This recipe takes less than ten minutes to cook and is oh so filling. For the mixed beans my favourite is Tuscan bean mix from Epicure.
Serves 1 Prep time: 1m Cook time: 7m
10g chorizo, finely chopped (50 cals)
150g mixed beans (ready to eat, drained weight) (159 cals)
1 tbsp tomato puree (paste) (30 cals)
½ tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
1 tsp red wine vinegar (1 cal)
few drops worcestershire sauce (2 cals)
2 tbsp water
• Heat a small frying pan on a high setting until hot. Add in the chopped chorizo and fry until turning brown on all sides: 1-2 minutes.
• Turn the heat to low and then add in all the rest of the ingredients. Stir thoroughly. Allow the stew to start bubbling gently and then cook for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Suitable for a diet day dinner or a healthy normal lunch.
I made this as a quick fix lunch today. It is not a diet day for me, but definitely counts as a healthy light lunch. Using a tortilla wrap as the base makes it so quick and easy to do – I knocked this up in a few minutes and it tasted divine.
Serves 1
1 tortilla wrap (118 cals – but check the packet, the calories can vary)
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered (11 cals)
½ ball light mozzarella cheese, shredded (65 cals)
¼ bag rocket leaves (20g) (4 cals)
1 tsp chilli oil (27 cals)
10g parmesan cheese, grated (45 cals)
freshly ground black pepper
Pre-heat the grill to high.
Place the wrap on a baking tray and pop under the grill. Grill for a minute or two until turning brown on one side. Remove from the grill.
Turn the wrap over. Arrange the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella over the wrap and place back under the grill. Cook until the cheese is melted and the exposed wrap is turning brown.
Arrange the rocket over the top of the pizza, drizzle with the chilli oil and sprinkle on the parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.
Salmon and herb fish-cakeServes 2 Prep time 45 minutes Cook time 10 minutes Total time 55 minutes
Ingredients • 213g tin of wild salmon (165g drained) • 140g cold mashed potatoes • 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh chives • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley • 1 teaspoon capers, drained and chopped • 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce • salt and pepper • 1 tablespoon plain flour • 2 to 4 sprays of low-fat spray oil, such as Fry Light
Note Tasty and hearty home-made fish-cakes which are only 285 calories per portion of two fat fish-cakes, and are made with leftover mashed potato and store-cupboard tinned salmon. Packed with fresh herbs and a dash of Tabasco to add a spicy kick, these are perfect for anyone following a low-calorie diet such as the 5:2 diet (for fast days) and Weight Watchers.
Directions
Step 1 Mash the tinned salmon in a bowl, discarding the skin and bones if you wish.
Step 2 Add the mashed potato, chopped herbs and capers to the salmon and mix thoroughly. Add the Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste, mix well again.
Step 3 Roll the mixture on a lightly floured board into a sausage shape, and then wrap in cling-film and chill for at least 30 minutes in the freezer.
Step 4 When you are ready to cook the fish-cakes, take the mixture out of the freezer and cut into 4 cakes, or thinner ones if you wish, although thicker ones are best, as you will use less flour and oil. Dust each fish-cake in a little flour, so they are completely covered.
Step 5 Spray the low-fat oil into a large non-stick frying pan that is big enough to take all of the fish-cakes on one layer and heat over a medium heat.
Step 6 Cook the fish-cakes over a low heat turning carefully every few minutes, until they are golden brown and warm right through.
Step 7 Serve immediately with fresh chopped herbs, a wedge of lemon and a salad of cucumber ribbons, or a green salad. (50g cucumber is only 5 calories)
Step 8 Add 26 calories for a tablespoon of light tartare sauce.
This week I again followed a low carb diet on two consecutive days – I did Monday and Tuesday.
This proved easy peasy on Monday but I found I suffered from dreadful cravings for anything sweet on Tuesday. I wasn’t hungry, just desperate for chocolate! Next week I will definitely not attempt to do the low carb days consecutively.
For anyone interested, I am not following an “Atkins” style, totally carb-free diet but I am restricting my carbs (on 2 days a week) to less than 40g. In practice this means that I need to avoid starchy carbs like bread, rice and pasta and also sweet things. I can however have a much more varied diet than strict carb-free. Low carbohydrate foodstuffs in small quantities such as milk, tomatoes etc can easily be incorporated. Very low carb diets such as Atkins always get a bad press and probably for good reason – you are depriving your body of essential nutrients over a long period of time.
Low Carb 5:2 is NOT like Atkins. Firstly we are only restricting carbs for 2 days and we can eat a broad range of foods on the other 5 days. Secondly we are not aiming for the Atkins holy grail of “ketosis” which is when the body is forced to use different stores of energy such as glycogen from the liver – a lot of this weight-loss turns out to be just water! Instead we are using the easy rules of low carb to make our diet days even easier.
Biggest advantages over low cal 5:2
no calorie counting
less hunger pangs
My results so far
It has been a good diet week: I have lost 2 pounds over the 2 diet days, achieving my target weight-loss for the week. Last week I only lost a pound which was very disappointing. I ended up doing a third low carb day on Thursday and then I did manage to lose the extra pound. This week, I have been more sensible with my fat and cheese intake. I have also been more careful to only eat when I am hungry – sticking to three meals with no extra snacks.
Top tips
Don’t take low carb to mean “Eat as much cheese as you possibly can!”
Do as much exercise as possible – on both low carb and normal days. It will make you feel good and help stop the cravings.
Less likely to want to binge the day after a diet day so am finding it easier to eat healthily on normal days.
Low carb 5:2 is working for me. It’s definitely easier than normal 5:2 and I am losing weight – Result!!
Perfect for the barbecue (or the grill) and so low in calories, these can be made just for one. Beware though – everyone else will want to eat them too!
SERVES 1 PREP 5 minutes COOK 8 minutes
1 tsp olive oil (7 cals)
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) (1 cal)
grated zest and juice of 1 lime (4 cals)
2 slices (5g/1/8oz) jalapeño peppers in brine, chopped (4 cals)
a pinch of salt
100g (3½oz) raw king prawns (king shrimp) (76 cals)
1 fresh plum, pitted and cut into 6 pieces (20 cals)
• Combine the olive oil, coriander (cilantro), lime zest and juice, chopped jalapeños and salt in a small bowl. Set aside 2 teaspoons of the mixture to use later as a dressing.
• Place the prawns (shrimp) and plum in a bowl, add the marinade and toss to coat.
• Preheat the grill (broiler) to medium-high.
• Thread the prawns (shrimp) and plums alternately onto two skewers, then place on the grill (broiler) pan and grill (broil) for 3–4 minutes on each side until they are opaque and a little caramelised at the edges. Serve with the reserved dressing drizzled over.
