Green Butterfly Salad
Make a speedy pasta salad tossed with a healthy tomato and basil dressing for a low-calorie, vegetarian lunch that packs in three of your 5-a-day.
Serves 2
Takes 15 minutes
- 100g farfalle
- handful baby spinach
- 1 tbsp fresh pesto
- handful pine nuts
- Parmesan for grating over
- Cook the farfalle following pack instructions. Meanwhile, finely shred the spinach. Herb scissors make quick work of this if you have some.
- Drain and stir through the pesto. Leave to cool then stir in the pine nuts and spinach and grate over a little Parmesan. Pack in a little pot with a lid.
Dried fruit pick & mix
Pack dried fruit in a little paper bag or, if you have time, you can make these easy pure fruit sweeties with dried apricots. You can also try them with dried figs or pineapple.
Makes 1 jar
Takes 15 minutes
- greaseproof paper
- cooking oil spray
- 150g dried apricots
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/gas mark 3.
- Cut two pieces of greaseproof paper to the size of a baking sheet and spray each with cooking oil spray. Place one oil side up on the sheet.
- Whizz the apricots in a food processor until they form a ball.
- Decant the blended apricot onto the lined sheet and place the second sheet, oil-side down on top. Use a rolling pin to flatten down the apricot to about the thickness of a pound coin and then peel off the top layer of paper and discard.
- Firm up in the oven for 10 minutes then remove and while still warm cut out either long strips to make roll-ups, or sweetie shapes with a little cutter. Cut little squares or strips from any offcuts. Leave to cool on the sheet then store in a screw-top jar or tin.
Chap Wrap (Chicken & Avocado Pesto)
Makes 2
Takes 5 minutes
- 1 avocado
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 25g Parmesan, plus extra for grating
- 2 tortilla wraps
- handful pine nuts
- handful shredded cooked chicken (shop-bought or leftover from a roast)
- Whizz the avocado, lemon juice, olive oil and Parmesan together in a blender.
- Spread each wrap with the pesto, sprinkle with pine nuts and chicken and grate over a little extra Parmesan.
- Roll up, cut in half and wrap in paper.
