5:2 DIET: SOCCA OMELETTE - VEGAN AND GLUTEN AND SOYA-FREE

7th August 2013
Why, oh why don't I have this more often?

I've just made a quick version of this for lunch, which was absolutely fabulous - and only 184 calories!

Lightly fry the tomato and mushroom to soften, and sprinkle with black pepper.

Then:

30g gram flour

Pinch of salt (optional)

75ml water

5 squirts of 'One-cal' olive oil (for the frying pan)

Filling:
1 rounded dessertspoon hummus
1 sliced tomato
1 sliced mushroom

Method - as below.

Calorie count:

30g gram flour - 101

20g houmous - 60
75g tomato  - 14

29g mushroom - 4

10 squirts of oil (five for the tomato and mushroom, 5 for the 'omelette') - 5

Total 184 calories

29th April 2013
I just love chick-pea (gram) flour! It is full of  flavour - and so useful in the kitchen.

Here's a lovely, socca based, vegan, gluten-free, soya-free omelette-type dish. Dead easy - and dead gorgeous! 

This 'omelette' totals roughly 263 calories for those watching their weight. Served with the potato wedges linked to below, plus a serving of broccoli, the total comes to approximately 375.

Ingredients:
30g gram flour
Pinch of salt (optional)
75ml water
5 squirts of 'One-cal' olive oil (for the frying pan)

Mix together, and add:

5 slices of jalapeno peppers, chopped fine
1 sun-dried tomato, chopped small

Filling:
Houmous
Sprinkle of lemon juice
1 field mushroom, sliced and lightly fried
Black pepper

Sharp, tangy and hot - and very few calories!

Method:
Heat a medium-sized frying pan with a little oil (or, for calorie counters, use about 5 squirts of 'One-cal'), and pour in the batter. 

Just starting to cook from the edges

Allow the pancake to cook for about 4-5 minutes, then, to make sure it's not sticking to the pan, gently lift the edges up all round with a spatula.

Spread houmous over one half of it, sprinkle with lemon juice,  then place the mushroom slices over the houmous.

Finished off with black pepper 

Sprinkle with black pepper, then fold the other side of the pancake over the filling.

The finished 'omelette'

Serve with curried potato wedges and broccoli.

30g gram flour - 101c
16g jalapenos - 4
16g sun dried tomatoes - 33
40g houmous - 120
36g mushroom - 5
5 squirts of oil - 5

Total - 268

Plus 100g curried potato wedges - 87 cals, and broccoli - 15 cals

370 calories in total!

Note: If you want an even lower-calorie meal, substitute the houmous with more mushrooms and sliced tomato. The meal would probably come in at around 270 cals in total!

More about the 5:2 'diet'.

5:2 DIET - PANCAKES USING JUST FLOUR AND WATER (vegan)

There are several things you can make with just self raising flour and water - here are some of them.

14/04/14
Yesterday I made several crepes Suzette for an after-dinner treat, using these pancakes. I had some batter leftover, so for lunch today I made a large pancake, spread half of it with hummus, with some slices of tomato, added a sprinkle of nooch and some black pepper, and folded it over. Voila! A hummus and tomato omelette! Simply gorgeous!

03/03/2013
Pancake day tomorrow - but you don't need eggs and milk, just s/raising flour and water will suffice - and you won't be able to tell the difference! This recipe will save you a packet. Flour and water pancakes - just about as simple as it gets!

It's hard to believe, but these are just as good as those made with traditional ingredients.

And here it is - can you tell the difference?

Ingredients:

200g self raising flour (you can also make these with gluten-free flour)

600ml water

Or:

1 mug self-raising flour

2 mugs water

Method:

Whisk together, to get rid of the lumps, and pour enough into a medium hot, oiled, frying pan to cover the base. Flip over to cook the other side when the bottom is browned to your liking - then serve with the topping of your choice.

(There's also a case to be made for putting some flour in a jug and adding enough water to make it into a fairly runny batter.)

I'm very fond of the usual sugar and lemon juice - but I also like them spread with homemade marmalade. I'm told chocolate spread is also very tasty on pancakes - I'll have to try it!

So, the benefits:

Cost – a batch of these pancakes will cost around 10p for 10 or more – about  a penny each. As against up to around 90p for a traditional batch.

Ease of making - you don't have to plan for these except by having a packet of self-raising flour in the cupboard. Really, there's no need to measure anything - just tip some flour in a bowl or jug and add water - stirring all the time - until it reaches the consistency you want.

Health – if you’re trying to cut down on dairy or eggs, these are for you. The young sister-in-law of one of my students (Nadine) is allergic to eggs, so Nadine was delighted to learn you don’t need them.*

Animal welfare. No animals will be harmed in the making of these pancakes.

Calories - This makes, say 10 pancakes. Self raising flour has 350 calories per 100g, so the combined total of the batch is 700g. Divided by 10 pancakes that makes 70 cals per pancake. Adding lemon juice and a teaspoon of sugar (5g) is 20 cals, so a good-sized pancake can be made for around 90 calories.

Nadine, one of my students told me about her young sister-in-law. She loves cooking and has been helping her mum make pancakes  (even flipping them) - and then had to watch her family eat them, for years. Yet she's never been able to taste one, until now. Nadine took the recipe round and they made pancakes straight away - and the youngster tucked into one with absolute delight. "That's pancake day sorted from now on!" was Nadine's comment!

Here's how I got to where I am with these.

CREPE SUZETTE - SIMPLIFIED AND VEGAN

Needing something sweet, I made my version of a crepe suzette  after dinner tonight. 15 minutes after having the idea, I was tucking in. 

I used this recipe as a base - except that I didn't measure anything. [This is also gorgeous using chick-pea (gram) flour]

At 8.30pm I put the frying pan on a medium heat with a little oil and grabbed a jug and a bag of self-raising flour. Poured about a handful of flour into the jug and added some water - whisked with a spoon, then with a fork. The batter was a little on the thick side, so I added more water and whisked for another minute.

4 minutes later I poured about half of the batter into the frying pan, tilted it so that it covered the base of the pan and adjusted the heat.

After another 4 minutes I turned the pancake over - using a spatula since my cast iron frying pan is just too heavy to flip.

Whilst it was cooking I placed a good dessertspoonful of my home-made ginger marmalade into a dish, added a little water, and stuck it in the microwave for 45-50 seconds.

At 8.42, I turned the pancake over again to give the first side another couple of minutes.

8.44  - slid out the pancake onto a plate, poured the marmalade sauce over the middle of the pancake and drizzled Benedictine over the sauce. Folded the pancake over the filling and poured soya cream over the top.

8.45 tucked in to the Crepe Suzette - sublime!

CHEAP AND CHEERFUL - TEMPURA, with a yeast-risen batter (vegan)

One of the cheapest, and most satisfying, meals you can make!

(I also make these using a self-raising flour and water batter.)

Ingredients:
75g strong white flour
75g strong wholemeal flour (or you could use all white)
1/4 or less teaspoon of salt
250ml lukewarm water
10g fresh yeast (or 5g dried active yeast)

Plus:
1 Linda McCartney sausage
50g or so of Fry's polony
I large field mushroom

And vegetable oil - 1/2 a centimetre of oil in either a saucepan or a small frying pan.

You don't want the portion sizes too big - this is my preference

VEGAN SODA BREAD PIZZAS with sun-dried tomatoes and olives

More pics further down

It was the end of term session this morning, of our U3A Enquiring minds (P4C) course, so we all brought something in for a buffet lunch. My contribution was a couple of vegan pizzas - with a soda bread crust - which went down a storm.

Ingredients:
200g self raising flour
1 teaspoon bouillon powder
125ml liquid (100g water, 25g tomato puree)
50g oil from the sun-dried tomatoes (This enhances the crust and gives it almost a shortcrust pastry-type feel.)

Topping:
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 dessertspoon mushroom sauce
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 dessertspoons nutritional yeast

This was mashed with a potato masher to make it more smooth, and simmered to reduce it.

Plus: 
Sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips, mushrooms, olives, nutritional yeast and oregano

5:2 DIET - CHEESE SAUCE, VEGAN AND 125 CALORIES!

Here's a simple 'cheese sauce' - low in calories and so easy to make!

(Use it with this lasagne layered with potato.)

You'll need:
Free and Easy cheese flavour sauce mix - available in the 'Free from' section of Sainsbury's;
Nutritional yeast - from your local health food shop;
Bouillon powder - widely available

Directions:
4 heaped teaspoons of the sauce mix
300ml water
1 teaspoon (5g) bouillon powder
2 dessertspoons (10g) nutritional yeast (nooch)

Mix a little of the water into the powder in a saucepan and stir into a paste - add the rest of the water. Place over a low heat and allow to simmer, stirring frequently. When the sauce thickens, stir in the flavourings.

And that's it!

Calorie count: The sauce - 78 cals; bouillon powder - 12 cals; nooch - 35 cals.
Total - 125 calories

I'm off to buy a cauliflower - can't wait to make a tasty, vegan, cauliflower cheese! :)

I finally got around to making a cauliflower and broccoli cheese bake, using this cheese sauce variation which is quite a bit richer than the one above:

Cheese sauce:

2 dessertspoons Free and Easy cheese sauce powder 78 cals

2 dessertspoon nooch - 40

1 teaspoon bouillon powder - 12

1 teaspoon curry powder – 5

1 teaspoon garlic powder – 5

100g soy cream - 190

200g water

5:2 DIET CAULIFLOWER/BROCCOLI CHEESE BAKE - vegan

I cannot believe just how easy and tasty this was - why have I not made it before?

I made this for a  non-fasting day (NFD) - but it turns out to have very few calories at all, so it's perfect for either a FD or a NFD!

Cauliflower and broccoli cheese bake 

(Serves 2)

Half a head of cauliflower, in florets - 90

Couple of florets of broccoli - 31

100g onion, chopped - 31

100g celery, chopped - 8

Cheese sauce:

2 dessertspoons Free and Easy cheese sauce powder 78 cals

2 dessertspoon nooch - 40

1 teaspoon bouillon powder - 12

1 teaspoon curry powder – 5

1 teaspoon garlic powder – 5

100g soy cream - 190

200g water

Method:

Divide the cauli and broccoli into florets and lightly simmer in a little water, along with the onion and celery.

Meanwhile make the cheese sauce:

Mix the dry ingredients in a small saucepan, then add the water and soya cream. Place over a little heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens.

Place the tender vegetables in a shallow baking dish and cover with the cheese sauce.

Bake at 200C for 20-25 minutes.

Total calories 524 - so 262 cals per portion

I had this with 85g of homemade bread - 215 calories, so the total is still under 500 calories. If I was to have this on a FD I would have it with a small baked potato - 100g would be 72 cals.

5:2, or INTERMITTENT FASTING - some hints and tips

5:2: if you’re doing it for weight loss means no snacking – ever!

If you want a treat – and who doesn’t, now and again – incorporate it into your meal. If you do have to have something, a biscuit, say, then look at it before each mouthful and make a conscious decision whether or not you need it. 

(BTW, the only safe way I’ve found to eat a biscuit is to take one (that’s 1!) out of the packet on your way out of the house. Then don’t start eating it until you’re halfway down the road.)

Other techniques I’ve found useful:

Use smaller plates for your evening meal

Put less on your fork and eat each mouthful slowly, savouring the flavours.

It takes roughly 20 minutes for your body to recognise that it has eaten – so, if you feel like a second helping, put a timer on for 20 minutes. If you still want something, then go ahead, but at least you’ve thought about it.

After the evening meal, announce in a loud voice that, ”The kitchen is closed!” And mean it!

If you do succumb to the lure of the leftover curry on the hob late in the evening, tell yourself, “Ah, well, that’s breakfast sorted! I’ve just had it a bit early.”

But before you get to that stage, set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes – or drink a pint of water – or go and do some exercise.

Wine. I’ve reduced the amount of wine I drink by about a half. I only know this because, whereas I used to make 20gals of wine a year, now I only make 10 gallons.

I used to drink half a tumbler of red with my evening meals, but noticed on a couple of occasions that the wine was disappearing without me even noticing! J So I reduced the amount I put in the glass and tried to appreciate every mouthful. It didn’t happen overnight, but eventually I found I could enjoy as little as 50ml with dinner. Not every night, sometimes I have double that, but often, when I do, I still have a centimetre or so of wine left after I’ve finished eating.

On FDs I don’t have any alcohol, instead, with my meal I have the same tumbler filled with iced water. The ritual and the unfamiliarity of the iced water seems to satisfy the need for a drink whilst I’m eating. I’ve tried this on ‘normal’ days – with limited success, I have to say!

Mumsnet has had a thread, 'Tips and links for those practicing IF'. Well worth a look!