The FastDay Forum

I am just making brunch (first meal of the day as always) and it occurred to me just how much I have learned and how my tastes have changed in the 16 months that I have been doing it the FastDay way. I have just poured some sparkling water into a nice glass and added a squirt of bottled lime juice and some ice cubes whilst I am making baked herby mushrooms to go with some bacon and scrambled eggs. How easy is that? I didn't even have to buy a lime, slice it and remember to use the rest up.

Baked mushrooms? Never made those before FastDay. Feta cheese? Never tasted it before. Great in a salad or omelette. Bags of washed salad with a piece of cooked chicken or salmon? I have these things in the fridge at all times. This is so quick and easy!

What foods and drinks do you have on standby that you use over and over again?

Always a good supply of my own free range organic eggs. I now love frittata and salad. I have also gone over to bags of salad leaves as it all gets eaten and is easy to prepare. I also always have fruit in the bowl and plenty of Perrier water in the pantry. I no longer have a sweet/ chocolate stash I just buy the occasional treat for that day. Also I no longer have a biscuit tin!

Yes, I definitely eat a lot more eggs now. Haven't got my own supply but I do buy decent 'Burford Browns' they have lovely golden yolks.

I also use a small pair of flat digital scales that weigh foods in any container. They sit against the tiles in my prep area and never get put away. I weigh almost everything and I think they are more important than bathroom scales.

Mine have deep yellow yolks too as they get corn every day. I have gone back to weighing food again along with calorie counting on feed days as think I have been too generous! All part of thevplan to shift this weight.

Another thing that springs to mind is a good supply of spices and dried or frozen herbs. I use jars of chilli, garlic and ginger and have just bought a bottle of garlic sauce. Haven't tried it yet. I know they are not the real deal but they are so handy for quick weekday meals when the object is just to get a meal on the table! I also use frozen chopped onion. Fast and convenient is the watchword on weekdays for me.

I have recently changed to frozen herbs and spices where possible as they have a much better flavour than dried. Garlic I find is still best fresh. Haven't found any garlic sauce here yet.

@Wendy Darling I was just thinking this the other day, and how much the contents of my weekly shopping trolley has changed. Also there is less waste with the fresh stuff, if it looks a bit sad it gets souped or stewed and frozen. More chillies more spices and herbs ( fresh, dried, yet to try frozen) more lemons and limes, that like yours never end up feeling sad in the fridge, they get used.
We still have a stash of chocolate, crisps etc in the house, but to be honest they've been there a while. In fact I used most of the chocolate in some cookies I made for a school event the other day.
And the amount of eggs I buy...I currently have a thing for mushroom omelette to break my fasts. And another thing that's always being brought - butter! Mmmmmmm mushrooms fried in butter...........mmmmmmmm

Yes, definitely. There are supermarket aisles that I never even frequent now and what I save on rubbish, I spend on quality because, yes, it is often more expensive. We still have chocolate in the house but it is mostly reserved for Friday nights, it makes it a treat to look forward to. We only have butter now and as I no longer eat bread I have nothing to spread it on!
For brunch today I made soufflé omelettes with cheese, ham, dill and Dijon mustard. Served with a bagged salad, tomatoes, red onion and garlic mayonnaise (made a start on the garlic sauce) was very nice if a bit of a faff. We would even have it for dinner as it wax very filling.

Butter on steamed veggies is delightful :0)

Two items that have found their way into my shopping cart are cabbage and cauliflower. I almost never had them before this WOE. I use them mostly on fasting days to keep carbs and cals down to a minimum. What I do is process the cauliflower until it looks like rice and then saute with seasonings to taste like Moroccan, Chinese, Italian or whatever I am preparing for my hubby. For the cabbage I julienne into very thin slices and do the same as with the cauliflower. Just two days ago I made the cabbage taste like Singapore street noodles!

@swan51.

Do share your recipe for the "street noodles" shredded cabbage!

I have been eating a lot of shredded cabbage myself of late, mostly steamed with a dab of ponzu sauce or a squirt of a delightful orange muscat vinegar they sell at Trader Joe's. I'm looking for more recipes for it which don't involve the low-fat diet cheeses that dominate quite a few of the low cal recipes I've found.

@peebles without dwelling too much on amounts (especially for the aromatic herbs as that is so up to individual preferences) here is the method that I use for the 'street noodle cabbage'. I think we just coined a new dish

Heat 1 Tbsp peanut oil, 3 drops of sesame oil
Add ginger, garlic, hot pepper flasks (optional) and cook for about 2 mins
Add strips of red bell pepper, 1/2 cabbage, shredded, 1 tsp curry powder
Stir to coat
Add 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, salt & pepper
Cover and simmer for 15 mins until cabbage is limp.

Enjoy!

That's sounds yummy Swan! Thanks. I agree with your idea about how our palates have changes since before 5:2. Here is my list of things I always have on hand or buy regularly that I didn't before because of what I have learned.
Coconut oil,macadamia and avocado oil to cook with.
I soak walnuts then pour off brown liquid ( phytic acid) then cook in a low oven then store in fridge.And grab a handful probably twice or 3 times a week.
Grass fed beef from Aldi or good butcher.
Salmon fillets.
Home made bone broth in freezer in 1 cup servings.
Cauliflower and cabbage for me too. And celery.
Eggs from 3 doors down- divine.
Cream.
Last but the best- organic salted butter from aldi. Yum.

I'm not scared of fat anymore and it is so much more fun to cook.
Xxx great thread WD.

That does sound good. I don't eat much cabbage, which is silly, because I like it.

I tend to have a lot of vegetables around that I can eat raw when I want a snack: carrots, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes.

@swan, Thanks! I will have to try that.

@julianna It sounds like Aldi's where you are is a very different store from Aldi's in the U.S.. Here is is all off brand cheap stuff, much of it quite suspicious looking.

But the company that owns Aldi also owns Trader Joe's which has the grass fed beef and organic vegetables, wonderful cheeses and lots of other stuff that I am addicted to so much, I drive an hour round trip to shop there every week.

Thinking of TJs reminded me that I bought a collection of 4 different Near Eastern spice mixes there a few weeks ago, put them in the cupboard and promptly forgot about them. They may go into today's cabbage stir fry, as it is a fast day. One of the spices is sumac. I happen to have sumac growing all along the edge of my property and it has those red clusters right now. I wonder if it is the same thing and how eatable it is. Does anyone know?

... minutes later: Google knows (of course <g>). The staghorn sumacs I have aren't quite the same, but I can make them into a tea if so inclined by soaking them cold and straining. Could happen!