healthy fish and chips

Sunday night is usually roast night, but I felt instead like taking it easy, while still having a treat. Fish and chips is always a popular option, but picking it up from the chippy (while easy) will easily set you back a tenner (for two people) and 1,000 calories each. Wetherspoon’s fish and chips is 800 calories, and that’s without and ketchup, tartar sauce or mayonnaise.

Inspired by the smoked haddock I cobbled together from the freezer last Thursday, I picked up some fresh haddock from the fishmonger and some McCain’s Rustic Oven Chips, as they were on offer. (At only 110 calories per 100 g, these chips – made from only potatoes and sunflower oil – are a great healthy option for a quick meal.)

Adding those divine pureed petit pois to the dish means you’ve got yourself a meal: fish, chips and peas. But I needed something to make it a bit special, and settled on curry powder. What could be more British than that?

Curry-dusted grilled haddock with chips and peas
(serves 2)

2 100-150g haddock fillets, skin on
2 lemon wedges
1-2 tbsp medium curry powder
400 g frozen garden peas or petit pois
500 g rustic oven chips (200 g for a small portion; 300 g for a large)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dollop of reduced-fat mayonnaise (optional)

Preheat the oven to 220 C. Line a roasting tin with foil and spread the chips evenly. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

After about 15 minutes, change the setting to oven/grill combo (placing the chips at the bottom of the oven) or preheat a separate grill to medium.

Dust the fish with curry powder and squeeze a lemon wedge over each fillet. Leave the wedge on top of the flesh to protect it. Grill for approximately 8-10 minutes.

Prepare the steamer by bringing the water to a boil and adding the peas. Steam for about 5 minutes, then move the peas to a bowl and blitz with a hand blender. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the haddock over a bed of pea puree with chips on the side and a dollop of mayonnaise.

Tip: I had a smaller portion of chips (about 200 g out of the total 500 g) and weighed these before and kept them to one side of the roasting tin. That way, I knew exactly how many chips I was allowed, calorie wise.

Calories: 530 for 125 g haddock, 200 g of peas, 200 g of chips and 1 tbsp mayonnaise – all around, a very good number of calories for a dinner.

To bulk it up, I’d recommend adding some non-starchy vegetables – as this meal is fairly heavy on the carbohydrates.

To cut it down to below 500 calories, just cut your portions of peas and/or chips.

sausages served with parsnip and apple cakes and steamed cabbage

The inspiration for this dish struck on a Saturday, about a year or so ago. I remember as it was Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall’s first food column in the Guardian Weekend, and it was all about apples. His recipe for parsnip and apple cakes struck a chord in my heart, I think it’s fair to say.

My first thought was to pair these cakes with sausages and a dab of Colman’s mustard. But sausages aren’t exactly the healthiest option on the block. Last time I made these, I only allowed myself two sausages, but they were approximately 180 calories each, which is quite a lot, especially considering the saturated fat content.

But voila! I was walking through the supermarket last week and spied Sainsbury’s extra lean Cumberland sausages. I was immediately suspicious, and snatched them off the shelf to check pork content – miraculously, over 70%. But only 75 calories a sausage – hooray!

But the taste test had yet to ensue. Not only did these extra lean gems had to pass muster with me, they had to please the Yorkshire-born and bred husband, who is, shall we say, partial to sausages. He’s very protective of which ones we eat, and I did wonder if extra-lean ones would somehow demasculinise him. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, I had successfully convinced him that we should purchase them, under the understanding that if he did not enjoy them, we would never, ever, ever buy them again.

Phew. We made it out of the supermarket unscathed. But come Saturday evening, it was the final test.

Parsnip and apple cakes
(serves 2)
click here for Hugh’s recipe.

Basically, you need 300 g of grated parsnip, 300 g of grated apple, 2 tbsp of flour, 1 egg (beaten) and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix together.

(I contemplated adding some thyme into the mix, although I decided against it as I didn’t want it to overpower the delicate flavours.)

Make into eight patties, squeezing out excess juice (this part is crucial). Fry in two batches in groundnut oil. Hugh calls for enough to cover the pan generously, but I maintain you should stick to about 2 tsp of oil per batch. You just need to keep an eye on them and make sure the heat isn’t too high, so that they burn.

Fry for 10 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes. Keep the first batch warm while you do the second.

Serve with grilled sausages, steamed shredded savoy cabbage, and a dollop of Colmans.

Calories: 450 for 2 sausages, 4 parsnip and apple cakes, 150-200 g cabbage, 1 tsp of Colmans

The verdict? My husband loved the sausages and said he’s happy for us to buy those again. He had three sausages with dinner, which is a good way to bulk up the meal for anyone who’s especially hungry.

the birthday dinner

January birthdays aren’t easy. After all the hullaballoo of Christmas, the last thing you want to do is go out, spend money and eat and drink loads. Quite the opposite. I’m usually in the second week of eating and drinking more healthily. And let’s face it, turning 27 isn’t particularly exciting!

That’s not to say my birthday dinner on the ninth of roast monkfish, cabbage and leek stir fry and pureed cauliflower wasn’t fantastic. It was. And as a special treat, we cracked open a bottle of champagne too. How’s that for a treat?

The monkfish was divine – we had picked up too much of it from Borough Market over the holidays, and had frozen two lovely tails. They defrosted really well, so I seasoned them and seared them in about 5 sprays of olive oil in a pan before transferring them to a tin in an 180 C oven for twenty minutes.

While that was roasting away, I stir fried the sliced cabbage and leeks in a few more sprays of olive oil with salt and pepper. The smell is beautiful, and there isn’t a need more more herbs, unless, of course, you like them. Thyme might be nice.

Last but not least, I steamed the cauliflower for about 10 minutes before pureeing them with a hand blender and a bit of the steaming water. Be sure to season it well!

You might have noticed a lot of “I” – that’s because I love cooking, even on special occasions. But my lovely husband did all the clean-up and kept my champagne glass topped up!

friday night dinner with loads of vegetables

Well, I can officially confirm that I'm back on track. After clearing most of the tempting foods from my kitchen, I dedicated myself to eating healthily again. My goal is to by the end of January have lost the 5 lb I put on over December. Damn you stilton!

But that doesn't mean I'm relegated to boring foods. Friday night, I grilled organic rump steak (about 110 g for - the small piece - and about 150 g for my husband. Season well before grilling. Alongside it, we eat steamed broccoli (lots for me). I also made some chive mashed potatoes, but since I'm trying to cut excess calories, I hadplenty of steamed cabbage instead.

I have to say, cabbage is a brilliant vegetable - there are so many different versions that I find it difficult to get bored with it. It's also very filling and versatile, as it can be steamed (with just a sprinkle of salt), sauteed (with a few sprays of olive oil) or, in the case of red cabbage, braised.

Although my dinner was likely no more than 250-300 calories, I was sufficiently full and didn't wake up this morning hungry. For breakfast? Two pieces of bacon on toast - only 200 calories. And we're having an excellent sweet potato soup tonight. Who says eating healthy isn't easy? It just takes focus.

cauliflower and leek soup

I’m busy stocking my freezer with homemade soups for the post-Christmas hibernation period. Four portions of parsnip and celeriac soup have been stored for a frosty day, and last night a deliciously easy cauliflower and leek soup (recommended by my friend Marcella) joined in. (Though I couldn’t resist also bringing some for lunch today, and probably tomorrow too.)

Absolutely guiltless, virtually fat-free, creamy and light – a definite winner.

Cauliflower and leek soup
(makes 6 first-course servings)

1 large cauliflower, quartered, stem removed, and chopped
3 baby leeks (dark green parts removed, sliced lengthways and chopped
1.5 litres of vegetable bouillon
3 individual stalks of thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring about two centimetres of water to boil in a large pot and add the leeks, allowing them to braise for a few minutes. Then add the hot stock to the pot, along with the cauliflower, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until the cauliflower is very soft. Season well with salt and pepper.

Remove the stalks of thyme (the leaves should have come off by now) and the two bay leaves. Use a hand blender to make the soup into a thick creamy puree.

If freezing, remove from the heat and and allow it to reach room temperature before decanting it into freezable containers.

carrot, celeriac, mushroom, garlic, parsley and feta salad

I've gone and given the boat away in the title, but I think this salad deserves a bit more discussion. I have had it for at least five lunches this week and would happily munch away on it all next week. There's no lettuce or spinach, so it just feels different. The flavours are new and exciting - and perfect for this time of year.

Because there's no lettuce, this salad can be made ahead of time without worrying about whether it will wilt. Actually, I encourage you to make it ahead of time, so the flavours seep in and the celeriac becomes something quite amazing. Then, when putting your lunch together in the morning, simply scooping a bit into a container saves loads of time.

grated celeriac and carrot salad
(makes 2 servings)

1 large carrot, grated
200 g celeriac, grated (about 1/3 of an average celeriac
125 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 large handful of parsley, chopped finely
50 g reduced fat feta, crumbled
1 tsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 of a large lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix to ensure all of the flavours are evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate, ideally for at least 2 hours before serving. It will keep for a few days in the fridge.

on the menu tonight…smoked haddock

I’m cooking a simple favourite tonight – smoked haddock with a poached egg and peas. Especially as I must dash to my book club for 8pm, I need a simple, healthy, quick meal that will line my stomach a bit before we start chatting and drinking!

I like this meal too because smoked haddock is a perfect freezer staple, as are peas. Eggs, that refrigerator stalwart, are always too hand too. So with 15 minutes and 200 calories, this is an excellent option. I just may puree the peas if I have a spare minute.

butternut squash: light but filling

I was going to make shepherds pie tonight (using a carrot-swede topping in place of potato) but I think my husband is pied out. After fish pie on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, I’ve finally done the unfathomable: filled him up.

This morning, he actually requested something a bit lighter. “Could we have a salad?” he asked innocently. Normally, I’d jump at the chance – but I didn’t buy ingredients for a salad, I bought them for a shepherds pie! At least mince freezes well.

Instead, I made one of my favourites – butternut squash, blue vinney and lentil boats. Though it’s hearty and warming, it has a lovely sweet lightness to it. Click here to read how to do it.

chicken complements

Chicken gets a bad rap sometimes – especially with the (justifiable) concerns over battery chickens. But free range and/or organic chicken is guilt free (depending on who you talk to). The problem is, it can be quite bland, unless you’re roasting a whole chicken, which is like the holy grail of chicken.

Chicken breast is very healthy, low in fat and calories, and quite filling. The problems lie in the ingredients cooks use to entice their patrons, like butter, cheese and oil.

Finding tasty, healthy ingredients is easier than you think: sun-dried tomatoes and dried wild mushrooms taste great rolled into a flattened chicken breast. Herbs make the task simple: chopped parsley and garlic are my favourites, but rosemary, thyme and others work fantastically well too.

In my opinion, something needs to ooze out of the chicken to make it exciting. Use a reduced-fat cheese like mozzarella.

Skinless, boneless chicken thighs stuffed with mushrooms, garlic, mozzarella and parsley
(serves 2)

4 chicken thighs, skinned and deboned
1 125g ball of reduced-fat mozzarella, sliced into eight thin slices
large handful of parsley, chopped
125 g dried mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
salt and freshly ground black pepper
cocktail sticks

Heat the oven to 200 C.

Pour half of a pint of freshly boiled water into a small bowl over the dried mushrooms. Allow to soak for about five minutes.

Use a meat tenderiser to pound the chicken thighs to a thickness of 1cm. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the mushrooms and pat dry with a paper towel.

Add the mozzarella, mushrooms, parsley and garlic to the top of the chicken. Roll up the chicke and secure with two cocktail sticks for each piece. Season again with black pepper.

Cook for 30-35 minutes and ensure the chicken is fully-cooked before serving.

Serve with green vegetables, such as curly kale, broccoli or green beans.

beans on toast, our style

Not much to say about dinner last night: I’ve had it before, I’ll have it again. A real wallet saver that’s actually enjoyable.

brightly-coloured salad for a rainy day

Autumn is grey now. Gone are those lovely marigold-tinged and rust-tinted leaves hanging precariously from tree branches. They’re all on the ground now (at least in London), turned to mush by the deluge of rain we’ve had this week.

The only place I’m going to be conjuring up autumn thoughts is in a bowl. It’s not too hard: start with soft green baby spinach, and add some bulgur wheat (100 g, cooked weight, which nets about 110 cals), sliced cooked beetroot (in rounds, which looks great), and that year-round staple, lanky orange carrot, peeled and sliced into thick matchsticks. Top it off with a bit of reduced fat feta (about 25 g crumbled), some freshly-ground pepper, and a capful of white wine vinegar. Divine.

I’ve had this for lunch most days this week, complemented by half a pot of M&S country vegetable soup (in the chilled section, and only 105 cals per half pot!), and loved it each time.

spinach salad with roasted swede, pear and feta

Try as I might, sometimes this whole “cooking for two” thing doesn’t pan out. Last night I was determined to make a meal out of what was already in the freezer, refrigerator and cupboards. But there weren’t many protein sources around, and I was not keen for another pasta dish.

But in the freezer, for VERY rainy days, sat steak and kidney pies, chips and peas. (These are normally here for nights when I’m away). Now, I’m not about to have that for dinner, but the thought popped into my mind that perhaps it would be easiest for me to cook that for my husband, leaving me time to experiment with something for myself. Hmmm….

Swede, lonely and dejected, sat in my vegetable drawer, crying out for someone to spice it up. I decided to roast them in the oven with the pies and chips and use them in a salad. Warm salads can be lovely – if done right.

The fun part with the swede was deciding which spices to roast them with. I decided on something sweet, warm and earthy – a few fennel seeds, a pinch or two of cinnamon and a bit of pepper. But what about the other ingredients?

I decided upon concorde pears (hands down the best pears I have tasted this year), chopping one up and reserving a bit of flesh for a puree in a vinaigrette. The pears I knew would match perfectly with the rusty cinnamon.

What about protein? Obviously I needed some, but what? Options: mozzarella, cheddar and feta. In a perfect world, I’d go for blue vinney or perhaps parmesan. I felt something strong was needed, so mozzarella does not work. Cheddar, perhaps, but “it doesn’t sound good in a recipe title,” my sage husband surmised. (Perhaps he pays more attention than I thought.) I settled on feta.

Ding! Chips and pies onto one plate, swede into a bowl with spinach leaves, feta and pears. (For the vinaigrette, spray a bit of olive oil into a bowl with lemon juice, pear puree, salt and pepper and whizz with a hand blender. It’s less about having a full-blown dressing and more about ensuring the salad isn’t too dry.)

This salad is pretty low-calorie: about 300, actually. I was trying to make amends for a rather lovely smoked salmon and brie Panini I ate earlier in the day. But I believe it would work lovely as a first course for dinner – or as a soup/salad combo for a light Saturday lunch.

pasta please

Not too much to report from dinner last night - just a quick, simple Italian-inspired meal of (wholewheat) spaghetti with a cherry tomato sauce and a side salad.

Normally I'd make the sauce from tinned cherry tomatoes, but my shop doesn't carry them anymore. I tried instead a stir-in sauce of roasted cherry tomatoes and parmesan, which, actually, was quite nice.

For the salad, I tossed romaine lettuce, a tomato, just a tiny bit of reduced-fat feta for protein (splitting 25 g between the two of us), a couple tablespoons of capers, some crunchy cucumber and a splash of red wine vinegar. Though quite salty because of the capers, the salad still held its own with the pasta, and I found myself going back and forth between the two dishes because I couldn't decide which to eat.

Obviously, pasta is not a particularly low-cal choice (100 g dry weight totals about 315 calories). But it's a good source of energy, and when combined with a tomato-based sauce and a salad, the overall meal is quite healthy - perhaps about 600 calories.

mixed grill

No, not that kind of mixed grill – the one that the father of the family usually orders at a steakhouse for nearly twenty quid. Not too long after, a greasy plate of steak, lamb, chicken (you name it, it’s there) arrives at the table, with nary a vegetable in sight.

The thought of that makes me ill, but I’m not against the grill.

Last night we had our own mixed grill – beef escalopes (very low in fat content), portobella mushrooms, and ripe tomatoes (though I confess, they were from Portugal). The only non-grilled item was a steamer-full of broccoli, just to add a bit of green.

I topped the portobella mushrooms with parsley, garlic and a few sprays of olive oil, and onto the tomato went a garlic and basil combo pestled (mortared?) into a soft sauce for the tomatoes. The steak got a sprinkle of Tony Chachere’s salt-free seasoning on each side(0 cals per tsp – but any of those salt-free seasonings will work, so long as they are not loaded with sugar).

Mushrooms and tomatoes went under the grill first, and after about 8 minutes the steaks went in too. The broccoli will need about 6 minutes to steam. Because the steaks are so thin, they need only two, three minutes on each side.

The result: a satisfying, multi-faceted meal that checked the red meat box on my husband’s dinner wish list. 100-150 g of steak with two big mushrooms, 1 big tomato and about 150 g of broccoli totalled a mere 350 calories (Great for those Sunday night meals that follow two weekend nights out – and all of the red wine that entails.)

an old favourite

Burgers and chips, made from scratch – there’s not many dinners that are better. But this time it’s healthy. Here are my steps to a guilt-free yet completely enjoyable dinner.

1) lose the bun

2) bulk up on the garnishes – tomato, lettuce, red onion

3) use sweet potatoes instead of potatoes (they’re actually lower in GI than carrots, even)

4) go easy on the mayo, but allow yourself a little for a dip

5) use reduced-fat cheese for the burger – cheddar, blue vinney, it’s your choice

6) use extra lean mince (Sainsbury’s BGTY range is a good one) and flavour it with finely-chopped onions and herbs (I used rosemary this time). Mix together mince, egg, salt, pepper, onion and herbs and form into little patties. Make an indentation with your thumb in the middle – it helps it keep its shape when being grilled, which brings me to my next point…

7) grill your burger, don’t fry it.

Follow my advice and you’re likely to drop at least 200 calories off the meal’s total, but none of the enjoyment!

a slow week, a simple meal

Despite my best intentions, I haven’t felt like cooking this week. Originally, visions of smoked mackerel fishcakes (don’t worry, I’ll still make them) and spicy tomato-mussel pasta danced in my mind. But after an evening cooking the books and a few long days at work, these visions were replaced by quick fixes, like gorgonzola pizza at the Lauriston. Perhaps not the healthiest choice, but everyone needs a treat sometimes.

Now it’s Friday and only last night did I get back on track, cooking a simple and healthy meal to make up for my night at the Lauriston. It may not sound exciting, but actually, it was wonderful, with clean flavours and the savoury crunch of the stir fry. What’s more, it took no more than 15 minutes to conjure up.

Pan-fried chicken breast with cabbage-leek stir fry and steamed cauliflower
(serves 2)

2 free-range chicken breasts
5 sprays of olive oil.
1 small head of savoy cabbage
2 large leeks
10-15 sprays of olive oil
water for the stir fry
1 small head of cauliflower, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

You’ll need a small wok, a frying pan and a steamer. First, chop up the cabbage: remove the outer leaves, quarter and remove the stem and slice thinly. For the leeks, remove the green parts, slice down the middle and then crossways into thin rings. Keep stirring.

Heat a few sprays of olive oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage and leeks and season well. Stir continuously, and sprinkle water over when necessary to ensure the vegetables don’t burn. Add another 5-10 sprays of olive oil too.

Heat five sprays of olive oil in a frying pan over med-high heat. Season the chicken breast and sauté for about 8-9 minutes, turning halfway through.

Once the chicken is on, bring water to boil in a steamer and add the cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper and steam for about 5 minutes.

The chicken is done when there is no pink visible in the breast and the outsides are golden brown. Serve with a large portion of the cabbage and leeks and the freshly steamed cauliflower.

This dish is an excellent guilt-cleansing dinner, as the veggies with about 150g of chicken will only set you back round 300 calories. Great for making up after a pizza-laden week. My husband liked it too, probably because it met the basic Englishman’s requirements of meat and two veg.

low-cal, low-cost loaded potato

It's the end of the month, and payday's lurking a few days away. Cooking healthy and tasty meals is hard enough - but add a very tight budget to the mix and it gets a bit more difficult.

The jacket potato has a bit of a boring reputation, but it can be jazzed up. One of my favourite dishes from childhood is the "loaded baked potato," often served in the States with a fat juicy steak. It's not exactly the healthiest dish, loaded up with butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese and spring onions.

This can be fixed. Swap full-fat cheddar for reduced fat cheddar, use trimmed bacon medallions instead of streaky, spray a bit of olive oil instead of lashings of butter and use reduced-fat sour cream.

It's tasty and really filling - but it may not be enough for the boys. If not, let them loose with a can of baked beans as well.

Potatoes, cheese, bacon, sour cream, and spring onions for two - all under five quid.

loaded potatoes on a budget
(serves 2)

2 large baking potatoes
80 g reduced-fat cheddar, grated
50 g spring onions, chopped
6 bacon medallions
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
salt and black pepper
olive oil spray

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Prick the potatoes with a skewer, spray with a few sprays of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and wrap in foil. Bake for an hour and a half.

About 15 minutes before the potatoes are done, place the bacon medallions under the grill for about about 10 minutes, turning once. Remove from the grill and crumble.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and open up the foil. Slice into the potatoes (be careful of the steam). Spray with olive oil and mash the potatoes inside the skin with a fork. Add the cheese, bacon, spring onions and sour cream. Serve immediately.

when time is of the essence

Turkey breasts in the freezer, and cauliflower in the fridge. Originally I was planning to bake the breasts rolled with cheese and spinach, steam the cauliflower, and perhaps serve with brown rice. Very wholesome indeed.

After a long day deluged with rain and a quick trip to the gym, the thought of waiting for the turkey to bake and the rice to boil for at least thirty minutes seemed unbearable. Instead, I quickly decided to combine the turkey and the cauliflower instead into a new – but albeit slightly unusual – pasta concoction.

Broccoli goes well on pasta, so why not cauliflower? Add the turkey, some thyme (fresh or dried), a bit of olive oil and parmesan for an Italian twist.

Though it won’t go on my all-time favourites, it has potential. Should I make it again, I would shred the turkey and perhaps add a bit more thyme.

Turkey and cauliflower pasta with parmesan and thyme
(serves 2)

200 g tricolore fusilli (or other short pasta)
2 turkey breasts, chopped into about 10 bite size pieces
2 tbsp dried thyme.
A few sprays of olive oil (10 sprays = 2 ml)
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
3 tbsp (about 40-45 g) parmesan, grated
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a small pan with a few sprays of olive oil. Coat the chopped turkey pieces with thyme, and once the oil is heated, add them to the pan. Saute for 10 minutes, until golden brown on the outside.

Bring a pot of water to boil and add the fusilli. Boil for about 8 minutes.

Place the cauliflower in a steamer on the hob and steam for 5-6 minutes, until quite tender.

When the cauliflower and pasta are done, drain them and add both back into the pasta pot. Add the tablespoon of oil, and season well with salt and pepper. Mix together well.

When the turkey is ready, add the pieces to the pasta pot, mixing to ensure the turkey pieces are evenly distributed. Add in one of the tablespoons of parmesan and a little more pepper and mix through.

Divide evenly into two bowls, topping each one with a tablespoon of parmesan.

a quick thursday night skillet dish

Last night I had planned to make roasted vegetables with couscous and goats cheese. But, as ever, things change – and therefore, so does dinner. First, I remembered I had no goats cheese. Secondly, and more crucially, I realised I just did not fancy couscous.

Mushrooms, red peppers and red onions sat patiently though, waiting for me to make something wonderful with them. Passing through Lower Marsh market in the afternoon, I quickly decided to pick up two potatoes to make a quick, easy and very pleasing skillet dish.

Potato, mushroom, red pepper and red onion skillet
(serves 2)

2 large potatoes (about 500 g), peeled and cubed
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
250 g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
Olive oil spray (about 40 sprays)
½ ball of reduced fat mozzarella, sliced
Creole seasoning or other all-purpose seasoning

Place the potatoes in a small pot covered with cold water and par-boil.

Meanwhile, add the onion, peppers and mushrooms to a hot pan with half of the olive oil spray. Use sprinkles of water to add moisture if necessary. The mushrooms and onions will sweat on their own, so there’s no need to add more oil. Cover and sauté for about 6-7 minutes

Once the potatoes are done, drain and add to another hot pan with the creole seasoning and the rest of the olive oil spray. Allow them to sauté on their own for about 5 minutes, and then add to the pepper-onion-mushroom mixture. Allow to sauté for a further minute.

Place the thin slices of mozzarella on top of the mixture and cover so that the cheese melts quickly. Use a spatula to dish it out into shallow pasta bowls. Serve immediately.

Calories per serving: 338 (which is quite low calorie really). The carbohydrate/fat/protein balance is about 65%/20%/15% though, so the dish will be quite filling.

An easy way to bulk this up for someone who’s in training – or just hungry – would be to add more potatoes. But these two even-sized servings were plenty for the two of us.

The mozzarella could be substituted by parmesan or cheddar; it just happened that mozzarella was all I had in the refrigerator.

These skillet-based dishes work well with most substitutions, though onions (and maybe potatoes) are the most crucial ingredients.

Play around with this idea: Experiment with a leek-new potato-soft goats cheese skillet in the spring. Or try a sweet potato-red onion-aubergine combination now that it’s autumn.

wednesday's lunch special

Today's lunch was a variation on one I made a few months ago, with bulgar wheat, peaches and ham, and similar to the dinner salad that won the best 'summer salad award'. With late summer upon us, I felt like bulgar wheat was a good option: filling yet light.

(serves 1)

50 g bulgar wheat

2 slices cooked ham, sliced

¼ ball of mozzarella

5 cherry tomatoes, halved

50 g baby spinach leaves

1 nectarine, quartered and then halved

Lemon juice

Calories: 298 (very respectable)

I decided to have bulgar wheat in my salads all week long, just to make a change from chickpeas and butter peas. I've found that the bulgar wheat really helps to fill me up and sustain me through the afternoon. (I get the sensation, as I do with couscous, that the grains expand in my stomach).

Unlike couscous, though, bulgar wheat holds its texture and form better, not tending to get mushy. It also has a nutty flavour that I really like – to get the nutty taste without all the calories of throwing in a handful of pumpkin seeds or cashew nuts is extremely satisfying.

Bulgar wheat is also relatively low-calorie: 50 g of dry bulgar wheat will cost you about 180 calories. While that is more than ¼ of a can of butter beans, it is also more filling, and you'll have less of a tendency to snack.