Quick and easy meals

Nutritious meals can be cheap, quick and easy to prepare. Using ready-made products such as frozen vegetables, tinned fish and pasta sauces can help to make cooking easier. Using a microwave or cooking one-pot meals can also help.

Try to prepare meals and desserts that include a variety of foods from the five food groups: grain (cereal) foods, fruit, vegetables, lean meat and meat alternatives and dairy and dairy alternatives.

Main meal ideas

• Omelette or scrambled eggs made with cheese and grated or diced vegetables. Try carrot, zucchini, corn and mushrooms and serve with a salad.
• Baked beans on toast served with a salad or mixed vegetables.
• Tinned fish on crusty bread served with salad.
• Tinned soup – try adding in cooked pasta, leftover red meat or chicken and mixed vegetables.
• Takeaway BBQ chicken in a bread roll served with salad or vegetables.
• Takeaway pizza served with salad or vegetables.
• Mini pizzas made with toasted English muffins, bread or pita bread as the base. Top this with ham, tomato, pineapple, mushrooms and cheese (or whatever you fancy!) and grill until the cheese is melted.
• Cook fish (in foil) in the oven and serve with frozen oven-baked potato chips and salad.
• Fried rice – lightly fry diced ham or bacon with frozen or fresh vegetables and cooked rice.
• Mix cooked pasta with a jar of pasta sauce and serve with a salad.
• Cook a jacket potato in the microwave, top with baked beans and cheese. Serve with salad.

Snacks or desserts

• Tinned fruit in natural juice with yoghurt, custard or ice cream.
• Stewed fruit with custard.
• Hot chocolate or Milo® made with milk.
• Fruit smoothie – combine milk, yoghurt and soft fruit (such as banana, tinned peaches or berries). Add honey to taste.
• Tinned creamed rice with diced fresh fruit.

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