It's been rather hot the past couple of weeks and I've been cooking up some quick and easy meals that don't involve the oven and spending as little time as possible in the kitchen on the hot days. Lunch times particularly are meals I've been looking for quick and easy options and I thought I'd share a few of my favourite 'toppings' which are healthy, low in fat and great to top a jacket potato or put inside a sandwich.
Egg 'Quarko'
A much healthier and more filling version of egg mayo. It’s really simple to make:
Boil your eggs ( I do 4 large ones to make enough for 2 meals)
Let them cool and then peel
Put them in a bowl and chop them up
Add a large dollop of quark, a bit of black pepper and I also add a pinch of mustard powder for a bit of extra flavour.
Give it all a good mix together.
Use it in sandwiches or I actually tried it on top of a jacket potato for the first time and absolutely loved it!
Tuna 'mayo' (but not mayo!)
For this one, I’m swapping mayo for fat free natural greek style yoghurt.
I use tinned tuna in spring water (top tip, if you can find ‘no drain’ tuna it’s a game changer!)
Chop up a small onion
Add the tuna and onion into a bowl and give it a good mix
Again, I add a pinch of mustard powder and a sprinkle of black pepper.
Add the natural fat free yoghurt one spoon at a time and stir through until you get the consistency you like. I add about 3 dessert spoons to one tin of tuna.
You can obviously add other bits to make this your own – for example, add sweetcorn if you like as well as the onion
Creamy blue cheese dip / topping
Ridiculously simple two ingredient recipe but possibly my favourite topping for a jacket potato but I’ve also used this on salads and crackers too.
Best made 24 hours in advance, chop up 35g of blue cheese into little pieces and mix into a tub of quark. Give it a really good stir and leave in the fridge overnight as the flavour of the blue cheese marinates through the whole pot.
Cheese and pickle
A classic but a good one!
I love a good cheese and pickle sandwich – I simply grate 40g of reduced fat cheddar cheese with 2 tablespoons of Branston pickle and either top crackers or put in a sandwich (I’m yet to try it on a jacket spud though but never say never!)
Prawn cocktail
Rather than a shop bought marie rose sauce (which can be really high in calories), make your own version as follows:
2 tbsp of natural fat free yoghurt
1/2 tsp of tomato puree (you can add more, I just don’t like mine too tomatoey!)
a splash of Worcestershire sauce
a splash of tabasco (optional and leave out if you don’t like it hot)
Mix all ingredients together
Then add cooked prawns and stir through.
I served on top of a jacket spud with a sprinkle of paprika (not sure if it adds much but it looks pretty!)
I hope you enjoy these healthier alternatives, do let me know if you try any or if you've got any other fab toppings or fillings that you enjoy that I've not mentioned here!
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Tuna Mayo and egg mayonnaise are two of my favourite things and I’ve always sinned the Hellman’s light – so I shall definitely try these two – do you use these for lunches or mains?
Mayo was one of the foods that I always overate so it’s one of the things I looked for alternatives to! I eat these for lunch or dinner, I love a jacket spud and I’ll often have one for dinner if I’m just cooking for me that night or it’s a really busy day.