Thursday

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 150 g plain Greek-style yoghurt
• 1 eating apple
• 30 g porridge oats
• 10 g walnut pieces (about 1 tbsp)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Wash the apple, cut out the core and grate it on the coarse side of a grater, skin on, straight into a bowl.
2. Stir in the yoghurt, oats and most of the cinnamon until mixed.
3. Top with the walnuts and the rest of the cinnamon. Eat straight away, or leave it for 10 minutes for softer oats.

Why it is a healthy start

Grated apple makes the yoghurt sweet and juicy with no sugar, the walnuts give healthy fats and crunch, and the oats and yoghurt give fibre and protein. It is made in the bowl you eat from.

Swaps

A grated pear in place of the apple. Raisins or a few seeds on top. A drizzle of honey.

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 1 egg
• 1 wholemeal pitta bread
• 2 tbsp houmous (about 40 g)
• 50 g cucumber (about 5 cm)
• 1 small tomato
• 1 pinch black pepper

Method

1. Put the egg in a small pan of boiling water and boil for 9 minutes. Cool it under cold water for 2 minutes and peel it. (Boil it the night before to save time.)
2. Warm the pitta in the toaster for 1 minute, then split it open along one side.
3. Spread the houmous inside. Slice the egg, cucumber and tomato and tuck them in, with a little pepper.

Why it is a healthy lunch

Houmous and egg give plant and animal protein, and the wholemeal pitta and salad add fibre and vitamins. It is a no-fuss lunch that takes 3 minutes if the egg is boiled the night before.

Swaps

A handful of spinach or rocket in the pitta. Grated carrot. A wholemeal wrap in place of the pitta.

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 125 g lean sirloin or rump steak
• 1 red pepper
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice (from a fresh lemon)
• 3 tbsp plain Greek-style yoghurt (about 45 g)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 wholemeal pitta bread
• 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 5 mm thick. Put it in a bowl with the cumin, paprika, cinnamon, oil, lemon juice and pepper and mix well. Cover the bowl and put it on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Wash your hands, the board and the knife.
2. Cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds and cut it into strips. Peel the onion and cut it into thin wedges. Keep them in a covered container in the fridge.
3. Make the garlic yoghurt: peel and crush the garlic, stir it into the yoghurt and keep it covered in the fridge.

At dinner time (about 18 minutes, 10 of them hands-on)

1. Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Put the pepper and onion on a large baking tray and roast for 8 minutes while you wait.
2. Take the tray out, push the vegetables to one side and add the beef strips with their spices. Spread them out in a single layer and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until the beef is cooked through and the vegetables are soft and starting to char.
3. Warm the pitta in the toaster for 1 minute and split it open.
4. Fill the pitta with the beef and vegetables from the tray, or serve it on the side, with the garlic yoghurt.

Why it is a healthy dinner

Thin strips of lean steak and plenty of roast vegetables give a big flavour from the spices and almost no fat, and the garlic yoghurt replaces a creamy sauce. The pitta takes the place of rice or chips.

Swaps

Chicken strips in place of the beef (roast for 12 minutes, until white all the way through). A courgette in place of the pepper. Shredded lettuce and cucumber in the pitta.