Sunday

Ingredients (1 portion, about 4 small pancakes)

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 40 g porridge oats
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp olive oil

Method

1. Peel the banana and mash it very well in a bowl with a fork, until it is a smooth purée with no lumps.
2. Beat in the egg, then stir in the oats and cinnamon. Leave the mixture for 5 minutes so that the oats soften. If you have a stick blender, blitz it for a smoother batter.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium-low heat and brush it lightly with some of the oil.
4. Spoon 4 small rounds of batter into the pan, each about 8 cm across. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the underneath is golden and the edges look set, then flip carefully and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. They are softer than ordinary pancakes, so keep them small.
5. Stack them on a plate. Serve plain, or with a little yoghurt or a sliced fruit on top.

Why it is a healthy start

The banana sweetens them completely, so there is no flour, sugar or butter. The oats give fibre and the egg gives protein, which makes this a filling breakfast for a few pence.

Swaps

A spoonful of peanut butter or plain yoghurt on top. A few raisins stirred into the batter. A little grated apple in place of half the banana.

Ingredients (1 portion)

• 1 portion leek, potato and cauliflower soup, kept from Saturday's lunch
• 2 slices wholemeal bread
• Black pepper

Method

1. Tip the soup into a pan or a microwave-safe bowl. Add a splash of water if it has thickened in the fridge.
2. Heat it over a medium heat, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, or microwave it for 2 minutes, stir, and microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes, until it is steaming hot all the way through.
3. Toast the bread. Pour the soup into a bowl, add black pepper, and eat it with the toast.

Why it is a healthy lunch

A bowl of vegetable soup with wholemeal toast is filling, low in fat and full of fibre. Because the work was done yesterday, this lunch costs almost nothing and takes 5 minutes.

Swaps

A handful of spinach or frozen peas stirred in as it heats. A spoonful of plain yoghurt on top. A little grated cheese on the toast.

Ingredients (1 whole chicken; vegetables for tonight only)

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg)
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 250 g potatoes (tonight's portion only)
• 2 carrots (tonight's portion only)
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Take the chicken out of the fridge, make sure it has fully defrosted if it was frozen, and heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, gas mark 5). Work out the cooking time: 20 minutes for every 500 g, plus 20 minutes. A 1.5 kg chicken needs 1 hour 20 minutes.
2. Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Peel the garlic. Scrub the potatoes (peel them if you prefer) and cut them into chunks about 4 cm across. Peel the carrots and cut them into thick batons.
3. Sit the chicken in a large roasting tin, breast side up. Put two of the onion quarters and the garlic inside the cavity. Pat the skin dry with kitchen paper, then rub it with 1 tsp of the oil, the paprika, thyme, a good pinch of salt and some pepper. Wash your hands, the board and the knife.
4. Roast for 30 minutes. Toss the potatoes, carrots and remaining onion quarters in the remaining oil and a pinch of salt, and add them around the chicken in the tin.
5. Roast for a further 50 minutes, turning the vegetables once, until the skin is golden and the vegetables are tender.
6. Check that the chicken is cooked. Push a knife into the thickest part of the thigh: the juices must run clear with no pink, and the meat must be white all the way through. If not, roast for another 10 minutes and check again.
7. Rest the chicken on a board, loosely covered with foil, for 15 minutes. This keeps it juicy and makes it easier to carve.
8. Carve one leg and a few slices of breast for tonight, take the skin off the meat on your plate, and serve with the potatoes and carrots.

Saving the rest and making stock

1. While it is still warm, take all the remaining meat off the bones in large pieces. Put it on a clean plate, let it cool for no more than an hour, then divide it into 3 portions in covered containers and put them in the fridge.
2. Put the carcass, bones and any juices from the tin in a large pan with the rest of the cooked onion, cover with about 1.5 litres of cold water, and simmer gently for 1 hour. Strain it through a sieve, let it cool, and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days or freeze it in a container. It makes the base of a soup next week, in place of a stock cube.

Why it is a healthy dinner

Chicken is a lean protein once the skin is off, and roasting with onion, carrot and garlic needs only a little oil. A whole bird is the cheapest way to buy chicken, and you get four portions plus a pot of stock for one shop.

Swaps

Parsnips or swede on the tray in place of some of the potatoes. A bay leaf or a few sprigs of fresh thyme in the cavity. A handful of frozen peas or green beans on the plate.