Back-to-School Easy-peasy Lunchbox/Teatime Treats

It's that time of year again - back to school!

The mind turns to lunchboxes or teatime treats for kids adjusting to study after the holidays.  These little treats are perfect - easy to make, wallet friendly and  healthier too.

And for the first coffee morning of the term, there's a quick and easy recipe for a make-ahead vegetarian Walnut Cake .

Lighter Chocolate Cupcakes, lots of healthy ingredients; great taste

Peanut Butter 'n' Jam Kisses: Low-guilt delight, kid-friendly

Vegan Coffee Walnut Cake: so tasty and beautifully textured, it can pass for the real thing 

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These recipes have been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  They may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's consent

BY REQUEST: BRIGHT & YUMMY RECIPES FOR TINNED & SMOKED FISH

As food prices continue to rise, some of us are having to rely more  on tinned fish as a protein.  Which is fine but a little too much of a good thing can sometimes get a bit boring. 

An acqaintance who runs an extremely busy canteen asked for some ideas to 'tart up' tinned tuna. 

These recipes from the Archive are a selection of popular tinned tuna meals and  fit the bill nicely.  The post includes a few standout sardine dishes and for a change, smoked mackerel. 

Enjoy but remember the costs are historical and adjust expectation accordingly.

Packed full of veg, topped with an egg

SASSY TUNA BOWLS PLATTERS 

Tuna Fried Rice (Original)


Slimmers' Delight Tuna Fried Rice, 
low carb, tasty, frugal






Simple, Easy One-Pot Un-fried Tuna Rice:

Kid/ults will love this perennial combo of tuna & sweetcorn, this one with
easy-peasy fat-free white rice, without realising how healthy it is.

Fabulously Frugal Fishcakes, kids will love making these

Kids love this Creamy Tuna Casserole with Potato Chip Topping: pasta with fish, sauce & crisps; what's not to love? 

Italian-style Tuna & Bean Salad: 
Quick healthy & satisfying  

Almost-instant Tuna Salad Italian Style: a tin of tuna, a tin of beans, some antipasti.  With or without bread, ultra-healthy & satisfying










TUNA SALAD SANDWICHES: 

Less fat, more goodness; favourite kids' fillings plus adult-friendly unusual combinations.  Try adding:

• kids' perennial favourite: sweetcorn
• adults: finely chopped red onion, finely chopped red pepper and a little finely chopped chilli or chillli flakes 
• family: finely chopped red and green pepper 
• finely chopped hard boiled egg
• Adult: Skinnier Rose Marie Sauce -- yoghurt-mayo (as above) mixed with lower sugar or spicy tomato ketchup + hot sauce if desired, until the mix is rosy in colour  

Also try:

The best tuna sandwich ever (but not the cheapest) plus 

Open-facedDevilled Tuna Sandwich 





SARDINES

Easily stored tinned sardines, packed with protein and Omega-3, are not as   wallet-friendly as they once were.  Prices recently shot up to £1.45 a tin but they are still ounce for oz a decently priced protein, which used imaginatively, provide utterly moreish dishes. 

Savoury PinWheel Biscuits, frugal
They might look boring but are so rich and tasty, diners are stunned, thrilled and always ask for more.    











Surprising Sardine Salad: zesty & unexpected combo with fabulous dressing

Surprising - in a great way - Sardine Salad a la Downton Abbey
'I thought I didn't like sardines but you could serve this to anyone' Taster

SMOKED FISH 

Peppered Mackerel a la Nicoise

a sassy combo replacing pasta with rice and tuna with mackerel

Smoked Mackerel, Egg & Potato Salad

Waxy new potatos bulk out the smoked mackerel, elevating layers of flavour in this easy-peasy portable platter which satisfies the appetite as well as the eyes

Mackerel, Rice, Fruit & Nut Salad

Brilliant, full-bodied combo of store cupboard ingredients; add more rice to make it go further

Grapefruit & Mint Mixed Leaf Salad (with fish), Triple Duty, refreshingly healthy

Smoked Salmon Dip, skinnier, Healthier Wallet-Friendly  


These recipes have been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission. 

3 ingredient Scones for small households (dairy free option): lower fat, quick & easy, fruit option

A lighter, brighter delicious scone that's simple and quick to prepare.

Just Double cream, fizzy water & flour (and in this case, peaches)
 produce these quick & easy fresh fruit scones. 

Scones, the familiar English baked tea-time treat served fresh and often hot from the oven, is a highlight of visits to the UK's historic country houses. 

Reports that some National Trust sites are no longer planning to bake their own scones - or other treats - and will be buying them in, is not just disappointing but almost sacrilegious.   Brought-in scones - even if from a central source - just won't be the same...but then many feel that is also true of the National Trust these days.

Scones are a unique English combination of bread and cake.   Light and fluffy, often several centimetres high, they have a crispy exterior and fluffy, tender middles.  They are the perfect vehicle for lashings of cream and jam, washed down with good English tea.  But bakers often add fruit or savoury bits like bacon or pastrami and cheese.

They're a treat, an indulgence...and what else could they be with lots of high cholesterol butter as one of the main ingredients?

If you're one of those worried about the fat levels of scones, here's a solution.

A three-ingredient scone with half the fat of the usual.  The recipe consists of self-raising flour, double cream and carbonated water.  (Double cream is half the fat of butter: 100gm butter, 717cal; 100g double cream, 446cal). 

That's all.  

They're ever so easy to prep; they'd be great for a beginner.  There's no rubbing of butter into fat and no mess -- tedious when you just want a nice warm scone, preferably soon.  With the 3-ingredient scone, just dump, stir, shape and cut.  

The dough is a little stickier than normal but if care is taken with cutting, rises beautifully.  67 has added fresh peach but plain are fine.

Cost: £1.75'ish, more for dairy-free (8/25)

Makes: 6'ish medium

Ingredients: 

162g/5.7oz self-raising what flour (plain flour, add 1.5 tsp baking powder, ie 1 tsp per 100g/3.5oz)

83ml sparkling water

76 ml dairy double cream (see dairy-free below)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 peach or equivalent fruit  (optional)

 

Method:

Sensational Fruit Compote/Jams: almost instant, easy peasy, low sugar, wallet friendly

 

GREAT FOR FRUIT GLUTS OR SOFT BUT NOT ROTTEN BERRIES...

updated 9/24; original post 2015

Almost-Instant Strawberry Compote, with sugar-free, low-fat Scotch Pancakes for tea 'Astonishingly good! I'll always prefer this to store-bought.'

This recipe is perfect for end of season fruits when berries can be a little less pricy then normal.  

It is also good for own-brand supermarket berries which can sometimes be  disappointing -- not quite sweet enough, maybe a little soft.  

But they all make unbelievably delicious almost-instant jam/compotes,  
and you can add any berries languishing in the fridge or discounted berries because they're on a sell-by date.

All you need is a frying pan, fruit, water or orange juice, sugar and vanilla essence.  Use one type of berry or a mixture, and as little or as much sugar as you like.  

Cooking time will determine whether you end up with a Compotes containing softened but whole pieces of fruit in a jammy sauce or Jam which is broken down into a spreadable puree.  

Cost: depends on the fruit, min £2.50'ish (9/24)

Makes: 3-5 normal portions

Ingredients :  

   small punnet fresh or frozen berries 

   minimum 1 tsp sugar  -- max 2 tbsp sugar, depending on sweetness of fruit

   2.5 tbsp water or orange juice to the pan

   1/4 tsp essence of vanilla OR 1/4 tsp orange zest 

  

  generous squeeze of lemon juice (opt) OR

  a shot brandy, whisky or fruit liqeur

Method:

1. Put a heavy-bottomed frying pan over med-high heat
2. Remove any bruised or rotten bits from fruit
3. When pan is ready, add fruit, a bit of sugar (try a minimum amount first) and a tbsp water or juice; stir; if the mix is sticking, add a little more liquid 
   
4. Turn heat to medium; cook berries until the juices start to run (maybe 5 mins).  Add vanilla extract.  Taste; you'll be surprised by its sweetness but if necessary, add more sugar, bit by bit
   
5. Then, for compote: when fruit is soft but still holding it's shape, add a little more water/juice until it reaches a thick pouring consistency; if you like, add a little lemon juice or alcohol 
6. For jam: turn heat to medium-low; let the mix cook down, stirring occasionally, 5-10 mins until it turns glossy and spreadable; if you like, add a little lemon juice or alcohol  
7. Pour into jars or serving bowls.
8. Leftovers, if any,  keep in the fridge three days; if frozen; a month

Comments:

'After trying this, I nearly always make my own...even if I can't find cheap berries.'  Trainee chef  

Tips:

• once this method is mastered, try sensational Plum & Ginger Jam
• How to Freeze Fruit
• fruit can be frozen once in its raw state and again when cooked, but no more

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

Brighten winter with home-frozen summer berries: easy peasy, wallet friendly

When summer is just a happy memory, wallet-friendly home-frozen berries add a jewelled sparkle to crumbles, pies & cakes.

Strawberries ready for freezing

updated June/24

If you're in a position to take advantage of the glut of fresh fruit which will soon be available, get ready to prepare the lower-priced berries for freezing.  They will bring so much brightness in crumbles and pies winter when darkness and cold dominate.  

Freeze berries in their natural state or make them into easy-peasy low-sugar jam/compotes for freezing in individual containers.

Both methods are easy-peasy but you might want to invest in equipment  to make life easier: a ridged pizza pan keeps berries in rows and easily separated; a griddle pan or a plastic microwave bacon tray will do a similar job.

Low-sugar compotes and jams are simplicity itself; freezing them in tight fitting jars saves all that messing about preparing sterilised jars.

The Art of Freezing Berries

Freezing Blueberries on a cheap 'n cheerful microwave bacon tray. 

Go to: Sensational Fruit Compote/Jams: almost instant, easy peasy, low sugar, wallet friendly

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B Lee/Bright Sun Enterprises accept no liability for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.  This advice  has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.