Halloumi

Isn't it nice when you discover something that you thought would be high in points is not as high as expected. This happened to me when out of interest I pointed halloumi cheese. Halloumi is a delicous cheese with a fabulous texture when cooked, it goes golden brown on the outside, and melts in the middle. It works particularly well in a salad with Mediterranean flavours. It has a very high melting point so is ideal for a barbecue and can be served on it's own with salad and a pitta.

It also takes on other flavours very well try it with chilli and lime sprinkled on before grilling. Or some fresh herbs.

We had in barbecued and served with salad and a sauce made from reduced tinned tomatoes, chilli, balsamic vinegar and dried oregano.

I bought light halloumi at 3.5 pts for 100g
The real stuff works out at 9 pts for 100g so well worth getting the light version

Butter

I really cannot abide margarine. I don't like the taste or the texture. For me it has to be butter or nothing. I don't take butter on sandwiches and as a result they can be a little dry. To combat this I spread a little very low fat mayonaise or mustard onto the bread and add tomato to the filling.

But on toast or crumpets there really is not substitute. It has to be butter.

I have converted to half fat butter and it does taste OK. Plus it is a huge saving in terms of points. "I can't believe it's not butter" the adverts claim. I can, LOL.

Instant Flavour

I love parmesan and as a little goes a long way I can indulge my cravings quite often. It is easy to go overboard when grating stright onto a streaming dish of pasta so I always weigh mine first. I have found that 5g of parmesan is enough to add flavour to a salad or dressing and in only 0.5 points. For a huge bowl of pasta or ratatouille I sometimes have a points worth (10g) well worth it in my opinion, but ONLY fresh parmesan will do for me I hate the stuff in tubs.