Best diets for women
9:44 AM
If
you want to lighten up before hols, look no further. We've got a fantastic
five-day diet to get your bikini-ready figure off to a great start.
Going on a diet doesn't have to be radical – no starving yourself,
no weird shakes and no 10K runs before breakfast. Instead, we’re talking five
days of focused, healthy eating and exercise for instant body confidence.
Some of the ‘weight’ may not be fat at all, but water or gas – and
you can improve both in five days. Plus, this plan includes foods that nurture
your skin and hair. Start on Monday to see a difference bySaturday.
DAY
1
BREAKFAST: Apple porridge with pecans and
cinnamon
MORNING
SNACK: 1 apple, 6 walnut halves
LUNCH: Mediterranean
tuna salad
Combine a small bag of salad leaves with 6 cherry tomatoes, 2
chopped spring onions, 1 chopped cucumber and 6 pitted black olives. Top with ½ can tuna in spring water, drained.
Dress with 1 tablespoon of vinaigrette.
SNACK: 2 sticks of celery with 50g
low-fat cottage cheese
DINNER: Quorn
stir fry
Heat
a wok and spritz it lightly with oil. Fry 1 chopped clove garlic, ½ a red chilli and 1 teaspoon of ginger
paste in the pan. Add 100g Quorn or tofu pieces and brown. Set aside. In the
same pan, add a handful each of sugar snap peas, carrot sticks and broccoli,
and 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and steam until cooked. Add 1 tablespoon of
low-sugar, low-salt soya sauce and combine with the Quorn or tofu, and serve.
DAY
2
BREAKFAST: 1 slice rye toast topped with ½ avocado, mashed. Drizzle with a
squeeze of lemon, sea salt and
paprika to taste.
SNACK: 1 pear and 3 Brazil nuts
LUNCH: Winter superfood salad (serves
2)
1tbsp olive oil
225g
sweet potato, peeled
and diced
225g
turkey fillets, sliced
1
orange pepper, deseeded and sliced
1
clove garlic, crushed
1cm
piece root ginger, grated
Zest and juice ½ orange
1tbsp
soya sauce
½tbsp honey
Salt
and freshly ground black pepper
2
large handfuls mixed watercress, spinach and rocket leaves
•
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Place the oil, sweet potato, turkey
and peppers in a large roasting tin and toss together. Roast for around 20
minutes.
•
Add the garlic and ginger to the turkey and vegetables and roast for a further
15 minutes or until the turkey is golden and the potatoes tender. Add the
orange zest and juice, soya sauce and honey and mix well. Cool slightly. Season
to taste.
•
Put the salad leaves in a large bowl, add the turkey mixture and lightly toss
to mix. Serve straight away.
SNACK: Cucumber sticks with 2
tablespoons of low-fat yoghurt, mixed with fresh mint and lemon juice to taste.
DINNER: Feta
and asparagus frittata
Spritz a frying pan with oil. Fry ½ chopped onion and 3 chopped asparagus
spears.
Add 1 tablespoon of water and cover until the asparagus is tender. Add two
beaten eggs, salt and pepper and cook until eggs are firm. Sprinkle with 25g
feta cheese and 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh mint and serve.
DAY
3
BREAKFAST: 2 eggs and 1 slice toasted rye
bread, cut into soldiers
SNACK: 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
and 1 slice melon
LUNCH: Radish
and rare beef roll-ups (serves 4)
450g
fillet steak (1 long thin piece works best)
2tsp rapeseed oil
8 radishes
4 spring onions
2cm root ginger, grated
2tbsp sesame oil
40ml soya sauce
½tbsp wasabi paste
Bunch watercress
Black sesame seeds, to sprinkle
• Season the steak with salt and white pepper. Heat the rapeseed
oil in a frying pan until it’s very hot and sear the steak on all sides so it’s
very dark on the outside but still feels soft
and rare on the inside. Wrap it in cling film and place it in the freezer to
rest for at least 1 hour.
•
Chop each radish into 8 wedges. Slice the spring onions lengthways, thinly.
•
Combine the ginger with the sesame oil, soya sauce and wasabi.
•
Unwrap the steak and slice as thinly as possible – you should be able to get 16
slices out of it. Place a few pieces of radish and spring onion along with a
sprig or two of watercress at one end of a slice of beef and roll it up. Repeat
this until all of the beef and
vegetables are used up.
•
Arrange the beef rolls on a plate and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top.
Serve with the dipping sauce. This recipe makes 16 rolls – you can save the
leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for another meal.
SNACK: 2 sticks of celery with around
50g low-fat cottage cheese
DINNER: Baked
sweet potato with ratatouille
Cook ½ can chopped tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of
tomato purée, a pinch of stevia, half a chopped aubergine, 1 chopped courgette
and½ chopped red pepper. Simmer gently until
soft and serve with a medium-sized baked sweet potato.
DAY
4
BREAKFAST: Mushroom
omelette
Brown
2 handfuls chopped button mushrooms in a lightly-oiled pan. Add 2
beaten eggs, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped parsley. Cook until
set and serve.
SNACK: 1 orange, 6 almonds
LUNCH: ½ carton store-bought carrot soup
with 2 rye crispbreads
SNACK: Carrot sticks with 2
tablespoons homemade guacamole
DINNER: Hot
and sour apple and prawn stir-fry (serves 2)
100g dried egg noodles
100g
Tenderstem broccoli
2tbsp
groundnut oil
1
Pink Lady apple, cored and sliced into strips
200g
raw peeled king prawns
3tsp
tamarind paste
1
red chilli, finely sliced
260g
pack stir-fry vegetables
2tbsp
soya sauce
1tbsp
sesame oil
½tsp Thai fish sauce
• Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, drain and
make sure
to keep them warm. Meanwhile cut the florets off the broccolini and finely
slice the stems. Set aside.
•
Heat 1 tablespoon of groundnut oil in a large frying pan or wok, add the Pink
Lady apple slices and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer
to a plate. Add the prawns and 2 teaspoons of tamarind paste and cook for 2-3
minutes until almost cooked. Remove and keep with the apples.
•
Add the remaining oil to the pan and stir fry the chilli, stir-fry vegetables
and broccoli for 4 minutes.
•
Finally return the prawns and apples to the pan and stir in the soya sauce,
sesame oil, fish sauce and remaining tamarind. Cook for a minute or two and
serve with the noodles.
DAY
5
BREAKFAST: Yoghurt
and berries
1
small pot 0% fat Greek yoghurt with
2 tablespoons frozen berries and 1 teaspoon agave nectar.
SNACK: 2 oatcakes and 25g smoked salmon
LUNCH: Chicken,
tarragon and green bean salad (serves 1)
½tbsp olive oil
1
small chicken breast fillet, sliced
40g
green beans, trimmed
40g
cherry tomatoes, halved
1
large handful crisp mix salad
1
clove garlic, crushed
1tbsp
chopped fresh tarragon or 2tsp dried tarragon
Zest and juice ½ lemon
½tbsp honey
Salt
and freshly ground black pepper
•
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the chicken and sauté until
golden.
•
Meanwhile, blanch the beans in a pan of boiling salted water for 4 minutes.
Drain, rinse in cold water and drain again. Place in a salad bowl with the tomatoes and leaves.
•
When the chicken is golden, add the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, then add
the tarragon, lemon zest and juice and honey and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove
from the heat and season to taste. Toss the hot chicken with the salad
leaves and serve the dish straight away.
SNACK: 1 apple, 25g feta cheese
DINNER: Baked pollock with steamed roasted vegetables and
quinoa
Lightly
oil a piece of foil. Top with 100g fillet of pollock and a slice of lemon. Wrap
and bake in a moderate oven with thinly-sliced courgettes, peppers and vine
tomatoes.
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