Gingerbread mince pies

Combine two very traditional Christmas bakes – gingerbread and mince pies – to create a brilliant modern classic. Top with mini gingerbread people.

Courgette fritters

Use grated courgette to make a simple but delicious summery starter or light supper with just five main ingredients. Use up a glut from the garden

Spiced mince with couscous

Adding dried fruit, fresh mint and warm spices to savoury dishes is typical of North African cooking. Vegetarian mince replaces meat in this recipe

Butternut squash & cherry tomato crumble

Serve crumble for dinner by omitting the sugar and replacing the fruit with a savoury squash filling. It’s a warming dish that’s ideal for autumnal suppers

Vegetable & bean chimichanga

Claire Thomson has produced a week’s worth of easy dinners to help you and your family settle back into the school routine. These veggie chimichangas use up the leftover bean mix from the chilli and make a healthy alternative to the deep-fried versions

Spinach crespolini

Enjoy these healthy spelt pancakes filled with spinach, ricotta and tomato – they deliver all of your 5-a-day, plus spinach supports bone and eye health

Veggie spaghetti puttanesca

Sneak in an extra portion of veg in the form of the courgettes in this veggie version of puttanesca. Taking 35 minutes, it’s a low-fat and low-calorie lunch

Healthy pesto eggs on toast

Try a speedy, low-fat pesto as a delicious alternative to oil for frying eggs – it adds great flavour to the dish, too, to make a perfect brunch or lunch

Caprese sandwich

Load slices of focaccia with pesto, mozzarella, rocket, red onion and tomato. They’re a perfect sandwich for feeding a crowd in a picnic.

Next level tomato soup

Let the flavour of tomatoes shine through in our ultimate tomato soup. To get the best from tomatoes, we’ve used every trick we know to boost their flavour

Individual butternut squash wellingtons

Bake these vegetarian dinner party pastries for a special occasion, like Christmas Day. They’re filled with squash, spinach, chestnut mushrooms and tangy blue cheese

Sweetcorn chowder

Combine different alliums to give a layered onion flavour to this vegetarian sweetcorn chowder. The sweetness of the corn pairs with onions beautifully