I’m out of the remove and repair phase and trying to find a regular set up that isn’t hugely time consuming. I thought the phyto lunchbox would be good for work each day, but I’ve remembered that I really don’t enjoy salad. It’s also cold so I would prefer something warm. I was thinking of having a fruit salad in the morning to try to get my phyto hit then making the happy guts soup for lunch. Any thoughts?

What storage and cooking facilities do you have at home and work? Freezer, slow cooker/ crock pot, regular or combi microwave, plug in sandwich toaster/ griddle/ panini press?

Try to maintain a really wide variety in your meals/ combinations of foods; not sugary fruit nor the same lower nutrient protein (chicken) every day.

Eggs are ideal for breakfasts or lunches: portioned by nature, don’t need refrigerating, work well with minimally cooked vegetables. Eggs can be cooked in a microwave container, in a ziplock freezer bag in boiled water from the kettle, or there are specialised cooking gadgets (omelette/ poached/ boiled).

Similarly fish fillets – rainbow trout, sea bass, salmon – can be steamed quickly and easily in a microwave container, or poached using the same ziplock/ kettle method as eggs. Canned oily fish – mackerel, sardines, pilchards – can be eaten at room temperature or warmed through/ grilled.

BTW oily fish is our only dietary source of vitamin D (sunlight is too weak October to March here in the UK) and anti inflammatory long chain omega-3s. Fish and other seafood encourages different gut microbes than land animal meats.

Vegetable-based curries and casseroles reheat well for lunches, or there are the trendy Kilner jar noodle/ rice/ vegetable pots for which you just need a kettle.

What don’t you like about salads other than them being chilled? There are an infinite number of ingredients and dressings. They don’t have to ever include a pile of leaves!

Canned beans or lentils, nuts or larger seeds, root vegetables all make salads heartier/ less wintery and do much better out of the refrigerator than delicate lettuce, tomato, avocado and cucumber.

For speed (including faster clearing up!) I prefer potato peeler ribbons or mandoline slices to grated salad vegetables. You must cook regular potatoes but beetroot, smaller parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots and smaller celeriac can be eaten raw. I also like romanesco cauliflower, tenderstem broccoli, fine asparagus and banana shallots in winter salads.