Light lunch ideas for 5:2 dieters

Spring is in the air, and the gradual shedding of bulky winter woollens is forcing thoughts of health and moderation that may not have been strictly adhered to in the dark days of February. We’ve been feeling the pinch in more ways than one, and are giving the 5:2 diet a whirl. Disclaimer: if lunch isn’t lunch unless it leaves you in need of a carb-loaded nap under your desk, then look away. Today’s column may not be for you; normal service will resume next week.

Back to “the skinny”. The way you use up your 500 allotted calories on a fasting day is up to you, of course, but we personally prefer to hold back on lunch, and have a proper (ish) dinner (@ellypear’s Instagram feed is a great source of inspiration for dinner ideas). But: here are some lunch ones. We weigh everything and use the MyFitnessPal app to calculate the calories – a boring but necessary evil.

The egg is the saviour of a fast day. Boil a room-temp medium egg for 6½ minutes. Rinse and leave to sit in cool water for a few minutes, then wrap in kitchen towel so it doesn’t crack on the way to work. Thinly slice 100g cooked beetroot (not pickled) in a Tupperware box. Slice 100g radishes and add to another container with 50g watercress. Add 10ml red wine vinegar to a mini jam jar. Come lunchtime, plate up: beetroot, peeled sliced egg, sliced radish, watercress, vinegar, sea salt and pepper.

Spice is your friend when you’re trying to keep fat low. (Strong flavours = satisfied.) Try a celery salad that ticks these boxes. First make the dressing (take special care measuring this): 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp lime juice, a pinch of salt, ¼ red chilli (deseeded and chopped), and 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds. Slice 2 sticks of celery and a ¼ cucumber into quarters, lengthways, then deseed and chop into chunks. Finely chop 1 spring onion. Combine veg with dressing in a Tupperware. Wrap a handful of coriander and add this before eating so it doesn’t wilt. If this doesn’t sound enough, add 100g cubed silken tofu or 10g roasted unsalted peanuts.

Make a greens-heavy, egg-white sort-of-fritter. Take 100g cavolo nero, or other dark greens. Cover and steam with a splash of water on a low-medium heat in a small frying pan. In a bowl, mix 3 egg whites with 1 tbsp gram flour, 25g tinned chickpeas (crush these with your hand), sea salt, black pepper, a pinch of ground cumin, and the wilted greens. Spray a pan with 1-cal sunflower spray oil, and heat. When very hot, spoon in your mix and fry for 3½ minutes on each side. Eat with a splash of chilli sauce.

Recipe 1, approximate calorie count: 1 medium egg 68 kcal, 100g beetroot 40 kcal, 100g radish 14 kcal, 50g watercress 13 kcal, 10ml red wine vinegar 3 kcal = 138 kcal

Recipe 2, approx count: 2 sticks celery 20 kcal, cucumber around 4 kcal, ¼ red chilli minimal, 1 tsp sesame oil 45 kcal, 1 tsp sesame seeds 10 kcal, 2 tbsp lime juice 6 kcal, 1 tsp fish sauce 2 kcal, 1 spring onion 7 kcal, coriander 4 kcal, 100g cooked peeled prawns 69 kcal = 167 kcal

Recipe 3 approx count: 100g cavolo nero 34 kcal, 3 tbsp egg white 23 kcal, 2 tbsp gram flour 52 kcal, 25g chickpeas 32 kcal, 3 sprays oil 3 kcal, 1 tsp Encona hot pepper sauce 1 cal = 145 kcal.

Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing are authors of The Little Book of Lunch (Square Peg)