I have a selection of lovely mushrooms and really fancy making a risotto with them . Are there any alternative grains that I could use instead ie buckwheat ?

Grains are all out if you’re doing the BSD. Buckwheat has an eyewatering 105 net grams of carbs per cup, barley (which I used to make risotto with all the time) 103. I did find an interesting recipe for a risotto made from sunflower seeds and planned to try it, but then I saw the calorie count and almost passed out. Seeds make great snacks, but they are very high in fat so if a recipe calls for four cups of them as this one did, you’re looking at more than 3,000 calories. To make them fit into the 800 calorie restriction, the serving size would have to be something like 1/2 cup. I don’t know how satisfying that would be.

Here’s the recipe, for your information: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sunflower-seed-risotto-with-squash-and-mushrooms . My modified version would have cut out the carby squash, the wine and reduced the cream by half. When I added it all up on My Fitness Pal, it was still over 1,000 calories per serving. I never made it.

Why not go for a mushroom omelet or a frittata with a lovely melty cheese like fontina?