Recently one of my clients asked for family friendly meal ideas that she could make in advance and reheat when she gets home from evening runs - ideally vegetarian or pescatarian. You don’t need to be flying in the door from a work out - maybe you’ve just had a busy day at work and need something easy to get on the table that’s healthy and tasty. Here’s some of my favourites - click on either the title or the image for the recipe. If your family screws their nose up at fish or veggies dishes I’ve written another blog here with 6 fast, easy and healthy tray bakes.

1. One pan Mexican Quinoa and Black Bean bowl

My family’s absolute favourite vegetarian meal is my One pan Mexican Quinoa and Black Bean bowl. It reheats beautifully and usually there are left overs for the next day.

2. Ottolenghi’s braised chickpeas with carrots, dates and feta

If you fancy a traybake which you can set and forget in your oven, check out this amazing Ottolenghi braised chickpea dish. I’m never organised enough to soak the chickpeas in advance so I use two tins of canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained) and reduce the water to about 500 mL. I like to wilt a bag of spinach and baby kale through at the end.

3. Fish burgers two ways

Fish is a bit harder to make ahead than vegetables but fish burgers always go down well in our house. I often make these quick and easy asian fishcakes from Jamie Oliver. If your kids don’t like asian flavours you could also try my easy fish burgers which I serve with sweet potato wedges and a bag of pre cut kale slaw mix that I dress with extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard and a dash of honey.

4. MISO SALMON TRAYBAKE

Salmon handles a tray bake situation well and is cooked through in 12-15 minutes. I like this miso salmon traybake from Lyndi Cohen. Or try my tray baked salmon with green beans and salsa verde.

5. White FISH spaghetti BOLOGNESE

For something a bit different I like to make Adam Liaw’s awesome fish bolognese sauce. I like to serve it with half zucchini noodles (which you can buy pre made in the supermarket) and half wholemeal spaghetti (I like the Barilla wholemeal or the 3 grain stoneground organic in the fresh section. You can also try the San Remo pulse pasta for extra fibre and protein). Now I know fish bolognese can be hard to get your head around but it’s delicious, trust me! If you just can’t go there then Jill Dupleix’s mushroom, lentil and miso bolognese has plenty of protein with a umami blast from mushrooms, miso and soy.

So, tell me - what are your go-to recipes for getting dinner on the table quick smart? Any recipes I should check out?

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Rachel is a university qualified Clinical Nutritionist based in Balmain.  She is also the busy working mum of two teenagers, so is practical and realistic with her advice . Rachel offers private consultations to improve your family's health and well-being. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram for more healthy tips and tricks.