Leftover Venison – Spicy Rissoles – a 5:2 Diet Recipe:

There is a curious life-cycle to leftover Christmas food that seems to work in pretty much the same way no matter which animal and vegetables you eat on Christmas Day. On the big day you feast happily on a heaped, steaming plate of food. Someone will probably have made at least 3 extra vegetable dishes and there will be little piles of curious sauces that only appear once a year. Everything gets cleared away, the leftovers carefully decanted into the fridge for a later outing. If your family is anything like mine, no one will eat anything more in the evening apart from a mince pie or two. You swear you are going to diet the next day. But, there’s too much rich food in the fridge to think about making a 5:2 diet recipe so after a few seconds thinking about it you decide to put it all off until after the New Year.

Boxing Day arrives. Whoever is cook starts to suggest a meal from the left-overs. But no-one really wants to eat anything heavy so you stick to cold meat and salad or posh sarnies made with all those bits of left -over sauces and the salad stuff you bought for Christmas day supper. What is left over returns to the fridge to await sentence.

Day after Boxing Day – no one can face the left overs and no one is ready to diet – low calorie or 5:2 diet recipes are just not right. So, instead you eat something completely different. Only somehow the Christmas veggies sneak their way back in to your meal. Those sprouts sit on your plate winking at you. And Jamie/Delia/Nigella’s roasted winter vegetables look as if they are REALLY ready for Spring. Strangely those weird sauces have managed to find their way onto the side of your plate too.

Now it’s Christmas Plus Three and the family cook is getting desperate. Googling produces recipes for risotto, rissoles, meat balls and curry. All suspiciously *delicious* *nutritious* and *tasty*. Or so the recipe creator says. All sounding suspiciously like half-dishes – a compromise created to hide the not-quite-as-good-as-it was meat you ate on Christmas day. The family cook gives in. Something is made that can be eaten for one meal and then anything left frozen for later consumption. It’s probably not within the Health and Safety guidelines but the freezer gets packed with leftover turkey curry, shepherds pie, meatballs or potted meats. And everyone relaxes and goes back to normal until New Year’s Eve when, unless you are very careful, the same cycle starts ALL OVER AGAIN.

Print 5:2 Diet Spicy Rissoles – Leftovers Made Lovely Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 20 mins Total Time 35 mins These spicy 5:2 diet friendly rissoles will help you use up leftovers without putting on weight Course: Appetizer Cuisine: Moroccan Servings : 2 -3 Author : Fiona Maclean Ingredients 200 g Cooked Lean Meat Venison, Lamb or Beef all work well

1 Small Egg

1 heaped tablespoon Breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon Rose Harissa Paste If you don't have Rose Harissa, use a little of your own favourite chilli sauce or paste

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1/4 teaspoon Ground Coriander

1 Small Onion

1 pinch Salt Instructions Cut the meat into 1cm cubes. Peel and quarter the onion Blitz meat and onion in a food processor until everything is finely chopped Put the mixture into a bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and blend well (you may find this easiest with your hands) Shape the mixture into patties - this quantity of meat will make four or five - put onto a plate and cover with cling film Allow to rest in the fridge or a cool place for an hour Heat a lightly seasoned griddle over a medium flame and seal the patties on each side. Place in the oven at 160 for 15 minutes. Serve with roasted mediterranean vegetables and a small helping of couscous or bulgar wheat Recipe Notes This recipe for 5:2 diet rissoles is a great way to use up leftovers without making a rich high calorie dish. Perfect for any low calorie diet including the 5:2 diet

The sad thing is, I have no answer other than to dine out on Christmas day and break free from the leftovers cycle I’ve just given you my recipe for *delicious*, *tasty* and *nutritious* spicy rissoles – a recipe that freezes well and that will ensure you don’t need to endure another consecutive meal from that Turkey/Goose/Venison/Beef or whatever else you recklessly picked for Christmas day. And, my recipe for spicy rissoles is low enough in calories to work if you are trying to diet too – even for a 5:2 diet fast day with just 222 calories per serving! Why do I think this is a winning recipe? Well because it’s spicy and hot – served with roasted Mediterranean vegetables and a small portion of bulgar wheat or couscous, it just doesn’t bring back memories of Christmas lunch. The basic rissole recipe will work with all sorts of meat leftovers – I’ve tried chicken, beef and lamb – and now venison. And, if you seal the rissoles on the hob using an ovenproof pan just seasoned with a spray of one-cal or wiped over with a few drops of olive oil, you’ll have a healthy, low calorie meal. Perfect for the 5:2 Diet – or any other low calorie diet that you might want to try.