A week of healthy dinners

Written by Nigel Denby, dietician

Cooking doesn't have to be about slaving for hours in the kitchen. Dietician Nigel Denby's recipes show how easy it is to create quick healthy meals.

We are Europe's biggest consumers of ready meals. And no wonder: we're all leading increasingly hectic lives and it can be hard to muster the energy after a long day at work to prepare a healthy, balanced evening meal.

But there are ways you can whip up tasty nutritious dinners without slaving over a hot stove for hours or constantly resorting to ready meals. Try my seven-day plan and find out how easy, and enjoyable, cooking can be.

In part two, you'll find my guide to making the healthiest choices when you do buy ready meals.

Before you start

On the side

If you're serving the main course with a side, use these quantities and cooking times as a guide:

• 50g couscous per person - 5 minutes
• 75g basmati rice per person - 10-15 minutes
• 75g brown rice per person - 25 minutes
• 85g vegetables is one portion of your five a day. Steam 3-10 minutes, boil 5-15 minutes.

• Planning is key - make a list of what meals you are going to eat during the week and go shopping with a list so you know exactly what you need.
• Choose seasonal ingredients - they are likely to be fresher, in abundance, cheaper and higher in nutrients than imported out-of-season foods.
• If you have some spare time at the weekend, have a cooking session and fill the freezer with ready portioned healthy meals that you can defrost and heat in a matter of minutes.
• You could also make a habit of always cooking a double batch of whatever meal you are making and freeze half - this can work out cheaper, too.

All these recipes serve two people, but can easily be increased to serve more.

Monday

Salmon with couscous and seasonal vegetables

Ingredients

• 2 salmon fillets
• 100g couscous
• handful sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• bunch spring onions, sliced
• 1 lemon
• handful fresh dill
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• seasonal vegetables to serve

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
• Oven temperature: 180°C / 160°C fan / gas mark 4

1. Prepare the couscous according to the instructions on the packet. Flavour with a squeeze of lemon juice and garlic.
2. Heap the couscous into the centre of two large sheets of greaseproof paper. Top with a handful of sun-dried tomatoes, spring onions and a salmon fillet.
3. Squeeze more lemon juice over the salmon and sprinkle with dill.
4. Wrap up the salmon to form a parcel.
5. Place on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Serve salmon in the paper bag with seasonal vegetables (steamed is best).

Tuesday

Chicken fajitas with roasted vegetables

Ingredients

• 2 chicken or turkey breasts - or houmous for veggie option
• mix of any of these vegetables: one pepper, onion, courgette, aubergine or sweet potato, half a butternut squash or 150g mushrooms
• Cajun, jerk or five spice seasoning
• 2 tablespoons (tbsp) olive oil
• 4 flour tortillas

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 25 minutes
• Oven temperature: 200°C / 180°C fan / gas mark 6

1. Chop vegetables into 2cm chunks.
2. Toss in 1 tbsp olive oil and seasoning of your choice.
3. Cube two skinless chicken or turkey breasts and toss in 1 tbsp olive oil and seasoning.
4. Roast the vegetables in a hot oven for 10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken and roast for a further 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Serve vegetables and chicken in warmed tortilla wraps.

For a vegetarian option, omit the chicken and spread the tortilla with houmous before filling with roasted vegetables.

Wednesday

Mushroom stroganoff

Ingredients

• 250g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 130ml hot vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons (tsp) wholegrain mustard
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• 1-2 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche
• 2 tsp olive oil
• handful flat leaf parsley
• brown rice or couscous
• seasonal vegetables to serve (optional)

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 5 minutes
• Cooking time: 10 minutes (25 minutes if served with brown rice)

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add onion and then cover pan with lid. Fry onion for five minutes until softened.
2. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Stir in the vegetable stock, mustard and tomato puree.
3. Bring to the boil and cook with the lid on for two minutes.
4. Remove the lid and boil rapidly to reduce the liquid to a syrupy consistency.
5. Stir in the crème fraiche and a handful of chopped parsley.
6. Serve on a bed of rice with the seasonal vegetables.

Thursday

Beef burgers

Ingredients

• half an onion
• 250g lean or extra lean minced beef
• 1 small garlic clove crushed
• 1 tsp grated ginger (approx 2cm piece)
• leaves from one sprig of fresh thyme
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp olive oil
• pinch black pepper
• 2 granary buns
• fresh tomato salsa and rocket leaves to serve

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 15 minutes

1. Finely dice half an onion and soften for five minutes in olive oil. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl mix together the beef mince, softened onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and soy sauce. Season with black pepper.
3. Wet your hands and shape into two even-sized patties about 1cm thick.
4. Grill the burgers for five minutes each side. Take care not to overcook because they will dry out easily.
5. Serve in a granary bun with rocket leaves and tomato salsa.

Friday

Easy tuna pasta

Ingredients

• 250g fresh pasta or 150g dry pasta
• 1 can tuna in spring water or brine
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• pinch of dried mixed herbs
• 6 tbsp frozen peas
• 2 tsp crushed garlic or garlic puree
• 2 tsp capers or black olives
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan and salad leaves to serve

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 5 minutes
• Cooking time: 12 minutes (5 minutes if using fresh pasta)

1. Cook your favourite pasta shapes, drain and toss back into the pan.
2. Drain can of tuna.
3. Stir in tuna, tomatoes, mixed herbs, peas, garlic and capers or olives.
4. Reheat gently.
5. Serve with a light sprinkling of parmesan and a large mixed green salad.

Saturday

Aromatic pork chops

Ingredients

• 2 lean pork chops
• half an onion
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder
• half a lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• seasonal vegetables or mixed green salad to serve

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 10 minutes plus 2 hours to marinade
• Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

1. Roughly chop the onion. Tip into a food processor or a bowl if using a hand blender.
2. Add cumin, coriander, chilli powder, olive oil and the juice and rind of half a lemon.
3. Blend into a paste.
4. Place the pork chops into a robust freezer bag and add the paste.
5. Seal the bag and shake well to make sure the meat is well covered.
6. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours or leave overnight.
7. Grill or BBQ the chops for 6-10 minutes each side, depending on thickness, until cooked through.
8. Serve with vegetables or salad.

Sunday

Beef, red pepper and mushroom stir fry

Ingredients

• 250g lean steak
• 100g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 small pack mangetout
• 100ml half-fat crème fraiche
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
• basmati rice, wild rice or couscous

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 5 minutes
• Cooking time: 15 minutes

1. Cut the steak into strips. You can also use other meat such as chicken breast or turkey.
2. Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan.
3. Fry meat for about five minutes until it starts to brown.
4. Add red pepper, mushrooms and garlic.
5. Cook for a few minutes more until softened.
6. Add a large handful of mangetout, the crème fraiche and mustard.
7. Stir well and cook for a few minutes more until bubbling.
8. Serve on a bed of rice or couscous.

Healthy desserts

Always choose a dessert that includes plenty of fruit. This helps to keep the calories down and makes it nutritious and filling. All these recipes serve two.

Grilled pears with raspberry yogurt

Ingredients

• 2 pears
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt (fat free works well too)
• handful raspberries
• 2 tsp caster sugar

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 5 minutes
• Cooking time: 15 minutes

1. Half the pear and scoop out the core, place cut-side up in a flame proof dish.
2. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar and grill for 3-4 minutes until starting to brown.
3. Put the yoghurt into a bowl and stir in a handful of fresh raspberries or blend the raspberries first to make a coulis.
4. To serve, spoon the raspberry yogurt into the centre of the each pear half.

Strawberry and melon salad

Ingredients

• 1 small melon
• 1 small lime
• 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1 kiwi, sliced
• 2 handfuls of strawberries, sliced
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 10 minutes

1. Slice melon lengthways and scoop out the flesh into a bowl.
2. Add strawberry and kiwi slices, orange juice and a squeeze of lime.
3. Share the fruit between the two melon shells and serve with yogurt.

Baked apple with raisins

Ingredients

• 2 large apples
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 2 tsp light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp low fat yoghurt or half fat crème fraiche

To cook

Time guidelines

• Preparation: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 40 minutes
• Oven temperature: 190°C / 170°C fan / gas mark 5

1. Remove the core of the apple.
2. Cut the skin of the apple right around the middle - but don't cut the apple in half.
3. Place the apple upright in an ovenproof dish.
4. Add enough cold water to cover the base of the dish.
5. Mix the raisins with sugar and cinnamon, then fill the empty cores of the apples with the raisins, pushing them right down.
6. Bake in oven for 40 minutes.
7. Serve with low fat yoghurt or half-fat crème fraiche.

A week of healthy dinners: ready meals

Written by Nigel Denby, dietician

In part one dietician Nigel Denby created a seven-day plan for healthy dinners. But what if you can't always find the time to cook? Here's his guide to buying ready meals.

If you rely heavily on ready meals, there are a number of things you can look out for to make sure you opt for the healthiest choice possible.

Use nutritional signposting

That's GDAs or traffic lights to you and me. The coloured logo or the percentages on the packet are there for your benefit and can really help.

Guideline daily amounts

The guideline daily amounts (GDAs) tell you how one portion of a ready meal contributes to your requirements for energy, fat, saturated fat and salt.

Assuming you aren't adding anything else to a meal, a single serving should provide no more than 33 per cent of your GDA for each nutrient.

You can see this percentage limit as grams and calories in the table below.

	Calories	Fat	Saturated fat	Salt	Sodium
Man	833	32g	10g	2g	0.8g
Woman	660	23g	6.5g	2g	0.8g

Traffic light system

Instead of a percentage, each product is given a colour rating for fat, sugars and salt:

• red (high)
• amber (medium)
• green (low).

For ready meals with traffic lights, try to choose a meal with no reds or only one red.

Don't read sodium levels as salt

When you see sodium levels, don't mistake it for salt.

One gram of sodium actually means 2.5g of salt - far higher.

Don't be misled by 'per portion' information, either.

Salt levels can look okay when presented in levels per portion, but portion sizes can often be rather meagre.

Check the vegetable content

• Look out for the '5 A Day' logo on ready meals, which indicates how it contributes to your daily quota of fruit and veg. Aim to have two to three portions of vegetables with your main meal.
• Add some cooked vegetables or a mixed salad of your own if the meal is a bit low in vegetable content.

Look for omega-3

Ready meals containing oily fish like tuna and salmon are a good choice if you want to boost your intake of heart friendly omega-3 fats.

Look out for the logo on the packet.

Don't assume diet is best

Compare, compare, compare - don't assume the diet range is the best option.

A number of investigations have shown that a supposed diet meal may actually contain more fat or calories than the standard meal or an equivalent meal from a different supermarket.

Make sure you check labels and that the portion size is equivalent to a standard ready meal.

Choose a naturally balanced meal

Every supermarket has a naturally balanced range.

These aren't diet meals, but they are carefully thought out meals packed with healthy ingredients and less additives.

• Asda - 'Nutritionally Balanced'.
• Marks and Spencer - 'Eat well'.
• Morrisons - 'Natural Choice'.
• Sainsbury's - 'Super Naturals'.
• Tesco - 'Healthy Living'.
• Waitrose - 'Deliciously Different'.