5:2 Diet Vegetarian Recipe: A comforting Bean Chilli after a heavy weekend.

The beauty of the 5:2 diet is that not everyday is a fast day, handy when you have a bank holiday weekend that's choc full of dinner parties, Sunday roasts, wine tastings and ice cream.

Needless to say, I have had a great a great couple of days but it actually came as a relief to lay off the food. In fact, fasting seems to be a great antidote to the excesses of the weekend, having limited my calories today I've rid myself of that bloated feeling that's all to familiar at the end of a holiday. 

It's been a lovely day, not a cloud in the sky and glorious sunshine so I fancied something fresh tasting for supper tonight. But I was also rather tired after a hectic 72 hours, so comfort food was needed! I tend to find that marrying those two requirements isn't always that easy, I think this Low-fat, Bean Chilli recipe does the trick though. The use of beans and peppers rather than soya mince seems to make it a little lighter and lots of lime and coriander really lifts the dish. The addition of smoked paprika satiates my need for a warming note that seems all the more necessary when I'm a little tired.

Vegetarian 5:2 Recipe: Smokey Bean Chilli (215 calories per serving)

This recipe serves 4.

20 sprays low cal spray – (20)
 

1 small onion – (40)

2 Garlic Cloves – (10)
 

10g Chilli – (10)
 

½ Red Pepper – (50)
 

½ Green Pepper – (50)
 

Black bean carton – (207)
 

1 tin kidney beans – (224)
 

1 tsp Smoked Paprika – (6)
 

1 tsp ground cumin – (8) 
 

½ tsp ground coriander – (3)
 

½ tsp cayenne pepper – (3)
 

A pinch of cinnamon – (1)
 

1.5 tins plum tomatoes – (135)
 

200g frozen spinach – (80)

 

Juice of one lime – (10)
 

25g fresh coriander – (5)

1. Fry off the onion in the spray oil for 10 minutes on a medium heat. I find that when using the spray it drys out quickly so keep a glass of water on hand and add splashes of that periodically to stop the onions from sticking. 

2. Add in the chilli, garlic and peppers. 'Fry' off for a further 2 minutes then add in the beans and dry spices. Cook off the spices for another couple of minutes. 

3. Pour in the tinned tomatoes then add in 500 ml of water. Pop the frozen spinach in too,the blocks will disperse as the ice melts. Simmer away for 20 minutes, it will reduce down by about a third. 

4. Stir though the coriander and lime juice and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. 

I served this with 50g of cooked rice for 64 calories and a tablespoon of low fat natural yogurt for a measly 21 calories. A yummy supper for only 300 calories, a 5:2 bargain!

FOR MORE 5:2 FAST DIET RECIPES CLICK HERE

Don't miss a recipe, come and follow me on Twitter

 

@BCTinyKitchen