I’ve now reached the next phase of the Dukan Diet. Yesteday The Mister and I went out for a casual souvlaki dinner, and I literally kissed the mini whole weat pitta bread that came with my kebabs. I am happy. I can eat cheese. I can eat pasta (ok, once a week, but I can!!) and I can eat bread.
In all honesty though the past month hasn’t been that hard. Although I am a bit worried about the amounts of meat I’ve been eating, and how it might be affecting my kidneys (there’s a bit of controversy surrounding this diet), I can’t say it has been particularly difficult. I’ve not felt hungry, and I never felt any faintness or lack of energy. In fact, I’ve been feeling better than I have in ages. It must be that I’ve cut out all the junk food!
During this whole time I’ve been keeping an eye on a few of the food blogs I normally follow. Not all of them mind you, the ones with the cookies and cupcakes I’ve chosen to ignore for the sake of my sanity. One blog in particular saved me from the boredom of plain turkey and cottage cheese dinners, and gave me a number of ideas for some more exciting options. The Perfect Pantry has a whole load of recipes that can easily be adapted for the Dukan Diet. One of these is a gorgeous Salmon Burger recipe. Yum. These are really good, whether you’re on a diet or not. They are delicious, healthy, and not at all fattening! Can’t really go wrong can you? These can easily be prepared to suit the Pure Protein + Vegetables days on the Cruise or Consolidation phases, just by substituting panko with oat bran.
The Fake Mayo was an experiment I undertook a few days before seeing the burger recipe. I threw together some ingredients in order to make a sauce to accompany some slow cooked turkey breast, or some smoked salmon – I don’t remember which. It’s a yogurt sauce, but for some reason it tastes like a kind of mayonnaise to me. Maybe it’s the vinegar from the capers, or the mustard? I’m not sure. But I do know that it’s yummy. Then I saw the Green Yogurt Sauce in this recipe and had to laugh at how similar they are! I thought, no one’s going to believe I didn’t copy this! But I didn’t, promise.
Salmon Burgers (adapted from The Perfect Pantry)
Serves 2 hungry people if eaten with salad or veggies, 4 if eaten in a bun with fries (*sigh*)
What you need:
400g skinned salmon fillet, cut into pieces
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Greek yogurt (0% for Dukan)
2 tsp chopped chives
2 Tbsp chopped red bell pepper
1-1/2 tsp capers, drained
2 Tbs oat bran
1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper
a tiny bit of low calorie spray oil for the frying pan
What you do:
1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times. Mix it up a bit with a spoon so some of the bigger salmon pieces move to the bottom of the processor and get chopped up. Pulse again till the mixture is sort of like a lumpy paste.
2. Shape the mixture into 4 burgers and put on a plate. Cover with cling film and put the plate in the freezer for about 10 minutes. This will help the burgers stay together in the pan.
3. Spray a frying pan with the oil and heat on medium. Place the burgers on the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the burgers.
Note: Lydia’s instructions involve processing some of the ingredients into a paste first, then adding the rest. I used a stick blender that you put on a sort of jug thing with a metal blade, and it made the paste stick to the bottom and didn’t really chop the ingredients on the top. If you have a decent blender however, you might want to follow that method instead, just click here.
Fake Mayonnaise
Serves 2
What you need:
3 Tbs plain yogurt (0% for Dukan)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp chopped parsley
2 tsp capers
Salt & freshly ground white pepper
Pinch of sweet paprika
What you do:
1. Throw everything into a clean jam jar and shake it all up! Tastes better after a couple of hours in the fridge.
Note: You could also try adding some fresh coriander. Just chop and add to taste! Chopped gherkins also work nicely. And, this can be used as a salad dressing as well. Versatile, no?