Saturday

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 slices wholemeal bread
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 100 g plain Greek-style yoghurt
• 80 g frozen mixed berries

Method

1. Put the berries in a bowl and microwave them for 1 minute, until soft and juicy.
2. Beat the eggs, milk and cinnamon in a shallow dish with a fork. Lay the bread in the dish for 30 seconds on each side, until it soaks up most of the egg.
3. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the eggy bread for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden and set. Pour any egg left in the dish into the pan around the bread and cook it too.
4. Put the eggy bread on a plate and spoon the yoghurt and warm berries on top.

Why it is a high-protein start

Eggs, wholemeal bread and Greek yoghurt give about 30 g of protein. It tastes like a treat for a weekend, but there is no sugar, and the berries add the sweetness.

Swaps

A sliced banana in place of the berries. A little honey on top. Peanut butter spread on the eggy bread.

Ingredients (2 portions)

• 250 g chicken breast, cut into 1.5 cm cubes
• 1 tin (400 g) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small onion
• 1 carrot
• 2 cloves garlic
• 60 g baby spinach
• 1 cube reduced-salt chicken stock cube
• 700 ml hot water for the stock
• 2 tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 slice wholemeal bread, to serve (Sunday's slice is listed on Sunday)
• 1 pinch black pepper

Method

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and carrot. Peel and chop the garlic. Dissolve the stock cube in 700 ml of boiling water.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Cook the onion and carrot for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and thyme for 30 seconds.
3. Add the chicken and stir for 3 minutes, until it is white on the outside. Pour in the hot stock and add the beans. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Mash about a quarter of the beans against the side of the pan with a fork to thicken the soup. Stir in the spinach for 1 to 2 minutes, until it wilts. Season with pepper. Check a piece of chicken is white all the way through, with no pink.
5. Ladle half into a bowl and eat it with the toast. Cool the other half quickly, within 1 hour: pour it into a shallow container, leave to steam for 10 minutes, then cover and chill it in the fridge. It is Sunday's lunch.

Why it is a high-protein lunch

Chicken and white beans are both high in protein, so each portion gives about 38 g, with a lot of fibre from the beans and vegetables. It is a thick, warming soup that needs no cream or potato.

Swaps

Kale or green cabbage in place of the spinach. A tin of butter beans or chickpeas in place of the cannellini. Chicken thighs in place of the breast.

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 150 g lean sirloin or rump steak
• 150 g mushrooms
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp tomato purée
• ½ cube reduced-salt beef stock cube
• 100 ml hot water for the stock
• 2 tbsp plain Greek-style yoghurt (about 30 g)
• 60 g basmati rice
• 80 g frozen peas
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 pinch black pepper

Prep ahead (about 10 minutes, any time that day)

1. Trim any hard fat from the steak and slice it across the grain into thin strips, about 1 cm wide. Put it in a covered container on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Wash your hands, the board and the knife.
2. Peel the onion and slice it thinly. Peel and chop the garlic. Wipe the mushrooms and slice them. Keep them in a covered container in the fridge.

At dinner time (about 15 minutes)

1. Cook the rice in a pan of boiling water for 10 to 11 minutes, adding the peas for the last 3 minutes. Drain. Dissolve the stock cube in 100 ml of boiling water.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Cook the beef strips for 2 minutes, turning, until brown on the outside, and tip them onto a plate.
3. In the same pan, cook the onion and mushrooms over a medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are golden. Add the garlic, paprika and tomato purée and stir for 1 minute.
4. Pour in the stock and let it bubble for 2 minutes, until it has reduced a little. Return the beef and its juices to the pan and cook for 1 minute, until the beef is cooked through.
5. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the yoghurt, so it does not curdle. Season with pepper and serve on the rice and peas.

Why it is a high-protein dinner

Lean steak gives about 33 g of protein, and Greek yoghurt replaces the soured cream in a traditional stroganoff, adding protein instead of fat. Mushrooms add flavour and bulk with very few calories.

Swaps

Chicken strips in place of the beef (cook for 5 to 6 minutes). Wholewheat pasta in place of the rice. A spoonful of mustard stirred into the sauce.