5:2 Diet Recipe – Spring Lamb Saute

A Spring Lamb Saute for the 5:2 Diet

I’m the proud owner of a brand new Saute Pan from Swiss Diamond.  And, although I am only home for a few days before I set off on my travels again, I was itching to try it.  Swiss Diamond pans are, by reputation, excellent quality.  And for those of us trying to follow the 5:2 diet they have the advantage of being capable of frying without any additional oil or fat.  Perfect for a 5:2 diet recipe like this spring lamb saute I thought!

Now, having been following the 5:2 diet on and off for the last seven months, I’ve learnt a few things about how to cook and prepare low calorie healthy dishes without compromising on taste.

• If you are using meat, use very good quality, lean meat and reduce the quantity you might normally anticipate needing by about a third.  Add in plenty of green vegetables to bulk up your dish (in this case fennel and asparagus)
• Avoid too many high GI ingredients.  That includes white rice, potato, white bread, pasta and dishes with a high sugar content.  It’s not just about the calories.  If you eat a rice or potato  based meal as part of your 5:2 fast day, you will feel hungry faster because the food causes sugar spikes (please excuse my very non-scientific explanation).  Of course that doesn’t mean NO rice or potato, just that you should consider the proportion of any high GI food to the other ingredients.  There’s a very good explanation of why this might matter on the NHS site
• Avoid sugar, oil and fat where possible as they will simply ramp up the calorie content of your dish.

So, the idea of a pan that allows you to fry without oil is great for 5:2 diet recipes!  You can see my rather messily trimmed shallots and fennel gently caramelising without a drop of oil in the pan!

This particular dish did come about partly because of a yearning for lamb.  In my case, there were some tiny cutlets on special offer, but I think this 5:2 diet recipe would also work with lamb fillet cut into fine ribbons.  Of course once you add in the meat there is a little fat, but, by using the saute pan without any extra oil this whole dish came in at well under 300 calories a portion

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Spring Lamb Saute for the 5:2 Diet

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: British

Servings: 2

Author: Fiona maclean

Ingredients

• 1 Lemon
• 1 handful Fresh Rosemary or Thyme
• 200 g lamb fillet or four small lean cutlets
• 2 Shallots peeled and finely sliced
• 250 g Asparagus trimmed
• 50 ml Dry white wine substitute stock or bouillon if you prefer
• 1 head Fennel trimmed and sliced finely

Instructions

1. Dry fry the shallots and fennel over a low heat until the edges start to caramelise and the vegetables are softened
2. Add in the lamb and seal on all sides
3. Add in the white wine and lemon juice and cover the saute pan
4. Cook for 8-10 minutes on a gentle heat
5. Add the asparagus, cover and cook for a further 2 minutes
6. Serve

On a non 5:2 diet fast day or even if I was very hungry and had some spare calories I might add in some new potatoes (77 calories for 100g – two or three of the tiny ones), but, I found this perfectly filling without.  And those flavours of fennel, asparagus and lamb just sum up spring and early summer for me.

Are you still following the 5:2 Diet?  Do you have any great tips to help us all along?  Do leave me a comment and let me know. And remember you can win one of the Swiss Diamond Saute pans in my giveaway.