How to get your 5-a-day in one go plus 5 ways to vary it

I'm trying hard to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables (especially the vegetables). This is partly because I prefer a positive approach to healthy eating - ie eat lots of good stuff, rather than obsessing about cutting out the bad stuff. Plus, as I mentioned recently, there's good evidence that eating vegetables and fruit is linked to a longer life - and that seven portions is better than five (five is the current UK official recommendation, based on the World Health Organisation.)

Anyway, here's a dish which is both easy to make and makes eating veggies quite easy. You can even eat five portions in one go this way, though if you have a smaller appetite or plan to serve something else with it, then you might not quite manage five. (A portion = 80g, or to put it another way, 400g = the amount of fruit and vegetables the World Health Organisation recommend you have in a day.)

Depending on your appetite and what you have with it, this might make four to six servings. I like to roast all the vegetables on a Sunday evening and then I've got a few days' supply of packed lunches.

Introduction

1 large aubergine
3 peppers, yellow or red or a mixture
3 courgettes
3 onions, any kind
4 ripe tomatoes, or a punnet of cherry tomatoes
1-2 tsp olive oil, or a cooking spray

Bulghur wheat, to serve

Method

Heat the oven to gas mark 6/ 180C/ 360F.

Slice the courgettes into slices about 1cm/ half an inch thick and the aubergines into smaller cubes. Cut the peppers into chunks and the onions into wedges. Put the peppers and onions onto one baking sheet (you can use a little olive oil or cooking spray if you want, though I don't find this essential) and the courgettes and aubergines onto another (I would use a little olive oil or spray on these.)

Cook for about half an hour (check after 20 minutes in case they are cooking more quickly) or until all the vegetables are soft and juicy, and tinged with gold or brown in places.

Meanwhile, cook the bulghur wheat according to the packet instructions.

Five variations:

1. Drizzle with pesto and garnish with basil leaves.

2. Blend half the vegetables with some tinned tomatoes to give you a roasted vegetable sauce to serve with bulghur wheat, couscous or pasta. You can then add the remaining veg back in for some texture.

3. Serve with cooked Puy lentils or other green lentils, instead of the bulghur wheat. I like to add a couple of bay leaves to the lentils as they cook. Or you could use tinned lentils, though I find the texture is never as good.

4.  Crumble some goats' cheese over the top.

5. Roast a whole bulb of garlic while you are cooking the vegetables, then add the cooked, peeled, whole garlic cloves to the vegetables.