The FastDay Forum

I'm Vegetarian. On fast days I tend to have brown rice, steam veg and Dahl. I freeze portions so they are on hand and I don't have to cook. Haven't got bored yet!

that sounds great-dahl is my absolute favourite dish at the moment! Do you use all your calories on one meal?

that sounds great-dahl is my absolute favourite dish at the moment! Do you use all your calories on one meal?

Yes, I find if I eat earlier it seems to wake my appetite. I can have a substantial sized meal of rice, Dahl & veg for around 400 cals plus a piece of fruit and I'm done. I like how liberating it is not to think about what I'm going to eat all day

Hi. Also vegetarian. I'm going to be doing my 4th fast on Thursday and wondering what to cook for my evening meal. I split my cals between breakfast and tea with nothing inbetween. So far it's been stir fry all the way and I'm not sure I can face another one! I have to cook a meal for the rest of my family plus I have a meeting to go to at the kids school, so considering beans on toast as it's easy. Any other ideas?

I cook lots of veg like squash, brussels, carrots, onions etc etc. and whizz in a blender to make a sort of bubble and squeak. Add salt, pepper and herbs and then you can fry pats of it to go with whatever protein you plan. If you have a non-stick pan you don't even have to add any oil if you don't want to.

Hi there, another veggie here! I try to limit my dairy too...though cheese is hard to avoid, I find...

I'm on my first fast day, though I'm fairly used to low calorie veggie eating from previous diets. So far I've only drunk herbal tea...

I cook for my boyfriend as well as myself most nights, but he's not veggie so I'm already used to doing two versions of the same meal. Tonight I'll be having stir fry with a little sweet and sour sauce and some noodles. Just a lot less of it than I cook for him. I love Quorn too.

What I'm struggling with is a "lunch" for fast days when I'm at work. I don't work regular days (I work in a museum and can be on the rota for any random 5 days of the week) so there will be fast days when I'm working. It's a really active job and I really have to eat something in my lunchbreak. I can't have my usual sandwiches, apple and small bar of chocolate... Does anyone have any suggestions for a reasonably sustaining veggie packed lunch?

Hi Becca

Have you access to a microwave?

I've got this recipe for chilli non carne:

http://nobreadisanisland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/52-recipes-chilli-non-carne-vegan.html

I thought a portion of just the veg sauce - no beans or anything - would be reasonably filling, and could easily come in under 100 calories.

Cheers, B&W

Thanks B&W!
That's an excellent idea and it does sound yummy. I do have access to a microwave at work...just never thought about using it before, sandwiches being so easy. But I think some nice chilli sauce in the middle of the day might even be better than sandwiches!

Becca

No probs! I don't do salad, but if you think of the chilli as a warm (or hot ) salad, it does the same job!

B&W

Lifelong veggie here but vegan since the start of the year. I am the FATTEST veggie you ever met but have lost a stone since New Year on a vegan / wheat free / suagr free diet and feel a whole lot better (no brain fog). Adding 5:2 into the mix as a way of speeding up my weight loss and trying to ensure a happy healthy old age

FaithKaan - I am juicing on my fast days as have been studying raw food / juicing and am very impressed at the health benefits.Can't get 'Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead' here in the UK but would love to see it as it has been recommended to me

Veggie who doesnt really do dairy - i am intollerant to milk (apart from the smallest amount) and detest cheese! but i eat eggs.

My fast day so far is water porridge with almonds and sunflower seeds, and for dinner 3 falafals, 3 slices of quorn roast (100g) and a salad.

This is however only my 3rd fast day.

I'm a vegetarian and have been doing IF since August 2012 - alternate day to start with and now 5:2 for maintenance. I have a good selection of office lunches by now. Try microwaveable snack pots of baked beans - only about 160 cal. Or sachets of dried pasta that you put in a mug and add hot water - the tomato one is less than 300 cal. Ryvita with Laughing Cow lite triangles = approx 65 cal per slice/triangle, three of those feels like lunch and is still under 200 cal. I sometimes take home-made soup. Or tzaziki or cottage cheese with mini rice cakes. Sometimes low fat hummous with carrot sticks although that has far more cals than tzaziki. Hard-boiled egg and (small) marmite sandwich goes well together. I keep a stock of 10 cal jellies in the fridge. Apples are good for snacks, or lite Babybels or those mini boxes of dried fruit - approx 40 cal each. I generally skip breakfast and just do a light lunch and light supper. And if in need of a treat in the evening, there's hardly any calories in a low calorie G&T with a slice of lemon...

Hi there, this is my 6th week of doing the 5:2 and I have worked out a really good way to stick to it. I just make a big pot of vege soup with whatever veges I have on hand. I count all the calories as I add the items in, it usually works out to be about 800 cals. I do this on a Wednesday night, I divide it in two 400cal lots, freeze one half for the following Monday's fast day and eat a bowl of soup for lunch and dinner on Thursday. If I don't have a beetroot juice for brekky I can have a slice of GF toast with the evening bowl of soup. I make it really tasty with lots of garlic, chilli and herbs YUM! easy to do and means I don't have to be in the kitchen while my partner defrosts something yummy that we have made on another night or cooks himself something vegan and delicious!

Hi Faithkaan
I am a lifelong vego and vegan for about 9 months this time. As i have Coeliac I had put on weight over four year period and it had been hard to lose, even though I do 7-9 gym classes a week. I have been on 5:2 since late January and have lost about 5 kilos so far, it is pretty steady, about 0.5 per week. although one fortnight I only lost a smaller amount, I just keep going and over time it averages out. I only weigh myself once a fortnight. I have found making a big pot of vege soup and counting the calories (using a digital scale) as I put them in the pot, up to 800 then freeze half of it, works for me. I have a 200cal bowl of soup for lunch at work and another for dinner with a slice of dry GF buckwheat toast, which is anther 100. There are other good things like the slim pasta, or zero noodles, which work out as less than 20 cals, so you can
Have variety and keep it easy. Good luck. Let us know how yo are going. Think sharing on here is very powerful fr everyone. I love browsing around and getting ideas from everyone else.

hi I am a vegetarian too on the 5:2 Diet and losing weight too!