Jay Dickens
Author Bio
Jay Dickens and Nik Forester love books and reading and talking about books and reading. Both have published extensively in the technical realm, with literally hundreds of articles and book chapters between them, not a single one (to date) featuring blood-curdling screams, bodice-ripping passion, or foul creatures from the dark dimensions.
In addition to their passion for fiction, Jay and Nik share an appreciation of good food and magnificent wine, a delight in pretty places, and an abhorrence of spiders that borders on the absurd.
Description
You’ve worked hard. You’ve cut your calories two days each week, and you’re well on your way to better health and longer life. You look and feel younger, your body’s tuned to combat aging, and the extra pounds are melting away. Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease – they’re running scared!
Don’t let diet fatigue derail your hard work. It’s easy to slip into a rut. The same foods, week after week, month after month, and before you know it, sheer boredom takes over. There’s nothing to eat and you’re tired of dieting.
It’s been said before, but your best defense is a good offense. Combat diet fatigue and stay on track by arming your fast days with fresh and exciting menus. You don’t need to spend your weekends cooking, and you don’t need a pantry of exotic ingredients. In fact, simple is often better when it comes to dieting.
In this collection of 30 low-calorie breakfast recipes, we show you how to prepare make-ahead meals, quick grab-and-go options, and even hot meat-and-potatoes dishes for days when you need something more filling. With just 50-300 calories per meal, these 5:2 Diet recipes will recharge your fast days without weighing you down.
Included in this collection are slimmed-down and delicious recipes for:
• Huevos Rancheros
• Smoked Salmon Sandwich
• Blueberry Muffins
• Spicy Egg and Rice Bowl
• Breakfast Bread Pudding
• and even Apple Fritters, Eggs Benedict, and French Toast!
And all are under 300 calories per serving!
Also included are:
• An overview of the 5:2 Fast diet, including meal planning strategies and survival tips
• A list of 5:2 Diet power foods
• Calorie counts for all recipes
• Preparation notes that include cooking tips and menu options
Book excerpt
Welcome!
If you’ve already started to follow the 5:2 Diet, then keep reading. If you’ve bought this book because you’re intrigued as to what it is (Wow! A diet where I get to eat 7 meals a day! – Sorry, no…) then you might want to jump to page 3 for a short overview of the background and benefits.
As long-time followers of the 5:2 Fast Diet, we understand how easy it is to become diet-weary after a while: the same basic foods, twice a week, month after month. It’s easy to hit a rut of the same low-calorie options simply in order to save effort. The initial enthusiasm in starting something new quickly wanes once the euphoria wears off and the drudgery sets in.
Finding creative and interesting options for breakfast has been especially challenging. A piece of fruit will satisfy the calorie limitations (and is a great option for rushed mornings), but what about hot breakfasts, cereals, and breads?
The key to a successful low-calorie day is preparation. If you wake up in the morning and find you have nothing in the cupboard that will give you a good-sized portion to eat without using up your entire calorie allowance, then it’s going to be a struggle.
With these thoughts in mind, we set out to develop a set of 5:2-friendly breakfast recipes, including make-ahead meals, quick grab-and-go options, and even hot meat-and-potatoes dishes. We’ve organized the recipes into 4 sections:
Under 50 calories, for when you’re saving the bulk of your fast day allotment for later in the day;
50-100 calories, for dieters who prefer 5-6 small meals or snacks throughout their fast days;
100-200 calories, for the three-squares-a-day dieter in which each meal is roughly 1/3 of the daily allotment; and
200-300 calories, for those who divide their daily calories into two main meals.
The next section gives a quick overview of the 5:2 Fast Diet and discusses meal planning strategies and survival tips in more detail. We’ve also included charts of common fruits and other breakfast-friendly foods that list the calories per gram, along with typical portion sizes.
A note about ingredients: What you won’t find in any of these recipes are artificial sweeteners and other such “diet” foods. We believe that the 5:2 is a lifelong eating plan, not a lose-weight-fast scheme, and as such, needs to be sustainable and healthy in the long term. Without commenting on the conflicting and sometimes acrimonious research as to the long-term effects of artificial sweeteners, we prefer to err on the side of caution and focus on healthy, natural alternatives.