Day 2 Vegetable barley soup

Breakfast
Bowl of porridge made from 4tbsp oats and 275ml skimmed milk,

topped with 1 chopped apple and a sprinkling of cinnamon. 286kcal

Snack
1 slice wholegrain toast with 2tbsp low-fat soft cheese, 1 tomato and

cucumber. 136kcal

Lunch
1 serving of vegetable barley soup with 1 small wholegrain roll.419kcal

Snack
1 satsuma and a 125g pot fat-free fruit yogurt. 107kcal

Dinner
1 grilled lean lamb steak with greek salad made from ¼ cucumber,

2 tomatoes, ½ green pepper, ½ red onion, 5 olives and 50g

reduced-fat feta cheese, served with 2tbsp tzatziki. 427kcal

daily total= 1,375kcal

1tbsp sunlower oil

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 carrots, sliced

1 large celery stalk, sliced 200g mushrooms, sliced 400g can chickpeas, drained 2 x 400g 

cans chopped tomatoes 150g pearl barley

1 bay leaf

1tsp dried oregano

2 very low salt vegetable stock cubes

dissolved in 1.3 litres boiling water 150g green beans, roughly chopped 150g peas, 

defrosted if frozen 150g sweetcorn kernels, defrosted if frozen 25g fresh latleaf parsley, 

chopped, plus extra to serve

1 Heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan over

a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms, and cook, stirring, for 

5 min or until the vegetables start to soften.

2 Increase the heat to high, add the

chickpeas, tomatoes, barley, bay leaf, oregano and stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the 

heat to medium and simmer for 30 min or until the barley is tender. If you notice that the 

soup needs more liquid, add water, a splash at a time.

3 Stir in the beans, peas and sweetcorn and

cook for a further 2–3 min.

4 Remove the bay leaf from the soup, stir in the chopped parsley and season with black pepper.

5 Divide the soup among 6 bowls. Scatter

over a little extra parsley, season with freshly ground black pepper to taste and serve.