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- 11 January 2016 < Back to gossip

Smart Carbs Three Day Meal Plan: Day Two

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.

Smoked fish and beetroot salad | Rye and spelt crackers | Poached chicken with lemon sauce

Day One | Day Two | Day Three

Breakfast

1 slice of wholemeal toast with 2 tsp of peanut butter;

1 banana

Snack

Apple

Lunch

Smoked fish and beetroot salad; 1 orange for pud

Serves 4

  • 1 eating apple
  • 100g celeriac
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 150g salad leaves, well washed
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 250g smoked mackerel fillets
  • 400g cooked beetroot
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • salt and black pepper

308 calories per serving

  1. Cut the apple and celeriac into thin matchsticks and put them in a bowl. Mix a teaspoon of the lemon juice with a tablespoon of water and pour it over, mixing well, to stop the apple and celeriac turning brown.
  2. Arrange the salad leaves on a large platter or in a bowl. Sprinkle the celeriac and apple on top, followed by the shallot. Remove the skin from the mackerel and pull the flesh into chunks and add them to the salad. Cut the beetroot into wedges and add those too.
  3. Whisk the rest of the lemon juice with the oil and mustard and season with salt and pepper. If the dressing seems too thick, thin it with a tablespoon of water, then drizzle it over the salad and serve.

Snack

1 rye and spelt cracker + 30g red pepper and feta dip

Crispy crackers make a perfect snack with a dip or a sliver of cheese – and if you make your own you know exactly what’s in them. I’ve suggested a couple of different toppings but you can have fun experimenting with your own flavours.

Makes about 24

  • 200g wholemeal spelt flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 100g rye flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 egg white
  • Topping
  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • or
  • 2 tbsp grated cheese
  • 1 tbsp dried rosemary

61 calories per cracker with seed topping; 55 with cheese topping

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4. Mix the spelt and rye flours in a bowl and add the salt. Drizzle over the olive oil and stir it into the flour, then make a well in the middle. Gradually work in 125–150ml of water, stopping at 125ml to check if the dough clumps together properly. If it doesn’t, add a little more water until you can form a ball that’s not too crumbly.
  2. Generously flour the work surface, then gently knead the dough until it’s smooth. Roll it out until it’s as thin as you can make it – this amount of dough should make a rectangle the size of a regular 20 x 30cm baking tray.
  3. Cut the crackers into rounds with a 7cm diameter cookie cutter, or into any shape you like, and arrange them on a couple of baking trays.
  4. Whisk the egg white with a tablespoon of water and brush it over the crackers. Sprinkle them with your choice of topping, then prick them all with a fork. Don’t stint on this step or the crackers may puff up.
  5. Bake the crackers in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes, until they are crisp and golden. Make sure the undersides are completely dry. If you’ve topped your crackers with cheese they may need to cook for a little longer.
  6. Remove the crackers from the oven and immediately transfer them to a rack. Once cool, they should have a good snap without any chewiness. Store the crackers in an airtight container.

Dip

Makes about 14 x 30g servings

  • 3 red peppers, halved and deseeded or jar of ready-roasted red peppers
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 200g feta cheese
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • ½ tsp dried mint
  • pinch of cayenne

34 calories per serving

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. Put the red peppers on a baking tray and roast them for 30–40 minutes until the skin has started to blacken and the flesh is softening. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover with cling film, then leave them to steam. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins. If you’re using ready-roasted peppers, just remove them from the jar and drain off the liquid.
  2. Put the flesh in a food processor or blender. Add the garlic and most of the feta, reserving about 20g to use as a garnish. Add the olive oil and blitz the mixture until it’s fairly smooth, then transfer it to a serving bowl. Crumble over the reserved feta and drizzle over a little more olive oil. Sprinkle with dried mint and some cayenne.

Dinner

Poached chicken with lemon sauce + 1 x 175g baked sweet potato + French bean

This is one of my sister Caroline’s recipes. The children weren’t keen at first because the chicken didn’t look all golden and roasted, but once they’d tasted it they all went very quiet!!! Now it’s another family fave.

Serves 4

  • 1 x 1.5–1.8kg chicken
  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • 2 thinly pared strips of lemon peel
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 large sprig of tarragon (optional)
  • 1 large sprig of thyme
  • 1.5 litres chicken stock or water
  • 250g small carrots, peeled but left whole
  • 2 turnips, cut into wedges
  • 3 leeks, cut into rounds of 4–5cm
  • salt and black pepper

Sauce

  • 1 thinly pared strip of lemon peel
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 50ml crème fraiche
  • leaves from a sprig of tarragon, finely chopped (optional)

386 calories per serving

  1. Put the chicken in a large saucepan or a casserole dish – it should be a fairly snug fit. Break up the garlic and drop the unpeeled cloves into the pot, together with the lemon peel and herbs. Pour the stock or water into the pan and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Bring the liquid to the boil, then turn the heat down to a fairly gentle simmer and cover the pan. Leave the chicken to cook for half an hour, then add the vegetables. Simmer for another 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Leave the chicken to stand for 15 minutes – it will continue to cook during this time.
  3. Check the chicken is done – the juices in the thickest part of the leg should run clear. (If necessary, you can put the pan back over the heat for another 5 minutes or so.) Leave the chicken in the casserole dish, and ladle 400ml of the cooking liquid into a small saucepan.
  4. Add the lemon peel to the reserved cooking liquid and boil until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the lemon juice and simmer for a couple of minutes to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary. Whisk in the crème fraiche and simmer the sauce for another couple of minutes – it should be the consistency of single cream. Stir in the tarragon, if using.
  5. Transfer the chicken to a platter, draining off any liquid that’s collected inside. Arrange the vegetables and garlic cloves around the chicken and serve moistened with a small amount of the cooking liquid and the lemon sauce.

Davina's Smart Carbs: Eat Carbs and Still Lose Weight With My Amazing 5 Week Smart Carb Plan is out now at Amazon | Waterstones | WH Smith