Snacks and Light Meals
This is not suitable for children under 5 years of age!
1 tbsp of dried fruit - raisins, sultanas, apricots and so on
40 g of seeds and shelled nuts - sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts
Place ingredients into an airtight container.
Put on lid and shake well, mixing all the ingredients together.
Store in a cool dry place.
Eat within 14 days of preparation.
Ideal to munch on while studying. You can make enough for a week or according to your budget.
2 adults
5 minutes
Plastic container
Day 1
1 medium-sized wholemeal bread roll with tomato and cheese
1 banana
handful of carrot sticks
pot of low-fat yoghurt
bottle of water
Day 2
Small pitta bread with tuna and sweetcorn
1 orange
½ a wholemeal scone
handful of strawberries
glass of milk
Day 3
2 tbsp of pasta with 1 tbsp of tomatoes and vegetables
handful of grapes
2 crackers with low-fat Cheddar cheese
Day 4
2 slices of wholemeal bread with cooked ham and lettuce
slices of pepper, cucumber, sugar snap peas or mangetout
1 apple
Day 5
Tortilla wrap with chicken, sliced peppers and lettuce
1 kiwi
small tub of stewed fruit
6 cherry tomatoes
Egg, lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, low-fat coleslaw, sliced peppers, sweetcorn, carrot sticks
Pasta, tuna and sweetcorn
Pasta, tomato and ham
Serve with a tossed salad.
Great with beans and low-fat grated cheese.
2 large potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
Preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F / Gas Mark 7.
Prick the potatoes all over with a fork.
Place on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven for 1½ hours or until the inside is tender.
For the microwave method, follow the instructions given in the manual.
Alternatively, you could par boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes, then prick them, cover them with oil and bake for 15 minutes in a conventional oven 180°C or 350°F or Gas Mark 4.
1 hour 30 minutes
Baking tray
Chopping board
Chopping knife
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Saucepan
2 large baked potatoes
4 rashers of bacon
60 g tin of sweetcorn, rinsed and drained
pepper
Grill the rashers and cut into small pieces.
Cut each baked potato in half and carefully scoop out the centre.
Mix this potato with the sweetcorn, rashers and pepper.
Return the mixture to the potato skins.
Place on a baking tray in a hot oven and bake until warmed through and golden.
110 g lean minced beef
1 medium-sized onion
1 dstsp of tomato puree
pinch of salt if desired
tomato slices for garnish
Fry the minced beef, onion and tomato puree until well cooked and drain any excess fat.
Cut each potato in half and carefully scoop out the centre.
Mix this potato with the mince. Add the salt (if using) and pepper.
Place on a baking tray in a hot oven and bake until warmed through and slightly browned on top.
Garnish with tomato slices.
200 g tin of tuna in brine, drained and flaked
110 g of back bacon, grilled until crisp,crumbled
20 g of tinned sweetcorn, rinsed and drained
2 spring onions, finely chopped
ground pepper
Mix this potato, the tuna, bacon, sweetcorn and spring onions together.
Add a little salt (if using) and pepper.
110 g of cooked turkey
110 g of cooked ham
10 g of peas
1 tsp of light mayonnaise
salt and pepper
Slice the turkey and ham and add to the mashed potato flesh.
Stir in peas and a little mayonnaise.
Add a little salt and pepper.
Place on a baking tray in a hot oven and bake until warmed through and slightly browned on top
Serve with a little caster sugar or lemon juice
225 g of plain flour
1 egg
425 ml of low-fat milk
Sieve the flour and salt (if using) into a bowl.
Make a hole in the centre of the flour and drop in the egg with ¼ of the milk.
Stir the egg mixture in the centre of the bowl with a wooden spoon, allowing the flour to fall in gradually from the sides.
Add the rest of the milk slowly, beating well to avoid lumps.
Pour a thin layer of the mixture onto a hot, non-stick pan.
Use a spatula to turn the pancake over when bubbles start to appear on top.
Chopped cooked chicken
Smoked haddock
Tinned salmon
Mushrooms
Mince cooked in curry sauce
Bolognese sauce
Jam
Stewed fruit
Fried bananas
2 adults and 2 kids
10 minutes
15 minutes
Bowl
Frying pan
Spatula
Sieve
Measuring jug
You can make quiche Lorraine, bacon and mushroom quiche or salmon and tomato quiche. Serve with a tossed green salad.
180 g of flour (plain or wholemeal or mix 90 g of both)
85 g of low-fat butter/margarine spread
a little water
or 1 packet of frozen shortcrust pastry
Sieve the flour into a bowl.
Rub in the chopped low-fat spread until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the water and mix to a stiff dough.
Roll out the pastry and line a flan dish.
20 minutes
45 minutes
Flan dish
Whisk
Grater
Rolling pin
4 trimmed lean back bacon rashers
200 ml of low-fat milk
2 eggs
pepper and salt
50 g of low-fat grated cheese
Grill the bacon and chop roughly. Place in the flan case.
Mix together the milk, eggs, pepper, salt and pour over the bacon. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and bake in the oven.
Bake in a preheated oven 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6 for 40 to 45 minutes.
2 trimmed lean back rashers of bacon
4 mushrooms, chopped
Replace low-fat milk with low-fat cream if you feel like treating yourself.
Mix the eggs, milk, pepper and salt together.
Grill the bacon and mushrooms, and allow to cool. Then chop them roughly and arrange on base of the flan.
Pour the egg mixture over the bacon and mushrooms. Sprinkle a little grated cheese on top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200ºC / 400ºF / Gas Mark 6 for 40 to 45 minutes.
210 g tin of salmon
2 tomatoes
2 dstsp of low-fat grated cheese
Drain the salmon and remove the bones.
Slice the tomatoes.
Arrange salmon and tomato on base of the flan case.
Mix together the eggs, milk, pepper and salt (if using) and pour over the salmon and tomatoes.
Sprinkle a little grated cheese on the top and bake in the oven at 200ºC / 400ºF/ Gas Mark 6 for 40 to 45 minutes.
Serve with a tossed green salad or baked beans
55 g of plain flour
¼ tsp of baking powder
3 potatoes, cooked and mashed
15 g of half-fat butter or low-fat spread, melted
1 spring onion (or ½ a red onion), chopped
20 ml of vegetable oil
1 tsp of mixed herbs (optional)
a little milk
Leftover potatoes are a quick and easy solution!
Sieve together the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Add the mashed potatoes, melted butter, onion and mixed herbs if using.
Bind together, using milk if necessary.
Turn onto a floured board or clean table top. Knead until the mixture is smooth.
Divide into 2 equal parts.
Flatten each piece with your hand to form a circle and cut into 8 triangles.
Cook on a well-oiled, hot frying pan until brown on both sides.
4 adults
Potato masher
2 x saucepans
2 slices of wholemeal or granary bread
2 tsps of low-fat spread
1 tsp of French mustard
Add in slices of tomato.
Preheat the grill. Toast the bread on one side.
Toast the other side until it crisps but has not turned brown.
Mix the grated cheese, low-fat spread and mustard together and spread over the toast.
Grill for about 2 minutes until bubbling and starting to brown.
As above, but add 2 tsp of tomato puree to the cheese mixture before toasting.
As in main recipe, but add 2 tsp of your favourite pickle to the cheese mixture before toasting.
1 adult
¼ avocado, diced
1 spring onion, finely chopped
½ tbsp of fresh coriander, chopped or 1 tsp dried coriander
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 pinch of cumin seeds
1 pinch of crushed chilli
½ clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
½ lime, juiced
3 rye crispbreads
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix gently.
Spread on the crispbread and enjoy.
125 g pot of low-fat natural yoghurt
30 g of trail mix, e.g. nuts, dried fruit
½ apple, chopped into small bite-size pieces
For a quick, healthy snack between meals, place the apple and trail mix in a bowl and pour the yoghurt on top.
2 minutes
200 g of tinned chickpeas, or dried chickpeas that have been soaked and cooked
2 tsp of lemon juice
50 ml of tahini
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper, to taste
100 ml of water
a little olive oil (optional)
Put the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl and blend.
Add a little of the water to make a stiff paste.
The amount of water you need will vary so add a little at a time.
You can add a little more salt and pepper or lemon juice to taste.
You can also add some olive oil for extra richness, but extra oil means extra calories.
3 adults
Hand blender
500 g of sweet potatoes
.
This is an easy recipe for kids to help with.
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into very thin slices using a potato slicer or a sharp knife.
Put the sweet potato slices in a bowl and add the vegetable oil.
Get those little hands to mix the sweet potato slices and vegetable oil.
Put tin-foil on the bottom of a baking tray and lay the sweet potato slices out on it.
Roast in oven for 10 to 15 minutes until crispy and then serve
8 adults
Vegetable peeler
This is a nice healthy dessert for summertime.
2 apples
2 pears
2 oranges
2 bananas
2 kiwi fruit
handful of berries
150 ml of orange or apple juice
Wash the apples, pears and grapes.
Peel the oranges, bananas and kiwi.
Chop the fruit and place in a large bowl.
Pour orange or apple juice over the fruit, cover and place in the fridge.
6 kiwis
1 medium-sized apple
300 g of green seedless grapes - around 60 grapes
6 ice cubes
Water to dilute smoothie to your desired consistency
Wash your hands and the fruit before beginning.
On a chopping board peel the kiwis using a vegetable knife.
Then chop in half - if the white part running down the centre of the kiwi seems quite hard then carefully take it out using the knife and discard. Chop the remainder into small pieces.
Chop the apple into small cubes.
Add the chopped kiwis and grapes to a mixing bowl (or liquidiser) and blend until the mixture is smooth.
Add the apple and the ice cubes then blend until no large pieces are present.
Pour into glasses and serve straight away.
200 g of fresh or frozen summer berries (such as strawberries, raspberries or blackberries)
125 g of fruit-flavoured yoghurt (ideally strawberry, raspberry or cherry)
150 ml of cranberry juice
If using frozen berries, allow them to thaw a little.
Peel the banana and roughly chop.
Add all the ingredients in a bowl and puree with a hand blender (or use a liquidiser).
Pour into glasses and enjoy straight away.
Imported frozen berries should be boiled for 1 minute before eating them or adding them to smoothies
1 nectarine
75 g of strawberries
125 g of strawberry yoghurt
Peel and stone the nectarine.
Wash the strawberries.
2 ripe or tinned pears
1 medium-sized banana
1 tbsp of yoghurt
Peel and chop the pear, kiwis and bananas.
Blend all the chopped fruit together in a mixing bowl.
Add yoghurt.
