Smart Carbs Three Day Meal Plan: Day Three
Thinking ahead is one of the key factors in making sure you eat a healthy and balanced diet. These first three days of my five week plan are here to get you on your way to eating plenty of those wonderful smart carbs!
Follow the rest of the five week plan in the book Smart Carbs: Eat Carbs and Still Lose Weight With My Amazing 5 Week Smart Carb Plan.
Tex-Mex chicken soup| Oatcakes| Fresh tomato sauce and pasta
Day One | Day Two | Day Three
Breakfast
3 tbsp sugar-free muesli + 200ml milk + handful of blueberries
Snack
100g pomegranate seeds
Lunch
Tex-Mex chicken soup + 1 slice of wholegrain bread
Another family favourite. Quite a spicy soup this one, but you can leave out the chipotle paste if you want a milder flavour. Or, ladle out bowlfuls for those who don’t want the heat, then add the chipotle to the rest and simmer for another minute. That way everyone should be happy.
Serves 4
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 4 skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into thin strips
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tsp chipotle paste (optional)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- small bunch of coriander, stems and leaves separated, finely chopped
- 800ml chicken stock
- 400g can of chopped tomatoes
- 200g sweet potatoes, diced
- 400g can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 100g sweetcorn (frozen is best), defrosted
- salt and black pepper
To serve
- 1 avocado, flesh finely diced
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- lime wedges
394 calories per serving
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add the red onion, reserving 2 tablespoons for the garnish, and fry it over a medium heat until it’s starting to soften. Add the strips of chicken and sear them on all sides, then turn down the heat and add the chopped garlic. Stir for a minute or so, then stir in the chipotle paste, if using, the cumin, dried oregano and coriander stems.
- Pour in the chicken stock and the tomatoes, then add the sweet potatoes, black beans and sweetcorn. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes until everything is cooked and the flavours have blended.
- Mix together the avocado, lime zest and juice, chopped coriander leaves and the reserved onion in a bowl, and season well with salt and pepper. Serve this garnish with the soup so everyone can help themselves and add some lime wedges to squeeze over the top.
Snack
1 oatcake + 1 tsp peanut butter
Using both porridge oats and oatmeal gives a nice coarse texture to these oatcakes, but you can use all oatmeal if you like. Good with a bowl of soup or a bit of cheese, or just whenever you feel like a crunchy mouthful.
Makes about 20
- 200g medium oatmeal
- 100g porridge oats
- ½ tsp salt
- 100g butter, softened
- 100ml just-boiled water
- flour, for dusting
96 calories per oatcake
- Put the oatmeal and oats in a large bowl and mix in the salt. Put the butter in a separate bowl, then pour the water over it and stir until the butter has melted. Pour the butter and water mixture into the bowl of oats and mix briefly.
- Clump the mixture together with your hands to make a fairly damp, but still crumbly dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to chill in the fridge for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is 2–3mm thick. Cut out rounds with a 7cm pastry cutter, re-rolling the dough when necessary. Using a palette knife, transfer the rounds to 2 baking trays.
- Bake the oatcakes for 20–25 minutes, until they’re browned around the edges and firm. Carefully transfer them to a wire rack and leave them to cool. Store the oatcakes in an airtight tin.
Dinner
Fresh tomato sauce and pasta + 100g cooked peeled prawns
Quickest of the quick, this sauce is barely cooked so you get the lovely fresh taste of the tomatoes. Serve with pasta or spiralised courgettes.
Serves 4
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 500g ripe fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 200g wholewheat pasta (or 400g spiralised courgettes)
- a handful of fresh basil leaves
- grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
- salt and black pepper
260 calories per serving with pasta; 105 with spiralised courgettes
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the garlic. Cook the garlic for a few moments, then add the tomatoes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, then leave the sauce to stand while you cook the pasta.
- Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water, according to the packet instructions, then drain. If using spiralised courgettes, plunge them into boiling water for 20 seconds, then drain.
- Pour the contents of the frying pan over the pasta or spiralised courgettes – ‘courgetti’ and serve immediately, sprinkled with fresh basil leaves and some freshly grated Parmesan, if you like.
Davina's Smart Carbs: Eat Carbs and Still Lose Weight With My Amazing 5 Week Smart Carb Plan is out now!
