AUTHOR’S NOTES:
The information contained in this book is not intended to replace any dietary advice from your own qualified nutritionist or dietician. Any application of the ideas and information contained in this book is at the reader’s sole discretion and risk.

Both imperial and metric measurements have been given in all recipes. Use one set of measurements only and not a mixture of both.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1
Meat-Free Monday

2
Trays-Out Tuesday

3
Whip-It-Up Wednesday

4
Thrifty Thursday

5
Feasting Friday

6
Sumptuous Saturday

7
Staples Sunday

8
Something Sweet

9
Lucky Dip

MEAL PLANS

GLOSSARY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

One of the loveliest things about releasing a cookbook is seeing the food come to life in homes all around the world. Because my books all spring from the support of my amazing social media communities, I am lucky enough to see this phenomenon where photos, videos and stories are shared with me every single day, showing which of my recipes you have all been cooking.

It’s exciting for me, when a book is first released, to find out which dishes most capture your imaginations. Within days, I can discover which are the most popular recipes, and this then helps me to learn the types of meals that I should focus on in future.

I am a home cook – I’m not trained as a chef – but I think this is an advantage in creating recipes for other home cooks. What a chef might consider simple or obvious isn’t necessarily either of those things to someone who cooks at home. My focus has always been on making meals as easy as possible, cutting out unnecessary steps and getting maximum flavour with minimum fuss. And, of course, my particular priority is in thinking of ways that I can increase the nutrition content and cut out unnecessary fat and sugar. I also always want to make meals as budget-friendly as possible, while their ingredients should be easy to source in supermarkets for anyone who isn’t able to regularly pop by an Italian deli. (Nothing against Italian delis, I absolutely love them, but my nearest one is an hour-anda-half round trip!)

One thing I have noticed, after the release of each of my last three books, is how many people create weekly meal plans using only my recipes. I see books with day-of-the-week page dividers from Monday through to Sunday, each marking a different meal. I think it’s absolutely wonderful that my dishes are able to provide inspiration for every day of the week, and that is what gave me the seed of the idea for this book. I have thought about the days of the week and what types of recipes might be useful for each specific day, and here’s what I came up with:

Meat-Free Monday

Many people now observe meat-free Monday as a way of being more mindful of their meat consumption, so I've included lots of delicious vegetarian recipes in this chapter. You will also find plenty of vegetarian recipes scattered through other chapters too, as well as loads of notes suggesting swaps for the meat in my dishes or how to adjust recipes to make them vegetarian.

Trays-Out Tuesday

Who doesn’t love a traybake? As the busy week ramps up, here are some easy, throw everything in, oven-baked recipes.

Whip-It-Up Wednesday

For most people, time is of the essence for weekday mealtimes, so here are some super-quick ideas to get a nutritious meal on the table in a flash, with plenty of family-favourite dishes.

Thrifty Thursday

This chapter focuses on budget-friendly meals, although as this is a subject uppermost in my mind, every other chapter has affordable options, too.

Feasting Friday

I have always loved to eat something special on a Friday night, so this chapter focuses on fakeaway options which will beat any takeaway!

Sumptuous Saturday

On a Saturday, many of us can take a little more of a leisurely pace with cooking, so here are a few ideas for some meals which might take a little extra time or effort for a really exceptional result, or which you might like to cook on a special occasion for friends or family.

Staples Sunday

I always like us to eat together as a family on a Sunday, so this chapter has some classic family favourites, as well as slow-cooker recipes. Many of these dishes will also leave you with some leftovers to help you out for meals during the following week.

Something Sweet

We can’t forget the odd sweet treat or dessert. My philosophy is that, if you are going to have a treat, it should actually be a treat, not a pale imitation. So, though I try to cut down on fat and sugar as much as I can to make these recipes healthier, they still hit the spot as an occasional indulgence. I have also included some bakes that are great fun to cook along with kids and which you can enjoy eating with them, too.

Lucky Dip

Here are all the extra bits and bobs, from side dishes to spice mixes, to help you out on your daily food journey and make your cooking life easier.

I really hope that you find this book as easy and practical to use as I intended. And please continue to share with me what you have cooked at home!

STORE CUPBOARD

The way to get good, fast flavour into food is by having a well-equipped store cupboard. As you begin to cook these recipes, your store cupboard will grow and you’ll find there are many ingredients that are used regularly. If I have suggested buying a more specialist ingredient, I try to ensure that it is used in at least two meals in the book (and you may find it’s used in my other Slimming Foodie books, too), so you can make the most of it and it isn’t wasted. I’m not going to list every ingredient you might need here, as I think the best way for you to proceed is to mark the recipes you most want to cook and build up your store cupboard from there.

ESSENTIAL KIT

You don’t need anything fancy or expensive to be able to make great meals at home, but there are a few essentials which just make life in the kitchen a lot more practical. Here are my suggestions:

EQUIPMENT

A good, sharp knife

You will use this every day, so if you can afford to, invest in a good one. Keep it sharpened: a blunt knife will both mean that food preparation takes so much longer and leave you more at risk of cutting yourself as you try to hack through things.

Measuring spoons

A lot of ingredients in these recipes use spoon measures to help you to get the quantities right.

Kitchen scales

To keep the calorie counts accurate, you’ll need to stick to the weights given in the recipes.

Large mixing bowl

Microplane grater

A little bit more of a ‘luxury’ utensil, I use mine so often for zesting fruit and grating Parmesan cheese that it really is worth the investment.

Garlic press

Meat thermometer

Pots, pans and dishes

Sauté pan with a lid

Probably my most-used pan, because it’s great for frying, but also has space for a whole curry if need be!

A casserole dish with a lid

I have an enamelled shallow casserole which, although heavy, I find useful for meals which involve both frying and oven-cooking.

Roasting tins

I have basic, stainless-steel roasting tins in three sizes, which pretty much cover everything. I also have a couple of nonstick baking sheets.

Ovenproof dishes

I have both round and rectangular stoneware dishes. These pretty much cover most meals, including frittatas, lasagne and oven-baked pasta and rice dishes.

Cake tins

Loaf tin (900g/2lb) I’m a big fan of loaf cakes, so if you want to bake from the sweet chapter, you’ll need one of these.

Nonstick square cake tin (23cm/9 inch)
12-hole muffin tin

APPLIANCES

Mini chopper

Probably my most-used gadget, this will come in handy for many of the recipes in the book. No need for anything fancy, mine is very basic and it does the job perfectly well.

Food processor

I use mine to whizz up sauces and dips and for large amounts of grating, plus for blending jobs that my stick blender isn’t quite strong enough to handle.

Stick blender

An essential for soups. Again, there’s no need for anything high spec; I find that the most basic model will do.

Slow-cooker

I have a basic, 3.5-litre (3.7-quart) slow-cooker, which works well for a family of four.

GENERAL NOTES

Prep and cook times

This is literally the time it takes to chop, grate or mix. I’m not an expert chopper, so these timings are for an intermediate home cook.

Ovens and hobs vary hugely

I used a budget induction hob and fan oven to test each recipe in this book. I keep a thermometer in my oven to make sure I can give you an accurate reflection of the temperatures I’m cooking at. The failsafe check to ensure meat is cooked properly is to use a meat thermometer.

Fresh garlic and ginger

I generally use fresh garlic or ginger rather than tubes or pastes as I think the taste is better, plus there are no preservatives. If you are really in a rush, then there’s no harm in using a ready-made paste. I also use the paste for my Slow-cooker Ginger Beer Ham, as it gives better coverage in a glaze.

Salt

I often specify ‘coarse ground salt’, which just means I’m not using table salt, as a teaspoon of that will give a different level of salty taste. My preferred salt is Cornish sea salt flakes, partly because I’m from the West Country and I like that it’s local to me, but also because it crumbles nicely when sprinkling over food.

Oil

I mainly use spray oil in my cooking, but I also use low-calorie cooking spray when I need better coverage, mainly for oven-cooking. In some recipes, I suggest a spoon measure of oil, because the recipe just requires that little bit extra for success.

Eggs

All eggs used are large, free-range eggs.

Light and reduced-fat ingredients

The recipes in this book are designed to be lower in fat and calories, but I know that many people who enjoy cooking from my books are not watching either of those. Please feel free to use a full-fat version of any light and reduced-fat ingredients, such as sausages, coconut milk and cream cheese. I love the fact that my recipes are enjoyed by all!

Pans and dishes used

If I think it matters, I will suggest a certain type of pan or dish. If you use something different, then cooking times may vary.

Food prep

The best way to cook a successful meal is to prep your ingredients in advance, as well as quickly reading through the full recipe before you start to make sure there aren’t any surprises!

Calories

The calorie counts I provide are for a single portion and do not include serving suggestions or side dishes not in the ingredients list. If an ingredient is listed as ‘optional’, it isn’t included in the calorie count. Calorie calculations can vary based on the precision of measurements, the brand of ingredients (for example, cans of light coconut milk can vary in calorie content), or the source of your nutritional data. The information provided here is intended as a guide.

Portion sizes

This is a very hard thing to generalize: a family with two toddlers is going to need a very different amount of food from a family with two teenagers! I base my portion sizes on recommended amounts, as well as on my experience of making the dish, and what I consider to be a satisfying portion. Of course, this is very subjective, and you may need to adjust these to work for you and your family. It’s always worth cooking some extra vegetables on the side for filling-power if you think you may need them! I also realize that not every household is made up of four people, so you will find that many of the recipes are easy to scale up or down, and it’s also great to be able to freeze leftover portions for another day.

Freezing

I make suggestions for freezer-friendly food based on what I would freeze, and what I know will defrost and reheat well. You may well be able to freeze other meals, but they may change consistency when reheated, which is why I have not marked them as freezer-friendly. When freezing meals, always allow the food to fully cool before placing it in the freezer. Transfer leftovers into airtight plastic containers or freezer bags, then label them with the contents and date. Make sure that food is thoroughly defrosted before reheating.

Symbols

Look out for these symbols at the top of each recipe: