Your children's favourite take-away meals needn't be unhealthy or expensive. Food Editor of Pick n Pay's Fresh Living magazine, Anke Roux, shows you how to make them at home…

Chicken and sweet-corn nuggets

These oven-baked nuggets can be made in a variety of different shapes and sizes. This recipe serves four little ones…

Ingredients:

Instructions:
Preheat grill.
Heat oil in a pan and sauté onion and pepper until soft.
Add garlic, fry for one minute then cool slightly.
Add onions, pepper and garlic to remaining ingredients and mix well with hands.
Season with salt and milled pepper.
Divide mixture into 24 balls and flatten slightly, or use cookie cutters to create shapes.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm.
Place patties on a greased oven tray and spray with olive oil spray or brush with oil.
Grill for five minutes until golden, turn and grill for a further five minutes or until cooked through.
Serve with salad.

Mini burgers

These patties can be made in advance and frozen, then simply defrosted and cooked when required. This recipe makes 12 burgers…

For the patties:

To serve:

Instructions:
Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onion and baby marrow until soft.
Add garlic and fry for one minute.
Cool slightly.
Place in a bowl with remaining ingredients.
Mix and season.
Divide the mixture into 12 balls and flatten into patties.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate until needed.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and fry patties until cooked.
Serve on mini hamburger rolls with lettuce, tomato and tomato sauce.

COOK'S TIPS: Order mini rolls from your Pick n Pay baker if they're not available ready-made in store. Ostrich, chicken or turkey mince can also be used in the place of beef.

Parmesan fish fingers

Fish fingers are a staple in many freezers, but they're far tastier — and healthier — when made with fresh fish. This recipe serves four.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
Slice fish into 'fingers' about 1.5cm thick and season.
Blitz cream crackers in a blender to form breadcrumbs.
Mix with Parmesan cheese.
Toss fish fingers in flour and shake off excess.
Dip fish into egg then roll in breadcrumbs to cover.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes so crust can set.
Heat 1cm oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry fish fingers until cooked through and golden in colour.
Drain off oil on kitchen paper.
Serve fish with crispy oven chips and lemon wedges.

COOK'S TIPS: Replace fish with calamari steaks. Freeze raw fish fingers on a baking tray. When frozen, pop into a plastic bag and freeze until needed (this way they will stay separated). Use breadcrumbs in place of cream cracker crumbs.