The FastDay Forum

@ADFnFuel, thanks for that very handy conversion chart. I'll tape it in my recipe folder.

Further to this, I love broccoli stems - the main stalk peeled is usually 'cook's perk' here Have to say that the 'super sharp' cheddar that we bought in Florida was nothing at all like a sharp British cheddar.

@Winsome,

To get the kind of cheese you are thinking of you would have to avoid any of the packaged mass market "sharp cheddar" cheeses and look for aged Vermont cheddar off the wheel. Usually it has a black wax exterior. The well-aged Vermont stuff is as good as any cheddar you could find anywhere. It used to be in our supermarket all the time, then it was only in the supermarket around Christmas, and now it is mostly in the cheese shops.

The Cabot brand "seriously sharp" cheddar is the best of the ones you will find mass market. I don't know if you can find it in Florida. As I said, I couldn't find a lot of what I'm used to buying in New England down in Florida.

We can also buy several English cheddars at Trader Joe's. The cave aged one is similar to a three year aged Vermont cheddar.

And of course, in cities, there are dedicated cheese shops where you can find all kinds of wonderful things. We live in too rural an area to have one, but my daughter brings us treats from the Boston area when she visits.

Ooohhh, sort of off topic but I bought a spiralizer today. Am going to try the broccoli stems in it

Well, I just cooked up my broccoli (stem) slaw with a squirt of ponzu and orange muscat vinegar and they were WONDERFUL! Better than the "rainbow slaw" from the same company and even better than the classic slaw. And I say this as someone who does NOT like broccoli.

Thanks for that suggestion. I'm going to have to try the lemon garlic recipe sometime when the lemons are not one inch long and a dollar apiece which is what they were yesterday, thanks to the California drought. I didn't know lemons could be that small. <sigh>

@peebles and @lovemyparrot. Have to swing by Whole Foods on the way home so will go and pick some up. My fast day supper sorted. Thank you

Edit: Delicious. I ate it stir fried asian style.

I have a few of the Biggest Loser cookbooks and also some Hungry Girl ones. They are both helpful for fast day meals.

@wendy darling. I have a spiralizer at home in the UK. But this is better and it was cheaper too when I bought it for home here. It works like a pencil sharpener. http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-1 ... cadevice=c

Thank you @rawkaren yes! That's the one I've got. I wanted the one with the handle but was recommended this one in the shop. It was a lot more expensive than your one and I wasn't convinced. I had a demo with a carrot, ooohhhh errrrr and thought it did a good job. When I got home I tried to do potato for the family in it, it was so hard to do but they were a success. I was a bit disappointed so am glad that you have recommended this one. That has cheered me up no end so thank you.

@wendy darling. The best use is for courgettes on the 'fat' noodle setting. I also use it here to make daikon noodles but I know its hard to get daikon in the UK.

I keep seeing different varieties of these in the stores, but wondering why their output would be any different from what I get with an old fashioned vegetable peeler, the kind that swivels. That's what I have used for years to make zucchini noodles.

I'm one of those people who is too lazy to use my food processor because I hate having to clean the darn thing. So the advantage of the peeler is that it washes clean in ten seconds. Also I don't have to push on the veggie or twist it which can be hard on my aging hands.

I saw the one with the handle, which was expensive enough to make me think twice and had a bit of a Rube Goldberg look to it. But since I'm eating so much of this julienned stuff, maybe one of these devices would be helpful.

I have heard good things about the Veggetti http://www.buyveggetti.com - I don't have one myself as, believe it or not, I don't really like zucchini (courgettes) and I understand it works best with zucchini and not so much for carrots, potatoes, etc. I think its about $19.95, so not too expensive. It is available in stores, Walmart for one.

Zucchini are not my favorites at all. Hubby loves them, but I only like them if the flavor is overwhelmed by curry, chili, or some other strong flavor. I put some slices in my soup for yesterday's fast instead of mushroom, and they were pretty good that way. I might try the noodle-y version next time.

@judithn, I got the Bob Harper book you recommended from the library. (I LOVE interlibrary loan!) He has an excellent approach and you won't go wrong eating the things he suggests.

Unfortunately, many of his recipes are too carby for me. The idea that somehow complex carbs don't raise blood sugar is very popular, but not true for anyone with significant blood sugar issues, like me.
He is also wrong in claiming that rising insulin increases hunger. It is falling blood sugar coming off a peak that does that. But I am used to seeing these sorts of commonly repeated errors in bestselling diet books. His food suggestions are certainly very healthy, with perhaps the exception of the ground turkey, which is full of added phosphate, alas. And best of all, they are not too complicated to cook.

I am going to try his chimichurri beef and his curry when I get the ingredients. His felafel looked really good, too, except for the high carb count which wouldn't work for me except as an indulgence--and not on a fast day as it would make me too hungry. But I do love felafel, and I have never been able to make felafel at home that didn't fall apart in the frying. Baking them seems like a fine idea.

What have you made from that book, and were there any that were really tasty? Quite a few look like things I already make just slopping together ingredients (I used to be a pretty good cook though I burnt out after 20+ years of cooking every day for the family.) But it's possible they are better than what I make because of the little tweaks.

But reading his book also reminded me of why I love this 5:2 diet, because week after week of eating nothing but those bird-sized uber healthy meals---UGH.!Been there. Done that. Ended up feeling totally deprived! And when I get deprived, that is the end of the diet.

I so love that I can eat other stuff on 5:2 and not build up that feeling of deprivation. My fast days are extremely healthy, the rest pretty clean but lots more fat and salt. But I know for a fact that if I had to eat all those elegant, spa-like meals day in and day out for 6 months I'd end up with horrendous cravings for even more fat and salt, to say nothing of flour and sugar.

For me the secret to long-lasting diet success has been careful avoidance of perfection.