Skinny Toad-in-the-Hole for 5-2 Diet

5-2 diet recipe for Toad in the Hole and low calorie recipe planning:

I think it is much easier to diet when the weather is good.  At this time of year I really want comfort food, warm starchy things that fill me up with a kind of internal heating system.  And if I wasn’t following the 5-2 diet and doing alternate fasting days, I would doubtless be eating beans on toast, hearty stews with dumplings and steamed puddings.

As it is, I’m keeping to the 5-2 diet because it is something that does seem to work for me.  Although I’m not losing weight  rapidly, I am definitely getting back to what I regard as a normal, healthy size.  And that is despite my indulgences and review meals.  So, for me it does seem to enable me to have my cake and eat it (on non fast days).

Having said that I am intrigued by the idea that a lot of recipes can be adapted to reduce the calories down to a sensible level.  Part of that is simply reducing the portion size.  Then, using low fat meats, reducing the amount of fat used in cooking and avoiding serving calorific vegetable dishes as well.  So, for example, you might prefer to make this toad in the hole using reduced fat pork sausages.  But, I love venison and it is a naturally low fat meat, so 2 venison sausages are about 160 calories.

Low Calorie Toad in the Hole for 5-2 Diet

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Serves	1
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	30 minutes
Allergy	Milk
Meal type	Main Dish
Misc	Serve Hot

Ingredients

• 2 Venison Sausages
• 75ml Half fat milk
• 75ml Water
• 1 Egg
• 125g Plain Flour
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Sunflower Oil

Directions

Step 1	Make the batter by sifting the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the egg and oil
Step 2	Pull the flour into the egg and oil mixture and gradually add in milk and water stirring all the time till you have a batter about the consistency of single cream. Season with salt and pepper, then leave to stand, covered and out of the fridge, for at least 30 minutes
Step 3	Pre heat the oven to 180c
Step 4	Put the sausages in a small baking tray and pierce with a fork. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes till just starting to caramelise
Step 5	Pour about a third to half the batter around the sausages and put the oven up to 220c. Return the pan to the oven. The remaining batter can be used for yorkshire puddings or savoury pancakes (by adding a little milk)
Step 6	Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes till puffed up and golden brown and serve with caraway cabbage and onion gravy

I’ve served this with onion gravy made with a little beef stock (knorr touch of taste) and a caramelised onion to thicken the gravy and with steamed cabbage with caraway seeds.  The only catch with making this dish for one person is that I can’t find any sensible way to make a single portion of batter.  One egg and 125g of flour really does make enough for 2 to 3 people.  So, you might use the left over batter the next day for savoury pancakes or yorkshire puddings, or if you prefer, only season half the batter and keep the remainder for sweet pancakes or fritters.

My 5-2 fast day today comprised this meal in the evening and a large bowl of cauliflower and jerusalem artichoke soup for lunch (recipe to follow).  I used about half the batter to make the toad in the hole, but then found there was really too much batter, so ended up eating about a quarter to a third of the recipe quantity.  That would make the toad in the hole around 300 calories, with around 30 calories for my onion gravy and 50 for the cabbage.  And, it felt like a proper meal for a winter’s day despite being a 5-2 fast day friendly recipe.