TURKEY LOLLIPOPS, Healthy Make-Ahead Picnic Dish. Child Friendly, the infirm. Preservative-free

Single tasty, tender turkey kebabs tempt fussy eaters and slimmers.  No preservatives...

Kids Delight: Turkey Lollipops Salad (option for chicken) 
with lamb's lettuce and coloured  tomatoes (great too for slimming kidults)

Turkey lollipops are a great dish for encouraging children to eat unprocessed foods.  They're also a lovely treat for slimmers.  

The meat is beautifully tender and with a light lemony flavour.  The kebabs are offered in single bites to prevent wastage (kids) and portion control (dieters).  

Presented with vivid green lambs lettuce (good talking point to encourage kids' interest in food) and colourful multi-coloured 'Bistro' tomatoes, they would tempt any fussy eater.  

For a street party, use cocktail sticks instead of the usual bamboo skewers.  If lots of rambunctious kids are running around, long pointy bamboo skewers can quickly turn into makeshift duelling kits!

From a health point of view, turkey has the best protein-fat ratio -- it's high in protein but low in fat.  Most other meats have similar protein levels but higher fat levels.  

If you can find supermarket specials on turkey legs, the thigh meat is perfect for this recipe.  Otherwise try turkey breast. Chicken breast is also good or, for the frugal, chicken thighs or wings.  

The recipe is simple but the meat needs to be marinated ahead of time.  

Preparation is a breeze.

Cost: depends on the meat but maybe £4.50'ish; watch for specials on turkey legs which appear in some supermarkets at odd times of the year, incl. summer
Makes: 20-30+ lollipops

Ingred:
   3/4 kilo/1.5 pounds turkey thigh or chicken breast in 1 1/4 inch/4 cm squares, or chicken thighs (meat removed and cut into squares) or wings
   3 tbsp olive oil
   juice of 3 lemons
   3 cloves garlic, grated
   1 tbsp chopped parsley
   pepper & a little salt 

  cocktail sticks  

Method:

1. Cut meat into 1.5 in/3 cm squares (wings and, if you like, thighs can stay whole)
2. Make up a marinade of 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon zest, juice from 3 lemons (about 1/3 cup), 3 cloves grated garlic, 1.5 tbsp chopped parsley, pepper and salt
3. Pour into a freezer bag or large flat ceramic dish and add cubed meat; marinate a few hours or overnight 
4. Soak cocktail sticks in water overnight
5. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 360f/180c/gas 5
6. Thread each meat cube onto the end of a cocktail stick, (ignore this step for chicken wings)
7. Arrange skewered meat on a rack on a baking tray, leaving a bit of space in between; bake 20-25 mins for cubes; about 45 mins for wings 
8. Allow to cool
9. Serve on a bed of lamb's lettuce with Green Herb Dressing (below) and colourful tomatoes.

Tips:

• Lambs lettuce and 'Bistro' tomatoes (small heritage tomatoes in several colours from M&S) were used to encourage interest from children.  For the budget conscious, English soft lettuce, at 60pence a go, and ordinary toms lightly sprayed with olive oil and gently salted will be more than fine
• Cutting larger cubes is fine but increase cooking time and check the meat is not pink in the middle

Green Herb Dressing
   6 tbsp Greek or strained 0-fat yoghurt
   2 tbsp mayonnaise
   3-4 tbsp mixed herbs: parsley, chives, basil, spring onions
   pepper & salt to taste
Blitz the yoghurt, mayo and chosen herbs until the mix takes on a pale green colour and is flecked with herbs. Season with pepper & a little salt. 




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This recipe  has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.