The Gravy Boat

Vegetarians need not trouble themselves with this post, other than perhaps to say "I told you so." I write to my fellow omnivores.

Before July 2016 there was but one way in our household to make gravy for a roast dinner. No 'convenience' gravy granules here, dear me no. Instead we recovered the succulent meat juices from the roasting tin, poured them into a bowl, added a little flour to thicken and voila! Perfect gravy containing all the goodness of the meat. What could be better than that?

Well rather a lot, actually, and I have Slimming World to thank for enlightening me. Two tablespoons of that steaming liquid scored 15 syns – my allocation for a whole day. And who stops at two tablespoons of gravy? Not me! Reluctantly, we switched to the dreaded gravy granules. "All natural flavours," declared the tin, but in comparison to 'real' gravy the result was bland and uninteresting. So on the next Sunday I spiced it up a generous sprinkling of mixed herbs.  Not bad, not bad at all. Indeed, it was very tasty.

Slimming World has so changed my eating habits that I've never been tempted to revert to my old ways. Given the choice between 15 syns of gravy and 15 of fine wine, there really is no contest. However, last week S-- poured the juices from a gammon joint into a mug, set it aside with the intention of separating out the jelly from the fat....  and forgot about it.

This Saturday we found it again, languishing at the back of the fridge... and there at the bottom lay two and a half ounces (71g) of solid fat.  Half of that would have been mine. An ounce and a quarter of fat every week, and sometimes twice a week, week in, week out, raising my cholesterol level and furring up my arteries. Yuk!