buffet/party food

1. Dips

2. Use quark as a base for Free or nearly Free dips, e.g. Mix 8oz quark with a clove of crushed garlic and 4 tbsp chopped herbs. Chill until required then use as a dip with vegetable crudit!s or fill celery stalks and hollowed out tomatoes.

3. Grate a Healthy Extra portion of cheese into a pot of very low fat cottage cheese, add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and serve with batons of cucumber, carrots and celery.

4. Blue cheese dip is heavenly, but can be incredibly high in Syns at around 3½ Syns per level tbsp! To make a low-Syn version of this tasty dip, crumble a Healthy Extra portion of Danish Blue into a pot of quark or very low fat natural fromage frais. Chill overnight and the whole tub will take on the flavour of the strong cheese. The whole tub will count as 1 HE on Green or 5 Syns on both choices! You could also try this technique with other strong cheese, peanut butter or chocolate spread

5. Buffet

6. Free Scotch eggs - Shape the sausage meat from Syn-free sausages around 1 hard boiled egg, making sure that the egg is covered. Crush a Scan bran with a rolling pin (place the Scan bran in a plastic bag first!). Roll the covered egg in the crumbs until evenly coated. Bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC for about 25 minutes. Use the Scan bran as part of a Healthy Extra b choice for a super Free finger food, or count ½ Syn per crispbread used.
Chilled mini-kebabs - cherry tomatoes, rolled up ham/turkey, cubes of cucumber, inches of celery, squares of pepper and basil leaves to make a delicious finger food that's Free on Original.
Potato salad - Made with boiled salad or new potatoes and very low fat fromage frais. Flavour with garlic or fresh herbs for a fresh and free salad on Green.
Pasta salad - Made with 100% Free Food. Try mixed beans, sweetcorn, celery, raw mushroom, pepper, cherry tomatoes, radish, spring onion, and flavour with your choice of passata, very low fat natural yogurt or fromage frais for a Free extravaganza on Green. If you feel like a change, why not swap pasta for cooked rice or couscous

7. Sausage rolls
2 Quorn sausages
Laughing cow light triangle (part HEA)
2 slices WW bread (HEB)

8. Use a rolling pin to 'flatten' out the bread.
Spread bread with laughing cow.
Roll bread around the sausage and hold together with a cocktail stick.
Brush with beaten egg
Bake in oven till crispy.

9. Cheesy pizza toasties
2 slices WW bread (HEB)
1 Tomato
2 Spring Onions
4 Mushrooms
¼ red and ¼ yellow pepper
42g Mozzarella Cheese (HEA)

10. Lightly toast the bread on both sides
Meanwhile, roughly chop the tomato, spring onions, mushrooms and red and yellow peppers. Grate the Mozzarella Cheese.
Top both slices of toast with the veg and scatter the cheese over. Place under a medium grill until the cheese bubbles and the veg are tender.
For extra taste spread 1tbsp of tomato puree on the toast under the veg (add half a syn for this)

11. Onion Rings
1 lb mild onions
3 egg whites
57gms dry wholemeal bread crumbs (HEB)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon pepper

12. Cut onions into ½-inch slices; separate into rings and place in a bowl. Cover with ice water; soak for 30 minutes. Drain.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, thyme, salt, paprika and pepper.
Divide the crumb mixture among three large re-sealable plastic bags. Dip a third of the onions in the egg whites; add a few rings at a time to crumb mixture and shake to coat. Place on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Repeat with remaining onions and crumb mixture. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp.