Kids' faves - the healthy way

Burgers
Delicious burgers can easily be made with lean chicken breast meat and pear or with lean pork meat and apple. In a food processor chop 30g of onion. Add 200g of your chosen meat cut into chunks, and 50g of fruit, and process on high speed until finely chopped but not mushy. Add some herbs if you wish. Form into patties. Fry, bake or grill in a tiny bit of olive oil on a medium heat, making sure to cook through. Serve on a bun with chopped salad, relish and sour cream. Extra, uncooked, patties can be frozen to defrost and cook another day.

Falafel
This Middle-Eastern favourite, made from fava beans and chickpeas, is the ideal vegetarian alternative to burgers. Buy a ready-made dry mixture, add water according to the instructions, shape into small balls, and fry as directed. Serve inside warmed pita pockets (wholemeal is best) with a chopped cucumber and tomato salad dressed with tahini and lemon dressing.

Sausage rolls, pasties and samosas
These are incredibly high in fat and usually include the worst imaginable quality of meat. Vegetable samosas are marginally better and around 20 per cent less fat. To make a delicious home version, keep ready-rolled filo pastry in the freezer for when you need it, or invest in a sandwich toaster (the kind that seals the edges). Put your filling in the middle of a square of pastry, fold into a pocket, seal and bake. Alternatively, put the filling in between two slices of bread and make triangle toasties.

Fillings to mirror the convenience options could be high quality cooked sausages (add pickle for interest), cooked minced meat with onion and tomato (left over from when you are making a shepherd's pie), curried cooked chicken or curried cooked vegetables. Other fillings you could choose are as varied as your imagination - goat's cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and basil, ham, spring onion and grilled red pepper, or grilled aubergine with baked garlic and hummus.