Tips

Put little bowls of pumpkin and sunflower seeds or monkey nuts out to nibble in front of the television. Children especially enjoy the ritual of peeling and spitting out the shells and are much less likely to eat too many than they would be with salted nuts or crisps.

Breadcrumbs come in handy for so many things, so never throw away the last few slices of a stale loaf; make them into breadcrumbs by cutting the crusts off and whizzing a few slices at a time in the food processor or blender. (As a rough guide, one slice of bread makes about 1 oz (25 g) of breadcrumbs.) If you use very fresh bread, leave the crumbs to dry out on a sheet of greaseproof paper for about half an hour. Mix the remains of different types of bread and store in the freezer in old bread bags.

Buy frozen fruit from the supermarket; (you’ll find several variations) it’s cheaper than fresh, defrosts very quickly, and is perfect for making ready-chilled fruit and vegetable smoothies.

Readymade coleslaw can be slimy and revolting but packets of fresh coleslaw vegetables are pretty good if you haven’t got time to make it from scratch; just add mayonnaise and yoghurt with lemon juice and seasoning at home.

Whether you’re very hungry or just peckish, you should be able to find something here to tide you over to the next cooked meal.

Celery sticks cut in half and filled with peanut butter or cream cheese.

Slices of ham spread with soft cheese, rolled up and eaten with chunks of tomato.

Rice cakes spread with peanut butter or cream cheese and slices of cucumber.

Flour or corn tortilla wraps filled with ham, grated cheese and coleslaw ... almost, but not quite a sandwich.

Quickest guacamole: avocados mashed with natural yoghurt, seasoned and served with carrot sticks and tortilla chips.

Smoked mackerel (with lots of lemon juice) and brown bread and butter.

Salad: lettuce, spinach, watercress, mustard & cress, cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, peppers, sweetcorn, grated carrot, celery, avocado, cheese, ham, tuna, salmon, croutons...

Prawn cocktails: Blend a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise with the same amount of tomato ketchup and mix in the prawns, then spoon them over shredded lettuce, spinach or watercress, sliced cucumber and chunks of avocado. Sprinkle with paprika and crushed up, readymade croutons, if you have them.

Get those leftovers out of the freezer (soup, chilli, spag bol, moussaka, shepherd’s pie, lasagne, pasta sauce, fish pie, fish cakes, pancakes...) and re-heat in the microwave. That’s not really cooking, is it? No.

SMOOTHIES: The possibilities are endless, so experiment ... or buy a book. Here are a few tried and tested recipes to be getting on with.

THE JAMIE OLIVER: Mix 1 large or 2 small bananas, a generous handful of frozen berries and a glass of apple juice in a blender or food processor; serves four.

THE DR GILLIAN: Infuriating, I know (which, incidentally, is a word many people associate with Gillian McKeith) but you need a juicer for this. Take half a bag of curly kale, wash well and put through the juicer with 2 lemons, cut into quarters. Very refreshing, however bad it sounds – and you just know it’s doing you good.

THE JANE CLARKE (NUTRITIONIST AND FOOD WRITER): Half a (ripe) mango, 2 tbsp of natural yoghurt and a glass of fresh orange juice, blended.

BANANA SMOOTHIE: 1 large or 2 small bananas, 2 tbsp natural yoghurt, 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, honey (to taste). Peel the bananas and put them in the blender with the rest of the ingredients; adjust the amounts according to taste, blend for 2 minutes and pour into tall glasses with plenty of ice.

CARROT, CELERY AND APPLE: 2–3 carrots, depending on size, a few sticks of celery and a large glass of apple juice, blended on high for a minute.

ISOTONIC DRINK: If you’re already addicted to sugary, fizzy, so-called ‘sports’ drinks, this won’t impress you much, but as a healthier and cheaper alternative, it’s pretty good, and it does exactly the same job without damaging your teeth or your diet.

THIS FILLS A 500 ML BOTTLE OF WATER (ALMOST 1 PINT):

450 ml of water
50 ml of lemon or lime juice – or 25 ml of each
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 small pinch of salt