We’re on to week 6 of our 5:2 lifestyle and I’m delighted to have got below a virtual milestone this week. On to my next goal!

So my plan for the week ahead. I still have some food left in the fridge – it’s amazing how much less we are eating. So I have to think about how to use up the odds and ends as well as making the most of whatever local seasonal produce I can find and also to keep things simple – I’m not going to be spending much time in the kitchen this week.

My choice of seasonal and locally grown foods for this week include: red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash, leeks, celeriac, parsnips, apples, kiwi fruit, pears, plus clementines from Spain.

I am working on a target of 450 – 500 calories on a fast day and 1200 calories on a feed day – any more than that has to be earned by exercise. The numbers are based on my calculations for losing 1lb a week according to my BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate), as a largely sedentary person of my age, height and current weight. You can calculate your BMR here.

My husband has a target of 600 calories on a Fast Day and 1800 on a feed day. He gets larger portions and tends to eat crackers with soup as well.

I’m not showing breakfast except on fast day, or if I plan to try something new.

Here’s the plan:-

Saturday

• lunch: Home made pizza – 320 kcal for my portion
  Mixed Leaf Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette – 50 kcal
  Satsuma – 30 kcal
• supper: Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower & Almond soup – 160 kcals (for 200 ml BBC Good Food version – mine is lighter)
  Mushrooms and Grilled Back Bacon on Wholewheat Toast, green salad with balsamic dressing
  Glazed Pineapple with Cinnamon Fromage Frais 160 kcal ( BBC Good Food again, my version is lighter, but I haven’t had time to write it up yet!)
• extras: yes, wine and chocolates, why not?
  I make the pizza dough in my bread maker. I split one batch to make 2 thin crust pizzas, which cuts the calories down enormously.

Sunday

• lunch: Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower & Almond soup – 160 kcals
  Farmhouse Paté with crispbread, light cole slaw and green salad – 260 kcals
  small piece of cheddar cheese – 10g – 40 kcals
  Fresh fruit salad (apple, pear, blood orange, banana)- 80 kcals
• dinner: Roast Pork with Seasonal Vegetables – going to try a variation of my healthy Sunday roast this week, using a lean pork fillet joint. I may base it on this recipe (290 kcals) and I’ll add some seasonal veg, like parsnips and red cabbage.
  Chocolate Pear Crisp – 140 kcal (I made this last week and it was yummy, but I think I can improve on it)
• extras: wine and dark Belgian chocolate (that’s it for treats until next weekend…)
  I’ll make a couple of wholewheat loaves today and freeze one. I’m trying to make sure that the majority of our staple carbs are wholegrain.
  

Monday – FAST day

• breakfast: Scrambled Egg with Lean Ham – 120 kcal
• dinner: Simple Vegetable Soup – 70 kcal
  Asian Poached Chicken
  Vegetable Salad (red pepper, celeriac, carrot, broccoli, spring onion)
  Vietnamese Style Dressing
  Cherry Choc dessert (0% fat fromage blanc, cherries and grated dark chocolate; no sweetener)

Tuesday

• lunch: Stir-fry pork and vegetables (using leftover from roast)
  Light apple and blackberry crumble
• supper: Caribbean Butternut Squash Soup
  No-Carb Caesar Salad with Crispy Parma Ham (this is a suggestion in The Fast Diet book, it is a really good idea. I’ll use leftover poached chicken in this).
  fresh fruit and fromage blanc

Wednesday

• lunch: Leek Risotto with Parmesan Crisps (Nigel Slater recipe) – 250 kcal
  I’ll use the chicken stock from the Asian Poached Chicken for this
  Frozen Cherry Choc dessert
• supper : Caribbean Butternut Squash Soup
  Farmhouse Paté with light cole slaw and mixed salad – 260 kcals
  light apple and blackberry crumble

Thursday – FAST day

• breakfast: Porridge with blackberries
• dinner: Carrot and coriander soup
  Teriyaki Salmon with steamed vegetables
  Clementine

Friday

• breakfast: Swiss style muesli with grated apple (soak oats overnight, add grated apple in the morning)
• lunch: Wholewheat Penne Pasta with Duck Ragu (from the freezer)
  fresh fruit salad
• Carrot and coriander soup
  Tuna and Bean Salad with Feta Cheese
  fromage blanc topped with chopped kiwi and dried cherries

There should be enough tasty variety of food there to keep us both happy – and keep the weight off. I’ll try and add the recipes as I have the time. I’ve got plenty more ideas!