Diets A-Z: The little black dress diet

Week 2
Day 1
Breakfast
Pour a small glass of orange juice, a splash of apple juice and a handful of strawberries into a blender. Whizz until smooth.

Snack
Skinny latte and flapjack bar such as the Prêt's Power Bar.

Lunch
Mash a hard-boiled egg with 1/2 tablespoon reduced fat mayo and a sliced spring onion. Use to make a sandwich with two slices wholemeal bread and salad. Orange.

Dinner
Vegetable Satay:
Heat a teaspoon olive oil in a saucepan and gently cook a sliced onion. Add a cereal bowlful of mixed vegetables, such as sliced courgette, peppers, aubergine and mushrooms. Cover with a lid and cook gently for a further five minutes. Add a crushed clove of garlic and a sliced chilli. Mix enough water into a dessertspoon of crunchy peanut butter to form a paste and stir this in to the vegetables. Add two tablespoons canned and drained chickpeas and simmer for five to ten minutes. Serve with a grilled mini-naan bread.

Day 2
Breakfast
Mix together a tablespoon porridge oats, three tablespoons raisins and a grated apple, keeping the skin on. Pour over 100ml skimmed milk and keep in the fridge overnight (this step isn't necessary if you don't have time). Serve with a pot of low-fat yoghurt.

Lunch
Ready-to-go soup - any vegetable or lentil/bean soup is fine as long as it isn't creamy. We like Celeriac mash, Chilli beef, Malaysian chicken, Sausage hotpot and sweet pepper from Prêt a Manger but your local deli should have other good options too

Snack
Two crackers or crispbread with two tablespoons reduced-fat hummus.

Dinner
Honey mustard pork with sweet potato:
Mix together a heaped teaspoon each of honey and wholegrain mustard, along with a teaspoon soy sauce. Use to marinade a pork chop (around 150g in weight) for 20 minutes to half an hour. Grill the chop for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally, until thoroughly cooked. Meantime, cut a medium-large sweet potato into one-centimetre thick slices, brush with a little olive oil and grill for five to seven minutes, turning once. Mix a teaspoon wholegrain mustard into two tablespoons natural yoghurt and serve the pork and grilled sweet potato slices with lots of crisp salad.

Day 3
Breakfast
Bowl of Special K with skimmed milk and strawberries.

Lunch
Fill a large wholemeal pitta pocket with two tablespoons reduced-fat hummus, a tablespoon Greek or natural yoghurt, five olives (in brine), cherry tomatoes and salad. Carton of fruit juice.

Snack
Portion of fruit.

Dinner
Ready meal with extra salad or vegetables.
Lower fat chocolate mousse.

Day 4
Breakfast
In a blender, mix together a medium-sized banana, a pot of low-fat yoghurt, the same volume of skimmed milk and either a few drops of vanilla essence or a pinch of cinnamon. Whizz until smooth.

Snack
Kellogg's Nutrigrain or Cereal Bar.

Lunch
Ready-made sandwich - go for a healthy supermarket range or Shapers from Boots, for example and remember to read the labels to compare calories, fat and sodium
Fruit portion.

Dinner
Frittata:
Boil three new potatoes. Once cooked, slice into one-centimetre slices. Heat one teaspoon oil in a small, non-stick frying pan and gently cook half a finely sliced onion. Add the potato slices. In a small bowl, gently beat two medium-sized eggs with a tablespoon water. Add to the pan and cook over a gentle heat until set. Serve with lots of sliced tomatoes, wafer-thin ham or turkey and spring onions.

Day 5
Breakfast
Chop an apple, a small banana, a kiwi fruit and four dried apricots. Mix all the fruit together and top with a pot of low-fat yoghurt.

Lunch
Boil 40g of pasta as directed on the packet, omitting any added oil or salt. Drain, run under the cold tap and set aside to cool. Mix together two tablespoons canned and drained mixed beans, a teaspoon pesto, halved cherry tomatoes and some salad leaves such as rocket.

Snack
Cup-a-soup.

Dinner
Friday night takeaway with glass of wine! (Read the rules!)

Day 6
Breakfast
Top a wholemeal scone with a light spread of reduced fat olive spread and two teaspoons high fruit jam. Small glass of orange juice.

Lunch
Junior Whopper or other better fast food choice - read the nutrition info given in-restaurant. Diet drink or water.

Snack
Portion of fruit.

Dinner
Half pizza - read the labels to find the best choice (ie not pepperoni!), two slices garlic bread and tons of salad. A couple of beers (330ml bottles, not litres) would be fine.

Day 7
Breakfast
Grill two turkey rashers and two tomatoes, halved. Serve with a slice of wholemeal toast and a small glass of orange juice.

Lunch
Toasted bagel with three tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese mixed with sliced celery and a sliced spring onion. Season with black pepper and any fresh herbs of your choice. Serve with a salad.

Snack
Banana.

Dinner
Salmon pasta:
Cook two balls of tagliatelle as directed on the packet, omitting any added oil or salt. Meanwhile, mix together a small tin of salmon, drained, with a tablespoon half-fat creme fraiche, plenty of black pepper and any fresh herbs you have. Once the pasta is cooked, reserve a cup of the cooking water before you drain it. Stir the salmon into the pasta, adding a little of the cooking water if needed to form a sauce. Stir to warm through. Serve with salad or veggies.