a note from Mimi
In The Fast Diet book, you’ll find plenty of menu ideas for your fast days. In my experience, fasters tend to come in two varieties – those who like to keep things simple and stick to very basic foodstuffs during a fast, and those who like to create taste sensations to keep their fast days full of flavour.
The former group tend to develop fasting habits – naked poached eggs for breakfast; a heap of straight-forward steamed veggies for supper. The others like to experiment. If you’re in this group, here are some ideas to inspire you this week. Each dish should clock in at around 250 calories or less, though these are inspirations rather than recipes, so I haven't counted every calorie, as we have in the book. For precise figures, please weigh your ingredients and check a calorie counter. And add your comments too – variety is the spice!
January: Fast Day menu ideas
DAY ONE
Breakfast: Tricolore Omelette
This is a great way to get punch and flavor into what could be a bland dish. Lightly fry a chopped spring onion and add some chili flakes (as many or few as you fancy) in a small frying pan with just a spray of oil to stop it sticking. Separate two eggs and whip the whites with a fork until bubbly. Add salt and plenty of pepper, and cook gently until the omelette is set to your liking. Perhaps add a small crumble of goat’s cheese too, plus chopped parsley, and serve with a handful of baby herb leaves.
Supper: Winter Waldorf Salad
Try this with endive leaves, red and pale varieties, with half a red-skinned apple, a stalk of celery (both chopped), a handful of walnuts for crunch and protein, perhaps a quartered fig for prettiness. Dress with low-fat yoghurt, a little Dijon mustard and a squeeze of lemon juice, mixed and then drizzled over the dish. If you have calories to spare, add a hint of a hard blue cheese – perhaps some of the Christmas Stilton.
DAY TWO
Breakfast: Jumbo Porridge with Jewel Fruit
OK, so I’m stuck on pomegranate at the moment – but add a swirl of pomegranate molasses (get it here) along with the seeds, together with a dust of cinnamon, and you arrive at a wonderful ruby-studded dish with a flash of inspiration from the middle east. Use jumbo oats as they keep you fuller longer than the more processed varieties. Perhaps add mandarin segments or chopped kiwi for more glistening colour, and a swirl of agave syrup (a low GI sweetener) to taste.
Supper: Spinach Soup with Tapenade Toasts
I love Jane Lovett’s book Make It Easy – and this is my homage to one of Jane’s lovely soups, modified for the Fast Diet: a glorious, nutritious bowl of jolly green goodness….
Fry half a chopped onion, a small chopped potato and a clove of chopped garlic in a little oil. Add a grate of root ginger and nutmeg and a pint of vegetable bouillon (from a cube or your own veg stock). Bring to the boil and simmer until the potato is softened. Add 250gms – or more – of washed spinach, and simmer till the leaves are wilted. Puree and serve with a crisp, thin slice of toasted ciabatta spread with green-olive tapenade (or pesto) and a swirl of low-fat crème fraiche. The soup will keep in the fridge for two or three days.
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