take five

Five just could be the magic number when it comes to food. For one, the "get your five a day" campaign with regards to fruits and vegetables has been going for years, inspiring such juice drinks as FiveAlive (does anyone remember?)

And, although it's a bit spurious, since five is an odd number, it looks better in presentation. Any interior designer will tell you that odd numbers are more appealing to the eye. So why not put five on your plate? It's also the number of fingers on one hand. So why not the number of main ingredients in one recipe? It would allow you a representative from all the major food groups – grains, meat/protein, dairy, vegetables - plus one more for good measure.

Although it isn't always the case, the fewer the ingredients, the less time it often takes to prepare, which is a benefit on a Wednesday night.Simple doesn't have to mean boring, but it can mean healthy and tasty. Have a look:

(Small disclaimer: I'm not including olive oil spray or seasonings in my five)

Turkey breasts stuffed with mozzarella and spinach with roasted cherry tomatoes and green beans

(serves 2)

250 g lean turkey breasts, tenderized OR lean turkey steaks

1 large ball (125 g) of reduced-fat mozzarella, sliced thin

50 g baby spinach leaves

250 g cherry tomatoes, halved

300 g green beans (frozen, since it's not quite the season yet)

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Lay the turkey breasts flat and layer with the mozzarella and spinach. Roll them closed and hold together with toothpicks. Spray with a few sprays of olive oil, season with pepper and place in the centre of a foil lined roasting tin.Place the halved cherry tomatoes around the turkey rolls and spray with olive oil spray and season with salt. Cook for 30 minutes.

Five minutes prior to the turkey finishing, either pop the green beans in a pan of boiling water or microwave them for 3-4 minutes. (The latter method allows the beans to retain a lot of their nutrients).

Calories: approximately 350 per serving. To bulk it up, simply serve more beans.

Turkey breasts often come in 500 g packs, so it doesn't seem reasonable to only cook half sometimes. You have two options: use half, freeze half; or cook them all and take one for lunch the next day. Or if someone's really hungry at dinner, he or she can have the other.

The recipe is also easy to vary and often has some very tasty results:

Chicken breasts stuffed with cheddar and mushrooms served with broccoli and brown rice

(serves 2)

This one's lovely. Follow most of the same instructions, but flash-fry the mushrooms in some olive oil and black pepper and use 30 g of reduced fat farmhouse cheddar per turkey breast.

Steamed broccoli and 50 g of brown rice per person round out the meal and the entire thing is done in 30-35 minutes.

(If six is your magic number, throw some garlic in with the mushrooms for a very flavourful result)

Calories: 485 per serving (with 50 g of brown rice). If you're still hungry, add more broccoli.