Is Afternoon Tea High In Syns? - Our Slimming World Guide
If you're going out for an afternoon tea with loved ones, you might be wondering if you can fit your afternoon tea into your slimming world syns, or will you have to go over your allowance?
Afternoon tea has varying syns according to the components in your meal, on average you can expect to spend anything between 15 syns to even 50 once you count in spreads, butters, cream, jam and cakes, making it very high in syns!
We've composed a small guide below which will take you through why afternoon tea is so high in syns, some standard syn values and how to make your own low syn alternative afternoon tea the slimming world way!
Why Is Afternoon Tea So High In Syns?
As we mentioned above, afternoon tea can have anything between 15-50 syns depending on the components of the tea, how much condiments are used and how much of it you eat!
Afternoon tea typically has high calories due to the types of foods, for example, one scone with jam and clotted cream could have up to 400 calories which is 20 syns! You also have to consider, small cakes, sandwiches, tea with milk and any extras. The sugar in this tea is mostly responsible for the high calories and syns.
Afternoon Tea Syn Values
To figure out how many syns are in an Afternoon tea you will have to break down the components of the meal to see how many syns are in each individual item.
To help you out we've listed some example syns down below.
Even though a standard afternoon tea might be high in syns, this doesn't mean afternoon tea is off-limits on the slimming world plan, you can indeed make your SW-friendly version at home with just a few sneaky hacks and adjustments.
Quiche
Quiche is a great part of an afternoon tea which can be made slimming world syn free! Recipe details are below.
Ingredients
Teaspoon of herbs.
Six eggs.
90g of fat-free cottage cheese.
Chilli.
Two red onions.
Two courgettes.
Method
Start by heating your oven to gas mark 4 then grate your courgettes and squeeze out the liquid. Spray a baking dish with some low-cal cooking spray.
Next fry off your onion, chilli and courgettes in a pan for around 10 minutes then press down in the pan and top with your cottage cheese. Beat your eggs, pour over the top and bake for around half an hour.
Lemon Drizzle Cakes
At 4 syns each, these lemon drizzle cakes are the perfect addition to an afternoon tea and super easy to make!
Ingredients
145g of self raising flour.
100g of low fat spread.
Four tablespoons of sweetener.
One lemon with rind and juice.
Two eggs.
Pinch of baking powder.
Method
Begin by heating your oven to gas mark 6 then grate your lemon and juice it in a bowl. Add in your flour, baking powder, sweetener, low fat spread and eggs, then mix well.
Bake in a tin for 25 minutes then take 100g of icing sugar with some lemon juice to make the icing, drizzle on top, allow to cool then enjoy!
Sandwiches
Sandwiches can be made slimming world friendly by using wholemeal bread as your healthy extra B and syn free fillings, we've listed some great slimming world combinations to try out below.
Tuna and cucumber - Syn free.
Steak and fried onion - Syn free.
Smoked salmon and tbsp low-fat cream cheese – 0.5 Syns
40g low-fat cheese and tsp red onion chutney - Healthy extra A and half a syn!
Coronation chicken (Pinch of curry powder and spoon of fat-free Greek yoghurt mixed ) - Syn free.
BLT - Low in syns if using medallions.
Egg and cress - Syn free.
Scotch Eggs
Scotch eggs have on average 12.5 syns for a large egg, why spend all these syns when you can make your own for just 1.5 syns a serving?!
Ingredients
Pinch of curry powder.
A teaspoon of herbs.
Four boiled eggs.
Two eggs beaten.
Two slices of wholemeal bread blended.
Two packs of SW pork sausages.
Low cal cooking spray.
Method
Start by taking the skin off your sausages then add in the curry powder, and herbs and blend put into 4 pieces and heat the oven to gas mark 6.
Flatten down each piece of meat then take an egg and pat the mince around it, do this for all the other eggs. Drop each egg into the beaten egg then roll them into your bread, bake for 20 minutes, cool and enjoy!
SW Scones
These slimming world scones have just 4 syns each, allowing you to enjoy them without the guilt.
Ingredients
100g self-raising flour.
Pinch of baking powder.
Spoon of sweetener.
Drop of vanilla essence.
Four spoons of fat-free fromage frais.
Method
Start by mixing all your dry ingredients together, add in the essence then the fromage frais little by little to help bind the dough, divide into four pieces then bake in the oven for 15 minutes at gas mark 7.
SW Chocolate Biscuits
Afternoon tea isn't complete without some sweet biscuits, and they are even sweeter when you know they only have 4 syns each!
Ingredients
180g of self-raising flour.
80g of low fat spread.
Twelve spoons of sweetener.
50g of dark chocolate chips.
Three spoons of low fat fromage frais fat free.
Method
Start by heating your oven to gas mark four, sift your flour into a bowl then rub in the spread until it becomes crumb-like and add in the sweetener.
Next combine the chocolate chips, fromage frais, and egg yolk and knead well, divide into 18 pieces and bake for 15 minutes in the oven.
Our SW Tips For Having A Healthier Afternoon Tea
Now we know how to make our afternoon tea slimming world friendly, this might not always work if you are having your afternoon tea out, so to help you keep syns low while enjoying yourself we've listed our best SW hacks and tips below.
Milk as your healthy extra A - Using cream cheese or milk as your healthy extra A can help to free up your syns.
Keep an eye on the spreads - Clottes cream, butter, jam and other spreads add a lot of syns to your food if not measured.
Avoid alcohol - Pairing your afternoon tea with prosecco or cocktails can add a huge amount of syns to your afternoon tea if you're not careful.
Don't assume healthy is better - You might think date loaves or apple muffins are healthier than a chocolate brownie, but these baked goods can also be high in syns and sometimes even have more!
Go easy on savoury - Although many people assume that savoury food might be the healthier alternative to sweet, it can often be higher in calories with pieces of cheese making your syns skyrocket!
Choose healthy options - The usual wholemeal bread, nuts, and other healthy options can help to keep your afternoon tea more SW friendly and easier on your digestive system with all the sugar.
Last Words
Overall, afternoon tea is always high in syns, no matter the type of foods you choose due to the sugar and food options, but by making your own SW-friendly version at home you can help to reduce the syns massively, along with our tips and tricks for healthier choices.
Jennifer
Jennifer is a certified nutritionist and weight loss coach with a Master's in Nutrition from Cambridge. With over 10 years experience, she shares healthy recipes and science-backed slimming tips on SheCooksSheEats to help people reach their wellness goals. Jennifer stays up-to-date by regularly attending conferences and continuing her nutrition education. She aims to provide research-backed advice to inspire balanced, happy living.
