5:2 Diet – Feasting on a Fast Day with Chilli Beef

5:2 Diet Chilli Beef Stir-Fry

I’m still doing the 5:2 Diet.  I even went out and bought some BRUTAL scales that weigh me accurately (I could lose a couple of kilos by getting on and off the old scales enough times…and that wasn’t through exercise!).  And the nasty new scales also show my body fat!  horrendous!  just the THOUGHT of being made up of over 35% fat is just scary!  If you haven’t found the original BBC Horizon programme information then do check this out, for more information about Michael Mosley’s findings

Today’s meal is a personal challenge.  I wanted to see if I could make a 5:2 diet friendly meal that involved red meat.  One thing I discovered at the De La Panza Steak workshop was that different cuts of steak have markedly different fat content and because of that, very different calories gram for gram.  Fillet steak is one of the leanest cuts and has around 100 calories per 100g.  If you use the meat to make a stirfry, then you don’t need as much to create something of a feast…my recipe uses just 50g per person!  Some cultures, particular in Asia and India eat much lower quanties of meat, although they are not necessarily vegetarian – and their populations have a lower incidence of many unpleasant diseases.  So, eating a little less meat is no bad thing in my view.  And if it’s part of the 5:2 diet, then I might just lose some weight too.

Chilli Beef Stir Fry

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Serves	1
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	5 minutes
Total time	10 minutes
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Serve Hot
Region	Chinese

Ingredients

• 50g Fillet steak (or another lean cut)
• 1 Continental Spring Onion (or a couple of the smaller sort)
• 100g Broccoli
• 100g Courgettes
• 100g Chinese Cabbage (or pak choi)
• 1 clove Garlic (crushed)
• 1/2 Red Chilli (seeds removed and finely chopped)
• 1 piece Root Ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
• 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Light Soy
• 1 teaspoon Sunflower or Sesame oil

Directions

Step 1	Mix together the chilli, ginger, garlic, soy and rice wine vinegar.
Step 2	Slice the beef finely along the grain, then put it into the soy mix
Step 3	Trim the spring onion and slice. Keep the white bulb portion separate from the green leaves
Step 4	Prepare all the vegetables, slicing into smallish pieces
Step 5	Heat the oil in the wok till just smoking. Drain the beef, reserving the soy mix, and add to the oil with the courgettes and the white parts of the spring onion. Cook for a minute
Step 6	Add the brocolli and chinese cabbage and cook for a further couple of minutes stirring constantly, till the vegetables are cooked but haven't lost their crunch.
Step 7	Pour over the remaining soy and chilli mix and stir through
Step 8	Serve with a small portion of boiled rice, garnished with the green parts of the spring onion.

For some reason anything that has steak in it is a ‘treat’ for me, something of a feast.  So, this is my proof that you can indeed feast on a fast day.

The calorie count for this recipe is as follows

50g fillet steak  (50cals)

100g brocolli (34cal),

100g chinese cabbage (13cals),

100g courgettes (30cals).

1 spring onion (10 cals)

The sauce was a teaspoon of mirin, a teaspoon of soy sauce and a mix of ginger, chilli and garlic (around 50cals)

I used a teaspoon of sunflower oil to stir fry (40 calories)

Total Calories 227

I also had a small portion of boiled rice (35g dry weight) which will have added about 130 calories.

The meal was very tasty and satisfying.  I am keeping to my previous 5:2 diet plan of a little o% greek yoghurt in the morning or as a snack and up to 5 cups of white coffee made with 1% milk.  And hopefully, my body fat measurement will improve, along with a bit more weightloss!

Looking for some more inspiration for your 5:2 diet or simply for a low calorie meal?  here are some of my other recipes

5:2 Diet Celery and Spinach soup – a simple, comforting low calorie soup

Comforting 5:2 Diet Smoked Haddock Rarebit – haddock is very low in calories, so you can make a smoked haddock rarebit, use low calorie cheese for under 400 calories

Exotic lime and chilli seared scallops for the 5:2 Diet – treat yourself to a low calorie feast!

Livorno Fish Stew for the 5:2 Diet – more fish – it’s one of the easiest ways to keep to a low calorie diet!

Tarragon Chicken Parcels for 5:2 Diet simple, tasty and something you can serve to the whole family – 5:2 diet friendly

Galician Hake the Low Calorie 5:2 diet way!  A lovely warming dish that I could eat whether or not on a diet