I'm doing 5:2 with my husband and we're both doing well on it. However as a family we have a rule about always eating the evening meal together. Whilst I am a very keen cook, I cannot face cooking two separate meals on an evening at the best of times and certainly not on a Fast day.
We eat at around 5:30/6:00pm as the children are both young but I think this method could be adapted and work whatever the mix of people at the table. So I thought I'd start a thread for ideas on how this might work.
We're a big fan of Asian cooking and as they are generally meals that are high in veg and lower in fat I've found these the easiest to adapt so far.
So typically on a Monday we have my version of ramen, but both me and hubby skip the noodles. I use homemade Asian stock, add in some protein (chicken, fish, prawns, squid, skinned duck breast and then tons of veggies). I use a smear of miso paste at the bottom of each soup bowl and dilute it with a bit of stock (never put boiling stock directly onto miso paste, it destroys a lot of the nutritional benefits). I cook the noodles for the kids seperately and pop into their bowls and then dish the soup on top.
On Thursdays we will have a stir fry - cooked in a non-stick pan, and basically using a similar protein/veg mix as above. Garlic, ginger and spring onions and a splash of soy for seasoning, and the kids have some rice with it.
We both like a bit of heat and spice, which the children aren't as keen on yet, and so at the end I might add in some fresh chillies, chilli flakes or even better some Japanese Togarashi seasoning at the table which has a real kick to it (available from Waitrose/Ocado)
So basically we having the same meal every Monday and Thursday, but the reality is that it's different each time as the choice of protein and the mix of vegetables really varies. Even if I've not managed to get to the shops for fresh veg, I've always got tins of bamboo shoots and water chestnuts in - only 18cal per 100g.
Both these meals are really filling. Soup has that satiety effect so Mondays are especially effective.
If the warmer weather ever arrives, then we aren't going to want ramen, so I'm going to be looking for big salads, whch the children can have with a hunk of bread.
We eat at around 5:30/6:00pm as the children are both young but I think this method could be adapted and work whatever the mix of people at the table. So I thought I'd start a thread for ideas on how this might work.
We're a big fan of Asian cooking and as they are generally meals that are high in veg and lower in fat I've found these the easiest to adapt so far.
So typically on a Monday we have my version of ramen, but both me and hubby skip the noodles. I use homemade Asian stock, add in some protein (chicken, fish, prawns, squid, skinned duck breast and then tons of veggies). I use a smear of miso paste at the bottom of each soup bowl and dilute it with a bit of stock (never put boiling stock directly onto miso paste, it destroys a lot of the nutritional benefits). I cook the noodles for the kids seperately and pop into their bowls and then dish the soup on top.
On Thursdays we will have a stir fry - cooked in a non-stick pan, and basically using a similar protein/veg mix as above. Garlic, ginger and spring onions and a splash of soy for seasoning, and the kids have some rice with it.
We both like a bit of heat and spice, which the children aren't as keen on yet, and so at the end I might add in some fresh chillies, chilli flakes or even better some Japanese Togarashi seasoning at the table which has a real kick to it (available from Waitrose/Ocado)
So basically we having the same meal every Monday and Thursday, but the reality is that it's different each time as the choice of protein and the mix of vegetables really varies. Even if I've not managed to get to the shops for fresh veg, I've always got tins of bamboo shoots and water chestnuts in - only 18cal per 100g.
Both these meals are really filling. Soup has that satiety effect so Mondays are especially effective.
If the warmer weather ever arrives, then we aren't going to want ramen, so I'm going to be looking for big salads, whch the children can have with a hunk of bread.
