Tuesday

Meal Plan 1: Everyday Classics

Day 2 · Tuesday

Today at a glance. Three beginner recipes, about 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking in total, and the traybake does most of its own work in the oven. Lunch uses the chilli left over from Monday. Tonight's traybake is cooked as two portions: one for dinner and one for Thursday's lunch. Every quantity below is for one portion unless the recipe says otherwise, in metric with UK names.

Breakfast

Breakfast

Spinach Scrambled Eggs on Toast

10 minutes1 pan4 ingredientsVegetarian

Ingredients (1 portion)

  • 2 eggs
  • 40 g baby spinach (a large handful)
  • 2 slices wholemeal bread
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and some pepper, and beat them with a fork until the whites and yolks are mixed.
  2. Put the bread in the toaster when the pan goes on the heat, so the toast is ready at the same time as the eggs.
  3. Heat the oil in a small non-stick frying pan over a low to medium heat. Add the spinach and stir for about a minute, until it has wilted down.
  4. Pour in the eggs. Leave them for 20 seconds, then stir gently with a spatula, pulling the set egg from the edges into the middle.
  5. Keep stirring slowly for 1 to 2 minutes, until the eggs are just set but still look soft and glossy. Take the pan off the heat, because they keep cooking in the pan.
  6. Serve on the toast straight away.

Why it is a healthy start

Eggs are a good source of protein, and wholemeal bread adds fibre. The spinach counts towards your vegetables before 9 a.m. for almost no effort.

Swaps

Cook the eggs without spinach if you are in a rush, or stir in a handful of halved cherry tomatoes. Use a splash of milk in the eggs if you like them creamier.

Shopping list for this recipe

Lunch

Lunch · Uses Monday's chilli

Chilli-Stuffed Sweet Potato

10 minutesMicrowave or oven1 new ingredient

Ingredients (1 portion)

  • 1 medium sweet potato (about 250 g)
  • 1 portion beef chilli left over from Monday

Method

  1. Scrub the sweet potato and prick it all over with a fork, 5 or 6 times.
  2. Microwave: cook on high for 6 to 8 minutes, turning it over halfway. Oven: bake at 200 °C (180 °C fan) for 45 to 50 minutes. It is ready when a knife slides in easily and it feels soft when squeezed (use a tea towel, it will be hot).
  3. While the potato cooks, reheat the chilli in a small pan or the microwave, stirring once or twice. It must be steaming hot all the way through. Add a splash of water if it has thickened too much.
  4. Cut the potato open lengthways, squash the flesh gently with a fork, and spoon the chilli over the top.
Reheat only once
Reheat the chilli once and eat all of it, rather than reheating and cooling it again. Monday's portion should be eaten by Wednesday at the latest.

Why it is a healthy lunch

Sweet potato is a filling, fibre-rich carbohydrate with a lot of vitamin A, and the chilli adds protein and beans. It uses what you have already cooked, so there is nothing to buy but the potato.

Swaps

A spoonful of plain natural yoghurt on top cools the chilli down. A regular baking potato works if you prefer it.

Shopping list for this recipe

Dinner

Dinner · Chicken

Chicken and Vegetable Traybake

15 minutes prep45 minutes in the ovenMakes 2 portions1 tin

Ingredients (makes 2 portions: dinner tonight, lunch on Thursday)

  • 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs (about 450 g)
  • 400 g baby potatoes, halved
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 small head of broccoli (about 200 g)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan). Find a large roasting tin.
  2. Halve the baby potatoes (leave the tiny ones whole). Peel the carrots and cut them into chunks about the size of the potato halves. Peel the red onion and cut it into 6 wedges.
  3. Put the potatoes, carrots and onion in the tin with 1 tbsp of the oil, 1 tsp of the paprika and a good pinch of salt. Toss well and spread out in one layer. Roast for 15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, put the chicken in a bowl with the remaining oil and paprika, some salt and pepper, and turn it until every piece is coated. Cut the broccoli into small florets.
  5. Take the tin out, push the vegetables to the sides and add the chicken. Roast for 15 minutes.
  6. Add the broccoli to the tin, stir everything round, and roast for a further 12 to 15 minutes. The chicken is cooked when it has no pink inside and the juices run clear. Cut into the thickest piece to check.
  7. Serve half the chicken and vegetables hot, straight from the tin.
Saving Thursday's portion safely
Put the other half in a covered container as soon as the tin has stopped steaming, let it cool for up to an hour, then keep it in the fridge. Eat it on Thursday at the latest, and do not leave cooked chicken out at room temperature for longer than two hours.

Why it is a healthy dinner

Skinless thighs are lean, and the tin holds three different vegetables, so half your plate is vegetables without any extra cooking. Roasting needs very little oil.

Swaps

Chicken breast works but dries out faster, so cut it into large chunks and check it after 20 minutes. Use courgette or peppers in place of the carrots, or cooked-from-raw sweet potato in place of the baby potatoes.

Shopping list for this recipe
Coming up tomorrow
Wednesday is the vegetarian day: a hummus wrap for lunch and a chickpea and spinach curry for dinner. Nothing needs preparing tonight.