I've been going on the 5:2 fast diet for a while and despite a rather sporadic start interrupted by trips to Portugal and Spain (the latter was chocca block with seriously delicious vegetarian food), I have managed to shed a stone.
A filling plate that was bursting with flavour for only 260 calories. What more could a foodie ask for!?
With each fast day, being hungry seems to get easier but I have to admit that Monday was a bit of an anomaly. Perhaps it's the heat or the copious amounts of food we ate at the weekend stretching our stomachs but come 6.30, I was ravenous. Dinner needed to be quick and we didn't have a particularly full fridge, along to my rescue came a small and unassuming tin of re-fried beans. Yes you heard it right, re-FRIED beans are officially diet food. Combined with carrot, parsley and a few spices they make for rather tasty burgers. These do have a tendency to crumble a little in the pan, so if you're not looking for a low cal option I would recommend adding in some breadcrumbs or dried soya mince that's been soaked for a bit of extra body.
5:2 Diet Vegetarian Recipe: Quick and Easy Low Calorie Spicy Bean Burgers (260 Calories)
Recipe serves 2
Fill up a food processor with:
170g carrots (70)
1 clove garlic (5)
20g flat leaf parsley (7)
sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional, the beans will already have some spice) (2)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika (1)
Pulse the mix until it's finely chopped and add to a small 215g tin of re-fried beans (192 - check the pack). Combine it all in a bowl and form into 4 spicy bean patties.
Fry in a non-stick frying frying pan with 10 sprays of low-cal "oil" spray (10) until it is golden brown on each side. It will be about 10 minutes cooking time in total with a flipe at the mid way point - careful when flipping though, the lack of a binding ingredient reduces the carbs but also renders these burgers a little on the delicate side!
Pop a couple of pitta breads (154 - check the pack) into the toaster for a minute or so, then fill each one with a handful of salad leaves (6), a couple of slices of tomato (15) and a burger. Dollop on some tzatziki made from 4 tsps of 0% fat yoghurt, (54) 5g fresh mint (2), seasoning and a tiny sprinkle of sumac (1).Serve with the other two burgers, left over tzatziki and salad.
Comments
Post a Comment