Joanna Hall - Drop a Size in Two Weeks Flat!

70oz (9 8-oz glasses) of water (spread evenly throughout the day – the plan suggests an appropriate time scale)

a multi-vitamin tablet

five servings of fruit and vegetables

The plan has been developed to provide a balanced intake of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. The breakfast for each day is listed in the plan, while you will find the lunch options and the selection of Starch Curfew dinners. There are lunch and dinner options for vegetarians, fish and meat eaters – try to include as much variety as possible rather than sticking with the same thing every day. If you aren’t vegetarian, try to consume three portions of oily fish each week.

Your mid-morning spruce juice is specifically designed to boost energy levels, stabilize blood sugar until lunch, and pack a powerful nutrient punch for your body. The specific combination of vegetables and fruits has been selected to help cleanse your body and eliminate excess fluid and toxins from your body. Each juice is enough for two servings. You can either drink half in the morning and save the remaining half for your afternoon snack, or you can just make half of the recipe – whatever fits in with your day. If you don’t have a juicer or blender, you can opt for store-bought juices or go to a juice bar and have one made up for you.

You will need a juicer for this recipe.

½ bunch celery

¼ raw beetroot

1 cherry-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled

Juice half the celery. Add the beetroot and ginger. Follow with the remaining celery.

You can use a blender to make this juice.

14-oz can chopped tomatoes

large handful coarsely chopped parsley with stems

1 pepper, seeded and stem removed

Place the ingredients in a blender. Blend and enjoy.

You will need a juicer for this recipe.

4 carrots

2 apples

½-inch piece fresh root ginger, peeled

Combine the ingredients in a juicer.

Use a blender for this recipe.

1 large peach, pitted and coarsely chopped

2 good handfuls seedless green grapes

Blend and enjoy.

Make this smoothie in a blender.

1 small banana, broken into chunks

1 peach, pitted and coarsely chopped

4 strawberries, washed and hulled, or use frozen strawberries

6 ice cubes

4¼-oz bottle raspberry drinking yogurt

¼ cup frozen low-fat vanilla yogurt

Blend the fruit in a blender with the ice cubes until smooth. Pour in the drinking yogurt and blend well. Pour into long glasses and add a scoop of vanilla yogurt to each glass.

Shop-bought alternatives:

2/ 3cup unsweetened ready-packed carrot juice

1 small can V8

⅔ cup sugar- and additive-free fruit smoothie

SNACKS

When it comes to your mid-afternoon snack, we’ve left it up to you to choose from the list below, depending on how hungry you are and what you fancy. Each snack is approximately 100 calories.

1 cracker and 1 teaspoon peanut butter

any piece of fruit (see the list on page 32 for suggestions if you’re stuck in a Granny Smith rut!)

20 almonds

8 dried apricots

4oz pot low-fat yogurt and a small banana

a palmful of sunflower and pumpkin seeds

2 rice cakes topped with cottage cheese

half a small avocado filled with salsa

2 squares milk chocolate (Well, we are all human!)

SATISFYING SOUPS

Both these soups are filling and tasty and they’ll provide your body with some of the essential nutrients it requires. Your daily soup should be taken pre-dinner, as this will fill you up and help stabilize blood sugar levels specifically when they may be starting to wane. This means you should feel more energized, less hungry, and less likely to overeat at your evening meal.

Makes 1 week’s worth

Choose at least five of the vegetables listed below – the more the merrier! The initial preparation and cooking takes a little while but you then have a convenient soup that will last a week in the fridge – it freezes well too.

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 zucchini, coarsely chopped

handful of green beans, cut into ½-inch lengths

1 carrot, diced

3 sticks celery, peeled with a potato peeler to remove the ridged strands and then coarsely chopped

1 leek, coarsely chopped

¼ cauliflower, cut into small bite-size pieces

4–5 green cabbage or spring green leaves, sliced into strips

1 small bunch broccoli, washed and cut into small bite-size pieces

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

14-oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

handful of frozen peas

handful of snowpeas, diced

4–5 dried mushrooms, softened in 1¼ cups boiling water (the water can be added to the soup)

4 chicken or vegetable stock cubes

good handful of fresh chopped flat-leaf or curly parsley

Put all the vegetables, beans, and peas into a big stock pan together with the stock cubes and a gallon of cold water. Bring to a boil and then simmer on a very low heat, covered, for about 2 hours. Season well, halfway through cooking time.

Blend half of the soup in a blender or liquidizer and return it to the pot. Throw in the chopped parsley and serve.

Makes enough for 1 week

This is a great detoxifying soup. It will cleanse your digestive system and is packed with antioxidants to boost your immune system.

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 carrots, chopped

2 onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 red peppers, seeded and chopped

1 pinch ground allspice

1 tablespoon tomato purée

3 × 14-oz cans chopped tomatoes

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube dissolved in 1¾ cups boiling water

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a pan, add the carrot and onion and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper, and ground allspice and cook for a further 3–4 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, and stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the heat and add the orange juice and chopped basil. Season well and serve.