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How to maintain your salad days with souped-up meals according to the F2 Diet

No one ever doubted that soups and salads come with a life-time guarantee that they help in the delivery of a clean bill of health. What one rarely thinks about is the impact their absence from our staple diet leaves on the body system.

According to the F2 Diet book by Audrey Eyton, this is why soups and salads are essential. They:

• Boost your intake of resistant starch and dietary fibre to speed weight loss and make your good bacteria flourish.
• Pack your diet with pulses to lower bad cholesterol and benefit your whole body.
• Up your intake of those foods which feed ultra-good bifidobacteria.
• Lower the GI of meals to keep blood sugar levels on an even keel.
• Provide you with a constant supply of low-fat, low-calorie light meals and snacks.

It is suggested to prepare at least two soup varieties and when the stock runs low, prepare another two to make sure supplies do not run out. The soups suggested in the F2 Diet book can be eaten as meals, with meals or between meals. They are low enough in fat to be eaten freely.

Salads, ideally kept on stand-by to snack on and as faithful meal accompaniments, also give a major boost to fibre and resistant starch intake, stimulating healthy bio-action, helping to speed weight loss and keep blood sugar levels even.

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Green pea soup

makes 6-8 portions

350g dried split green peas
1 large onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 sticks celery
2 carrots
850ml vegetable stock
400g frozen peas
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint or 1 tsp dried mint
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Put the dried split green peas in a bowl, cover with 1.15 litres cold water and soak for six hours or overnight. Peel and chop the onion. Sauté in oil in a large saucepan for five minutes until soft. Trim and roughly chop the celery and peel and roughly chop the carrots. Add to the pan, stir well, then add the dried split green peas and their soaking liquid and the stock. Bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered for an hour or until the peas are tender, skimming off the scum that rises to the surface with a large metal spoon from time to time. Add the frozen peas and mint and bring back to the boil. Simmer for about five minutes until the frozen peas are cooked. Season to taste if necessary.

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Bean, sweetcorn and red pepper salad

66makes 6-8 portions

300g can cannellini or red kidney beans
340g can sweetcorn
Half a medium-sized onion
1 large red pepper
3-4 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Method

Drain the beans and sweetcorn. Tip into a large bowl or lidded plastic container. Peel and finely chop the onion. Halve the pepper, remove seeds and membranes, then dice. Mix all the ingredients. Drizzle over the dressing and toss well, then add the coriander and toss again.

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Spicy chickpeas with rich tomato dressing

makes 4 portions

1 medium onion
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp mild or medium curry powder
700g jar passata
1 tbsp mango chutney
1 tbsp lemon juice
400g can chickpeas, drained
2-3 celery sticks
200g can sweetcorn, drained

Method

Chop the onion into small dice. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and sauté the onion on a gentle heat for five minutes, until softened. Stir in the curry powder and cook gently for five minutes more, taking care not to allow the powder to burn. Add the passata to the pan with the chutney and lemon juice. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, add the chickpeas ad cook gently for 10 minutes. One portion could be served hot with a baked potato and green veg as a main meal.

To make a stand-by salad, simply allow the remainder to cool, then mix in the sliced celery and sweetcorn. Cover and keep chilled.

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Tex-Mex chilli bean soup

makes 6-8 portions

1 large onion
2 celery sticks
1 large red pepper
2 garlic cloves (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
Half tsp chilli powder
1.5 litres vegetable stock, hot
4 tbsp tomato purèe
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g can red kidney beans
340g can sweetcorn niblets

Method

Peel and finely chop the onion and celery. Cut the red pepper in half, remove the seeds and cut out the white membrane, then dice the flesh. Peel and crush the garlic, if using. (It's best not to add garlic if you plan to freeze the soup for any length of time.) Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook gently for five minutes until softened. Stir in the celery, red pepper and garlic and continue to cook for a further five minutes. Stir in the herbs and spices, then pour in the stock and add the tomato purée and canned tomatoes with their juice. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and the sweetcorn, then tip them both into the pan. Simmer for five to 10 minutes (they don't need cooking, just heating through).

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• Readers interested in getting a free copy of Audrey Eyton's F2 Diet Book on how to make a fibre-rich diet part of the everyday lifestyle may take any two 500g (or over) Kellogg's All-Bran, Kellogg's Bran flakes, Kellogg's Sultana Bran or Kellogg's Fruit 'n' Fibre cereal packs to the customer care or cash point of leading supermarkets in exchange of the book. Offer is valid until stock lasts.

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