Saturday

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 1 egg
• 1 tomato
• 60 g mushrooms
• 200 g reduced-sugar and reduced-salt baked beans (1 small tin)
• 2 slices wholemeal bread
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 pinch black pepper

Method

1. Heat the grill to high. Halve the tomato. Wipe the mushrooms and cut them in half if they are large. Put both on a baking tray, brush with half the oil and add pepper.
2. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes, turning the mushrooms once, until the tomato is soft and the mushrooms are golden.
3. Meanwhile, tip the beans into a small saucepan and warm them over a low heat for 4 minutes, stirring, until hot all the way through. Put the bread in the toaster.
4. Heat the rest of the oil in a small non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and fry the egg for 2 to 3 minutes, until the white is set. (Or poach it in simmering water for 3 minutes.)
5. Put the toast on a plate, pour the beans over it and add the tomato, mushrooms and egg.

Why it is a lighter fry-up

Grilling the tomato and mushrooms and choosing reduced-sugar beans keeps the fat and salt low, so it feels like a proper weekend breakfast without the sausages and bacon. The beans add protein and fibre.

Swaps

Half the tin of beans if you want a smaller breakfast (keep the rest covered in the fridge for a day). A handful of spinach wilted under the egg. A poached egg in place of the fried one.

Ingredients (2 portions)

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 small leek (about 100 g)
• 100 g swede (about 2 cm thick slice)
• 150 g diced butternut squash (the other half of the pack from Wednesday)
• 40 g pearl barley
• 1 cube reduced-salt vegetable stock cube
• 800 ml hot water for the stock
• 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 chop the onion. Peel the carrots and swede and cut them into 1 cm cubes. Trim the leek, slit it lengthways, rinse it well and slice it thinly. Rinse the barley in a sieve.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Cook the onion and leek for 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the thyme.
3. Add the carrots, swede, squash, barley and the stock made with the cube and 800 ml of boiling water. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, until the barley and vegetables are tender. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick.
4. Season with pepper. Ladle half into a bowl and eat it with a slice of toast.
5. Cool the other half quickly, ideally within 1 hour: pour it into a shallow container, leave it to steam for 10 minutes, then cover and chill it in the fridge. It is Sunday's lunch.

Why it is a healthy lunch

A broth that is full of vegetables and whole-grain barley, with only 1 tsp of oil per portion. The barley is slow to digest, so it keeps you full, and the five different vegetables count towards your five a day.

Swaps

A handful of green cabbage or kale in the last 5 minutes. A tin of lentils or butter beans for extra protein. A little diced lamb or chicken browned with the onion, if you want a non-vegetarian version.

Ingredients (2 portions)

• 450 g beef brisket or silverside joint, fat trimmed
• 1 small onion
• 2 carrots
• 150 g swede
• 300 g potatoes (2 medium)
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 cube reduced-salt beef stock cube
• 300 ml hot water for the stock
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 pinch black pepper

Prep (about 15 minutes)

1. Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Take the beef out of the fridge 15 minutes before you start. Pat it dry with kitchen paper and rub it with a little pepper.
2. Peel the onion and cut it into thick slices. Peel the carrots and swede and cut them into large chunks (about 4 cm). Scrub the potatoes and cut them into large chunks too. Large pieces will not turn to mush in the long cooking.

Cooking (about 2 hours 15 minutes, mostly hands-off)

1. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish with a lid (or a large frying pan, then transfer to a lidded baking dish) over a medium-high heat. Brown the beef for 2 minutes on each side and take it out.
2. Add the onion to the dish and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and thyme for 30 seconds. Dissolve the stock cube in 300 ml of boiling water, pour it in and scrape up anything stuck to the bottom.
3. Put the beef back in, and arrange the carrots, swede and potatoes around it. Cover with the lid (or foil).
4. Cook in the oven for 2 hours, then check: the beef should be very tender when you push a knife into it and the vegetables soft. If not, cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Lift the beef onto a board, cover with foil and rest it for 10 minutes. Slice it against the grain into thick slices.
6. Serve half of the beef and half of the vegetables with plenty of the juices poured over.

Why it is a healthy dinner

A lean, slow-cooked joint with plenty of vegetables and almost no added fat, with all the flavour in the cooking juices. Half a joint is a sensible portion of beef, and the vegetables fill the rest of the plate.

Swaps

A parsnip in place of the swede. A handful of frozen peas added to the juices for the last 5 minutes. Beef shin, cut into big pieces, is a cheaper alternative that needs another 30 minutes.