(sorry, I've been a bit verbose here!)

BrokenDownAngel suggested I post a recipe, so here is one. This is designed to have strong tastes - diet food is boring. I do this at least 3 times a week at the moment and it has several important benefits:

1. It's almost infinitely variable so doesn't get boring
2. It has good, strong tastes in it
3. It's full of healthy stuff
4. You can eat as much of it as you like
5. It's relatively inexpensive
6. You can just as easily make a little or a lot
7. It will last 2 days without going weird

I'll call it "Thick Vegetable Stew" for lack of a better name. The below will make loads for 2 people - probably more than enough. Multiply up as necessary.

The basic method is this:

Fry some onions and garlic (+ leek if you have any)
Add herbs and spices
Add loads of vegetables
Add some fluid
Add whatever extras you fancy
Leave to simmer for 30 minutes

Serve with rice or potatoes

I'll now expand on each of the above in turn.

I use one medium size onion and 2 cloves of garlic per person, but this is down to personal taste. If I have any I'll use leek here as well, about 1/3 of a medium leek per person. I use extra virgin olive oil for frying, and one normal sized eating spoon full of it is enough for the 2 of us. Any more and it won't be so good for dieters. Because there is so little oil, you need to fry for a little longer than normal on a lower heat or it'll stick. Do the onions (+ leek) for 5 minutes then add the garlic and do for another 5. If they go dark brown they're overdone.

Add whatever herbs and spices you fancy. For the two of us, I'd use a heaped teaspoon each of sage, basil, oregano and coriander plus some paprika and a little chilli powder (less than I'd like as Helen doesn't like things too hot). Perhaps some Rosemary, turmeric, garam masala, cumin or whatever else I have if I fancy it. Just bung in whatever you like and use loads of it. About a minute should be enough.

Next, chuck in your vegetables. These should be reasonably well chopped but not too small otherwise they'll just disintegrate and the final meal will lack texture, but not too large or they won't cook. Use whatever you have, and the greater variety the better. Any of these are good:

sweet potato, squash, carrot, parsnip, broccoli, celery, cauliflower, Swede, turnip, and so on. But not potato. You can also stick in any other sorts of things you have around. I often use tinned butter beans and chick peas as we both like them. I sometimes use lentils and TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein - Soya) too, and if you do this a little more water needs to be added.

Now throw in a tin of chopped tomatoes, or if you prefer chop up a load of tomatoes yourself and chuck them in. At this point, add as little water as you can get away with. Less than half a cup is normally enough for the 2 of us. If you have any stock, use that instead. I normally add a teaspoon of marmite or vegetable stock powder at this point but if you've used stock you won't have to (unless you want to anyway). Salt and pepper to taste. Also add whatever else you like - soy sauce, tabasco, whatever.

Extras. Seeds are good for you and add texture and taste. I normally add some sunflower seeds and some pumpkin seeds. It doesn't need much, one or two eating spoons of each is enough. If you like nuts, add some of those. Brazils and Walnuts go well, but chop them pretty small. And again, whatever else you fancy. Sultanas make a nice change sometimes.

The just leave it simmering for 30-40 minutes with a lid on, stirring occasionally. If it looks runny, take the lid off to let it reduce but if you do this increase the cook time a little. It should end up really thick, not at all like a soup - when served it should make a mound on the plate rather than a splat!

Serve with either rice or potatoes. I've been using brown rice recently as if I put it on when the above is all finished, it's ready at the same time.

A point I would repeat is that you can basically throw in whatever you have, and whatever you like. Make it thick and make it tasty. BUT, you do need to make sure you have lots of different vegetables in the house, preferably about 10 different types plus some stuff in tins - chick peas, butter beans, kidney beans and loads of tomatoes (fresh or tinned). I keep tomato puree in tins and add that sometimes too if I fancy it really tomatoey. The more stuff you have the better it will be, so get some seeds and nuts too. They cost a fair bit to buy but last ages. If there is a Julian Graves shop near you, they’re not too bad for this sort of stuff.

And there we have it. My apologies for not laying it out like a traditional recipe, but this is all out of my head and because of the huge number of ways it can be varied, it seemed better not to.

Cheers, Tom.