You know those diets where they give you a list of foods that you go crazy on, and eat as much as you want? You know how those lists are always just full of vegetables? And not the fun kind of vegetables like corn and potatoes, only the non-starchy kinds of vegetables like carrots and celery. Well, I have been on a heap of these diets and I hate these lists of vegetables because the diet planners never tell you anything interesting to do with them. For some reason, they expect people who clearly have a passionate love affair with food, to start eating carrot sticks and “garden salads” with every meal for the rest of their lives. Fat chance!

Anyway, good news everyone, I found something tasty. Most of these diets let you have chicken stock, so here’s what you do.

Chop up 1 leek (white part only) and slice a heap of mushrooms. Better yet, buy them already sliced from the supermarket. Get some baby spinach leaves while you’re there. Put a half a teaspoon of chicken stock powder into half a cup of boiling water and stir well.

Spray oil into a frying pan on medium heat. Add your veges, then pour over the chicken stock. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the stock has been absorbed by the mushrooms. Serve immediately.

The mushrooms soak up the flavour from the chicken stock and become delicious, while the baby spinach wilts so it’s smaller and the leek bulks it out to keep you more full. Serve as a side dish, or stir into your diet pasta.