Now updated with photos and calorie counts.

Continuing my tour of light and healthy Mediterranean cuisine this week, with influences from France, Morocco and Italy, but adding in a little inspiration from elsewhere to spice it up a bit.

I’ll be aiming to use asparagus and rhubarb as key seasonal ingredients. At the market this morning, I also bagged a lovely bunch of watercress, some Swiss chard and a very healthy looking bunch of pale and interesting carrots.

Behind the carrots are some early globe artichokes – my favourite way of eating these is with loads of butter, so I’d better find a more healthy recipe before I add those to my meal plan!

A few less dishes on this plan – I am finding that we often have left-overs to use up, as I am still buying and cooking more than we are actually eating!  

This is week 11 for us on our 5:2 diet. I am over 2/3 of the way to my target healthy weight now, having lost 8.7 kg (19lbs), which is absolutely brilliant. My husband meanwhile has lost nearly 15 kg and has revealed that there was a six pack there, all along… 🙂

So this week we’ll do another 2 fast days and the rest of the time we’re keeping light on the carbs, so as not to lose momentum – but there are plenty of delicious treats along the way, as I focus on flavour and make light but tasty versions of some of our favourite dishes to share with you.

 

Saturday: dinner for friends ~ 550 kcals

• Cucumber, Broad Bean, Pea and Apple Salad with Sesame Filo Crisps
• Red Mullet with Coconut Lime sauce, Puy Lentil salad and Watercress Salad
• Rhubarb and Orange Compote with Cardamom Custard

 

 

 

 

Sunday: local specialities and home grown rhubarb

• Asparagus Filo Pastries with Grainy Mustard and Gruyere ~100 kcals
• Sticky Marmalade Duck with Celeriac Mash, Red Onion Confit and Swiss Chard ~310 kcals
• Fromage Blanc with Apple and Ginger ~ 120 kcals

 

Monday ~ Fast Day with an Indian kick

• Scrambled Egg with Smoked Trout ~ 130 kcals
• Watercress Soup ~60 kcals
• Carrot and Cumin Salad ~40 kcals
• Fish with a Mustard Masala, served with Kachumber Salad ~200 kcals
• Plum Kulfi ~50 kcals

Tuesday: Italian day

• Summer Minestrone Soup ~100 kcals
• Turkey Saltimbocca alla Romana with a Muscat Jus, served with Celeriac and Swiss Chard Rosti ~230 kcals
• Beetroot and Chocolate Cake (1/2 serving) ~112 kcals

Wednesday: Moorish influences

• Chicory and Mushroom Salad
• Cod with Tomato and Chorizo Sauce, served with Grean Beans and French Fries
• Sliced Blood Oranges with Dates and Pistachio

Thursday ~ Fast Day Italian style

• Vegetable Soup ~60 kcals
• Stuffed Salmon Fillet with steamed vegetables ~225 kcals
• Fruity Tiramisu ~120 kcals

 

 
Friday: a Moroccan menu with a Mexican twist

• Baby Beetroot Salad with Spiced Walnuts and Goats Cheese ~235 kcals
• Merguez Sausages with Cous-cous, Ginger Yogurt , Baked Butter Beans with Spinach and Carrot Salad ~225 kcals
• Mojito Cheesecake ~175 kcals

As I go through the week, I’ll be checking my recipes and calorie-counting them, putting some of them up here on my blog. I’m also working towards my 5:2 recipe book…..