Monday

Meal Plan 1: Everyday Classics

Day 1 · Monday

Today at a glance. Three beginner recipes, about 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking in total, most of it hands-off. Tonight's chilli is cooked as two portions: one for dinner, one for Tuesday's lunch (a chilli-stuffed sweet potato). Every quantity below is for one portion unless the recipe says otherwise, in metric with UK names.

Breakfast

Breakfast

Cinnamon Banana Porridge

10 minutes1 pan4 ingredientsVegetarian

Ingredients (1 portion)

  • 40 g porridge oats
  • 200 ml semi-skimmed milk (or water)
  • 1 ripe banana
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Put the oats and milk in a small saucepan and set it over a medium heat.
  2. Stir often for 4 to 5 minutes, until the porridge is thick and creamy. Turn the heat down if it starts to stick.
  3. While it cooks, peel the banana and slice it. Stir about half of the slices into the porridge for the last minute.
  4. Spoon into a bowl, lay the remaining slices on top and sprinkle over the cinnamon.

Why it is a healthy start

Oats are a wholegrain that release their energy slowly and add fibre. The banana sweetens the bowl, so no sugar is needed.

Swaps

Use water for a lighter bowl, or a spoonful of peanut butter stirred in for more staying power. Frozen berries work in place of the banana.

Shopping list for this recipe

Lunch

Lunch

Tuna and White Bean Salad

10 minutesNo cooking5 ingredients

Ingredients (1 portion)

  • 1 tin tuna in spring water (about 145 g)
  • 120 g cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (about half a 400 g tin)
  • 30 g red onion (about a quarter of a small one)
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Peel the onion and slice it as thinly as you can. If you find raw onion sharp, leave the slices in a little cold water for 5 minutes, then drain.
  2. Drain the tuna and the beans. Rinse the beans under cold water.
  3. Put the beans, tuna and onion in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and olive oil.
  4. Stir gently so the tuna breaks into flakes but the beans stay whole. Season with a pinch of salt and plenty of pepper, taste, and add more lemon if you like.
Leftover beans
You will have half a tin of beans left. Tip them into a covered container, keep them in the fridge and use them within 2 days, for example added to a soup or salad later in the week.

Why it is a healthy lunch

Tuna and beans are both high in protein, and the beans add fibre, so it keeps you full without being heavy. Tuna in spring water has little added fat.

Swaps

Chickpeas instead of cannellini beans, a squeeze of lime instead of lemon, or a handful of rocket or spinach if you have some.

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Dinner

Dinner · Beef

Beef Chilli with Rice

10 minutes prep35 minutes cookingMakes 2 portions1 pan plus rice

Ingredients (makes 2 portions: dinner tonight, lunch tomorrow)

  • 250 g lean beef mince (5% fat)
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp mild chilli powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g)
  • 1 tin kidney beans in water (400 g), drained and rinsed
  • 60 g brown basmati rice (tonight's portion only)
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel the garlic and crush or chop it finely.
  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until soft.
  3. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, then add the mince. Break it up with a wooden spoon and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until there is no pink left.
  4. Stir in the chilli powder and cumin and cook for 1 minute so the spices release their smell.
  5. Add the tomatoes, the kidney beans and 100 ml of water. Season with a good pinch of salt and some pepper.
  6. Bring to a gentle bubble, then turn the heat down. Simmer for 20 minutes with the lid half on, stirring now and then, until thick. Add a splash of water if it gets dry.
  7. Meanwhile, cook the rice in plenty of boiling water following the packet (brown basmati usually takes about 25 minutes). Drain it.
  8. Serve half of the chilli over the rice. Taste it first and add more salt, pepper or chilli powder if you want it hotter.
Saving tomorrow's portion safely
Put the other half of the chilli into a shallow covered container as soon as you can, let it cool for up to an hour, then keep it in the fridge. Eat it by Wednesday. When you reheat it on Tuesday, heat it until it is steaming hot all the way through.

Why it is a healthy dinner

Lean mince keeps the saturated fat down, and the kidney beans and tomatoes add fibre and vegetables to a dish that is mostly meat in many recipes. Brown rice has more fibre than white.

Swaps

Use white basmati rice if you prefer (about 12 minutes). Add a grated carrot or a chopped pepper with the onion for extra vegetables, or half a tin of black beans instead of kidney beans.

Shopping list for this recipe
Coming up tomorrow
Tuesday's lunch is a baked sweet potato filled with tonight's chilli, so nothing extra is cooked tomorrow except the sweet potato itself. If you would like to put it in the oven before work, scrub the potato tonight and leave it ready.