are also lovely in a casserole etc. Not cheap at 50p approximately per sausage but they are a quality product made with lean pork and British to boot!
For those calorie counting rather than following Slimming World, this works out at around 350 calories depending on the sausages used 🙂
Middle Class Value 