Laura Herring shares a tasty low-calorie recipe from her new book, The Fast Days Cookbook, to keep hunger pangs at bay when you're on a fast day during the 5:2 diet
Super quick to make and using mostly things you already have in your cupboard, these are best straight from the pan and into your mouth, but they can also be chilled and packed up to eat on the go or for a snack mid-afternoon.
Makes 12 fritters | 30 kcal
Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
40 g (1½ oz/ ¹⁄³ cup) wholemeal spelt flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 courgette (zucchini), grated
1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice
Method
Mix the eggs and flour in a bowl to make a batter. Loosen with 1 tablespoon water. Season with salt and pepper and the chilli flakes.
Mix the courgette into the bowl and stir to coat in the batter.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the coconut oil or olive oil just to grease the bottom of the pan.
Spoon tablespoons of the courgette batter into the pan and cook for 4–5 minutes on each side. They should be lightly browned on both sides and when you break them open, the batter should be cooked all the way through. Repeat with the rest of the oil and the batter. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to cook about four at a time.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice on top.
If you want to freeze these, leave them to cool, then wrap them up individually in baking paper and freeze in an airtight container.
Take them out the night before and leave them in the fridge, then warm through thoroughly in a 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4) oven for about 10 minutes.
This recipe is an extract from The Fast Days Cookbook by Laura Herring (Hardie Grant £12.99 RRP). Photography by Danielle Wood
Find out more about the 5:2 diet here and discover great recipe ideas and 5:2 meal plans