Bavin Chris - Eat well for less: quick & easy meals

'Whats for dinner? is a question that can easily fill you with terror. Well, perhaps not terror, but certainly mild panic! We know youve told us! But fear no more, because in your hand you have the key to making delicious, nutritious, quick and easy meals. We promise you, this book will have you fearing that question no more!

Whilst making Eat Well for Less weve heard all the excuses. Cooking from scratch takes ages. I cant cook! Recipes are so complicated. And yet by the time weve left our families, all of them have realised they can cook, and not only that, but they enjoy it, too. With this book, we want to show you how to find the enjoyment in cooking from scratch, and that it doesnt have to take ages to do it. Honestly!

Youll find recipes for healthy snacks, breakfasts, lunches, dinners and sweet treats, with meals divided into veggie, fish and meat so you can easily find what you fancy. And youll be cooking a lot of the dinners quicker than the time it takes to order a take-away in. In fact, youll probably not want to order a take-away again after youve tried your hand at some of our home-cooked fake-aways!

Of course, not only is there real enjoyment in serving up a delicious meal that the whole family enjoys, theres also great satisfaction in knowing youll be saving money, keeping the cash in your wallet rather than someone elses!

We all lead busy lives, and thinking ahead for meals can often be the last thing on our mind, but youll find lots of time-saving tips and tricks in here. As always, the best way to save time when cooking is to make sure you plan ahead. Plan what youre going to eat for the week, and check off the ingredients you have in your cupboards. Then plan what you need to buy and more importantly, stick to it! No going off-piste or rather off-list! when you hit the shops. People often tell us they never have enough time to plan, but then we point out how much time and money they lose by rushing out to do last-minute multiple shops and spending more than they need to, and then the penny drops. Planning ahead really does save time. Do it!

We hope youve all played along with Eat Well for Less at home, swapping your partners favourite coffee without telling them, putting some different brand cereal in a plastic tub, and always grating your own cheese! If you havent, its time to have a go. We bet youll be surprised by the results. If you feel yourself getting distracted around the supermarket, or always reaching for your preferred brand, imagine what youd do if we suddenly popped out from behind a display of beans?! As the well-known saying goes, look after the pennies

There are so many quick, easy and tasty meals in here that youll never worry about meal times again. Cooking is like anything, the more you do it the easier and quicker it gets. So theres no time like the present lets get cooking!

Gregg Wallace and Chris Bavin

You might think that you know where the common pitfalls are when it comes to shopping and sticking to a budget, but how many of them are you actually guilty of? Lets get down to basics and prevent those slip-ups

You might argue that you are too busy to plan, but the truth is, youre so busy because you arent planning. How many trips do you make every day/week to the shops to pick up dinner, or pop in to get something youve forgotten? Think about how much time that wastes (not to mention petrol, if you have to drive there ), when you could be doing something else. Time spent now will save you time later not to mention those conversations each evening of What do you want for dinner? Weve all been there.

So, settle in with your blank planner and a pile of Eat Well For Less recipe books, or just get your familys opinions (see ) and fill in meals youd like to cook across the week. You can include breakfasts and lunches where relevant, but if these are pretty straightforward or catered for by school/work, just concentrate on the evenings and weekends.

Plan a themed food night Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday or Fake-away Friday (when you make your own home-made version of your favourite take-away) if your kids love routine. It gives them something to look forward to and makes planning the week so much easier.

Key points for planning

• Who is at home when? Have you got evenings when the family all have activities or are getting home late? Does that mean separate mealtimes that are better catered for by a one-pot to be reheated on demand?
• Do you fancy going meat-free perhaps once or twice a week? Meat tends to be the most expensive item in the shopping trolley, so eating more veggie-based meals not only saves you money but will boost your fibre intake and meet your 5-a-day, too (see ).
• Dietary requirements see . Does anyone have allergies, intolerances or special diets that need catering for?
• Give yourself one night to eat from the freezer or to use up leftovers, or just to create a bit of flexibility if your week has gone off track. This is where a well-stocked freezer or cupboard is a fantastic resource to stop that 6pm panic!
• Keep it fresh not just by using fresh ingredients but by varying the menu. Mix it up, making sure youre not eating the same thing every day expand your repertoire!

Whats next? The LIST!

Heading into a supermarket without a list is asking for trouble. Racking your brain for what you need leads to panic-buying, and if you get distracted you could find yourself tempted by items that will later languish in your fridge or cupboard until they quietly expire, unused and wasted.

So, planner in hand, think about what you NEED to buy and in what quantities dont put a huge bag of carrots into your trolley if you only need one or two, or another multipack of biscuits if you have a packet already in the cupboard. This is particularly important if you are trying to lose weight if the extra food isnt there, neither is temptation. Minimise waste and youll minimise your spend.

Take notes

Buy yourself one of those magnetic notepads, stick it on the fridge and make a note every time you run out of something that you know you will need to replenish in the weekly shop. Then when it comes to making your list, you wont forget those items.

Remember, youre aiming for one big shop per week, not several little ones, so you want to be ready and prepared to save yourself those expensive pop-ins.

Your shopping list should only include items that you dont have already at home. So, take stock before you shop. Check your cupboards/fridge/freezer to see what you have in make sure things arent hidden at the back and you are using everything efficiently by eating whats in there before you buy more.