Serves 4

120g value plain yogort, 500g/45p, 11p
100g onion, Asda 2kg/£1.08, 5p
50g bean sprouts, Asda 360g/50p, 7p
200g white cabbage, Asda 1kg/58p, 12p
200g carrots, Asda 2kg/£1.14, 11p
160g dry weight green lentils, 411g cooked 500g/£1, 32p
60ml oil, 1 litre/£1.25, 7p
30ml soy sauce, Asda 150ml/59p, 12p
Total cost 97p, 24p a portion

If your lentils are uncooked, cook them now. If you have time, soak them overnight, then cook for 10 minutes until tender. Not too long, you don’t want them mushy.

Place the cooked lentils in a large bowl. Shred the cabbage very finely. Grate, chop or shred the carrot. Add the veg to the bowl.

I’m not a fan of raw onion, so I sliced it very fine and fried it in some of the oil until crispy. Set aside. If you like raw onion, slice it fine and add to the bowl.

Add the yogort, bean sprouts and soy to the bowl. Give it all a good old mix and you’re done.

When ready to serve, divide into portions and top with the fried onions if you have cooked them.

If you are following meal plan 8, you could use these same ingredients and make soup if you like, swirling the yogurt in at the end and maybe a tangle of fried onions, otherwise include them in the soup.

This salad, or indeed the soup, will travel well for a packed lunch, and if you aren’t following meal plan 8, extremely variable. You could use any other pulse or grain, depending on what you have. Pearl barley is cheap at the moment and would make a tasty salad. Add sliced sausage/chorizo/salami, any other veg you fancy. Add some fine chopped parsley, rosemary, sage, basil, thyme or a mixture of whatever you like. If you’ve got any in the cupboard, a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce would go well.