I`ve got a crazy friend called Terry who lives with the sheep in Wales ,a bit of a mountain man and loves to think he`s a “special forces” killing machine who can survive on tree bark, roadkill and berries out in the Welsh wilderness for weeks on end.

In reality he`s a big softie and i put his “Rambo-esque” confusion down to …erm….Mid life crisis…Ssssssshhhhh….best say nothing incase i end up in a shallow grave.

Anyways , “old Terry” is always barking on at me about getting rid of a small amout of middle age spread of late….”Hey , i love my food man” .His latest “pee take” is to call me Charles Campion after the larger than life food critic.I think he`s gently trying to ease me into some sort of diet and seeing as though i`ve actually put on over 2 stone in the last year then now is probably a good time to start some sort of “healthy eating plan” in time for summer.

Terry has always gone on to me about one of his favourite diet meals….Cauliflower, raw….Broccoli …raw and topped with a chilli…raw and some cottage cheese.Now this is Terrys wonder meal and shows his michelin starred culinary skills off to a tee.He swears its a truly low cal meal and eats it seven days a week for months on end.He also tells me his teeth arent developing into rabbit like gnashers with all the raw vegetables hes scoffing.

So here`s Terry salad and his “key to dieting” .Ive actually pirked it up a little in an attempt to make it more enjoyable to eat.It is literally a look through the fridge and to see whats available.This is what i found in mine –

Fennel bulb , A couple of Broccoli florets , a stalk of cauliflower and florets , a piece of peppered mackerel , half a chilli , a few orange segments , 2 cherry tomatoes and some dill.I popped to the shop to get some cottage cheese to try and improve the taste.

Simply slice a few pieces of cauliflower , broccoli and fennel.Shave the stalks of these and thinly slice them ( why throw them away ?) segment the orange , slice the chilli , de-skin the mackerel then slice , put everything together on the plate and top with cottage cheese and a nice sprinkle of Dill.

Dont say anything to Terry but i actually enjoyed it….and had it again for lunch today.A really nice , healthy and very low calorie meal.Combined with a sensible eating plan then its perfect.A couple of sliced new potatoes would add a few carbs to balance it all up….Proteins in the cheese and fish , lots of vitamins in the raw veg.

Salmon and grilled chicken would also suit this meal well. Enjoy the “El Tel salad”