Our Fasting Mimicking Diet Vegetable-Rich Meals And Recipes #FMD

Our Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) vegetable-rich meals and recipes were truly amazing. I enjoyed rising to the challenge of creating high-fiber and higher-fat vegetable-rich meals to sustain us for five days of only 800 calories per day.  But while these dishes were super enjoyable, how well did we fare on a hypo caloric, starch-free diet for five days? Well, you a read the upside - and the downside -  of my experience doing the fasting-mimicking diet, here. In a nutshell, although our glycogen reserves plummeted while consuming half to one-third our normal calories, our senses were treated to a delicious visual and gustatory feast of flavors and textures, which you can see below.

In this post, I thought I'd share some of our Fasting Mimicking Diet vegetable-rich meals and recipes. Each day of meals, except for Day 1, totaled 800 calories, with about 45 grams of fat divided among 3 separate meals.  They were like high-packed scooby snacks that can easily be fortified to make a more substantial meal.

May they tantalize your taste buds and inspire a more abundant produce haul your next trip out to the local farmers market or grocery store!

Our Fasting Mimicking Diet Vegetable-Rich Meals and Some Recipes 

One day of our Fasting Mimicking Diet vegetable- and fat-rich mini meals totaling around 250-300 calories per meal - included the following, shown in the pictures above and below this text.  

Lunch, shown above:  Refreshing salad with with Grape Tomatoes, Japanese Cucumber, Eden Red Wine Vinegar (which has the Mother), XVOO & Sea Salt & Pepper., and a really delicious Mushroom, Zucchini, Cabbage & Kale simmered in a little water w/ Fresh Thyme freshly made, spicy Pico, cumin, Italian herbs, sea salt and pepper which was served with the salad. 

Well, that was lunch. What type of vegetable-rich meals did we have for breakfast while doing the Fasting Mimicking Diet? Let's have a look!

By the way, as a recap, the 5-Day Fasting Mimicking Diet can be found in The Longevity Diet, Slow Aging, Fight Disease, Optimize Weight, by Valter Longo, PhD.

Breakfast:  Beautiful, Savory Boiled Beets & Carrots w/ Soy Tahini Sauce, shown below.

Boiled Beets & Carrots w/ Soy Tahini Sauce, topped w/ 
10g of Chopped Roasted Walnuts & Garden Parsley - Excellent!

For a simple Soy Tahini Sauce, blend roughly equal amounts of tamari, shoyu or reduced-sodium soy sauce with tahini. Adjust to taste. Dilute with water as desired. Or check out my Miso Tahini Spread recipes, and ways to use it here. Miso can be used interchangeably with the soy sauce, however, the sauce will be thicker unless diluted.

Dinner:  A variety of vegetables w/ fresh, simple Guacamole, made with lemon, sea salt and pepper. (I way prefer very simple Guacamole!)  Simple & pretty satiating eating an entire (smaller) avocado.

Colorful, vitamin C rich bell peppers, celery & jicama w/ simple, fresh Guacamole - about 1 small avocado per serving

Looking at these photos, it would appear as though we dined on an abundance of food!  How could this even be considered fasting?  

The key for me to making the Fasting Mimicking Diet vegetable-rich meals and recipes be as sustainable as possible was in the combination of foods. Vegetables have a low calorie density, while plant fats provide some level of satiety to help sustain a reduced caloric intake. This allows for nourishment to receive the benefits of fasting without the stress associated with water-only fasts.   

The Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) was developed by Valter Longo, PhD after observing his mentor, Roy Walford, and others who participated in the Biosphere 2 experiment, where participants sustained a severe calorie-restricted diet for two years.  Upon watching them exit the Biosphere back in 1992, Longo thought to himself, "There must be a better way to delay aging and prevent disease." 

After over a decade of research, including on how to help cancer patients, the FMD was born.  Read more details in my previous post.

Probably my favorite vegetable-rich meals during our 5-day FMD:

Spaghetti Squash tossed w/ Lemon, XVOO, S&P, Terrasoul Nutritional Yeast, Arugula & Toasted Pine Nuts;

QB Broccoli w/ Red Bell Pepper, & a tsp. each of Fax Oil & Umeboshi Vinegar, + QB Collards -- SOOOO GOOOD!

Another Day of Vegetable-Rich Meals and Recipes During the 5-Day Fasting-Mimicking Diet

Here is another sample day of vegetable-rich meals we enjoyed which showcases high-volume, low-calorie density vegetables with a variety of plant fats:

Breakfast Carrot Soup:  A bowl of creamy, warming comfort!

Carrot Soup made by simmering orange & yellow carrots, a small parsnip, and a little fresh ginger in Homemade Hazelnut Milk (recipe below) to which I added a few Brazil Nuts for the selenium.  

Once soft, the soup was blended with a hand-held blender.  I stirred in 1/2-1 Tbsp. sweet brown miso at the end.  

Lunch:  Zucchini Spirals w/ Sweet Savory Corn Sauce, topped w/ Terrasoul Nutritional Yeast & ground pumpkin seeds.  

Nutritional yeast is a great source of B vitamins, and adds a savory, slightly cheesy flavor. These were great for packing to-go as shown above.  

  

Zucchini Noodles w/ Coconut Corn Sauce

Dinner:  A big Garden Mustard Greens Salad w/ sea salt, pepper, XVOO, Eden Red Wine Vinegar (with  the Mother like cider vinegar), a few olives, cucumber, radish, grated carrot & 1/4 cup sweet white corn.  I like to squeeze the greens, like my pressed salad recipes in Make Every Bite Count.

Dressings for all the salads were generally a blend of XVOO, some with 1 tsp. (per serving) of flax oil + 2 tsp. XVOO, Eden Red Wine Vinegar, sea salt, pepper, and/or lemon and tahini thinned with water.  On one occasion I also added a teaspoon of stoneground mustard and dill.

We also had a nice dessert to come home to on this particular day of meals, which is our long day away from home.

I used the Hazelnut milk that was in the Carrot Soup, above, to make an Italian Panna Cotta like dessert (lower right photo) using agar agar (or just agar) which is like using gelatin, except this is from a red algae, with many health benefits.  

Vegan Strawberry Peach Aspic

You can read more about the health benefits of agar, and the basic instructions for using agar in a variety of desserts or savory vegetable dishes in my Vegan Strawberry Peach Aspic recipe post.  

Basically, for each 1 cup of liquid, use 1 tablespoon of agar flakes or powder.  Bring liquid & agar to a boil, then turn low and simmer 5 minutes until completely dissolved.  Pour over fruit, or whatever else you may be having.

For the Hazelnut Tahini 'Panna Cotta' Dessert:  I used 2 cups of Hazelnut Milk & 2 Tbsp. agar flakes, prepared as above, adding 4 Tbsp. tahini (1 Tbsp. per 4 servings), almond extract, cinnamon, 4 tiny spoons of glycine (adds sweetness and boosts collagen production), and a few drops of liquid stevia.   

This mixture was poured into individual serving bowls, and chilled in the fridge.  A quick dessert that was a welcome treat during our 5-day fasting mimicking diet!  

It came out pretty firm, similar to a plant-based, Italian Panna Cotta, and provided a nice rich, creamy finish to our day of reduced-calorie meals.

Regardless of whether you are fasting or not, these small meals can be enjoyed by anyone.  

Those looking to lose weight especially benefit from produce-rich, plant-based meals.  

Low-calorie density (non-starchy) vegetables contain fiber and water, and require adequate chewing, similar to whole grains. You can fill up on these foods, while eating far fewer calories than you would if eating more calorically dense foods, such as meat, dairy, poultry, dairy products and fats of all kinds, including plant fats, along with breads and baked goods which have a higher calorie density than whole cooked grains.

Red Kale w/ Walnut Sauce, & Ginger Fermented Carrots

Enjoy any of these small meals pictured throughout this article as a side dish, mini meal, or stand alone snack, or 'beef' them up with whole grains, tubers, and/or tofu or beans and legumes for a more sustainable meal.  

Sauce Recipes From Our 5-Day Fasting Mimicking Diet 

Hazelnut Milk - I soaked overnight, then roasted at 300º for about 10 minutes 1/2 cup of hazelnuts.  I attempted to peel them before blending, and managed a good chunk, but it's a bit laborious.  Neither the soaking nor roasting helped their skins slough off very easily.  

I blended the hazelnuts in 2 cups of water, adding about 4 brazil nuts, and a pinch of sea salt.  To this, almond or vanilla extract can be added, or the milk can be sweetened if desired, with sweetener of choice.  Alternatively, blend nuts and water with a few dates.

I also make Almond milk in a similar fashion. I like making it extra creamy for a Golden Milk.  I'll share this in another post as well.  I basically soak 1 cup of almonds in hot water for 30+ minutes, then peel them. The skins pop right off of the almonds. I blend the almonds in 2 cups of water, then add sea salt.  

Zucchini Spiral Noodles w/ Coconut Corn Sauce:  Find the recipe, here.

Walnut Sauce:  Blend in a food processor roasted walnuts with lemon juice, fresh parsley, sea salt, pepper, Terrasoul Nutritional Yeast & water to desired consistency.  (Scale quantities to desired amount, and save leftovers. Keep thick for a spread, or thin with water for more of a dressing. Add any fresh or dried herbs or spices you desire.)

Soy Tahini Sauce:  Made like Miso Tahini Sauce using good quality soy sauce instead of miso.  It can be used in a variety of ways, and made thicker or thinner depending on how you are using it.  I recommend checking out the Miso Tahini Sauce recipe page.  

You may also be interested in my short video taste test review comparing Trader Joe's Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce, San-J Tamari, and the top of the line, Ohsawa Nama Shoyu, below.

More Articles About the Fasting Mimicking Diet

Read a little bit about the fasting-mimicking diet in my first post in this series, with more detail in the follow-up post where I also share my experiences doing the 5-day, reduced calorie fast - the upside and the downside!  (As we say in macrobiotics, everything has more than one side.  For every front side, there is a back side.  The FMD was no exception!)

What do you think?  Would you try this fast?  Fasting is not for everyone.  (Be sure to consult with your health care provider if interested in trying a fast.)  

Otherwise, enjoy any of these mini meals, as a snack or side dish.  Let me know which meals look most appealing!

#FMD #fastingmimickingdiet #plantbaseddiet #plantbasedrecipes #veganrecipes #thelongevitydiet #vegetablerichmeals #producerichplantbased #MakeEveryBiteCount

Find More Produce-Rich, Plant-Based & Macrobiotic Meals, Menus & Recipes 

Make Every Bite Count ~ The SASSY ~ Super Affordable, Simple, Satisfying & Yummy Produce-Rich, Plant-Based Path to Health available for only $4.99 on Kindle! Paperback available by the end of 2026.

The Macrobiotic Action Plan, Your MAP to Greater Health & Happiness - also only $4.99 on Kindle, or buy a paperback copy to keep on your shelf.

Basic Macrobiotic Menus & Recipes - Simple, Natural, Beautiful Food to Balance Body & Mind in paperback. 

DOWNLOAD MY FREE EBOOK STARTER GUIDE TO A WHOLE-FOODS, PLANT-BASED DIET