Fast Diet Recipe: Green Pea Hummus

I thought I would provide a slightly healthy relief from my recent Bunny Party recipes with a Fast Diet recipe idea... 

Green Pea Hummus. 

After the past few weeks/months of indulging a little too much, travelling and trying new foods, and working my butt off with wholesale orders, I've kind of let my eating habits suffer a little. 

And I have felt the impact on my hips!! So, hello Fast Diet, I am back! 

If you read A Cup of Jo you would have seen this one listed a few months back, and I pinned it and have basically waited for a rainy day! Well, that rainy day was yesterday. 

My Favourite 5 Fast Diet Recipes

The Fast Diet Recipe Files - Thai Pumpkin Soup (with carrot and sweet potato)

Happy Tuesday!!! I hope your week is off to a great start! The sun is shining in London, so everything is automatically much brighter, without even trying!!!

I have been trying out lots of new recipe ideas for the Fast Diet lately and some have been rather bland but others just bursting with flavour. This soup is of course the latter, I'm not going to share the rubbish ones that will make you want to feast instead!!! Whilst things are starting to warm up in London, I am still sneaking some soups in before the salad season really begins. 

Pumpkin soup was always my go-to meal when I was sick, it was like a hug from the inside. I still love it so much, but pumpkin is not as readily available in the UK as Australia so I don't tend to make it so often. 

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This Thai Pumpkin soup is perfect for the Fast Diet because it is low calorie but intensely flavourful! I was expecting red curry paste to be high in calories, but when you are only adding 1 tablespoon, the mere 17 calories are exceptionally effective. Stay tuned for a world of curries coming to the Fast Diet Recipe Files!!

Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files Fast Diet Recipe Files 

With only 195 calories per serve, it is chocked full with vegetables and being nice and thick it is perfectly filling. I made this for lunch and then had it for dinner I loved it so much!!! 

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

The Fast Diet Recipe Files: Mixed Berry Milk Pops

Well hello there! It's #TrimTuesday again so I thought I'd check in, share a delicious Fast Diet recipe and let you know how the past fortnight has been on the Fast Diet. 

I am still Fasting twice a week, and exercising little and often and am finally starting to feel like I am winning the war on my flab!! I don't feel like I look all that different, but I feel different in my own skin. I definitely still have a way to go, but I at least feel like I'm starting to get somewhere with it all again, so I feel more motivated to continue on. 

Its a constant battle for me not to be hard on myself, I am truly my own worst enemy, and I think part of it is self-preservation, in that if I think/say it about myself, then nobody else can possibly think worse. Its a terrible quality that my Husband, bless him, has been trying to change in me ever since he met me. But there is something to be said for changing yourself from the inside out, as I find that as I am feeling more healthy and strong, I am thinking with a stronger mind too. My motivation is my little girl, she's picking up on so much right now, and I don't want her to even be aware of negative thoughts and body image, I want to try and shield her from all of that as long as I can, and I know it starts with me. This is part of the reason I have dropped these posts back to fortnightly, because I was feeling that if I didn't have a good week on the scales, I would be so hard on myself, and that is so counterproductive to what I am doing, that I had to make a change. 

So, I have taken some pressure off myself and as a consequence, feel so much better in myself. 

I am off to Jersey tomorrow and so my second Fast Day is likely to be a bit of a challenge, but you know what, I get to play with my niece and nephews for a few days, and that makes me happier than any possible shift on the scales. Some weeks things like this will happen, I'm okay with that!

I saw this published on the Fast Diet's Facebook page of a BBC Good Food recipe for homemade milk pops as part of a Fast Day recipe plan. Umm... more information please! 

I made some almost immediately (after hunting down the low fat condensed milk of course). I quite often have 100 or so spare calories at the end of the day and spend them on a small bowl of porridge, as a bit of a treat after dinner. Well hold the phone, not anymore! 

I made a variation of the recipe and used both blackberries and raspberries instead of strawberries, and the flavour was sensational. I do of course have a bit of a battle ahead of me at the Pearly Gates when I am challenged over my "giving up ice-cream for Lent" and yet eating "milk pops", but I can argue my way out of (in to?) that one, it's a technicality! 

Anyway, enough nattering on, here's the very simple recipe...

Ingredients (makes 12, 107 calories per serve)

400g strawberries, or any berries
400g light condensed milk
200g light milk

Method:

1. Puree the berries until smooth.

2. Add the two milks and combine well.

3. Fill ice block moulds and allow to freeze over 4-6 hours

Frozen condensed milk ON a Fast Day, amazing.


Oh and I am guest posting today over on Adventures of a London Kiwi, with a book review of It's All Good (by Gwyneth Paltrow). You'll love Emma, come say hi!



Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

Fast Diet - Week 17 - #LoseDayTuesday

Week 17 of the 5:2 Fast Diet!! To find out more about it, read my original post here. 

It's been a good week on the Fast Diet. I feel like it's another slow start to my plateau busting attempts, but I feel like I've made some good choices and am back on the right track. It dawned on me that summer is just around the corner... the whole "summer bodies are made in winter" approach has struck a chord and gave me something new to focus on! I've never really been a frolicking bikini babe, but I do love me some sundresses, so it'd be nice to be a little more svelte!!

I am getting a little bored with Fast Day food at the moment, so am pretty excited that there's going to be a new Fast Diet Cook book out soon! Bring it on!

But until then, here's my Fast Day menu suggestions for this week:

Lunch - Two egg mushroom omelette

I made it through to 4pm without a bite to eat, but at that time, I was RAVENOUS! I was going to make a tasty big lunch, but when I figured out my dinner plan, I knew I needed a lower calorie lunch. Obviously I would normally cook the mushrooms in butter (obviously!), so they were a little more dry than normal, but that was sorted out when I put them in the omelette. 

Ingredients

1/4 red onion, peeled, and finely diced 

1 large mushroom, sliced

2 small Free-Range eggs 

4-6 spinach leaves

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese 

salt and pepper

Oil spray

Method:

1. Quickly cook the mushrooms in a few sprays of oil, and then lightly cook the onion as well. 

2. Rinse the pan and heat it for the eggs. In a bowl beat the eggs and then pour them slowly into the pan. 

3. Swirl the eggs for the first few minutes until it starts to set.  

4. When the eggs are nearly set, sprinkle some parmesan cheese, the spinach, mushrooms and onions over one half of the omelette. Flip the other half over and cook for another few minutes until it is fully cooked through (but still a tiny bit runny). 

Dinner -  Lolo Turkey Meatballs 

Meatballs in a tomato sauce. On a Fast Day. Heck yes!

This recipe is from the Fast Diet Recipe Book and is definitely worth a calorie splurge! The standard calorie count for the recipe is 264, but I had a few extra meatballs, so am going to assume that I had closer to 330!

Recipe post here!

Total calories for the day = 500

Exercise

I mentioned last week that I had discovered the Tone It Up girls, well I am a little obsessed now! 

The girls are Karena and Katrina and they are friends who have a whole empire built around them working out together. They are so strong, feminine and love pink! I find them really easy to follow and well, if I can be half as strong as they are I'd be kind of thrilled! 

I've found a few of their workouts to do at home and I just love them! In the past week I did two of the HIIT sessions, one Love Your Body Legs and Booty and one quick Love your Body Abs and Arms workout. It has taken 4 days for me to be able to squat down to pick Maddie up without my quads and hamstrings absolutely burning!! But it is such a good pain that I welcome it wholeheartedly! 

We were all too sick again on the weekend to get to the pool, so alas, no swimming again! I am so over this damp and miserable winter! It'd be so lovely to be healthy and able to exercise outdoors again!! 

Weight loss?

Total loss to date = 3.7kg (8.1lbs)

I feel like this teeny tiny loss is okay, I'm only just re-starting my Fast Diet goals, so I know it will take some time to get going again. I feel like I'm heading in the right direction again though, so am feeling optimistic that I will push through my plateau and reach some new goals in the coming months!

Goals for the coming week

My goals for this coming week are:

• 3 Tone It Up sessions
• One long walk
• Swimming session (fingers crossed)

I wonder whether anyone else has any plateau-busting tips?

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!


  

The Fast Diet Recipe Files: Lo-Lo Turkey Meatballs

I made these yummy Lo-Lo Turkey Meatballs for a Fast dinner on week 17 of the Fast Diet. The recipe is from the Fast Diet Recipe Book and is totally delicious. I used turkey instead of pork, and made a double batch to freeze for later!

Serves two

For the meatballs:
200g lean pork mince (or turkey mince)
½ medium red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 small carrot, grated
pinch of oregano
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper
oil for spraying

For the tomato sauce:
oil for spraying
½ medium red onion, chopped
½ garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
50g fresh tomatoes, skinned and deseeded, roughly chopped
1 tsp tomato puréepinch of sugar
200ml water
chilli flakes to taste
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried oregano

Method:

1. Place mince in a bowl with onion, garlic, carrot, oregano, egg and salt and pepper.

2. Mix well and shape into 12 small meatballs.

3. Spray a large pan with oil and fry over a medium heat until gently browned – about 4 minutes – and set aside.

4. For the sauce, spray the same pan with oil and fry onion until softened; add garlic, and cook for a further 3 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes, tinned and fresh, purée, sugar and water, plus chilli flakes and Worcestershire sauce to taste.

6. Simmer till reduced and glossy.

7. Add meatballs and oregano, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

I served mine alongside fresh baby spinach and really struggled to stop eating! SO delicious! Low calorie, high flavour and very filling.

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

Fast Diet - Week 16 - #LoseDayTuesday

Week 16 of the 5:2 Fast Diet!! To find out more about it, read my original post here. 

Happy Tuesday! Week 16 of the Fast Diet and a moved set of goalposts! I have had a week or so of the Fast Diet while I celebrated my 30th Birthday high up in the Swiss Alps. My 30th was the original end point and whilst I wasn't the skinny mini I was hoping to be, I have been fit and healthy and not embarrassed to wear white ski pants again! I feel like now that my Birthday has passed it is a fresh start for me though, as though starting a new decade is a clean slate and a time for setting new goals.

I'm not sure if you are aware or not, but alongside the Fast Diet exists Fast Exercise. Fast Exercise is based on HIIT, which is High Intensity Interval Training, and is designed to be short and sharp bursts of high-calorie burning exercises that can fit into any time-poor schedules. My favourite description for who this book is aimed at is "for those people who don't enjoy exercise but want to lose weight and be healthy". Hello! I was talking to my Husband about this the other day, that if I didn't need to exercise I probably never would! I don't enjoy it but know I have to do it. I have not been blessed with a fast metabolism or a thirst for sweat, but I have a hunger for good food and penchant for cellulite, so for me to not be the size of a small wool mill, I have to exercise.

I have found the Tone It Up team and just love these girls! They are so cute and to me, super motivational. I wanted a workout that I could do while my baby had her nap, in our small flat, on the second floor (i.e. nothing loud, jumpy or with equipment). I am going to get Fast Exercise and give that a go too, but I wanted to get started straight away, and so got a few workouts during a very busy week!!

I will write more about this next week, but for now, here is my menu from last week's Fast Day!

Lunch - Minted Pea & Vegetable Frittata

I love eggs, in pretty much all forms, but eggs AND potatoes is the ultimate!

This frittata is from Lavender & Lovage, who has such a great range of Fast Day meal ideas.

Dinner -  Grilled Indian Chicken 

I based this recipe on a recipe I found from www.recipe.com but added a few extra components to make it a full meal.

I marinated the chicken in the yoghurt but added some garam masala to give it a bit of an Indian twist. I made a little Tomato & Onion salad and a side dressing with yoghurt, cucumber and mint.

If I had a BBQ or a griddle-pan I would have grilled the chicken properly, but as I have neither, I got a bit crafty with my oven. I lined a tray with aluminium foil and then placed the chicken on a cake cooling wrack on top of the bottom tray. This allowed the chicken/yoghurt to cool evenly and was the closest "Grilled" cook I could come up with!

Total calories for the day = 450

Exercise

I posted this photo from the Swiss Alps of the final day of my 30 to 30 Plank Challenge. 

I was pretty stoked to have met this goal, to me it was a symbol of how far my health has changed in the past few years. Whilst I may not be polishing my Olympic silverware each night, I am stronger and healthier than I have been in a very long time. Going gluten free, in conjunction with the Fast Diet have really changed my health and I am pleased to be relatively pain and symptom free these days. 

Other exercise that I completed this week was two HIIT workouts, and lots of snow walking! I didn't go out of my way to exercise this weekend, but got enough during the week leading up to our trip to allow me to relax and unwind. 

Weight loss?

Total loss to date = 3.5kg (7.7lbs)

I HAVE to assume that I gained weight from our week away (potato + cheese = heavy heaven) and so to be back at my pre-swiss weight is actually a huge plus for me! I'm hoping that from here I can reset the scales and start Phase Two of the Fast Diet and get some good results in the coming months. 

Goals for the coming week

My goals for this coming week are:

• 3 HIIT sessions
• One long walk
• Reformer Pilates

I hope you are having a wonderful week! Thanks for all of the Birthday messages, I feel so lucky to have had so many messages come from wide and far, thank you thank you thank you.

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!


  

Fast Diet - Week 15 - #LoseDayTuesday

Week 15 of the 5:2 Fast Diet!! To find out more about it, read my original post here. 

Okay finally, I've had some good health. And not to be too demanding, but now all we need is some good weather! I think there were a total of 3 days in the entire month of January that it didn't rain! It was purely miserable. I am all for making the most of whatever weather you have and all, (last year I pushed the pram through the Heath in the snow), but really, day after day, bundling a toddler up and heading out in the pouring rain just gets depressing!! But enough whinging about the weather already!

I think I have hit my resting weight (more about that later) and so I want to know whether anyone has had any success with Fast Exercise? I am definitely considering adding Fast Exercise into my Fast Diet but just want to hear some success stories first.

This weekend is my 30th Birthday, which technically was going to be the end of my Fast Diet experience. However, as I am still a few kilo's off my target and am actually enjoying this lifestyle, so I am definitely going to keep going for a while longer, until I can drop down to 6:1.

Lunch - Tuna & Pepper Hummus Crispbread

This lunch snack was based on a flat bread recipe that I used to love at Le Pain Quotidien.

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Ingredients
2 GF crispbread (54 calories)
1/5 cup spring onions/eshallots (17 calories)
Low fat red pepper hummus, 2 tablespoons (70 calories)
Tuna in spring water, 37g (42 calories)
Butter beans (5 calories)

Whilst it seems like the hummus is a waste of calories, it really does add so much flavour that I would definitely recommend including it. I love the butter beans on top, they go so well with tuna!

Snack - Green Olives

I am just craving so much salt these days! So green olives is definitely my way forward! I had 15 olives throughout the day, which is 60 calories.

Dinner -  Shakshuka

I have posted about Shakshuka in the Fast Diet before, and it reminded me about how good it is, so I decided to make it again, recipe HERE.

The original Fast Day Recipe has only 178 calories, but I added an extra egg because I had the allowance and so that's why it is now 228 cals.

Total calories for the day = 478

Exercise

I managed to do two high-intensity walks in the rain this week, in addition to my Reformer Pilates class and continuing on with my 30 to 30 Plank Challenge. 

Weight loss?

Total loss to date = 3.5kg (7.7lbs)

It seems I have hit another plateau, but this time, my plateau is my resting weight. This is the weight I have been for most of my adult life. I used to diet on and off and would sometimes manage to lose one kilo here or there, but it would come back and I always seem to be about this size. I am more healthy and fit than I have been in a long time, so whilst I am still fitting into the same jeans that I used to have, I feel differently about myself now. Maybe it is because I have been 16kgs heavier (when I was 40 weeks pregnant) and so I've seen my body go through some difficult times and appreciate it a lot more these days!! The thing is, I would now like to break through this resting weight and find a new (and lower) resting weight to carry forward through my 30's. So when I get back from our little holiday this weekend I am going to work really hard to get over this next hurdle and see where that takes me!

Goals for the coming week

My goals for this coming week are:

• A home pilates session as I won't be making my regular class this week
• Complete a 16:8 Fast for an additional mini-fast
• Enjoy the heck out of our weekend trip away and not worry about calories/weight/fasting

We are heading away for the long weekend so if you are on the Fast Diet, you may want to look away if you follow me on Instagram! But if you are a foodie who loves the snow, stay tuned!!

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!


  

Shakshuka Recipe for the Fast Diet

Goodness me I feel like I have been hiding stuck under a rock somewhere because I only just "discovered" Shakshuka. Have you had Shakshuka? Do you love Shakshuka? Have you trekked from miles around to have Shakshuka at NOPI? Or am I speaking an entirely foreign language to you too and Shakshuka sounds more like something you wrap around your hair to keep it neat in the wind?! 

Well, whether you know and love Shakshuka (and scroll straight past this highly irrelevant post) or have never heard of it before, I can't sing its' praises enough. 

Shakshuka Shakshuka Shakshuka Shakshuka Shakshuka Shakshuka Shakshuka Shakshuka Shakshuka 

When I first stumbled across a recipe for it in the Fast Diet Recipe Book I thought it sounded great! I then included it briefly in a Lose Day Tuesday post and have had friends/readers very casually mention that it was nice to see that I tried Shakshuka, as though its something everyone secretly goes home and makes every weekend but never mentions it to a soul. Oh yes and I think if I type it more, I will be able to stumble less when saying it! Shakshuka shakshuka shakshuka. 

Yotam Ottolenghi's restaurant NOPI is apparently famous for their Shakshuka, which I can't wait to go and sample for myself, and being so low calorie, it makes for an awesome Fast Day dinner (or breakfast if you structure your calories to be top-heavy).

Ingredients (for two)

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 medium red pepper, chopped

1 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

pinch of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

2 eggs (I did three, one for Husband and two for me)

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Method:

1. Heat oil and sauté onion for a few minutes until they have softened slightly. 

2. Add garlic and red pepper and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato puree, along with the spices and simmer for another 5 minutes. 

4. Season and then crack the eggs directly over the tomato mix and cover with foil. 

5. Cook for about 7 minutes (I did mine for the suggested 10 and one egg was far too overcooked. All you need is for the whites to be solid, so check it a few times, you really want the yolks runny!

6. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy hot! 

PMI

Plus = Healthy, low calorie, spicy, filling, delicious
Minus = Overcooking the eggs is very easy to do!
Interesting = the egg tastes almost sweet in this dish (which I happen to love)

I will definitely report back when I find my way to NOPI and let you know how their Shakshuka compares!!



Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!