Try the curry diet

Getting started

Get ready, it’s curry o’clock! All you have to do is follow this plan, which includes one breakfast, lunch and dinner, and two snacks per day.

Aim to drink at least 2 ltr daily of water, herbal tea, low-cal squash or tea and coffee with a splash of semi-skimmed milk. No booze!

Follow the plan for a month to lose up to a stone.

Monday

Breakfast Fruit salad: 2 pieces of chopped fruit, topped with 1 low-fat yogurt.
Snack 2 Ryvitas with low-fat spread and salad.
Lunch Any pre-made sandwich less than 350 cals. 1 apple.
Snack 1 slice of melon, handful of strawberries.
Dinner Beef kofta curry: Put 200g extra-lean minced beef in a bowl with ½ tsp of grated ginger, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1tsp of chilli powder. Mix with hands, form into golf balls and set aside. Put 1tsp of curry powder, ½ a carton of passata and a pinch of sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil, then simmer while adding meatballs to sauce. Cook for 15-20 mins, turning now and then. Serve with cupful of boiled rice.

Tuesday

Breakfast 1 sachet of Oat So Simple with ½ pt of semi-skimmed milk. 1 banana.
Snack 1 piece of fruit.
Lunch Any pre-made salad under 350 cals. 1 Ryvita.
Snack 1 Go-Ahead bar.
Dinner Curry lamb kebabs with mint raita: Mix ½ tsp ground ginger, coriander, cinnamon and cumin seeds with a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice and 1tbsp olive oil in a bowl. Cut ½ cm strips off a small neck of lamb fillet (150g) and marinate in the spice mix for 1hr or overnight. Cook in the oven on a non-stick baking sheet for 20 mins. For the raita, mix 1in of diced cucumber and ½ tsp of chopped mint into a small pot of low-fat yogurt. Serve the lamb on skewers, ½ a pitta and the raita as a dip.

Wednesday

Breakfast 2 grilled Quorn sausages, 1 poached egg, 4 tbsp low-sugar baked beans and unlimited grilled mushrooms.
Snack 1 low-fat yogurt.
Lunch 1 small jacket potato topped with ½ a can of low-sugar baked beans and a small blob of low-fat spread.
Snack Small bowl of crudités and 2 tbsp low-fat hummus.
Dinner Weight watchers chicken curry, 1 low-fat yogurt.

Thursday

Breakfast 40g of bran flakes with ½ pt of semi-skimmed milk.
Snack 1 piece of fruit.
Lunch Cook 2 frankfurters and serve in a hot dog roll topped with an little tomato sauce. 1 small pot of low-fat yogurt.
Snack Cup-a-Soup with 1 crispbread.
Dinner Cod and roast veg: Roast 150g cod (in foil) with strips of red pepper, chunks of 1 red onion and 3 tomatoes, sprayed in low-fat spray oil. Serve with 4 new potatoes coated in a small blob of low-fat spread and lots of green vegetables.

Friday

Breakfast Beans on toast: 2 slices of wholemeal toast, spread with low-fat spread and topped with a third of a tin of low-sugar baked beans.
Snack 2 rice cakes spread with low-fat spread and Marmite.
Lunch 1 tortilla filled with 100g of chicken breast, a handful of salad leaves, 6 cherry tomatoes, 1in of diced cucumber and shredded lettuce.
Snack ½ red pepper and 1 carrot, chopped into sticks; 2 celery sticks and 2 tbsp of salsa.
Dinner Speedy veg curry: Parboil 1 sliced carrot and 3 halved new potatoes, mix with 3 tbsp of chickpeas, ½ chopped courgette, 75g of Quorn chunks and sliced mushrooms, plus ½ a jar of Homepride Curry Cook In Sauce. Cook and serve with 1 cup of boiled rice.

Saturday

Breakfast 2 Weetabix with ½pt of semi-skimmed milk, topped with a pinch of raisins.
Snack 1 piece of fruit.
Lunch Tuna nicoise salad: Mix a tin of tuna in spring water with 1 sliced, boiled egg, 1 tbsp of lentils, lettuce, cucumber, onion and tomatoes. Serve with 1 rice cake.
Snack Bowl of sugar-free jelly topped with sliced strawberries.
Dinner Takeaway time: Choose one of the slimmer curries from the Saints & Sinners list (below) with plain rice. Have ½ a carton each of curry and rice, with 1 poppadum.

Sunday

Breakfast 1 grilled kipper and unlimited grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. 1 apple.
Snack 1 bag of Ryvita Minis.
Lunch Spanish omelette: Sauté ½ a pepper and ½ a red onion. Then whisk 2 eggs and cook everything together in a frying pan with ½ tsp olive oil (use low-fat spray if you need more). When the omelette is set, serve with an unlimited green salad.
Snack 1 handful of carrot sticks and 2 tbsp low-fat guacamole.
Dinner Pork chop and veg: Roast 1 pork chop, 1 courgette and 2 large carrots, diced, with 3 par-boiled potatoes, all sprayed with low-fat cooking oil spray. Serve with 2tbsp of gravy.

Top tip Choose a really hot curry like a vindaloo (if you can manage one!). It’s hard to eat too much.

Saints and sinners

Indian starters
Sinners: Onion bhajis and samosas are deep-fried.
Saints: Poppadums or salad.

Indian mains
Sinners: Masala, passanda and korma dishes are creamy and high in fat.
Saints: Jalfrezi, rogan or Madras (tomato-based sauces), plus dry dishes like tandoori chicken.

Indian sides
Sinner: Pilau rice is cooked with oil and naans are packed with calories.
Saint Boiled rice and chapatis.

Thai starters
Sinners: Spring rolls and prawn crackers are high in fat.
Saints: Tom yum soup or salad.

Thai mains
Sinners: Thai red or green curries are made with high-fat coconut milk.
Saints: Thai veggie stir-fry or any steamed fish and vegetable dishes.

Thai sides
Sinner: Egg-fried rice.
Saint: Boiled rice.

Top tip Go for chicken, prawn or veg curries, all lower in calories and fat than meat variations.

Please consult your doctor before starting this or any other diet plan