Cinnamon Crisps with Mixed Fruit Dip

I love surfing the net for ideas of what to make. I mostly just type in just one or two keywords and press “Images”; and take a look at the pictures that come up. Usually I can find a recipe I can adapt or I get an idea for a completely new one. This is something that I would never even have considered, but it was certainly worth the effort. It's very different and the texture of the crisps goes well with the softness of the fruit. Remember to syn the fruit if you cook or purée your fruit or berries.

** I used frozen mixed fruit (apples, blackcurrants, redcurrants, blackberries and raspberries) from Farrington Gurney Farm Shop. It is available loose, has a lovely fresh taste and saves a lot of chopping. 

 

Serves 2

Syn free*

* providing you use the wraps as your Healthy Extra B

2 BFree Wheat and Gluten Free Wholegrain Wraps

2 tbsp sweetner

1 tsp cinnamon

finely chopped fruit or soft berries to serve**

Cut each tortilla in 12 pieces and place on a pizza cooking plate. 

 Spray with Fry Light. Mix together the sweetener and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the tortillas. Spray with Fry Light again over the top and bake in the oven at 200-210°C for around 5 minutes. 

You need to keep an eye on it as they can easily burn. They are done when slightly puffed out and have turned crispy. 

 

Leave to cool on a tray until cold. 

 Serve with the fruit for dipping. 

 

Vermicelli

Indian vermicelli, made from wheat, is much finer than Italian vermicelli and is readily available from Asian stores. The one I bought, came in little 'disks' of dried vermicelli, so I used one 'disk' for the two of us. Traditionally this Indian dessert is topped with nuts and desiccated coconut, but the blackberries were a lovely accompaniment. 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

½ cup vermicelli

¼ tsp saffron powder

1-2 tbsp sweetener

½ tub Müllerlight coconut and vanilla yogurt

blackberries to serve

Crush the vermicelli with your hands and place in a saucepan. Add the sweetener, saffron powder and enough water to cover. Simmer for 5-7 minutes until most of the water has evaporated. Drain off any excess water and serve, topped with the yogurt and blackberries. 

 

Blueberry Cheese Crunch

Being a great lover of berries with yogurt, I thought I'd give it a little twist and have the berries with cream cheese instead. Oh dear. Big mistake. It was just so delicious I am now well and truly hooked. Not good for the waistline...

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the cheese as your Healthy Extra A

250g blueberries

150g cream cheese

sweetener to taste

½ cup buckwheat

1 tbs sweetener

½ tsp ginger

Heat a pan and dry fry the buckwheat over a medium-high heat until nicely browned and fragrant. Take the pan off the heat and add 1 tbsp sweetener and the ginger, with around 1tbsp of water to mix. Stir well until the water has evaporated. Leave to cool.

Mix the cream cheese with sweetener to taste and a tablespoon or two of water to soften the consistency.

Place the blueberries in the bottom of two tall, thin glasses, then divide the cream cheese between the glasses. Finally top them with the crunchy buckwheat. 

 

Redcurrant Layered Mess

I recently bought a food dehydrator to dry my chilli plants, and I am still exploring various foods I can dry in it, when someone suggested I could use it to make meringues. Great idea. My first attempt were not pretty, but they were feather light (and very brittle) and melted in your mouth. I might have to experiment with adding a pinch of salt, some bicarbonate of soda or vinegar to see if this makes a difference. 

 

Of course, you could use shop bought meringues and calculate the syns accordingly.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

*Providing you use the cream cheese as your Healthy Extra A

2 egg whites

½ cup sweetener

punnet redcurrants

sweetener to taste

150g reduced fat cream cheese

1 tbsp sweetener (or to taste)

1 tsp vanilla essence

Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold in the sweetener. Place spoonfuls of the whipped whites on baking paper on the trays of the food dehydrator. 'Cook' for 5-6 hours at 50°C or until crispy and no longer soft. 

 

Meanwhile remove the redcurrants from their stalks and place in a bowl with sweetener to taste. Crush a few berries gently with a fork and stir well. Leave to infuse for at least an hour.

Break the meringues in small pieces and place in the bottom of two glasses. Top with the redcurrants. Mix the cream cheese with sweetener and vanilla essence and pipe or spoon on top of the redcurrants. 

 

Apple Cake with Summer Fruits

This was a complete experiment as I had a whole bag of apples from a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Husband loves apple cakes and puddings, so I had to think of something to do with the apples that was also portable for our picnic. It makes a very moist cake, and because of the relatively short baking time, the apples retain a nice crunch. 

It is no doubt best the day it is made, as the juice from the berries stained everything blue the next day. It comes out a little messy on the plate (the slices don't retain their shape very well), but tastes absolutely yummy.

 

Serves 6-8

½ syn for the whole cake on Extra Easy*

*Providing you use the cooked apples and cream cheese as your Healthy Extras

1 tub quark

½ tsp baking powder

4 eggs, separated

vanilla essence

6 tbsp sweetener, or to taste

1 tsp cinnamon

4 apples

200g frozen mixed summer fruits, thawed

125g blackcurrants to decorate

150g reduced fat cream cheese

Peel and finely chop the apples. Mix together the egg yolks, baking powder, 1-2 tsp vanilla essence, 2 tbsp sweetener, cinnamon and half the tub of quark, using an electric whisk. In a separate clean bowl, using a clean whisk, whip the egg whites until firm. Carefully fold the yokes into the whites.

Grease two 20cm springform cake times and divide the mixture between the two. Place the apples into the cake mix in the tins. Bake at 180°C for 10-15 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Remove the cakes from the tins. Spread one of the cakes with the rest of the quark mixed with 2 tbsp sweetener. Top with the mixed berries and carefully place the other cake on top. Mix together the cream cheese and 2 tbsp sweetener and spread on the top of the cake. Top with the blackcurrants. 

 

Yogurt and Berries with Popped Amaranth

Amaranth is an ancient grain similar to quinoa used by the Aztecs and Mexicans; it is also used in India to make a sweet. There is very little flavour to amaranth, but when popped it adds a nice texture, similar to puffed rice.

Serves 1

Syn Free on Extra Easy

1 pot fat free plain yogurt

150g berries (I used frozen summer berries)

sweetener to taste

1 tbsp amaranth grains

Heat a saucepan without any oil. When hot, add the amaranth and immediately put a lid on the pan. The grains will start popping within seconds. As soon as the popping has stopped, remove the pan from the heat.

Mix the sweetener with the yogurt if using. Place in a bow, top with the berries and the popped amaranth.

Purple Polkadot Pudding

Since starting back on the Slimming World diet I seem to have become obsessed with desserts. As long as I make then to fir within the plan I suppose it doesn't matter.

Serves 2

½ Syn on Extra easy

1 tub fat free natural yogurt

1 sachet of sugar free jelly – blackcurrant flavour

sweetener to taste

punnet of blueberries

Mix the jelly crystals with 200 ml of boiling water and stir well. Mix in the yogurt and sweetener.

Place the berries in a two glasses and top with the jelly mix. Leave in the fridge for several hours to set. 

French Toasts with Raspberries

OK, so it is not a great as using thick sliced white bread for the French toasts, but considering the difference in calories and syns, I think it is worth it.

Serves 1

Syn Free on Extra Easy providing you use the bread as your Healthy Extra B

2 slices wholemeal bread from 400g loaf

2 eggs

cinnamon (optional)

sweetener to taste

raspberries

fat free natural yogurt

Whisk the eggs with sweetener to taste and add cinnamon if using. Soak the bread in the egg mixture and fry in a little Fry Light until nicely browned on both sides. Serve with raspberries and yogurt. 

Half Syn Roulade

When I first heard about this I wasn't sure how I felt about baked quark. It doesn't sound too appetising... However, after chatting with others in a Slimming World forum, I decided to give it go. I have to say, I was very impressed – it was quick, easy and very tasty.

Serves 4 (theoretically, that is, Husband and I polished it off easily between us)

½ syn for the whole cake

You need:

1 tub quark

½ tsp baking powder

4 eggs, separated

vanilla essence

4 tbsp sweetener

fresh fruit or berries

Mix together the egg yolks, baking powder, 1-2 tsp vanilla essence and half the tub of quark, using an electric whisk. In a separate clean bowl, using a clean whisk, whip the egg whites until firm. Whisk half the egg whites into the yolk mix, then carefully fold in the other half. Line a Swiss Roll tin with baking paper and pour in the mixture. Bake at 180°C for 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on it to ensure it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and leave to cool.

Mix the other half of the quark with the sweetener and vanilla essence to taste. Spread over the roulade, cover with the fruit or berries (I used a frozen summer fruit mixture of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants, thawed out first) and carefully roll up. I found this part a little difficult, as the cake was quite thick, so I think next time I will use a larger tin. There will definitely be a next time – we both thoroughly enjoyed it and it was almost syn free!