Quesadillas make a great savoury, cheesy dish. You need thinly grated cheese, tortillas, and a sauce or extra filling, if desired. Melt some butter in a wide frying pan, on medium-low heat. Place either a flour or corn tortilla in the pan. Sprinkle the grated cheese on the tortilla and add salsa sauce, sour cream or similar filling. The tortilla must then be folded in half. Cover the pan with a lid and only cook for a few minutes, so that the cheese melts. Any combination of chopped vegetables or pickles can be added to the cheese to make the meal tastier and more substantial.
“Trail mix” is a very healthy snack that is full of energy, but low on fat. Make a big batch when you have some time to yourself and use portions of it for snacks. Mix together the following ingredients in a large bowl: Two cups each of peanuts, raisins, chopped dates or similar dried fruit. To this mixture add one cup each of the following: Coconut flakes and sunflower seeds. The basic recipe can be modified with any combination of these additions: Currants, almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, dried papaya and even chocolate chips.
Baked potatoes are a staple favourite quick food. For variation, wash and prepare some russet potatoes. Coat them in olive oil and either place them in a conventional oven for about an hour or in a microwave for 10 minutes. The normal oven should be set to 200-degrees-celcius or microwave oven set to high. Cooking time depends on the size of the potatoes. Once they are cooked to the middle, cut them open and season with butter, salt, pepper, sour cream or any number of ingredients. Try stuffing them with rashers, onions, leftover cooked vegetables, or mushrooms.
Stuffed celery is quickly prepared by washing celery sticks and cutting them to three- inch lengths. Stuff the sticks with any of the following ingredients: Cream cheese, grated hard cheese, cottage cheese, peanut butter or tuna salad. The sticks can be seasoned with salt and black pepper. Even Cajun pepper can be used. Store them in the fridge for snaking on during the day.
Asparagus roll-ups are easy to prepare and are tasty and crunchy. Buy fresh asparagus and thinly sliced roast beef. Remove the root end of the asparagus and cook the stalks by steaming or in a microwave. The outside should be soft and the inside crunchy. This will only take a few minutes. Thinly cover a slice of roast beef with cream cheese and roll this around the cooked asparagus.
Scrambled eggs don't have to be confined to a breakfast meal. The basics of making them involve breaking a couple of eggs into a mixing bowl, adding seasoning and cooking in a non-stick pan. You can add a small amount of milk to your initial mixture. A quarter teaspoon of baking powder will ensure that your eggs are light and fluffy. Scrambled eggs are good on toast and you can liven up the dish by adding chopped onions, tomato, cold meat, even some curry powder. Microwave-heated leftover vegetables are good accompaniment.
Crackers and cheese help take care of your protein and calcium requirements. Stock up on a number of different crackers and cheeses. Buying pre-sliced cheese saves preparation time. Accompany your cracker and cheese dish with pickles, cream cheese, or slices of tomato and cucumber – whatever you have readily available.
Prosciutto and melon is an old favourite: Simply buy a ripe cantaloupe and cut it up into smallish pieces. Wrap each piece in a slice of prosciutto and secure the meat with a toothpick.
Salsa is an essential condiment for your quick-food collection. Salsa sauce can be mixed up with mashed avocado, a spoonful of non-fat yoghurt and some crushed garlic to make delicious guacamole. Salsa is nice with corn chips, celery sticks, rice cakes and cucumber wedges.
Fresh fruit can be sliced up into small chunks and mixed together for fruit cups. Any fruit is good; watermelon, apples, oranges, grapes – anything you enjoy and have handy. Mix the fruit together in a bowl, use about a cup of each fruit and add some lemon juice to the mix to stop the fruit from going brown. Refrigerate your fruit cup mixture for power snacks during the day.
Fruit smoothies are ideal for using up any excess fruit you have. If you have ripe fruit that can't be consumed in time, just cut it up into chunks and freeze it. The frozen fruit can be blended with a fruit processor and mixed with yoghurt or fruit juice to make a perfect fast smoothie. Adding protein powder or peanut butter can make the smoothies more nutritious. Extra flavour can come from cocoa powder, coffee and honey.
