5:2 fasting day recipes

So, for my fasting days, I have one piece of fruit and a couple of cups of tea during the day, and then save my calories for dinner. Here is a selection of the stuff I find works for me (and my hungry hubby has a slightly bugger portion) and makes fasting not too sad! I base everything on fruit and veg so nutritionally you're winning even though the calories stay low.

Bean chilli: Sweat some veggies -  2carrots, 4 celery sticks and a large onion work perfectly - in a little water (no oil) until softened. Add a big spoon of coriander powder, cumin powder, and a teaspoon of paprika, cocoa powder and chilli powder, and toast the spices for a minute or two. Add a tablespoon of tomato puree, a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes, salt to taste and simmer for a good 20-30 mins. Add 2 tins of beans (haricot, red kidney, black eye beans, butter beans work well) and warm though. Top with fresh coriander. Yummy! By my calculations there are approximately 800 calories per batch - double up the quantities and keep some in the fridge or free it.

Soups: Any veg is good. Parsnips, carrots, swede etc all love a little spice or horseradish. Tomato, courgette, celery and a little pasta make a delicious minestrone. White onions and haricot beans are delish. Basic soup method never changes for me:

1. Sweat veg (no oil) in a little water in a pan until softened.
2. Add stock, simmer until veg is tender.
3. Add anything else - pasta, beans, chopped tomatoes etc
4. Season, blend if you like or not, then munch away!!

Stir fry: Again, vary things. Be careful with sauces - sweet chilli is low fat but VERY sugary. I prefer to make miso and soy into a sauce and use it. Keep calories in mind but you need flavour - carrots bring a lovely crunch and sweetness, bean sprouts bulk things out and broccoli is always delicious. Or you can go spicy with chills, baby corn, asparagus, mange tout an a little soy is lovely with a bit of lean beef. You can have a massive plate of food for not many calories at all.

Curry: A warming plate of veggie curry is a sure fire way to beat those chilly evenings! Just set out your veg you have, look on myfitnesspal to work out the calories, then follow the same method as per the chilli but use your own spice blend or premixed curry powder instead of the chilli spices. Tomatoes make a good base but also you can use lentils etc if you like.

Pasta: If you're starving, a bit of pasta can help fill you up, even on a fast day! 50g wholewheat pasta is 160 cals, bulk it ut with broccoli, peas, broad beans and a smudge of low fat pesto and there you go. Alternatively, roast some peppers and tomatoes and toss them though. Just watch the calories but you'll be surprised what you can get away with once you start basing everything on vegetables!

Salads: Again, VARIETY is key! Warm roasted veg in a tiny bit of olive oil tossed with lentils and a slice of goats cheese is delicious. Try nicoise salad - tuna, egg and green beans with tomatoes on a bed of lettuce is nice - add olives if you have the calories spare. Warm broccoli, green beans, apparatus and tomatoes is yummy - add a spritz of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar as a dressing. Think outside the box: salad doesn't have to be cold, boring or lettuce based unless you want it to be!

Standbys: Weight watchers soups are a useful standby, eggs are invaluable (80 calls per large egg) and tins of ready cooked pulses add bulk to dishes to make them filling without too many extra calls. I personally stay away from artificial sweetener if possible - there is an increasing amount of evidence they can actually encourage food cravings. Also, I avoid too much protein on a fast day as a general rule, but hey, sometimes life just does;t go that way.

Overall, I have shifted half a stone since January doing this twice a week, and feel better for it too. It's not for everyone but it suits me :)

So get in the kitchen, love your food and enjoy!!

JB x