Catwalker

OK, a friend is doing this weird thing she calls a diet,
which contains things like "Cilantro Lime Chickpea Salad"
or "Quinoa Spinach Breakfast Bars" this sounds more like
a yuppie coffee bar menu than a diet to me, I am sure
there is lots of strange stuff to enjoy, and while margarine
may not be healthy, it's the only realistic alternative
for people like me, who is not only mildly gluten
intolerant but very lactose intolerant, so don't bother
suggesting butter to me, AT ALL! I cannot eat it without
being sick for a couple of hours afterwards.

Here is a portion of a realistic diet menu:

Green salad - skip the croutons and use low-cal dressing.
back off on the spuds - especially in potato salad. 
In fact, cut back on the starch, it turns to sugar which
translates into no weight loss.
Eat your veggies, carrots (raw is good) peas, broccoli, cauliflour.
Protein - white meat or fish is best.
Fruit, no milk, no sugar on top.

Ordinary foods may seem boring, but they can
be spiced up, in a healthy fashion, without being
something off a yuppie menu which looks, sounds and
tastes totally bizarre.

Curry on the meat and rice (brown if you can stand it -
I despise brown rice in all its forms) is a good topper.

Try that.