Porridge

Porridge made with milk.

Add a grated apple and a sprinkle of cinnamon for extra flavour

For lower fibre choose Ready brek and skin the apple before grating.

For weight loss, choose skimmed milk or water to make the porridge.

A “super” salad

Take some finely chopped spinach, grated carrot, sweet peppers, sweetcorn, sugar snap peas, cooked beetroot and spring onion.

 Add in:

Grated cheese, a can of tuna, roast chicken or quorn pieces, 2 boiled eggs or ham

Make a dressing made from:

2 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of garlic salt and ground black pepper with a dash of balsamic vinegar, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of dried oregano.

 For lower fibre, microwave the grated carrot for a few seconds or immerse it into boiling water and chill, use flame grilled peppers which you can buy in jars, swap the sweetcorn for avocado and the sugar snap peas for blanched asparagus.

Parmesan chicken with vegetables

Prepare the parmesan crust for the chicken by using a food processor to make breadcrumbs from one slice of bread or mix shop bought breadcrumbs with about 30g of finely grated parmesan and finely chopped parsley.

Using a rolling pin, flatten a chicken breast by beating it a few times.

Put some flour and black pepper on a plate and use this to coat the chicken.

Dip the chicken breast in beaten egg then in the breadcrumb mix.

Heat about half a centimetre of oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and add the chicken. Allow it to brown evenly on both sides and check that it is cooked through before serving.

Serve with steamed carrots, broccoli and new potatoes.

For weight loss: skip the new potatoes and add another vegetable like cauliflower or green beans. 

Cous Cous Cous

Use a packet cous cous mix and prepare as per instructions.

Add flame grilled peppers or chopped fresh peppers, finely sliced tomato, sliced olives, shredded spinach and either feta, grilled halloumi, sliced chicken or quorn. 

Fish pie

Place about a pint of milk to a sauce pan with an onion cut into six pieces, a bay leaf (if you have one), and ground black pepper. Warm the milk and add a fish pie mix and a handful of prawns (if liked) and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Place a sieve over a bowl and drain the fish, reserving the milk for the sauce and discarding the onion.

In a sauce pan, melt a tablespoon of butter and add a heaped tablespoon of plain flour to make a paste or a roux. Cook the flour through by stirring the paste in the pan for about 3 minutes. Using a whisk, gradually add the milk that you used to poach the fish bit by bit, whisking in between, until you have a sauce. Don’t worry if there are a few lumps. If you haven’t had oily fish this week, add two skinned smoked mackerel fillets to the sauce and stir until the sauce is smooth again. Add the poached fish back into the sauce and add some chopped dill and a tablespoon of low fat crème fraiche.

Place in an oven dish and top with mashed potato and cheese.

Bake until the top is golden.

For weight loss, use skimmed milk and try mashed celeriac on top instead of potato. 

Home-made burger with salad and sweet potato fries

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.

For 2 people, take 2 medium sized sweet potatoes and slice them into thin(ish) chips – there is no need to peel them unless you prefer them peeled.

Drizzle them with oil, add salt, pepper and smoked paprika (about 1 teaspoon) and use your hands to make sure they are evenly coated. Add about 2 tablespoons of flour – rice flour works best but any flour will do. Again, use your hands to ensure they are evenly coated and add them to a preheated oven tray and put them in the oven. They will need turning after about 15 minutes but will probably need another 10 to crisp up a bit. If you turn them too much they will fall apart. If they are not colouring and getting crispy, turn your oven up to max and let them cook for another 8-10 minutes. 

Take 500g of lean mince and add 1 egg. Add seasoning of your choice – I like a teaspoon of smoked paprika or 2 teaspoons of jerk seasoning – add a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Take 1 slice of bread or an equivalent amount of any bread – I have resorted to using 5 oat cakes in the past – and make bread crumbs using a food processer. Add the bread crumbs to the mince and using your hands, combine all the ingredients until smooth. Form the mince into two or three balls (depending on how large you like your burger!) and then flatten. Heat a non-stick pan and place the burgers in, leaving for at least three-four minutes to allow one side to seal properly before you attempt to turn them. Remember colour is good so try not to worry about them burning! Flip your burgers and cook the other side. When you think they’re cooked through, add cheese and place under the grill to melt the cheese.

For weight loss:  Serve your burger with no bun but lots of salad, I like lambs lettuce with cucumber sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler and seasoned with salt and pepper.