Last updated at 12:09, Sunday, 09 March 2008

IT’S ALL very well trying to be good and healthy at home, but what about when those mayonnaise-laden sandwiches start winking at you in the staff canteen?

Half the battle is to be prepared.

If you're having a tough day at work, it's easy to feel you deserve a reward for all your efforts, but please, don't fall off the wagon.

It's always good to be able to have something hot, especially with the wild winds outside, to prepare you for the afternoon's work.

But you also need to have something that is quick and easy to prepare at work.

Soup and a homemade sandwich is a filling, satisfying and achievable lunch that everyone can prepare for themselves.

By knowing what is in your sandwich, you are controlling what goes into your body. Pre- packaged ones are notoriously high in fat and salt.

Soup is a cinch to make and you can prepare one great big serving to last you the whole week.

Pop it in a plastic tub and heat up in the microwave at work. If just one flavour for a whole week seems a bit too tedious, then make another version somewhere midweek to vary the flavour. We'll show you how.

Tangy tomato soup (that can be jazzed up)

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 sticks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Olive oil

2 tins chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

2 vegetable stock cubes

3 tablespoons tomato puree

1 pinch sugar

2 teaspoons mixed herbs

Salt and pepper

In a large sauce pan, gently fry off the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in a splash of oil until the onion begins to turn translucent and the vegetables get a tiny bit of colour.

Add the bay leaves, mixed herbs and tomato puree. Fry for another couple of minutes.

Add the sugar, stock cubes and tinned tomatoes. Top up with a couple of pints of water.

Simmer for around 20 minutes. Let the soup reduce to a consistency that you like. We like ours reasonably thick, not too watery. If you over-reduce, you can always top up with a drop of water. Remove the bay leaves before you puree.

Blend to a fine consistency using your preferred method of blending. A handheld blender is easiest.

Taste and adjust the sea soning if necessary.

If you have this soup on day one, but want variations for the rest of the week, here are a few:

Add: finely chopped fresh basil, a swirl of aged balsamic vinegar, a dollop of extra light garlic and herb cream cheese (mix well to blend into the soup), a dollop of pesto, a swirl of sweet chilli sauce, a dollop of light crème fraiche, a few parmesan shavings or some Worcestershire sauce.

If you take another look at the recipe and omit the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar and mixed herbs, you have the base for another flavour soup if you need a change.

By substituting those ingredients for others you could make almost any flavour pureed soup if you follow the basic method. Here are a few suggestions:

Mushroom and tarragon, mixed vegetable, carrot and coriander, leek and potato, curried parsnip or broccoli and Stilton for instance. All of these soups can be healthy and filling.

Team up the soup with a homemade sandwich. To avoid soggy fillings, why not take separately and assemble in situ.

Here are a few ideas for healthy fillings:

Egg 'mayonnaise' (without the mayo)

Blend some boiled eggs with hummus, enough to form the usual egg mayo consistency.

Taste and maybe add pepper, but it probably doesn't need salt. Garnish with watercress, mustard cress or chives.

Prawns with a yoghurt dressing

Take some good quality defrosted prawns (squeeze out any excess water other wise the filling will turn very watery) and mix with ½ chopped spring onion, a touch of fresh green chilli, a squeeze of lemon, some zero fat Greek yoghurt and salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh spinach leaves.

Sweet chilli chicken

Mix some cooked shredded chicken (you could use those cooked chicken fillets from the deli section) with some extra light cream cheese, chopped fresh coriander and Lingham's sweet chilli sauce. There's probably enough seasoning in this as it is.

Spiced tuna

Mix a tin of tuna with some chopped cucumber, some tinned sweet corn, chopped red onion, a chopped pepperdew or two, some avocado, extra light garlic and herb cream cheese and a dash of sweet chilli sauce. This is also great on a baked potato.

First published at 16:24, Thursday, 07 February 2008
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk