5-2 Diet Soup
Soup is a great staple for fasting days on the 5-2 diet. Why? Well, you can make it up in advance so that you don’t have to think about what you are going to cook on your fast day. And, if you want to eat throughout the day, you can just have a soup day. Something like this recipe for spinach and puy lentil soup will keep you feeling full all afternoon for around 100 calories. You can, of course, leave out the lentils and make an extremely low calorie mixture, but the addition of fibre filled lentils should stave off hunger pangs. Puy lentils are greeny brown in colour and nutty in taste. Really rather pleasant, they are a great accompaniment to fish or game…and they work very well soups like this too.
- 250 g Spinach
- 1 Banana Shallot Finely chopped
- 50 g Puy Lentils
- 500 ml Chicken Stock
- 1 teaspoon Sunflower Oil
- Heat the oil in a large pan and gently soften the chopped shallot for five to ten minutes
- Add the stock and bring to the boil, then add in the lentils
- Cook for 20 minutes till the lentils are soft
- Add in the spinach (it will look like far too much) and cook for 3-5 minutes till the spinach is wilted and soft
- Blitz the mixture with a stick blender or in a liquidiser. Don't try to get a completely smooth mixture, the lentils should add a nice nuttiness.
- Season with salt and pepper
- Serve as is, or with a dollop of low fat yogurt or creme fraiche
I really like this kind of soup. It’s essentially one packet of spinach, a bit of shallot (onion will work too) and a few lentils to add substance. It’s the sort of dish I make and then eat through the day when I really can’t be bothered to cook anything else. And, it takes a few minutes to prepare and very little time to cook. So, why would you buy a carton of soup when you can make your own cheaply and easily!
Per 175ml portion, this is around 100 calories. If you are feeling really lazy or just don’t want to think about cooking on a 5:2 diet fast day, you could just eat soup all day.
If you want something a little more substantial, check out my recipe for a low calorie 5-2 diet lemon and coriander chicken curry
I think this would go really well with the addition of some wild garlic or jack in the hedge. I suspect that the calorie count would not be that different, but do you happen to know of anywhere that gives the calories for these more unusual ingredients? I love to forage, but I’m also trying to do the 5:2 diet.
I don’t as it happens, I wonder if Polly Robinson might be able to help (food safari)
Thanks, I’ll give her a try.
I am going to have a go at this soup, anyway. It sounds delicious.