5:2 DIET VEGETABLE CURRY FOR 98 CALORIES! (NOW 94cals!)

3/03/14
My fast day dinner today comes in at 94 calories - a new low! (Recipe further down this post.)

I made a few tweaks - leaving out the cumin seeds and substituting asafoetida and mushroom sauce instead of soy sauce. I toyed with the idea of only using half a tin of tomatoes, since the curry already tasted wonderful before any tomatoes were added. In the event I added the whole tin, not wishing to bother with the faff of having a dish of tomatoes hanging round in the fridge.

Weirdly, the smell is making my juices run - but I'n not in the least bit hungry, despite not eating since 7pm last night (it's now 5.30pm). 

23/02/14
I’ve just set an all-time record low (for me) for a fast day meal – just a simple veg curry, but it was so tasty and full of flavor and completely filled me up. Here are the ingredients I used - over here for the method:

5g cumin seeds and 5g curry powder dry fried for a couple of minutes – 10 cals

63g onion, finely chopped 20 cals

171g dark green cabbage, cut into strips 22

53g carrots, sliced 15

151g celery, cut into chunks 12

184g mushrooms, cut into chunks 24

400g chopped, tinned tomatoes 82

10g soy sauce 10

Total 195 calories. Divided in two this gave me 4 large serving spoons of curry – so, 98 calories altogether!

This left me very well fed, and, by staying away from the kitchen for a good half hour, I avoided adding anything else.

I’ve found, over the 2 years I’ve been practicing IF, that if I do stick to just a low calorie dinner, I’ll be satisfied with that. If I add beans or a microwaved potato, I find I want to push myself up to the 600 calories that, as a bloke, IF allows.

This fast, however, was a little different from my usual fasts, which generally begin with my final bite of dinner the day before. This time, not planning to fast today, I ate half a bar of Lindt’s Chilli Chocolate at around 10pm. So my fast didn’t really start until then! However, strictly speaking, that was only 275 cals – so, with my 98 for dinner today, I’ve had 373 calories in the last 27 hours, well below the magic 600 figure!

I decided to fast today since I skipped breakfast, as I often do, and found myself travelling back home over lunch time – so it just made sense to fast today, and have a Sunday dinner tomorrow!

This curry is an excellent basis for a range of further dishes - chilli non carne - lasagne (layered with potato instead of pasta - simply glorious!) - vegetarian Bolognese sauce - rich ragu pie, and many more. All these are to be found in the link below.

For all the 5:2 fasting vegetarian/vegan dishes on my blog, click here.

PIZZA - with a soda bread crust

Makes two 30cm (12") pizzas. Ready in a jiffy, and very economical, costing less than £1 each.  

Ingredients:

400g (or 2 mugs) self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

250ml (or 2/3rds mug) water

2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

Topping:

½ tube tomato puree thinned out with hot water into a passata-type sauce

1/2 tsp mixed herbs) (optional)

1/2 stock cube (optional)

2 heaped dessertspoons nutritional yeast, or:
100g vegan cheese (Eg. Smoked Applewood)
Plus sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers

Method:

1.     Since the baking powder begins working as soon as it comes into contact with the water, you need to have everything ready before mixing the dough. So, heat the oven to 220C, 425F, gas mark 7 and either grease two baking sheets or line them with baking parchment.

2.     Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, add the water, then the olive oil (if using) and begin mixing together into a dough, bringing the flour from the sides to the middle. Don't be too gentle, and work fairly fast. The dough should be soft and squishy, so don't be afraid to add more water to keep it soft.

3.     Once the dough is formed, give the mixing bowl a final wipe and turn it out onto your worktop, knead it firmly several times, then mould it into a cob shape. Working quickly, divide the dough into two and, with a rolling pin and plenty of flour, roll each one out into a large circle to fit your trays. (With practice you can get the mixing and shaping done in two or three minutes.)

4.     Divide the sauce between the pizzas, spreading it not quite up to the edges - leave about a centimetre gap - and smoothing it out evenly. Sprinkle with cheese.

5.     Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, but check after ten – you may need to swap shelves, or turn the pizzas around to cook evenly. When they're done the pizzas will lift up all along one side when you check underneath, using a bread knife or similar. The bottom should be browning from the edges.

Notes:

The topping I've given is just a suggestion - use your own favourite toppings, and get the family to join in with their own favourites. 

About using soda bread in this way: 

I've been making my own bread for almost 40 years, and pizzas for most of this time - but I've only recently discovered this variation, and it really is a revelation! 

If I'm using s-d tomatoes, I'll add about 25g of the oil they have been soaked in to the dough instead of olive oil. This enhances the crust and gives it almost a shortcrust pastry-type feel.

SPICY FRUIT NAANS

27/4/11: Edited to include the right amount of flour.

This is a variation of Peshwari naan.

Straight from the hob

My daily breakfast

6 days of the week, this is my breakfast. The banana is mashed and spread (nay, slathered!) over the split naans. And every mouthful is a delight!

5:2 DIET - SIMPLE THAI RED CURRY - VEGAN

Oh my! I've just finished eating my first home made Thai curry - which was absolutely delicious!

As is my wont, I searched around online for simple vegan recipes, then put my own slant on them depending on what I have to hand, and what I need to buy.

The only thing I had to buy was the Thai red curry paste.

Notes:
Don't be seduced by low-cal coconut milk - it just doesn't give the same 'hit' as the full fat stuff! 

I've now found coconut milk at Lidl - half the price of Blue Dragon. Will report on how good it is when I've tried it.

Report:
In praise of Lidl's coconut milk!

I opened the can - and it was solid cream over halfway down! Only when I got to the bottom quarter  of the can did I find a clear liquid.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large onion
2 leeks
4 sticks celery
1 large carrot
1 each red and green pepper
2 red chillies, finely chopped
1 knob ginger (about as big as a golf ball)
3 large field mushrooms, cut into strips

Chop the veggies and grate the ginger

Sauce:

2 tablespoons lemon juice 

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 can coconut milk

2 dessertspoons Thai red curry paste

1 dessertspoon garlic paste

Method:
I fried the cumin seeds in the olive oil, in a small saucepan, for about a minute, then added the vegetables, plus a little water, and allowed them to simmer for 10 or so minutes to soften.

Whilst this was cooking I prepared the sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients together and cooking them in the microwave for 3 minutes on full power, then 3 minutes on half power.

Then I combined all the ingredients in the saucepan and simmered for 10-15 minutes.

This is enough for 4 portions with less than 250 calories each. Served with 30g of basmati rice (105 calories), this brings the total to around 350 calories.