DIETERS' DELIGHT SPICY UN-FRIED CHICKEN & LOWER-FAT POTATO WEDGES

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Crisp, crunchy & more-ish but way better for you than takeaway...

Tasters were extremely impressed with these lower-fat, skinnier versions
of chicken'n chips with coleslaw; serve in a box for an authentic look 

HEALTHIER 'DIRTY' FOOD: click on...

Southern Un-fried Chicken: Skinny but utterly delicious 

Lower-fat Potato Wedges: sophisticated, oven-baked, not fried 

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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.   

APPLE HAND PIES, easy, lower-sugar, cheat's option, small households

Lovely for picnics or just a weekend treat...

Apple Hand Pies: so much easier and nicer to eat

Hand pies are often included in fried chicken & chips takeaways and are the perfect dessert for this week's Un-fried Southern Spiced Chicken and Potato Wedges.

They're ever so easy to make even if you decide to make your own pastry rather than 'cheating' with ready-made pastry.

67 prefers to use fresh fruit but if you're under pressure there's nothing stopping cook from using a tin of unsweetened pie filling.

This recipe is for small households but the recipe multiples easily.

Cost: £1.50 for make-it-yourself 

Makes: 3 x 5"x5" hand pies  

Ingreds:

shortcrust or puff pastry - 1 recipe or 1 box (use leftovers for Sweet Pastry Biscuits or Cheese Straws)

2 apples OR 1 tin low-sugar or unsweetened apple pie filling

ground almonds or breadcrumbs (to prevent soggy bottoms)

Method

CHEAT'S FRUITY COLESLAW, easy, high fibre, small household, vegetarian

Coleslaw with a twist, helped by supermarket friends...

Stock Photo: Jacob Stone on Unsplash
(Blogger forgot to take proper photo)

The 67 food processor is broken and on a busy day, there was neither time nor energy to finely slice cabbage and carrots by hand.

A regular tub of M&S fat-reduced coleslaw (just over a pound in money) was a decent solution but jazzed up with a few important changes was more than just 'nice'.

Supermarket coleslaws are saturated in dressing; dump the lot in a sieve and let it sit over a bowl for awhile so that some of the mayo drains off.  When ready, scrape underside of sieve to remove even more mayo.  Place in a bowl.

Add a little heat - tabasco or hot sauce - and/or some finely chopped fresh chilli (as mild or hot as you like) or a pinch of chilli flakes.  Mix.

Stir in a generous portion of bite-size chunks of - ideally - mango.  If the cupboard is bare of mango, try peaches or chopped orange segments.(See how to segment an orange at bottom of page here.

It's not home-made but it will definitely do!

Cost: £1.75'ish

Serves: 2-3

Ingreds:

1 container fat-reduced supermarket coleslaw

few drops of tabasco or hot sauce

finely chopped mild green or hot red fresh chilli OR generous pinch chilli flakes

generous handful bite-sized pieces of mango, peaches or oranges

Garnish: fresh parsley 

Method:

BANANA BLUEBERRY GINGER PUDDING: no-bake, frugal, very low sugar, vegan option, easy

Run-of-the mill bananas, a few berries and ginger make a surprising pudding...

first posted 2021; updated May 2023

Utter yumminess on a budget

This combo of everyday bananas, a handful of berries and spice in a creamy but healthy pudding was quite the hit at Sunday lunch.

Time was short so it was almost thrown together but the results were terrific.  Make it the night before so that the flavours have a chance to deepen and the creamy banana mousse to set.

The 67 kitchen had frozen leftover double cream and had a handful of leftover blueberries so costs were not high.  But any berries will do, and less expensive whipping cream will work as well as double.  

Cost: depending on leftovers, up to £2.50'ish 

Serves: 2-3; doubles easily

INGREDS: (dairy or plant products are suitable) 

65gm/2.3oz full fat cream cheese

65gm/2.3oz plain Greek yoghurt

1/2 cup (125ml) double cream

3 bananas

1/2 tsp vanilla

1-2 tb black molasses sugar or dark brown sugar

zest of half a lemon (opt)

handful of blueberries (pref but other berries will do)

8-10 small ginger snaps

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Garnish (opt): a few pieces of candied ginger (from syrup or crystallised, finely chopped)

Method:

PASTA WITH CREAMY TOMATO BRANDY SAUCE & VEGGIE FRANKFURTERS: Vegetarian with vegan option

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A delicious end-of-the week pasta dish with complex flavours and plenty of healthy  elements... 

Pasta with Brandy Cream Tomato Sauce, Vegetarian Frankfurters, peas, peppers and parmesan

This recipe is a delight for small households at the end of the week, the fridges of which often contain foods too good to throw away but not in large enough quantities to make a main course.

It is also a great choice for vegetarians or vegans.   

If you're in the habit of cooking up a big batch of tomato sauce, bagging it up and freezing them, well done.  (Freezer bags of Italian Tomato Sauce are 67's favourite lifesaver.). Prep will be very simple.  If you don't have homemade sauce in your freezer a jar of ready-made will do but will obviously increase costs.

Cost: £2.50

Feeds: 2-3

Ingreds:

1.5 cups tomato sauce

1/8 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp cayenne

3-4 tbsp brandy

1/4 cup dairy or plant double cream

2-3 portions pasta of choice

 

3 vegetarian frankfurters

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/4 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced and sautéed in oil till al dente (opt)

Garnish (opt): shaved parmesan 

Method:

CHEAT'S TEAR APART GARLIC CHEESE ROLLS , easy peasy indulgence

This is a recipe for when you're exhausted, feeling flu-ey or just can't face starting from scratch...

Indulgent Easy-peasy Cheat's Cheesey Garlic Rolls
'Crispy-edged; tender and garlicky within.' Taster

 

67goingon50 stumbled on these lovely baps topped with mature Cheddar at M&S.  They were on a special offer, and since M&S Cheese Bread is an occasional treat in the 67 kitchen, the buns were tucked into the freezer awaiting a day to test when cooking seems too much of a chore.  

The rolls were frozen in the unopened packet; when defrosted overnight they were as soft and fresh as new.   

Turning them into cheesy garlic rolls was very quick and easy.   

Cost: about a pound 

Makes: 2 with 2 remaining: recipe doubles easily 

Ingreds:

Garlic butter:  

2-3 tbsp soft unsalted butter

2 tbsp olive oil

medium clove garlic, grated

tablespoon chopped chives or parsley 

Method:

1. Mix butter and oil; add garlic and  chopped chives or parsley
2. Slice the rolls thickly but only 3/4 of the way down, leaving them attached at the bottom. 
3. Slather garlic butter on both sides of the slices.  
4. Wrap well in foil; place in the bottom half of an oven pre-heated to 180C;350F; bake 20-30mins
5. Allow guests to tear apart the slices

Comment:

'Very nice.  They were just beginning to crisp on the edges and were lovely and soft within - perfect for a 90-year-old guest.' Retired writer

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This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.    

BASQUE -STYLE BAKED CHICKEN lower-fat, wallet-friendly, prepare ahead

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 Baked chicken thighs/wings, Spanish-style, rich with pimento & garlic...

Spanish-style Roast chicken with a paprika/garlic  twist

67goingon50 didn't manage to sample Basque food while in Spain but recipes in a recently released cookbook by London-based Jose Pizarro offers rich flavours and combinations.  

Basque Chicken is adapted from one of them because it's economical, easy, prepare ahead and deliciously different from usual run-of-the-mill.

It relies on paprika for flavour, giving the meat a smoky-sweet flavour without heat.  The mellow pepperiness comes from heart-friendly garlic - lots of it - but doesn't overwhelm.   This chicken should please the entire family.

67 chose chicken thighs because they were on special* at Waitrose; the original recipe called for wings;  legs  will probably also work well.  67 removed the skin from the chicken to reduce as much fat as possible but if you're young and not worried about cholesterol, feel free to leave it on. 

Cost: ££3.25'ish

Feeds: 4-5

Ingreds:

1 kg chicken thighs or wings

Marinade

4-6 cloves finely sliced garlic

1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika

Pinch chilli flakes or powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Olive oil

Method:

RUSSIAN POTATO SALAD: vegetarian, lower-fat, gut-friendly, make ahead, high fibre, leftovers

Few will turn down potato salad - carb-phobic or not - but this version includes high-fibre vegetables and less mayo...

Potato Salad with a Russian twist: tomato, hot sauce, mixed veg & pickles
'...tastes really great!''..the veg & pickles made it sing!'

Back in the late 20th century, you couldn't walk into a Spanish bar or restaurant   without seeing a huge mound of Russian Potato Salad (for all 67 knows, it may still be true.) Offered as a tapa or a side. Russian Potato Salad is studded with mixed veg and often pickles; the mayonnaise based dressing has a touch of heat from a shot - or two - of hot sauce.      

It was very popular, though currently out-of-style.

Making this at home is a doddle if you have a bag of diced mixed veg - peas, carrots, corn - in the freezer and some pickles or gherkins languishing in the fridge.  If you haven't, it doesn't take long to prepare diced cooked carrot and/or to pickle cucumber or radishes.

Have a go; 67 thinks the colourful salad will please even the kids.

Cost: £2'ish

Feeds: a crowd

Ingreds

760gm/1.5lbs potatoes

1 tea mug frozen mixed vegetables OR 1/2 tea mug each frozen peas and diced carrot (2 carrots) 

2-3 tablespoons chopped gherkins or dill pickles OR home-made pickled cucumber or radish prepared ahead (2 thick slices cucumber or small handful radishes - 67 used mixed breakfast and normal radishes)

Pickling Sauce

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp white vinegar

3/4 tsp sugar

grind of pepper

Dressing

1 cup 50-50 mix of thick plain yoghurt & mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoons tomato paste or tomato sauce for colour 

couple of shots of tabasco or hot sauce, flavouring but not overwhelming the dressing

few shots of Worcestershire sauce, to taste (opt)

pepper & salt

Method:

COMMON BAKING SUBSTITUTES (from Food & Wine Magazine)

676goingon50 adapted this version originally produced by  Margaret Eby 

April 17, 2020

Baking is precise but if you go to the trouble of baking, anyone lucky enough to get the results is not going to complain, whether or not you made a few swaps here and there.

However, cooks need to be careful.  A little swap here and there can be helpful.  Making a cake with bread flour will work but it won’t look or taste the same as if you had the original ingredients. That’s OK because it will likely still taste good!  But if you’re worried, use a recipe you have most of the ingredients for.  After all, your tahini brownies won't taste great if you have neither tahini nor sugar. 

Remember: weights of ingredients differ, and swapping out a cup of granulated sugar for a cup of powdered sugar actually means very different amounts by weight. A scale is important here and 67goingon50 finds this conversion chart very helpful. If you don’t have a scale—do your best, but keep that in mind when you’re making swaps. 

FLOURS

Cake Flour 

For every cup of cake flour, substitute a  cup of all-purpose flour less two tablespoons.  Add two tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder. The cornstarch inhibits the production of gluten, resulting in a crumb characteristic of cake flour. 

Bread Flour 

Bread flour has a higher percentage of protein than all-purpose flour and it is the protein which strengthens dough, encourages gluten formation, and helps bread rise. But it’s not a huge percentage difference between bread and all-purpose flour, about 1%.  That means you can usually make a one-to-one swap. But bread flour does not work well in recipes where you don't want lot of gluten including biscuits or pie dough.

LEAVENERS

Baking Soda 

Since baking powder is actually made from baking soda, you can use baking powder as a substitute for baking soda. You need to adjust the proportions—use three times the amount of baking powder for baking soda, e.g if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda,  add 3 three teaspoons (aka 1 tablespoon) of baking powder instead. There’s usually a bit of salt in baking powder as well, so cut down slightly on whatever salt you’re adding to the recipe.

Baking Powder 

For every teaspoon of baking powder needed, combine 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. If you don’t have cream of tartar on hand, you can use another acid like lemon juice or vinegar in the proportions: 1/4 teaspoon baking soda with 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice.

SWEETENERS

Brown Sugar 

The easiest substitute for brown sugar is granulated sugar. If you happen have molasses, you can add it to regular sugar in the proportions: For every cup of brown sugar needed, take 1 cup granulated sugar and  add 2 tablespoons of molasses, ( or maple syrup or agave nectar); process briefly.  

Powdered Sugar

Granulated sugar pulsed in the food processor is a decent approximation of powdered sugar.  Add a teaspoon cornflour for every cup of granulated sugar;  pulse until very finely ground.

Honey 

Replace honey on a one-to-one basis with maple syrup, agave syrup or corn syrup.

COOKING FATS

Butter 

Replace with margarine. If you just need a bit more butter to supplement what you have, add a bit of Greek yogurt.  Or you can take a page from the vegan cooking playbook, and swap in half a cup of applesauce for every cup of butter you need.

DAIRY AND EGGS 

Milk 

If you have a can of evaporated milk, a half cup of evaporated milk with a half cup of water is a good substitute 

Heavy Cream

Whisk a 1/4 cup melted butter with 3/4 cup whole milk or use an equal amount of coconut milk.

Buttermilk 

Add a tablespoon lemon or white vinegar in a cup of milk to replace buttermilk.  Or use about 3/4 cup yoghurt or soured cream with 1/4 cup water until pourable.

Sour Cream 
Use an equal amount of  yogurt, mayonnaise, or pureed cottage cheese.

CHOCOLATE

Unsweetened/Baking Chocolate 

Uuse cocoa powder as a swap. For every one ounce of unsweetened chocolate  needed, mix three tablespoons cocoa powder with one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Or replace semisweet chocolate at a ratio of 1½ ounce of bittersweet or semisweet to every ounce of unsweetened chocolate, and omit one tablespoon of sugar from the recipe per ounce.

Semisweet Chocolate 

Replace or semisweet chocolate with unsweetened chocolate plus a little sugar. For every ounce of semisweet chocolate needed, replace with 2/3 ounce unsweetened chocolate and one tablespoon sugar. OR three tablespoons cocoa powder mixed with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and three tablespoons sugar.

Chocolate Chips 

Replace with chopped up bars of baking chocolate on a one-to-one basis.   

Egg Substitute

• In cases where you don’t need to whip eggs or separate yolks and whites,  substitute 1/4 cup of carbonated, unflavored water for every large egg needed. 
• OR mix 2 tablespoons water, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil for every large egg. 
• OR replace each egg with 1/4 cup applesauce or mashed banana
• OR add for each egg needed, add 1 tablespoon flax or chia seeds to 3 tablespoons of water and stir to make a paste
• For egg whites, try aquafaba, the cooking liquid in a can of chickpeas. 

With thanks to Margaret Eby, Food and Wine

TWO-TONE CHOCOLATE ORANGE PUDDING: lower-fat, no-bake, no-added sugar, easy peasy indulgence, alcohol opt

Easy-peasy delicately flavoured pudding slips down like a dream...

updated 7/23;updated 4/21

Subtle layers of dreamy creamy two-tone chocolateness
'Very smooth & tasty' Taster 

As if being a no-bake dessert isn't enough reason to delight in this recipe, the two-toned double chocolate pudding is creamy, smooth, light but satisfying. 

It's lower in fat than normal, has no added sugar but orange adds a sophistication to the layers of velvety dark and pearly white chocolate puddings.   

And all from the same base!

The pudding is rather rich and small portions will more than satisfy.

Cost: £5 (7/23)

Makes: 5-6 x 110ml half-cup portions; recipe halves easily

Ingreds:

200gm/7.05oz cream cheese, fat-reduced, room temperature

100gm/3.5oz fat-free thick Greek yoghurt

300gm/11oz whipping cream (or double cream if no cholesterol worries)

1/3 tsp orange essence (near the vanilla in the baking area and lots cheaper)

50-100gm/1.7-3.5oz dark baking chocolate*, melted, slightly cooled (67 used 50gm but 75gm would intensify the chocolate flavour)

50gm/1.7oz white baking chocolate, melted, slightly cooled

finely grated zest of orange

Garnish: grated dark chocolate (see variations in Tips, below)

Method:

FILIPINO ADOBO PORK WITH PINEAPPLE: lower-fat, wallet-friendly, make-ahead; fresh fruit, some prep-ahead, slow cooker

Impressive South East Asian flavours score highly on western taste-o-meters...

5-star Pork & Pineapple in Filipino Adobo Sauce 

If you've grown up on Chinese food, you're not likely to be fazed by unfamiliar Oriental ingredients.  But 67 has to admit some hesitation when it came to the Phillipino dish - adobo.  

Adobo is considered the Philippines' unofficial national dish.  It's indigenous to the Philippines, developing earlier than the spicier Spanish/Latin American adobo.  Philippine adobo tends to be tangy, with sweet overtones.  

The main component of adobo is vinegar, used to preserve meat in the hot climate.  Gradually, garlic, soy sauce, peppercorns and bay leaves were added for flavour and transformed into a braising liquid/sauce for meat, fish or vegetables.  Unlike Spanish adobe, it does not contain tomatoes or paprika.

It was the amount of vinegar in the recipe* that made 67 hang back.  But a Filipino colleague who spoke often and longingly of his mother's Adobe stews encouraged 67 onward.  Plus the recipe being considered*    included one of 67's favourite fruits - pineapple. 

Reader,  the stew was astonishingly delicious - not too acidic, not too salty, with a gentle undertone of sweetness.  It was a  glorious amalgam of subtly unfamiliar flavours.  So different from western and Chinese cuisines to reward oneself for being a little with adventurous.  In a good - and very satisfactory - way.

67 chose pork as the main ingredient to help bump up deficient Vitamin D levels and improve immunity.   

Pork is also quite wallet-friendly.  A kilo of casserole pork or pork shoulder costs about £5 in Morrisons and even less at Sainsbury's.  Casserole Pork and pork shoulder are higher in fat than leaner cuts like tenderloin or chops but the cooking method means any fat is easily removed.  

Chicken will work just as well and will only need 45-50 mins of cooking on top of the stove. (see tips below) 

As for fresh pineapple, many supermarkets have plentiful supplies at a just s£1 each; fresh produces best results.  But if you really really must, tinned pineapple in juice - not syrup - will do. 

67 recommends this recipe though maybe not so much for small children.  Golden oldies, however, can enjoy its savouriness knowing they are not overdoing salt.   

Start cooking the day before needed.

Cost: min £6

Serves: 6

Ingreds:

One large ripe pineapple

2 tbsp +2 teaspoons veg oil

1 kg boneless pork shoulder (fat removed) or casserole pork in 1.5 inch cubes

One half white onion, thinly sliced

Six garlic clothes thinly sliced 

2/3 cup vinegar (plain, white wine or cider)

1/3 cup reduced-salt soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon peppercorns +

Five bay leaves (tied in a muslim bag or clean j cloth)

          Salt and pepper 

steamed white rice

Garnish: chopped spring onions

Method: