Craving comfort food? Try this breakfast, lunch and dinner menu…

Brunch: Cinnamon French Toast

Try this mouth-watering, low-kilojoule breakfast – perfect for the weekend!

Prep time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 6 minutes

Ingredients and method
Beat 1 egg with 1⁄3 cup skim milk and a dash of cinnamon. Dip 1 slice wholewheat bread into the egg mixture until the bread has absorbed all the egg. Place soaked bread into a hot, non-stick pan lightly coated with olive oil spray and cook on both sides until ready. Top with 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey.

Lunch: Wholewheat Penne With Pork Sausage

This recipe from blogger JamieWho is a perfect healthy alternative…

Stuff you’ll need to feed four
500g organic, wholewheat pasta of your choice (penne, farfalle or fusilli is best)
A punnet of pork sausage
2 chillies, finely chopped
Half an onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A handful of parsley, roughly chopped
A handful of basil, torn
Half a tin of tomatoes
Three handfuls of rosa tomatoes

READ MORE: 6 Healthy Pasta Dishes You Can Make In Under 30 Minutes

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place your rosa tomatoes in a baking dish, pour over some olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for about 35 minutes, or until blistered. Remove and set aside. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan and fry your onion until it softens. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for about 2 minutes more, making sure not to burn the garlic.
2. Cut the sausage casing and remove meat. Add to the pan and fry until golden.
3. Add the roasted tomatoes and the tinned tomatoes, reduce heat and gently simmer sauce until reduced to the desired consistency. Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Drain, reserving a little bit of the cooking water. Add pasta sauce to pasta, along with cooking water. Throw in the chopped parsley and stir to combine.

To serve, spoon into bowls and garnish with the basil. Shave over some Pecorino cheese, if you really feel like a treat (and let’s be honest…this dish deserves it).

Dinner: Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

This Sunday classic just got downsized kilojoule-wise…

For the filling
1 onion, finely chopped
Olive oil for frying
1 celery stick finely chopped
700g extra-lean minced beef
2 tsp cake flour
2 cups beef stock
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 carrot finely chopped

For the topping
6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

READ MORE: 6 Healthy, Comforting On-Pan Dinner Recipes To Make Tonight

Method
1. Preheat oven to 200. Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan and brown the mince in batches. Don’t crowd the pan or the meat won’t sear, but will stew in its own juices. When mince is browned remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.
Add the onions to the pan and fry for about two minutes, add the celery and carrot and cook for another minute or so. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.
2. Take the pan off the heat and sprinkle in the cake flour. Add a little beef stock to make a paste and then place back on the stove and add remaining stock gradually until it’s all incorporated. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Now add the bay leaf, Worcester sauce, tomato paste, vegetables and the mince. Season to taste. Simmer, covered over medium heat for about half an hour. Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking (add a little extra water if it starts to stick). Remove the bay leaf and pour the mixture into an ovenproof pie dish. Keep back some of the liquid if there is too much.
3. While you’re cooking the filling, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with a little salt. Add the sweet potatoes and boil until soft. Drain well and mash, adding a little milk and butter. Season well and use to top the pie dish containing the mince. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes until the potatoes are golden.

These are the 10 power breakfasts every active girl needs in her life. Plus: 3 comforting soups that’ll boost your immune system.