These cheap & healthy recipes will make your life that much easier

IN this week’s column, time-saving guru Suzanne Mulholland shares recipes for work lunches.

Whether you are WFH or back in the office, being organised with packed lunches makes life so much easier.

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Batching lunches to fuel you for the whole day is so important.

These recipes are easy, versatile and can be made in advance. Grab one on your way out each morning to save money and stay healthy.

Miso soup jars

Serves one

3

Prep time: 5 minutes

YOU NEED:

• 75g rice vermicelli or instant rice noodles
• Fresh vegetables of your choice (eg pak choi, spinach leaves, red onion, fennel, baby sweet corn, mangetout, spring onion, mushroom, celery)
• Fresh chilli
• Handful fresh coriander
• Prawns/chopped cooked chicken/pulled pork (optional)
• 1 x packet miso soup powder or paste

METHOD: Take a good-sized jar or flask and fill it as follows: 1 portion of rice vermicelli or instant rice noodles roughly broken up on the bottom.

Add your choice of chopped vegetables: pak choi (end removed, sliced in half down the centre, leaves and stem cut into roughly 2cm slices); spinach leaves (handful); red onion (a quarter, finely sliced); celery (chopped into roughly 1-2cm slices); baby sweetcorn, spring onion, mangetout, fennel (all chopped to the size you prefer); fresh red chilli (seeds removed, finely chopped, a pinch added to the jar); fresh coriander (roughly chopped, as much as you like added).

If you are adding meat or prawns, put a handful on top. You can either add your packet of miso soup powder/paste now and seal the jar or flask, or you can take the packet alongside your jar and add when ready to eat.

Ready to eat: When you are ready to eat your soup, simply boil the kettle, then leave it for a minute, add your miso powder/paste if you haven’t already done so then pour boiling water into the jar so the water just covers the top of the contents.

Seal the jar and give it a little shake to make sure the contents are covered in water. Leave to sit for 5 minutes while the noodles cook. Remove the lid, being careful to avoid steam, and enjoy!

Ready for the freezer: If you have prepared lots of veg, don’t waste anything. Just portion out into sealable freezer bags and pop in the freezer for another day’s lunch.

Pesto pasta

Serves four

3

Prep time: 2 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

YOU NEED:

• 300g dried pasta
• 1 x 190g jar green pesto
• Fresh basil leaves (optional)

METHOD: Cook your pasta to the packet instructions then drain and add to a large mixing bowl. Add your pesto to the pasta and mix.

Distribute the pasta mix between four containers, leave to cool and keep in the fridge. Sprinkle over a few optional basil leaves.

Ready to eat: This pesto pasta is delicious cold but can also be heated up in microwave for 2-3 minutes until piping hot.

It will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

And if you want to mix it up halfway through the week, try adding some halved cherry tomatoes or stirring in a tin of tuna.

• The Batch Lady: Shop Once. Cook Once. Eat Well All Week (HQ, £20) and The Batch Lady Meal Planner, £9.99, are out now.

The Batch Lady teaches you how to make easy and healthy Miso noodle soup-in-a-jar

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