Zero effort simple snacks on fasting days – alternative to miso soup?

This topic contains 11 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by QuietOne 8 years, 7 months ago.

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Lord Squid

8:58 am
3 Apr 16
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I’m restarting the 5:2 after a couple of goes. I had no real problems on the fast days (I do these at work when I have plenty to get on with) – but I do like a hot savoury drink to sate hunger pangs. I’ve been drinking miso soup 2-3 times a day and hang the sodium, and that did the job. Light meal in the evening – usually just chicken without anything else. Lots of black sugerless coffee too.

Problem is – miso soup gets boring fast – any other suggestions for a hot savoury drink/snack that is a) zero effort[1] b) 50 cals or less?

[1] One of my small consolations on fast days is not spending any time doing food prep. It’s got to come out of a packet. In one go. No wibbling…

Any ideas would be most welcome 🙂

MmeMonkey

9:28 am
3 Apr 16
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Well, there’s Bovril and chicken stock cubes and the like.

There’s a big variety of herbal and fruit teas out there, but not exactly a snack.

I was going to suggest some kind of green smoothie if you’re careful about what goes in, but that involves a modicum of prep and investment in some kind of a machine.

If there’s a juice or smoothie bar near where you work maybe they can make one up for you?

Lord Squid

10:14 am
3 Apr 16
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Bovril – hey why did I not think of that 🙂 MyFitnessPal suggests 20-30 cals per serving. Thanks MmeMonkey.

Teas will not work for me – I think I need something salty to feel like I’ve “had something”

Smoothies might be an option if I just grab one from the shop – I’ll check out and see if any are really low calorie.

Cheers – LS

MmeMonkey

11:31 am
3 Apr 16
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I imagine most shop bought ones will be fairly high calorie as they’ll have fruit in to make them more palatable, which is why I suggested making your own or going somewhere where you can prescribe what goes in. Good luck. Fast days are, unfortunately, very boring.

Lord Squid

12:12 pm
3 Apr 16
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It’s a theory… Could I make a smoothie the night before and keep it refridgerated?

MmeMonkey

12:27 pm
3 Apr 16
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It might separate a bit but I’m sure it will be fine. Or make it in the morning. I made one this morning with spinach, cucumber, one kiwi and some lime juice and water. It literally took about 2 minutes. The most calories will have come the kiwi (about 40?). If you substitute the kiwi for some celery that would be very low calorie and you could take it work in a sippy cup thing.

Lord Squid

12:57 pm
3 Apr 16
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Ooh that sounds interesting… I like the sound of celery. And maybe carrots.

Do you just lob them in a blender?

MmeMonkey

1:13 pm
3 Apr 16
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An old fashioned blender might struggle with things like raw celery and carrot, so you might need to put it through a processor first. We’ve got a Nutri Ninja (similar to a NutriBullet), which blends up all sorts of hard veg in seconds. There are various models on the market, but they are quite pricey. Very well designed for the job though and easy to wash up and they come with sippy cup things.

Lord Squid

5:21 pm
3 Apr 16
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Thanks MmeMonkey – I’m off reading Amazon reviews now.

I might start with a cheap £30 Breville and see how much mileage there is in this smoothie stuff – daughter is very keen to make a fruit version for breakfast to take on the train going to school – she never eats a proper breakfast so I’m all for this. I see some potential there with keeping a stack of inexpensive frozen fruit on hand for that sort of thing as well as my veggie smoothies 🙂

Thanks for the tips – very interesting ideas 🙂

MmeMonkey

6:13 pm
3 Apr 16
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No problem. They’re great for using up fruit and veg.

Lord Squid

6:31 pm
3 Apr 16
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http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/14/nutribullet-blenders-juicers-put-to-test

says the Breville can’t manage celery and harder veggies, though fine for squishy fruit – I guess you generally get what you pay for.

I’ll take a closer look at the Ninjas 🙂

QuietOne

7:47 pm
3 Apr 16
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Bone broth. It takes a deal of time to make but you can make a huge stock pot of it on the weekend and freeze it up in 1 cup containers Defrost in the microwave and heat. Add garlic and spices of your choice.

Chicken bone broth I always have on hand defrost add a teaspoon of turmeric, a clove of garlic, and a grind of black pepper, maybe some chili flakes and you’re good to go. Calories 18.

Want a bit more to carry you through add in a 1/3 cup of frozen mixed veggies adds an additional 39 Calories for a total of 57.

I make beef and chicken bone broth by the gallons monthly. I do not care for fish bone broth though some swear by it for the omega oils in it.

They make wonderful foundations for all soups and stews as well. Brown rice with a teaspoon of turmeric in two cups of chicken bone broth is wonderful. High in calories at 115 calories per half cup however. 4 ounces of chicken breast sliced and grilled with garlic spices on top of your brown and you’ve got a meal almost. Add a small salad and some steamed green beans and you’re done in no time.

A day making gallons of bone broth that is good for months. I tend to go through 4 gallons a month (16 litres) at least and usually more so I’m making broth every second week. Does make the house smell wonderful. Great in the winter, in the summer do it outside on the bbq and it keeps the house cooler.