As promised, here’s my dinner from the first day of my 5:2 diet shenanigans (Apologies, slightly blurry picture courtesy of my rubbish phone!)
Adapted from this recipe in Good Food Magazine, it comes in at a shade under 200 calories per portion (by my reckoning) and was very filling to boot!
Interested? Here’s how it goes:
Butternut Squash, Chickpea and Spinach Curry
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
-1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed (320ish calories- hard to be exact unless you weighed it)
-4 tomatoes (64 calories)
-200g spinach (46 calories)
-1 tin chickpeas, drained (290 calories)
-couple of squirts of spray oil (4 calories)
-300 ml stock- I used marigold reduced salt boullion (20 calories)
-Tablespoon of curry paste- I used tescos rendang paste- it was in the cupboard, so it got used- If you want something hotter, feel free to go with it! (18 calories)
Total calories per portion- 190.5 (which means you’re free to finish it off with a tablespoon of low fat greek yoghurt, should you desire!- it makes the whole thing a bit saucier)
The method
1- Fry the butternut squash cubes with the spray oil for 4-5 minutes until they go a bit crispy round the edges
2- Add the curry paste, stir for a minute, then add the stock. Bubble that on a low heat for 15ish minutes, or until the squash is soft
3- Tip in the tomatoes and chickpeas, continue cooking for 3-4 minutes, until the toms start to break down
4- Add the spinach and stir til it’s wilted
5-Eat and feel a bit smug at your low cal dinner
Gem's World 