Ryvita Q&A
We’ve had a number of very good questions about the challenge being sent through the Party Fit website.
So we’ve set up a new section on the website to post our responses. It’s worth taking a look at the topics discussed and feel free to ask any questions you might have.
- How do I know if it’s right for me?
- I was wondering if it costs you anything to take the Challenge.
- Please could you tell me what drinks, apart from water, is permitted with your challenge?
- Will this Party Fit Challenge fit into my Slimming World plan?
- Approx how many calories should your evening meal have?
- Are there any vegetarian alternatives for the main meals?
- My daughter MUST avoid gluten. Does standard Ryvita contain any?
- Can I do this Challenge longer than 2 weeks?
- What is a nutritionally balanced meal?
- Don’t I need more variety in a healthy weight reduction diet?
- Which soups should I avoid?
Q. How do I know if it’s right for me?
A. If you are over 18, overweight and have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 25, you can take part. If you don’t know your BMI, please use our calculator to find out
Q. I was wondering if it costs you anything to take the Challenge.
A. No it is free to take the Challenge; all you need to do is print the Challenge Kit from the website
Q. Please could you tell me what drinks, apart from water, is permitted with your challenge?
A. The following drinks are permitted:
- Unlimited - Water, tea/coffee with skimmed milk , no sugar
- Limit - fresh fruit juice, low calorie soft drinks
- 2-3 times week - 1/2 pint beer or 2 measures of spirit with diet mixer or small glass of wine
Q. Will this Party Fit Challenge fit into my Slimming World plan?
A. Probably the best thing to do would be to print off a copy of the diet and show it to your slimming world representative. This is a stand alone diet plan for 2 weeks so we are not really sure how it fits with slimming world.
Q. Approx how many calories should your evening meal have?
A. The Ryvita Party Fit Plan is based on a 1500kcal per day diet. The plan uses food group allocations for each meal event so that meal planning using food groups is used as opposed to restrictive calorie counting, allowing for greater flexibility. So, as outlined in the plan, the evening meal should be made up of 2 portions of fruit and vegetables, 1 portion of bread, cereal or potatoes, 1 portion of milk/dairy, 1 portion of meat or fish (or vegetarian alternative) and 1 portion of fats (for details on portion sizes see the complete Party Fit Plan).
Having said that some people like to have a calorie quota to work with, and if this is you then the structure to your day might look something like this:
Breakfast: 250Kcals;
Lunch: 350Kcals;
Evening meal: 700Kcals;
Snacks/desserts: 200Kcals.
You should bear in mind that this is for guidance only; the precise calorie content at each meal isn't important as long as your overall daily calorie intake is within the guidelines.
Q. Are there any vegetarian alternatives for the main meals?
A. Yes. Here are some ideas for vegetarian alternatives for your main meal.
ALL recipes given serve 4 people and are suitable for the whole family to eat.
Service and have been adapted, where appropriate, to reduce fat and energy content.
Brown lentil chilli
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and fry 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves crushed garlic until quite soft. Add 1 tsp cumin seed and 1 tsp coriander seeds and cook until the seeds begin to pop. Add 2 sticks chopped celery, 2 diced carrots, 1 chopped red pepper, 225g diced courgettes and 225g chopped mushrooms, and sweat for about 10 minutes. Add 125g brown lentils, 3 whole fresh chillies and 2 tsp chilli powder.
Stir in well and cook for 2 minutes. Pour over a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes and 300ml of vegetable stock. Stir in 1 tbsp of tomato puree and boil. Simmer for 1 hour. Add more stock if necessary. Add 1/2 tsp ground cumin, season to taste and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove the whole chillis prior to serving! Delicious served with baked potato or rice.
Winter Root Vegetable Bake
Place 2 quartered red onions, 2 large carrots, 2 parsnips, 1 butternut squash and 250g potatoes, each peeled and cut into bit-sized chunks into a large roasting pan with 6 unpeeled garlic cloves and 1 tbsp olive oil. Toss and season well and sprinkle over 1 heaped tsp of dried mixed herbs.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190C/375F/Gas 5 for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost tender. Turn once during cooking. Meanwhile mix together 100g ricotta cheese, 200g Greek yoghurt, 1 beaten egg, 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese and some seasoning.
Remove the cooked vegetables from the oven and pour over a 400g can chopped tomatoes. Pour over the yoghurt mixture (it won’t completely cover everything but that does not matter) and return the pan to the oven reducing the heat to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Cook for a further 20 minutes or until the topping is set and golden and all the vegetables are tender.
Penne with broccoli and chilli
Cook 350g penne pasta according to packet instructions. Steam 450g small broccoli florets for 10 minutes until tender. Heat 30ml of vegetable stock and add 1 crushed garlic clove and 1 small sliced red chilli pepper. Stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the broccoli, pasta and 4 tbsp of natural low fat yoghurt. Adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts and serve.
Quick Chickpea Curry
Gently fry 3 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 small piece of root ginger (finely chopped), 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander in 1/2 tbsp of olive oil for 3 minutes. Add 2 whole chopped tomatoes and 150ml of vegetable stock and cook for a further minute.
Blend the ingredients in a liquidiser or food processor until smooth. In the original pan, fry 2 small chopped onions in 1/2 tbsp olive oil for 3 minutes, add 225g sliced mushrooms add cook for a further 3 minutes.
Pour the curry paste over the onions and mushrooms, add 425g can of chick peas (drained) and 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander. Heat gently for 10 minutes. Stir in 25g creamed coconut and season to taste. Serve with boiled rice or couscous.
Speedy wrap pizzas
Preheat the oven to 220C/fan200C/gas 7. Lay 4 flour tortilla wraps on baking sheets and spread each with 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste. Scatter the four pizzas with 400g halved cherry tomatoes, 4 handfuls of fresh salad spinach and 250g ball of reduced fat mozzarella, drained and torn into pieces. Drizzle each pizza with a little olive oil and scatter with dried oregano. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Lentil Shepherds Pie
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. In a large mixing bowl thoroughly mash 225g of cooked and drained lentils. Add 1 small chopped onion, 1/2 tsp of crumbled sage, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, a pinch of dried oregano and ¼ tsp cayenne pepper. Place the lentil mixture in a lightly oiled 4 pint/2.5L casserole dish.
In a separate bowl, mash 300g cooked potatoes, adding 50ml of semi-skimmed or soya milk, and 10g low fat spread. Season to taste. Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the lentil mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Place the pie under the grill to brown on top.
Q. My daughter MUST avoid gluten. Does standard Ryvita contain any?
A. Gluten is a protein that is present in Wheat, Rye, Oats, Barley, Spelt and Kamut. All Ryvita crispbread, therefore, contains gluten, however some people are only intolerant to wheat gluten but can happily eat the other grains. It really depends if your daughter is intolerant to all gluten cereals or just wheat.
Q. Can I do this Challenge longer than 2 weeks?
A. The Challenge is a starting point for a healthier lifestyle and is designed to last for 2 weeks, therefore you should stop the Challenge after this period.
Q. What is a nutritionally balanced meal?
A. In order for you to have a balanced meal you should be looking at the five major food groups. So, you should take into account the following aspects:
- Lots of fruit and veg
- Low fat
- High levels of fibre
- Protein- meat and fish will give you plenty of this, or you can try tofu if you are vegetarian
- Carbohydrates
Q. Don’t I need more variety in a healthy weight reduction diet?
A. You should only take The Party Fit Challenge for a 2 week period. You should make your third meal nutritionally balanced (see our great ideas on the Challenge Kit!) and make plenty of fruit and veg part of your everyday diet.
Q: Which soups should I avoid?
A: Try to avoid creamy soups, and stick to vegetable or tomato based soups. Minestrone is particularly good for keeping you full longer.
