Diets A-Z: The little black dress diet

Week 4
Day 1
Breakfast
Bowl of no-added-sugar muesli with skimmed milk.
Glass of fruit juice.

Snack
Skinny latte.

Lunch
Soup or sandwich.
Fruit portion.

Dinner
Sweet and sour chicken:
Cook a chicken fillet under the grill or in the microwave. Heat three tablespoons sweet and sour sauce, add an individual serving of straight-to-wok noodles and then stir in the chopped, cooked chicken fillet. Serve with extra veggies.

Day 2
Breakfast
Small glass of fruit juice, two toasted crumpets with two teaspoons of honey.

Lunch
Spread two slices of granary bread spread with a tablespoon pickle and fill with 40g lower fat cheese such as Edam or Gouda and salad.
Fruit portion.

Snack
Couple of Hob Nobs or Jaffa cakes.

Dinner
Salmon with new potatoes:
Boil four small new potatoes. In the meantime, make the sauce: chop one or two teaspoons of capers, a clove of garlic and a handful of herbs such as parsley or coriander. Stir in to two tablespoons natural yoghurt. Set aside. Place a salmon fillet in a microwaveable dish and sprinkle over a little black pepper. Cover with microwave cling film and microwave on high for two or three minutes. Serve the salmon, new potatoes and yoghurt sauce with steamed green vegetables.

Day 3
Breakfast
Chop an apple, a small banana, a kiwi fruit and five ready-to-eat apricots, top with a pot of natural yoghurt.

Snack
Cereal bar or flapjack slice.

Lunch
Cup-a-soup with wholegrain roll and a triangle of Laughing Cow Lite.
Fruit portion.

Dinner
Ready meal with extra salad or veggies, glass of wine. Read the rules!

Day 4
Breakfast
Bowl of Special K with skimmed milk and a handful of dried fruit.

Lunch
Mix a tin of tuna (in brine or springwater, drained) with a tablespoon low-fat mayo. Add onion, peppers or celery if you fancy. Use half of this mixture to fill a wholemeal pitta and top with lots of mixed salad leaves
Fruit portion.

Snack
Five dried apricots and a fromage frais.

Dinner
Pork and pineapple kebabs:
Put two tablespoons rice on to boil. This will take only about 15 minutes.

Cut 60g lean pork into small pieces. Make up kebabs using the pork pieces, two slices of pineapple, half a green pepper, four cherry tomatoes and four mushrooms. Brush lightly with rapeseed oil, season and grill, turning to ensure even cooking. Ensure pork is no longer pink.

Serve the kebabs with rice.

Day 5
Breakfast
Cereal bar such as a Nutrigrain bar, carton of fruit juice.

Lunch
Multi-grain roll with 60g reduced-fat pate and sliced tomato.
Low-fat yoghurt.

Snack
Pot of rice pudding or custard with a spoonful of apple sauce.

Dinner
Fish and chips:
Cook a breaded fish fillet as directed on the packet along with 100g (frozen weight) oven chips. Serve with a small tin of mushy peas.

Day 6
Breakfast
Wholegrain bread roll, two grilled turkey rashers, grilled tomato and mushrooms.

Lunch
Cook 40g pasta as directed on the packet, omitting any added fat or salt. Mix with the tuna reserved from day four, along with two tablespoons of chilli beans.

Snack
Kellogg's Nutrigrain or Cereal Bar.

Dinner
Quick beef chilli:
Heat one teaspoon olive oil in a non-stick saucepan and cook a sliced onion until slightly softened. Add a crushed clove of garlic and a diced pepper and cook for another few minutes. Add 80g very lean minced beef, brown and then drain off excess fat. Stir in a small tin of chopped tomatoes, the rest of the tin of chilli beans from lunch time, a teaspoon tomato puree, 1/2 teaspoon chocolate powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs and chilli powder to your taste - start with 1 teaspoon. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Serve with corn taco shells, lots of salad and natural yoghurt.

This recipe is easy to scale up if you have friends coming over for dinner.

Day 7
Brunch
Fruit salad or juice (even a Virgin Bloody Mary would be fine), eggs or fish or other smart choice (read the rules).

Snack
Two celery sticks with two teaspoons peanut butter or reduced-fat hummus.

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.

Party day!
You might think that if you're heading off to a Christmas party in the evening, it makes sense to basically starve all day so you can splurge that night. Sorry, but that just won't work. Do that and 1) you'll miss out on good nutrition during the day, 2) you'll be so hungry by the evening that you'll lose control at the buffet table and demolish more mini sausage rolls in one sitting than you thought possible, 3) the first glass of wine will go straight to your head and you'll keel over asleep!

So here's plan B. Eat little and often during the day, don't arrive at the party hungry and stagger your drinks. Your day could look some thing like this:

Breakfast
Bowl of Bran Flakes or Fruit n Fibre with skimmed milk and a handful of dried fruit. Glass of fruit juice.

Lunch
Bowl of vegetable soup or broth - avoid creamy soups and look for the lowest sodium or salt content to help avoid fluid retention and bloating.
Wholegrain roll with cottage cheese and tomato.

Snack
Banana with two teaspoons peanut butter.

Snack
Muller rice.

Evening
Drinks alternating with water.
Carefully chosen goodies from the buffet table:

Good

• Dainty sandwiches with salad, chicken or tuna
• Dips and crudites
• Nuts, but watch that portion size!
• Dried or fresh fruit
• Grilled or baked chicken sticks like satay
• Olives
• Parma ham or proscuitto

Not-so-good

• Sausages and sausage rolls
• Vol-au-vents or other pastry nasties
• Dainty sandwiches packed with mayonnaise
• Deep-fried chicken nuggets, breaded mushrooms, onion rings

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