GRAPEFRUIT & MINT SALAD, Dieter's Delight, Triple Duty: vegans & meat & fish eaters, healthy

A juicy, refreshingly tasty low-fat, low-carb accompaniment to cold meat, fish & avocado

Frugal Dieter's Delight: Grapefruit & Mint Salad with Leftover Chicken

This juicy, refreshing salad* goes with everything and is a doddle to put together.

67 tested it with chicken, smoked mackerel and avocado.  67's favourite is the chicken but in all cases, the tangy grapefruit and sharp mint provided a lively counterpoint.  For vegetarians and vegans, a well-flavoured firm tofu could replace the avo.  (Try a 20-minute marinade of 1-1 of soy sauce & sherry, and 1/2 to 1/2 minced ginger & garlic.)

Wallet-friendly, the salad uses up leftovers nicely.  It doesn't need exotic cupboard ingredients but is still full of flavour.   

Fresh mint is best (a small pack will set you back about a pound) but can be used in fruit smoothies or the absolutely gorgeous home-made felafel.

Cost: £1.50

Feeds: 4 - doubles easily

Ingred:

  1/2 round lettuce

  1/2 cos lettuce

  1 grapefruit (pink is fine)

  1 tsp lemon juice

  1 tsp dry white wine/grape juice

  2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

  pepper & salt

  4-5 good-sized leaves mint, finely chopped

Method:

PEAR, SPINACH AND HAZELNUT CHICKEN SALAD, Almost Instant, vegetarian option, leftovers,

Take advantage of the lovely glossy spinach leaves and crisp juicy pears now available in supermarkets

Cooked chicken makes this supper very quick and easy....and much better
than processed food.

Fruit, leaves, nuts and cooked protein make a refreshing, satisfying low-calorie meal -- almost instantly.

As good for you as this recipe is, Chicken, Pear & Hazlenut Salad is delicious in a beautifully understated way.  The sweet crisp juiciness of ripe pears, crunchy nuts, succulent chicken and soft leaves are generously cloaked in a delicate creamy sauce.  It's main appeal will be female singletons, kids and the older generation but 67 knows some Australian males also love fruit/protein combos.

Lovely Rocha pears (the fat, dearer ones) were used in this recipe, mainly because they were on sale, but any pear will do. The spinach leaves can be replaced by a soft leafed English lettuce.  For vegetarians, pears, nuts and soft blue Cambazola cheese is a perfect combination. 

Check the pear skins.  Thick skins are unpleasant to eat and need to be removed by peeling; the taste and texture of the final result are so much better.  

Cost: min £1.50'ish, more if you have to buy cooked chicken 
Serves: 1

Ingred:
   handful of washed, de-stemmed spinach OR soft English lettuce
   1/2 large pear, core removed, peeled 
   50-100 gms cooked chicken meat
   2 tablespoons coarsely chopped hazelnuts

Dressing:   

   2 tbsp strained yoghurt
   1 tbsp mayonnaise
   1/2 tsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
   1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (opt)
   pepper & salt

Method:

1. Toast hazelnuts in a frying pan over med heat until light brown
2. Mix yoghurt, mayo, white wine vinegar/lemon juce & light seasoning in a bowl to a pouring consistency; set aside
3. Cut pear into thin vertical slices
4. Shred chicken into long pieces about the same size as pears
5. Heap leaves on a plate
6. Arrange pear slices on top
   
   in a pinwheel shape with thin end in the middle; sprinkle hazelnuts over, leaving a few for garnish
7. Arrange shredded chicken similarly 
8. Garnish with hazelnuts
9. Generously pour over dressing 

 Tips

• toast double the amount of hazelnuts and store half in an air-right container for next time
• soft blue cheeses are high in fat but big on flavour; a small amount goes a long way
• if carbs are required, serve with fresh easy-peasy almost instant bagels

                              More summer salads on Nav Bar/RecipesII/Salads...

Please leave a Comment in the box below 

    

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.   

HOT RASPBERRY PUDDING, Low-sugar, no-carb, 67 All-time Favourite

Exquisite English Raspberries are not just for scoffing by hand; baked in a creamy thick custard, they are to die for...

 The aroma of raspberries & custard will knock you off your feet;
 as good as it looks and smells, it tastes even better

 originally published 2015 as Russian Raspberry Pudding)

This easy-peasy knock-your-socks off indulgence is low-carb; it's lighter than clafoutis with the topping being more of a custard than a batter.  It is also very low in sugar (though it has a high dairy count) but is still a wonderful, mouth-watering dessert.  There's not much to it -- berries, cream, eggs -- and it's very easy to put together.  The final result, however,  is glorious -- creamy, studded with hot succulent fruit and smelling fabulously of berries.  Take advantage of British raspberries and enjoy!

It doesn't keep so best to eat it all up while it's warm.  It's wonderful with yoghurt cream or, if your heart can stand it, clotted cream.

The dish has been part of 67's collection for so long, its source is long forgotten.

Cost: £4
Serves: 4-6

Ingred:
   12-16 oz/ 340-500 gm raspberries
   1-2 tbsp sugar
   220 ml/1 cup + 2 tbsp soured cream (see tips)
   2 eggs
   1 tbsp flour
   1 tsp vanilla extract
   1/2 tsp cinnamon (opt)

Method:

1. Heat oven to 300f/150c/gas 3
   
2. Butter a shallow oval gratin dish
3. Add raspberries; sprinkle with sugar to taste.  Place in oven until raspberries are hot.
4. Beat cream, eggs and flour.  
5. Pour over raspberries and return to oven, near the top.
6. Bake until topping is pale brown and firm, about 45 mins
7. Serve lightly dusted with icing sugar (opt).

Tips:  

• For a healthier mix, replace 1/3 of the soured cream with unstrained yoghurt thinned with a bit of water
• Substitute cherries for raspberries, using a stoning device or one end of an extended paper clip. Or halve cherries and dig out stone 

                                                                   For more fruit desserts, go to Nav Bar: Recipes...

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

FAVOURITES FROM THE ARCHIVE: EXOTIC FRUIT SALAD, lower-sugar, easy, make-ahead indulgence

Soft fruit salad with an exotic Asian twist; perfect on a hot summer night...                                                                                                       updated june 2025 

Exotic soft fruit salad

photo 6/8/16

Three things set this gorgeous fruit salad well apart from the run-of-the-mill.  One, all the fruit is soft, either berries or stoned fruit, and there are none of the usual apples, pears or oranges.  Two, apple juice replaces the usual high calorie sugar syrup that sweetens many fruit salads.  Three, the addition of finely diced sweet stem ginger and a tiny amount of ginger syrup adds an exotic layer of flavour. 

To take it up an extra level, add a soupcon or two of brandy or another fruit liquor for a boozy kick.  (Abstainers can go for white or red grape juice.)

Extremely easy to put together, the fruit salad should be made on the day of serving but refrigerated a few hours to allow the flavours to blend.

The salad suits every budget: be as frugal or extravagant as you please but probably three fresh fruits is the minimum. 

Cost: Cost: Cost: depends on what's put in it, say min £6 for three fruits £8'ish for many fruits(leftover fruit can go into Black Sugar Fruit Cups or smoothies)
Serves: 6-8  

Ingred:  any or all of
   1/2 cup strawberries, quartered
   1/2 cup blueberries
   1/3 cup raspberries, halved
   1/2 cup pitted cherries, halved
   1/3 cup grapes, halved if large
   1-2 kiwi fruit, skinned and sliced
   1/2 cup pineapple segments, fresh or frozen (pref), or drained tinned in juice, not syrup
   1 peach or nectarine, peeled and stoned, coarsely chopped
   a handful of fresh lychee fruits, halved, or 1/2 cup tinned, drained lychees

Then: 200 ml apple juice, organic if poss 
   1-2 globes stem ginger in small dice (from jars of ginger in syrup, most supermarkets)
   2-3 tbsps ginger syrup in the jar
   1 tsp vanilla extract or the seeds from a vanilla pod

   2-3 tbsp brandy or fruit liqueur or grape juice(opt)

Method:

1. Place fruit in a large bowl
2. Cover with apple juice; add syrup, vanilla & alcohol, if using
3. Add finely diced ginger; stir gently to distribute fruit evenly
4. Refrigerate at least 4 hours but not overnight
5. Serve with yoghurt-cream, thick double cream or ice cream 

Tip:

If transporting in a preserving jar like the one in the picture, cover the mouth of the jar with at least two layers of clingfilm before closing lid; transport upright.

More fruit desserts on Nav Bar: Recipes/Fruit Based Desserts...

Please leave a Comment in the box below

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.