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Goat's cheese, pear and pecan salad

A brilliant combination of flavours that is very simple to fling together.

SERVES 1

1 slice firm goat's cheese (approximately 75-100g/23/4- ³ 1/2oz), sliced or crumbled into chunks

1 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced

1 tbsp pecan halves (roughly chopped, if you prefer)

1 Little Gem lettuce, washed and drained, and torn into bite-sized pieces A couple of good handfuls of watercress, roughly chopped or torn

Scatter the cheese, pear slices and nuts over a bed of lettuce and watercress. The fat and flavour from the nuts and cheese mean that you shouldn't need extra dressing.

MAINTENANCE PHASE (PER PERSON)

increase to 4 rough oatcakes

Salade nicoise

You can make this celebrated French classic salad as quick or as complicated as you like. If you have time, do include the capers and spring onions, as they add so much to the overall flavour.

SERVES 1

¹/2 x 185g (6¹/2oz) can or jar of tuna, drained (140g (5oz) drained) ¹/2 Romaine lettuce or 2 Little Gem lettuces, washed well,dried and torn into bite-sized pieces

3 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal (optional)

3 pitted black olives, roughly chopped

1 tsp capers, well rinsed (optional)

1 egg, hard-boiled for 8 minutes, shelled and chopped into smallish chunks

2 anchovies in oil, drained on kitchen paper (optional) 6 cherry tomatoes, halved

¹/2 x 410g (14¹/2oz) can mixed pulses, drained and rinsed

¹/2 x 225g (8oz) can cooked French green beans, drained and rinsed well to remove any salty water

Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE DRESSING

1 tbsp ready-made vinaigrette

1 Toss all the salad ingredients together.

2 Pour over the dressing and toss again, gently.

MAINTENANCE PHASE (PER PERSON)

serve with 3 small boiled baby new potatoes (in addition to the mixed pulses)

Smoked salmon with cottage cheese salad

The creamy, mild flavour of cottage cheese goes beautifully with the salty, sweet salmon. This dish is rich in essential fats from the oily salmon, and low in saturated fat, as cottage cheese is virtually fat-free.

SERVES 1

¹/2x 150g (51/2oz) bag fully prepared mixed salad leaves, organic where possible

2.5cm (1 in) chunk cucumber, finely sliced

125g (41/2oz) cottage cheese

¹/2 x 75g (2 ³/4oz) pack smoked salmon, torn into strips 1 tbsp lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

1 Place the leaves and cucumber on a plate. Put the cottage cheese and salmon on top.

2 Drizzle with lemon juice and season with plenty of black pepper.

MAINTENANCE PHASE (PER PERSON)

serve with 2 slices of pumpernickel-style rye bread or 5 rough oatcakes

Mackerel and chickpea salad

Strongly flavoured mackerel is an oily fish that is a rich source of omega-3 essential fats, which are required for skin, hormones and brain function. Its rich flavour works well with the salty olive tapenade and the mild chickpeas.

SERVES 1

¹/2 x 225g (8oz) jar or can mackerel fillets in oil, drained and placed on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil (160g (53/4oz) drained weight)

¹/2x 410g (14¹/2oz) can chickpeas

1 tbsp tapenade

¹/2 x 150g (51/2oz) bag fully prepared baby or young leaf spinach, organic where possible, finely sliced or shredded

1 celery stick, finely sliced (optional)

2.5cm (1 in) chunk cucumber, diced (optional)

Tip all the ingredients in a bowl and mix so that the fish flakes and everything else becomes coated in tapenade.

MAINTENANCE PHASE (PER PERSON)

add 50g (13/4oz) (dry weight) quinoa or a toasted mini wholemeal pitta bread

5-GL SNACKS

Standard snack fare is often off the GL scale. Impulse eats such as sweets, chocolate, crisps, biscuits or muffins and soft drinks are designed to give you an instant energy buzz from all that sugar or caffeine, but you soon come crashing down into an energy slump. The following snacks have been chosen specifically for their protein and carbohydrate balance and their low GL (of 5N. Choose two for each day, to make up your 10 GL snack allowance. The snacks are important, as they help to keep blood sugar levels even between meals and stop you from reaching for less healthy alternatives.

Low-GL snack tips

You can eat a small apple or pear or a punnet of berries for 5GL whereas bananas and dried fruit have a much higher GL.

Remember: rye bread has a much lower GL than standard wheat bread, so you can eat a whole slice of pumpernickel or sourdough rye bread for 5GLbut only half a slice of normal bread.

Oatcakes are another low-GL snack - you can have 3 for 5GL.

Protein foods such as peanut butter and hummus, or nuts, contain negligible.

• 2 rough oatcakes spread with hummus
• 2 rough oatcakes spread with cottage cheese
• 2 rough oatcakes spread with reduced fat cream cheese
• 2 rough oatcakes spread with nut butter
• 2 rough oatcakes spread with tuna and guacamole or salsa (optional: top with cucumber slices or cress/alfalfa sprouts)
• 2 rough oatcakes spread with tuna mayo (optional: top with cucumber slices or cress/alfalfa sprouts)
• 1 slice pumpernickel-style rye bread with nut butter (optional: top with cucumber slices or cress/alfalfa sprouts)
• 1 slice pumpernickel-style rye bread with hummus
• (optional: top with cucumber slices or cress/alfalfa sprouts)
• 1 slice pumpernickel-style rye bread with cottage cheese and cucumber slices
• l Crudites (such as pepper, cucumber, celery, cabbage or carrot sticks, sugarsnap peas, mangetouts, baby corn, radishes, spring onions) with 150g (5¹/2oz) hummus (about ²/3 small pot)
• l Crudités (such as pepper, cucumber, celery, cabbage or carrot sticks, sugarsnap peas, mangetouts, baby corn, radishes, spring onions) with 120g (41/4oz) cottage cheese (about ²/3 small pot) Crudites (such as pepper, cucumber, celery, cabbage or carrot sticks, sugarsnap peas, mangetouts, baby corn, radishes, spring onions) with 150g (5¹/2oz) guacamole (about ²/3 small pot)
• Fruit and yogurt smoothie, such as 150g (5 1/2oz) organic live natural yogurt blended with berries, or a shop-bought one with natural yogurt and no added sugar
• l Live natural yogurt or cottage cheese with 5l of berries o_r chopped fruit
• Piece of fruit (equivalent to 5^,& with 2 teaspoons nuts or seeds
• Miso soup (one serving, from a packet; simply mix powder with boiling water) plus a piece of fruit afterwards (equivalent to 5GL) .4 Boiled egg with 2 rough oatcakes
• Omelette (cooked as for Omelette in Pitta Bread. Roll out of pan and onto the bread) with a piece of toasted pumpernickel-style rye bread
• Handful of olives plus a piece of fruit (equivalent to 5p)