66 recipes, every one costed and counted.

Honey soy beef meatballs with rice and greens

Beef meatballs browned until they are properly dark, then tossed through a sticky honey soy glaze with rice and greens. Good hot and just as good cold the next day.

Sweet chilli chicken and broccoli stir-fry with egg noodles

Chicken and broccoli in a sticky sweet chilli glaze, tossed through egg noodles. Ready faster than delivery, and cheaper too.

$4.75a serving

56gprotein

Indian

Chicken, potato and broccoli curry finished with yoghurt

Mild, warming and properly filling. Soft potato, tender chicken and a spoonful of yoghurt stirred through at the end.

$5.64a serving

68gprotein

VegetarianBudget friendly

Red lentil and chickpea dhal with rice and spinach

Gently spiced, generous and comforting. Soft lentils and chickpeas over rice, finished with lemon and wilted spinach.

$2.96a serving

46gprotein

40 min4 servings

Butter chicken with basmati rice

Mild, rich and a genuine crowd pleaser. Chicken thigh simmered in a spiced tomato and coconut sauce until it turns a proper deep orange.

$4.27a serving

60gprotein

Butter chicken mac and cheese

Butter chicken's spiced tomato sauce, blended smooth and stirred through macaroni with two cheeses instead of naan and rice. Ridiculous on paper, genuinely good on the table.

$4.50a serving

61gprotein

Italian

High proteinRed meat

Beef and mushroom ragu with spaghetti

A deep, slow-simmered sauce where the mushrooms do as much work as the beef. Worth the extra half hour on the stove.

$7.31a serving

60gprotein

60 min4 servings

Pork and vegetable bolognese with penne

A slow-simmered sauce, sweet with carrot and rich with pork. Proper comfort food that happens to be full of vegetables.

Tuna, tomato and chilli pasta

A cupboard dinner that tastes like you planned it. Ready in the time the pasta takes to boil.

$5.07a serving

23 min4 servings

Bacon and chicken tagliatelle with cannellini beans

Crisp bacon, seared chicken, a quick tomato sauce and cannellini beans that turn a pasta night into a proper meal. Parmesan grated over at the table.

Creamy chicken, bacon and pesto pasta

Seared chicken and crisp bacon through a basil pesto cream sauce, tossed with pasta until every piece is coated. Rich enough that a big handful of spinach earns its place.

Creamy Italian sausage rigatoni

Beef mince seasoned until it tastes like a good Italian sausage, in a cream and parmesan sauce with rigatoni. Rich, but the chilli flakes keep it from being heavy.

Blackened chicken alfredo

Chicken rubbed hard with paprika and chilli until it is properly dark, sliced over a garlicky parmesan cream sauce. Simple, and a genuine step up from a jar.

$4.78a serving

64gprotein

Beef and vegetable lasagna

Layers of a slow beef and vegetable sauce, pasta sheets and a cheesy cream sauce, baked until the top is properly golden. A weekend project that pays you back all week.

$6.01a serving

54gprotein

75 min4 servings

Mexican

High proteinRed meat

Beef and black bean burrito bowls

Smoky cumin and paprika beef over rice with black beans and sweet corn. Built to sit in a container and still taste good.

Fish tacos with cabbage slaw

Warm spiced fish, cold crunchy slaw and a squeeze of lemon. A proper Friday dinner that takes half an hour.

Black bean and kumara chilli

Smoky, thick and a little sweet from the kumara. One of those pots that tastes like it took longer than it did.

$4.58a serving

31gprotein

Charred corn, chicken and lime pasta salad

Blackened corn, seared chicken and a good hit of lime and coriander through pasta. Built to sit in the fridge and get better over a couple of days.

$6.50a serving

55gprotein

High proteinBatch cook

Chicken enchilada rice bake

Shredded chicken thigh and black beans stirred through brown rice in a smoky enchilada sauce, then baked under a layer of reduced-fat tasty cheese until it browns at the edges. One dish in, one dish out, with enough left over for lunch the next day.

$5.52a serving

55gprotein

Chipotle chicken and rice bowls with lime crema

Chicken thigh rubbed in chipotle and lime, grilled until charred at the edges, over rice with black beans and charred corn, finished with a lime crema made from low-fat Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream. Smoky, a little sharp, and stacked with protein in a bowl you build once and eat from all week.

Queso chicken and rice

Chicken breast simmered right through a queso sauce built from low-fat Greek yoghurt and a little reduced-fat cream cheese, spooned over rice so every grain gets some of it. Smoky, cheesy comfort food that happens to be light on the fat it usually carries.

Beef and bean chilli cheese pasta bake

Beef mince and black beans in a proper chilli-spiced tomato sauce, tossed through penne and baked under melted cheese until it's bubbling and golden, then finished with a swirl of low-fat Greek yoghurt for a cool, tangy contrast.

$7.13a serving

59gprotein

high-proteinmeal-prep

Loaded Sweet Potato Beef Mince Bowls

Baked kumara loaded with seasoned lean beef mince, creamy Greek yoghurt, avocado, melted cheese, pickled red onion, coriander and a drizzle of honey.

$12.71a serving

69gprotein

70 min2 servings

Mediterranean

High proteinOne tray

Lemon and herb chicken traybake with kumara

One tray, one oven, almost nothing to wash. The kumara goes sweet and caramelised at the edges while the chicken stays juicy.

$6.32a serving

61gprotein

52 min4 servings

Baked fish with lemon potatoes and green beans

Light but not thin. The potatoes soak up lemon and oil in the oven while the fish steams gently on top.

Halloumi and roast vegetable couscous

Grilled halloumi that squeaks when you bite it, next to couscous loaded with charred capsicum, courgette and kumara. Lemon and herbs keep it tasting fresh rather than heavy.

Herby salmon and white fish traybake

Salmon and white fish fillets baked over capsicum, courgette and kumara until the vegetables catch a bit of colour and the fish flakes at a touch. Lemon and herbs are the only sauce it needs.

$11.50a serving

High proteinBudget friendly

One pot beef, lentil and bean ragù

Beef mince stretched further with red lentils and kidney beans, simmered in one pot until it's thick, deeply savoury and carries a serious amount of protein for the price of a jar of tomatoes. Good over pasta, rice or a slice of toast, and better again the day after it's made.

$5.05a serving

Thai

High proteinQuick

Peanut chicken noodles with cabbage

A rich, savoury peanut sauce over noodles, with cabbage and carrot for crunch. Tastes like takeaway and costs a fraction of it.

$5.27a serving

66gprotein

Thai basil chicken with fried egg and rice

Thailand's fastest weeknight fix: chicken chopped small and fried hard with garlic, chilli and a big handful of basil, piled over rice with a fried egg on top. Wok to table in half an hour.

$4.22a serving

Thai chicken larb with rice and lettuce cups

Chicken breast chopped small and fried hard, then tossed with lime, fish sauce, mint and coriander. Piled into crisp lettuce leaves with rice on the side. Very little fat for how much flavour it carries.

$4.97a serving

Middle Eastern

VegetarianGluten free

Shakshuka with chickpeas and spinach

Eggs poached in a smoky tomato and capsicum sauce, with chickpeas for substance. One pan, and bread is optional.

$5.73a serving

31gprotein

Chicken shawarma bowls with couscous

Chicken thigh rubbed with cumin and paprika until it is dark at the edges, next to couscous, cucumber and a tahini yoghurt sauce. Good cold for lunches through the week.

$5.83a serving

65gprotein

Moroccan

Chicken and chickpea tagine with couscous

Warm spices, soft chicken and chickpeas in a sauce that is sweet and savoury at once. Not much work for how good it tastes.

$5.50a serving

74gprotein

Moroccan-spiced chicken and chickpea traybake

Chicken breast, chickpeas and capsicum roasted together with cumin and smoked paprika on one tray. Lean, high in protein, and mostly hands-off.

$4.68a serving

Spanish

Spanish-style beef meatballs with garlic couscous

Smoked paprika and cumin go into the meatballs themselves, then again into the tomato sauce they simmer in. Served over a quick garlic couscous.

$5.34a serving

Paella-style chicken and risoni with chorizo

Risoni stands in for the rice in a weeknight take on paella - it soaks up the same smoky base of chorizo, capsicum and paprika just as well.

$5.08a serving

54gprotein

40 min4 servings

Spanish-style garlic and herb chicken with roast potatoes

Chicken and potato roasted together with plenty of garlic, dried herbs and a squeeze of lemon. One tray, mostly hands-off, and lean enough to make the most of the ingredient list.

$3.94a serving

British

Pork and lentil shepherd's pie

Golden forked mash over a savoury pork and lentil filling. The best thing to come out of the oven all week.

$4.38a serving

61gprotein

60 min4 servings

Beef bolognese with potato mash

The same slow bolognese as always, just spooned over mash instead of pasta. Proper comfort food, and a good way to use up potatoes before they turn.

Crumbed chicken schnitzel with oven fries

Chicken breast flattened, crumbed and pan-fried until golden, served with oven fries and lemon. A takeaway favourite that's leaner than it looks once you make it with breast instead of a fattier cut.

$4.07a serving

Japanese

Chicken katsu rice bowls

Crumbed chicken fried until properly crisp, sliced over rice with a curry sauce that is mild, a little sweet, and nothing like a takeaway version. A quick cabbage slaw on the side cuts through it.

$5.03a serving

57gprotein

Teriyaki chicken noodle stir-fry

Chicken thigh glazed dark and sticky, tossed through egg noodles with carrot and green beans. Ready in the time it takes the noodles to cook.

$4.28a serving

25 min4 servings

Japanese-style tuna rice bowls with soy-ginger dressing

Canned tuna is the fast way into this bowl: flaked over rice with cucumber and carrot, and a soy-ginger dressing that does most of the work.

$6.72a serving

High proteinGluten free option

Korean

Chicken bibimbap bowls

Rice topped with separately seasoned vegetables, a fried egg and a spoon of gochujang, mixed together at the table. Everything looks like a lot of small jobs and comes together fast.

Korean beef bulgogi rice bowls

Thin-sliced beef in a gochujang and soy marinade, seared hard and fast, over rice with carrot and greens. One of the more direct routes to a genuinely good midweek dinner.

$7.73a serving

Honey gochujang chicken wraps

Chicken breast seared then simmered in a honey gochujang glaze, wrapped up with a quick sesame slaw and toasted until the outside is golden. Good hot or eaten cold the next day.

$5.51a serving

Korean chicken bulgogi cabbage cups

Thin-sliced chicken breast marinated in soy, honey and gochujang, seared hard, then piled into cabbage leaves with carrot. Rice on the side for the hungrier nights.

$3.48a serving

Portuguese

Peri-peri chicken with charred corn

Chicken thigh rubbed hard with paprika, garlic and lemon, grilled until the edges char, next to sweetcorn cooked the same way. A garlicky yoghurt dip and a quick tomato salad round it out.

$5.42a serving

55gprotein

Portuguese-style baked fish with potato and onion

White fish fillets baked over potato and onion with garlic, paprika and a good glug of olive oil. Simple, mostly hands-off, and very little fat for how satisfying it is.

$5.45a serving

Vietnamese

Vietnamese chicken vermicelli bowls

Grilled chicken over rice vermicelli with cucumber, carrot and cabbage, finished with a sweet and salty dipping sauce. Light, fast, and good cold the next day.

$6.12a serving

Vietnamese beef noodle salad

Thin-sliced beef seared hard and fast, tossed through vermicelli with mint, coriander and crushed peanuts. Sweet chilli and lime do the rest of the work.

$7.56a serving

High proteinGluten free option

25 min4 servings

Vietnamese caramel pork with rice

Pork belly braised in soy, honey and fish sauce until it turns glossy and deeply savoury-sweet. A spoon of the sauce over rice is most of the reason to make it.

$4.91a serving

American

High proteinComfort

Classic beef burgers with oven fries

A proper cheat night: beef patties with melted cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickle in a toasted bun, oven fries on the side. Not built to be lean, and that's the point once in a while.

$6.81a serving

53gprotein

Beef and queso mac and cheese

Beef mince simmered low and slow with smoky paprika and cumin until it tastes like it's been cooking all afternoon, then folded through macaroni in a queso sauce built from blended low-fat cottage cheese and a light tasty cheese instead of a block of full-fat cheddar. Silky, a little smoky, and just as rich as the diner version it's copying.

Creamy chicken parmesan pasta

Crumbed chicken breast, pan fried until the panko crust is deeply golden, sliced over penne in a tomato sauce loosened with blended low-fat cottage cheese and a little reduced-fat cream cheese instead of a full cream base. Parmesan and torn basil finish it the way a chicken parmigiana should taste, just lighter on the way there.

Buffalo chicken flatbreads with a lighter ranch drizzle

Shredded chicken tossed in buffalo hot sauce and piled onto a wholemeal wrap crisped up like a flatbread base, finished with a drizzle made from reduced-fat cream cheese and low-fat Greek yoghurt instead of a bottled ranch. Spicy, cheesy and genuinely crisp at the edges, with a good hit of protein in every piece.

Creamy garlic steak pasta

A whole seared beef rump steak, rested and sliced, laid over tagliatelle in a creamy garlic and parmesan sauce. Looks like a restaurant plate, takes under thirty minutes.

$6.93a serving

60gprotein

high-proteinmacro-friendly

Macro-Friendly Crispy Chicken Sandwich

A high-protein crispy chicken sandwich with a crunchy cornflake coating and a spicy, creamy Greek-yoghurt sauce.

$4.93a serving

56gprotein

35 min2 servings

Peruvian

High proteinQuick

Peruvian beef and pepper stir-fry with crispy fries

Beef rump strips seared hard and fast with red onion, tomato and capsicum, splashed with soy sauce and a little red wine vinegar the way lomo saltado always has been, then served straight over crispy oven fries instead of a separate side of rice. Salty, a little sharp, and done in under thirty minutes.

$8.19a serving