Fast Diet recipes – Day 4

Breakfast: Rhubarb breakfast pots (187 calories)

Lunch: Flageolet hummus (176 calories)

Dinner: Broccoli and cauliflower with chilli and anchovy (140 calories)

= 503 calories

I was a little worried about day 4 as it was the first fast day to coincide with a food styling shoot, but I actually felt less hunger pangs than I would have done on a normal day. Considering it’s the first fast day that I’ve managed to get the calories right down to the recommended ladies’ amount, I think that’s pretty good going!

 

For breakfast we went back to the lovely rhubarb breakfast pots – porridge just feels all wrong on such a sunny day, plus I had an early start and this is my quickest 5:2 breakfast recipe.

 

 

Flageolet hummus

At 76 calories per 100 g, flageolet are less calorific than chickpeas (82 cal), butterbeans (85 cal) or cannellini beans (89 cal), making them a useful substitute in fast-day hummus. This is a handy packed lunch recipe and won’t suffer at all from being made the day before.

Serves 2

176 calories per portion

400 g tin flageolet beans, rinsed & drained (204 cal)

2 tsp tahini paste (57 cal)

1 garlic clove, crushed (8 cal)

a pinch of ground cumin

1 lemon, juiced (12 cal)

 

To serve:

140 g / 3 sticks celery, cut into batons (20 cal)

150 g /1 medium carrot, cut into batons (42 cal)

75 g / ¼ cucumber, cut into batons (8 cal)

 

  • Put the beans, tahini, garlic, cumin and half of the lemon juice in a food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper and blend until smooth, adding a little water if necessary.
  • Taste the hummus for seasoning, adding more lemon juice, salt or pepper until you get the perfect balance.
  • Divide the hummus between 2 bowls and serve with the celery, carrot and cucumber batons.

 

Broccoli and Cauliflower with chilli and anchovy

This is a lovely side dish on a feast day, but on a fast day it takes centre stage. The combination of anchovy, chilli and garlic is completely addictive and I love the crunchy texture of calabrese cooked in this way.

Serves 2

140 calories per portion

225 g (1 trimmed head) broccoli florets (70 cal)

165 g (1/2 a trimmed head) cauliflower florets (51 cal)

1 tbsp olive oil (120 cal)

6 salted anchovy fillets in oil, drained (20 cal)

2 garlic cloves, crushed (16 cal)

1 red chilli, finely chopped (4 cal)

  • Preheat the oven to 190c / gas 5.
  • Dry roast the broccoli and cauliflower for 15 minutes.
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the anchovy, garlic and chilli for a minute or two.
  • Spoon the mixture over the broccoli and cauliflower pieces and season with black pepper, then return the tin to the oven for 4 more minutes.


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