Such an easy lunch, but who doesn’t love a bagel! This is a great on the go lunch for summer, simply serve it with fruit, a treat and a drink of juice to make a full child-friendly lunch. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add the onions, bacon lardons, mushrooms and garlic. Fry the mixture, stirring, until all the elements are crisp and golden for around 10 minutes. Step 2 Each recipe also has all the information you need on how to freeze, store, defrost and reheat your fabulous dinners. Next use a little oil and heat the onion in a pan until soft, add the ¾ jar of sauce to this pan and allow to heat for 3-4 minutes

Making in advance and eating later? Simply make up until the final instruction above but do not put it in the oven for the 10 minutes, instead allow to cool, then cover and place in fridge until needed.If you’re going to make one meal, simply double the ingredients to make another. It will only take about 3 extra minutes! Over time, I found that cooking once a week with a view to freezing meals was the best way to save time, money and my peace of mind. This way, I could add salt or spice to some portions before serving, thus keeping everyone happy and healthy. Always make a basic recipe, that way it’s easy to add spices and salt to taste after you have portioned out the kid’s meals.

Shopping with two metre distancing is quite stressful! Going to the supermarket and deciding what to buy on a whim isn't working nowadays. You need to have planned in advance." Top tips: The Batch Lady Planner is a shopping guide based on all the questions I constantly get asked from people who follow me. How to work out what to buy in the shop, how do you work out what you've already got in your house. If serving flat, pizza-style you can now add this to a baking tray and place in oven for 5-8 minutes, until the top is hot and cooked grams of dried pasta 1 onion finely chopped 2 ends of bread - toasted 100g of cheese - grated ¾ jar ( 500g jar) of pasta sauceStart small. Focus on meals you like to eat on a regular basis. If you like fajitas and you've got a quiet night, double the recipe - one for your fridge, one for your freezer. When life starts to get busy again, you're covered. Simply lay out your wraps and add 2 tablespoons of sauce to each wrap, don’t worry if it doesn’t look enough, it will spread out once cooked Once your pasta is cooked, drain and add to the sauce, stir until the sauce coats the pasta then and pour all the coated pasta into an oven proof dish

You will have a few leftovers from your shopping list (you may have even more if you're only serving two children). These can either be frozen and can be used the next week, or if you have teenage children you may wish to use these to bulk out the lunches above.Start to pair your recipes. I make 10 meals in one hour every Sunday – it gets easier every time! Choose two from my book, spaghetti Bolognese and chilli for example, see if it works for you. And then next time, double those recipes, you've got four meals. Then add in meatballs the time after. Every time you do it, it'll take you less time!

While the pasta is cooking you can now chop the onion, grate the cheese, toast your bread in a toaster and grate the toast so it becomes breadcrumbs Making in advance: Simply follow all the steps above, then allow to cool and place in fridge these can be served cold or you can heat in microwave for 2-3 minutes, if wanting to serve warm again. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and breadcrumbs and cook in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 180oC until the top is golden brown

You also won't waste food or money. If you go shopping at the start of the week, those sell-by dates will quite often have come up mid-week. But if you cook everything into portions for your fridge and freezer, you'll get to Friday and realise you've still got two meals left. What is The Batch Lady Planner? She tells HELLO!: "I started The Batch Lady to save time. I don't like cooking for my family every night – the beauty of the method is you cook only on certain nights. If you just spend 20 minutes of your week meal planning, it'll save you hours! Serve your children curries, chilli and fajitas, but adapt them to their palates by adding crème fraiche to their portions prior to serving, so they get a milder version of your meal. Wednesday: Macaroni cheese with sweetcorn crunchy top, served with a satsuma, biscuit and glass of juice If you are making spaghetti bolognaise, you will need chopped onions, mince and grated carrots. You also need those ingredients to make, burgers, meatballs, chilli, fajitas and lasagne: one large pot of veg and mince will serve as a base for six different dishes.