I’m well overdue another post, so the bloggers guilt has finally got to me and I write this as I sit watching my boyfriend watch Chelsea vs Swansea in the premier league (apparently I’ve lost all right to domestic conversation for the next nine months). As much as I hate football, it might just be the mind numbing boredom inducing catalyst that I need in order to kick me up the arse and get me writing again.

So anyway, instead of my usual ramblings I thought it might more useful to share some of my favourite fasting day dishes. Generally I try to experiment with a range of different dishes, with 200 cal or under for lunch and up to 300 cals for dinner (I never eat breakfast anyway-so sorry if you were hoping for some fast-day morning inspiration.. I might have some great smoothie recipes up my sleeve which I will post at a later date).

Lunch:

Garlicky Buffalo Mozzarella and tomato salad:

This one is all about flavour (hence the garlic) so choose the best quality tomatoes as you can possibly source. My Mum has her own allotment in France and grows her own- I will fail to express the difference in taste between home grown and supermarket toms if you haven’t already experienced it yourself. I bang on about this a lot. Sorry. I’m very boring. But if you cook this one, try to find some tomatoes that actually look like they’ve come out of the ground.. something like this…

Admittedly I’ve actually had to use the Tesco-bought tomatoes for want of access to my lovely mother’s allotment, the harvest of which is featured in the image above, and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality and flavour of their on-the-vine Kentish range.

Recipe:

Garlic- 1 clove

3 medium sized vine tomatoes

30g buffalo mozzarella

Balsamic vinegar (Tablespoon)

A sprig of fresh basil

Dinner:

Thai Marinated Chicken with steamed veg

Okay, so I’ll admit upfront that the chicken featured in this recipe is bought from Waitrose- only because I was having a lazy fast day on this occasion. However, a thai marinade is easily made using Thai Taste Thai Green Curry Paste, rice vinegar, soy and fish sauce and a small amount of demerara sugar .. as for the calories in that, it might be worth experimenting with marinades on a non fast day.. hence the somewhat lazy attitude to fast-day cooking.

So this one is literally 1/2 a pack of the Waitrose chicken breast chunks in aromatic Green Thai Marinade cooked with fry-light spray and mixed steamed veg. On this occasion I steamed the veg, but this would also work brilliantly as a Thai-style veg stir fry, using light fry-spray and a little soy sauce. Either way- this one is high in protein, delicious and amazingly satiating.