Ingredients

• 85g porridge oats
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra to serve (optional)
• 250ml fortified soya milk, plus 4 tbsp to serve
• 2 small apples, preferably red
• 15g raisins
• 7–8 walnut halves, about 15g, broken

Method

1. Tip the oats and cinnamon into a non-stick pan with 150ml water and the 250ml soya milk. Put the pan over a gentle heat. Once simmering, leave for 5 mins, stirring frequently (as soya milk tends to stick) until the porridge has thickened.
2. Meanwhile, coarsely grate the apples, including the skin, into a bowl, until you're just left with the cores.
3. Serve the porridge with the apple, raisins and nuts on top, and sprinkle over some extra cinnamon, if you like. Stir through the extra soya milk to loosen.

Ingredients

• 180g porridge oats
• 75g crunchy peanut butter
• 40g stoned medjool dates, chopped
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 × 120g pots plain bio yogurt (or 600g from a large pot)
• Ground cinnamon, for dusting

Method

1. Tip the oats into a large bowl and pour over 600ml boiling water. Add the peanut butter, dates and vanilla and stir well. Cool, then stir through 240g of the yogurt. Dilute with a small amount of water if the consistency is a little stiff.
2. Spoon into six glasses, then top with the remaining yogurt and dust with cinnamon. Cover each glass and keep it in the fridge until ready to eat. It will keep well for up to five days.

Ingredients

• 2 × 400g cans of cherry tomatoes
• 400g can of mixed bean salad, drained
• 200g baby spinach
• 4 medium eggs
• 50g thinly sliced smoked ham, torn
• Wholemeal rye bread, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Tip the tomatoes and bean salad into an ovenproof frying pan or shallow flameproof casserole dish. Simmer for 10 mins, or until reduced. Stir in the spinach and cook for 5 mins more until wilted.
2. Heat the grill to medium. Make four indentations in the mixture using the back of a spoon, then crack one egg in each. Nestle the ham in the mixture, then grill for 4–5 mins, or until the whites are set and the yolks runny. Serve with rye bread, if you like.

Ingredients

• 85g dried red lentils
• 2 carrots, quartered lengthways then diced
• 3 sticks of celery, sliced
• 2 small leeks, sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder (check that it’s vegan, if necessary)
• 1 heaped tsp ground coriander

Method

1. Tip all the ingredients into a large pan. Pour over 1½ litres of boiling water, then stir well.
2. Cover and leave to simmer for 30 mins until the vegetables and lentils are tender.
3. Ladle into bowls and eat straightaway, or if you like a really thick texture, blitz a third of the soup with a hand blender or in a food processor.

Ingredients

• 4 beetroot, peeled and cut into chunks (use gloves to prevent staining)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250g pouch of cooked puy lentils
• 80g rocket
• 125g feta, crumbled
• 75g walnuts, roughly chopped
• ¼ bunch of chives, finely sliced
• For the dressing
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tbsp)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp honey
• ½ bunch of chives, finely sliced

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the beetroot on a baking tray in a single layer. Drizzle over the oil and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the beetroot to ensure it’s evenly coated in the oil, then roast for 30 mins until tender and beginning to turn golden at the edges.
2. Meanwhile, combine the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Once the beetroot is cooked, tip three-quarters of it into the dressing and leave to marinate for 45 mins.
3. Just before the beetroot has finished marinating, combine the puy lentils with the rocket, three-quarters of the feta and two-thirds of the walnuts. Stir through the dressing and the beetroot, and toss until everything is well combined. Tip onto a platter, top with the remaining feta and walnuts, and scatter the chives over the top.

Ingredients

• 250g wholemeal penne
• 240g bio yogurt
• 2 tsp English mustard powder
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• Handful of basil leaves, finely chopped
• 320g tuna in spring water
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and diced
• 340g can sweetcorn, drained

Method

1. Boil the pasta for 10 mins until al dente, then drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain again. Meanwhile, mix the yogurt, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, onion and basil together in a large bowl, then stir in the tuna, red peppers and sweetcorn.
2. Stir through the pasta and serve in bowls or pack into containers for work or a picnic. Will keep covered in the fridge to eat the next day.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 50g dried breadcrumbs
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 rosemary sprig, leaves finely chopped
• 2 × 120g cans of sardines, drained
• 500g passata
• 50g sliced black olives, drained
• 350g linguine or fusilli
• Small pack of parsley, leaves chopped
• 25g Parmesan, finely grated

Method

1. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a low-medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until they start to turn golden. Add another 1 tsp of oil and the garlic. Cook, stirring, for a moment, then tip onto a plate and set aside to cool.
2. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Return the frying pan to a medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tsp olive oil with the rosemary and the sardines. Cook for 2–3 mins, gently breaking up the sardines with a wooden spoon. Pour in the passata, add the olives and leave to simmer gently for about 10 mins.
3. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook following the pack instructions. Stir the parsley and half the Parmesan into the breadcrumbs. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Add a splash of water to the tomato sauce until it is thin enough to coat the pasta, then stir in the remaining Parmesan. Toss the pasta in the sauce and serve in bowls, each topped with a handful of the crunchy breadcrumbs.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 8 chicken thighs (or fillets if you prefer)
• 8 spring onions, cut into lengths
• 150ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp double cream or crème fraîche
• 100g frozen peas

Method

1. Heat the slow cooker. Melt the butter in a frying pan and quickly brown the chicken thighs all over. Make sure the skin picks up plenty of colour. Season, then put them in the slow cooker. Brown the spring onions and add them to the slow cooker as well. Add the stock, mustard and honey and cook on low for 4 hrs.
2. Stir in the cream or crème fraîche and peas, then cook for a further 15 mins with the lid off. Re-crisp up the chicken skin under the grill, if you like.

Ingredients

• 2 red onions, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 1–2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 4 carrots, cut into fat pieces
• 12 chipolatas, each halved
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 400g tin of tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée or tomato and veg purée
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 beef stock cube or stock pot

Method

1. Fry the onion and celery in the oil over a low heat until they start to soften and cook, about 5 mins, then spoon them into the slow cooker. Fry the carrots briefly and add them too.
2. Brown the sausages all over in the same frying pan – make sure they get a really good colour because they won’t get any browner in the slow cooker. Transfer to the slow cooker and add the sweet potato and tomatoes.
3. Put the purée in the frying pan and add 250ml boiling water, swirl everything around to pick up every last bit of flavour, and tip the lot into the slow cooker. Add the herbs, stock cube and some pepper. Don’t add salt until the casserole is cooked, as the stock can be quite salty. Cook on high for 4 hrs or on low for 8 hrs, then serve or leave to cool and freeze.