Cocktails & mocktails for celebrations

I’m celebrating my latest novel, Owner of a Lonely Heart, which is published this week in hardback, e-book and audiobook formats.

So it seemed like a great time to share these ideas for celebrations, taken from my Ultimate 5:2 Recipe Book.

People were surprised when I included cocktail recipes in a diet cookbook, but I have always believed that fasting - and in fact all successful lifestyle changes - only work long-term if they make room for enjoyment!

The Fast Day versions are also ideal if you’re taking a break from alcohol, or don’t drink it at all.

Cocktails for everybody

I am a cocktail lover, partly from watching too much Mad Men and partly after discovering so many great cocktail bars when we lived in Barcelona – Brighton, where we now live, doesn’t disappoint on the mixology front either.

To celebrate the 5:2 red-and-green theme (they also happen to be my favourite colours), I focused on red and green cocktails.  The alcohol-free versions mean you can still enjoy a colourful and tempting drink on Fast Days – and the stronger cocktails are perfect for when you’re celebrating reaching a weight loss milestone. Cheers!

Red Drinks

At home, our favourite martini is a Cosmopolitan, made famous by the Sex and the City girls. It’s the drink my partner, Richard, makes when we’re celebrating, or before going out for a big night! Yes, it’s boozy and but there’s a Fast Day version, too.

All measures are 25ml unless otherwise stated.

Richard’s Cosmo

Calories per cocktail: 224

2 measures vodka 112 cals

1 measure triple sec (e.g. Cointreau) 85 cals

squeeze fresh lime juice 2 cals

2 measures cranberry juice 25 cals

(Adjust up for more than one person – or down for less alcohol, but the proportions stay the same!)

orange peel, to garnish

 1.       Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice. Shake well (Richard says the sound changes when you’ve shaken thoroughly to more of a ‘thump’).

2.       Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a strip of orange peel that you’ve ‘flamed’ by holding next to a lit match until the oils spit a little and release their aroma.

 Fast Day: Kate’s Cosmopo-light-an
Calories per mocktail: 23

2 measures light cranberry juice 4 cals

squeeze of fresh lime juice 2 cals

2 measures fresh orange juice or 1 measure fresh orange and 1 measure grapefruit 18 cals or 17 cals

orange peel, to garnish

 1.       Prepare in exactly the same way as a normal Cosmo including the garnish! If you want a little alcohol, 1 measure of vodka is 56 calories.  

 Green Drinks

Our favourite bar when we lived in Barcelona was called Gimlet. It really did make you feel like Don Draper or Joan Harris from Mad Men, with the polished wood bar, the even more polished bar staff and the dreadful silence if you so much as whispered the word Cosmopolitan – any drink invented post-1960 was cocktail-non-grata.

Gimlet: Calories per cocktail: 87

A knockout, although too many will also knock you out.

25ml measure gin (I like Hendrick’s –nothing to do with Christina Hendricks who plays Joan as far as I know) approx. 56 cals
25ml measure lime cordial 31 cals
cocktail cherry, to serve

1.       Shake together with ice. Strain. Serve with a cocktail cherry (green and almost red!).

 Fast Day: Noijito
Calories per mocktail: 30 (or 88 with a 25ml measure of white rum)

Just like a Mojito. But without the sugar, or the alcohol (well, you can have some if you insist). I don’t often use sweetener but this is a tiny quantity. Or use half a teaspoon of sugar, dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water, then cooled and added to the soda water.

½ teaspoon sweetener 5 cals
1 lime, quartered, plus extra to garnish 20 cals
8 mint leaves, plus extra to garnish 5 cals
crushed ice 
25ml white rum e.g. Bacardi (optional) 58 cals
300ml soda water

1.       Pound the sweetener, lime quarters and half the mint in a pestle and mortar to release some of the flavours.

2.       Place crushed ice in a tall glass, to a quarter of the height. Add the muddled fruits and whole mint leaves and the rum, if using. Top with more ice, then fill to the top with soda water.  Garnish with slice of lime and a mint leaf.

Other lower-Calorie Alcohol Choices

• Dry sparkling wines like Champagne and cava are among the lowest (90–100 cals per 125ml) – or choose a spirit with a low-calorie mixer.

• A small glass (125ml) of red wine is 85 calories and of white wine 83.

Sweet drinks, like liqueurs (and especially the cream-based ones) contain extra sugar on top of the sugar in the alcohol, and alco-pops are often ultra-sweet to suit people who aren’t that keen on the taste of alcohol. You can wean yourself off the sweeter drinks if you want to; our taste buds are very adaptable. Remember when you first tasted alcohol? Chances are you hated the taste, but it grew on you . . .

Rarebit mushrooms - gorgeous supper dish, 280 calories

Portobello Mushroom Rarebit with Oven-Baked Tomatoes

280 calories, 16g protein, 2 portions of veg

This is a delicious dish for suppertime - or anytime. The rarebit mix keeps in the fridge in a covered container for up to two days, so you can use it on anything else you fancy. It’s great directly on toast or on top of a pre-cooked fillet of smoked fish, like haddock, finished off under the grill. Also great on sourdough served with the Cauliflower & Mustard soup.

Serves 4 as a main

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 14– 18 minutes

8 medium portobello mushrooms (around 50g each)

400g cherry or baby plum tomatoes

1 tsp oil

For the rarebit mix:

2 eggs

80g mature Lancashire cheese, finely crumbled or grated

2 tbsp stout or semi-skimmed milk

2 tsp English mustard

1 small red onion, finely chopped

To serve:

4 x 50g slices sourdough or gluten-free bread

50g rocket or dark leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6. Wipe the mushrooms and remove very woody stalks. Halve the cherry tomatoes and place cut side up in an ovenproof dish, then put the mushrooms on top, gill-side up. Brush with a little oil and bake till the mushrooms have just softened (the biggest mushrooms may take a little longer), around 8–10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the rarebit mix. Beat the eggs with a fork in a small bowl. Add the cheese followed by the stout/milk, mustard and onion and mix well. Season well.

3. Spoon the egg mixture on top of the mushrooms (if they’ve released a lot of liquid, pour this off the baking tray first). Place back in the oven for 6–8 minutes, until the cheese mixture puffs up and browns, but don’t let it burn.

4. Toast the bread and serve the mushrooms on top, garnished with the salad leaves. VARIATION: You could use pesto instead of mustard (1 tsp of shop-bought pesto is around 23 calories, depending on the brand).

From: The Dirty Diet: Ditch the guilt, love your food

Baked avocado, 209 calories

BAKED AVOCADO STUFFED WITH BEANS AND SMOKED CHEESE, 209 calories

This is one of my favourite dishes of all time: eating a version of this when I was 18, way before avocados were trendy, made me realise how exciting veggie food could be. The flavour of avocados becomes nuttier and richer when they are gently baked. I’ve added beans here (you don’t need many, use whatever you have), paprika and smoked cheese. One tip: use ripe but not squishy avocados, as the older ones become stringy and brown when baked.

Serves 1

Preparation time: 8 minutes

Cooking time: 10–12 minutes

Ingredients:

1 small avocado, 100–120 calories depending on size

30g cooked, drained beans, such as borlotti, 28

1/2 teaspoon paprika, 3

1 spring onion, finely sliced, 2

10g smoked cheese, 38

Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

To serve

1 dessertspoon half-fat crème fraiche, 18

5 cherry tomatoes, 15–25

2 small wedges cut from an iceberg lettuce, 5

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

2. Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Lightly crush the beans with the paprika and mix with the sliced spring onion.

3. Place the avocado on a baking tray and pile the bean mix into its centre, to cover. Slice the cheese very thinly to cover the beans and as much flesh as possible. Bake in the oven for 10–12 minutes.

4. Season and serve with the crème fraiche, plus the cherry tomatoes and

lettuce wedges – these are great for scooping up the hot filling.

P. S. The same technique works well with cream cheese or a blue cheese like Stilton, with a topping of walnuts on a non-Fast Day. For a vegan version, top the beans with mixed seeds and a good sprinkling of nutritional yeast.

For more recipes like this, try my recipe book 5:2 Veggie & Vegan.

It includes tips, recipes and a complete guide to intermittent fasting, veggie style.

The BEST egg-fried cauliflower rice (182 calories)

I don’t know how many calories cauliflower rice has saved 5:2 fasting people since we first posted a recipe in the Facebook group, but it must run into the millions. It’s very easy and makes a great replacement for rice or couscous: lighter, lower in calories, and you are getting a portion of vegetables. And the egg-fried version is just so tasty.

Quick everyday cauliflower rice

Serves 2

Calories per serving: 25

Preparation and cooking time: 5­–10 minutes

 200g cauliflower florets 50 cals

salt and pepper

1. Grate or finely chop cauliflower florets until they resemble rice grains. The fastest way to do this is to pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor, which gives a finer texture.

2. Place the cauliflower into a loosely covered microwaveable dish. Don't add water: there’s already enough in the cauliflower to stop it drying out. Place in the microwave and cook on full power for 2 minutes. If you are only cooking one portion, reduce the time to 60 seconds.

3. Or you can stir-fry the grated cauliflower. Add a splash of water to or spray a saucepan with 1-cal cooking spray to prevent it from sticking and set over a high heat. When hot, add the cauliflower and fry for 2–3 minutes, or until softened. If you are using spray, the rice may caramelise a little, adding a nutty flavour.

4. Season and serve alongside curries, stews and other main dishes.

More ideas from the 5:2 Kitchen I like to add herbs or spices to the mixture when I process it or during cooking. You could try cumin, ginger, fresh chillis or dried chilli flakes or fresh herbs like parsley or basil.

You can freeze individual portions, too, which generally won’t take much longer to re-heat than fresh.

Recipe from 5:2 Good Food Kitchen - packed with 80 delicious recipes, inspiring real-life stories PLUS tips for healthy, fast cooking.

Egg-fried Cauliflower Rice, 182 cals

This is the more souped up version of cauli rice that makes a great main meal or side dish. It’s infinitely variable, depending on what you’ve got in the fridge or spice rack.

Serves 1 as a main course/2 as a side dish

Calories per serving: 182 for 1 main course servings, 91 cals as a side dish for 2

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 8-10 minutes

½ medium cauliflower, around 200g of florets  (50 calories)

½  teaspoon coconut or sesame oil, 22

½  teaspoon whole or ground spices e.g. garam masala, five-spice, cumin or spice paste, 3-10

 2 medium spring onions, finely chopped, 4, or ½ an onion, 19

150g vegetables e.g. sliced mushrooms, chopped pepper or carrot, frozen or fresh peas, 25-50 calories

1 medium egg, 78 cals

Optional: ½ small chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped 2-4

Splash of soy sauce, tamari or sweet chilli sauce

1.      Prepare the cauliflower as for the basic rice above.

2.      Heat half the oil in the largest frying pan or wok you have. Add the spices, onion and vegetables and cook over a high heat for 2 minutes.

3.      Add the cauliflower and the other half of the oil: cook for 2 more minutes and allow the ‘rice’ and vegetables to brown but move in the pan before they burn.

4.      Beat the egg. Lower the heat in the pan slightly, move the vegetables to one side of the pan and pour in the egg into the other half. Stir as they scramble, for 1-2 minutes.

5.      Mix the eggs and ‘rice’ together in the pan then serve. Add a splash of soy, tamari or chilli sauce to serve.

 More ideas from the 5:2 Kitchen: add chopped cashew or peanuts in place of the eggs plus some cubed tofu for a vegan version. A splash of coconut milk at the end of cooking is yummy too.