Monday

Whether it's stew, pot roast or a ground meat dish, it's always easy to make a bigger batch of a dish on the weekend, and then reheat it in the microwave in the morning and place it in a Thermos container. Leftover roast is also very good cold.

Tuesday - Ten weeks of sandwiches

1. France - Fill a length of baguette with ham or pâté, sliced Gruyère, lettuce and a little hot mustard
2. Italy - Crostini - grill some hearty country bread and mozzarella: top as desired. Suggestions: capers, or fresh tomatoes with basil and garlic. Accompany with an olive-oil dressed salad
3. Italy - Turkey and roast pepper Panini is always a welcome replacement for a sandwich
4. Netherlands - "Toast Wilhelmine" : cubed Gouda, sliced almonds and pineapple chunks tossed with mayonnaise.
5. Lebanon - Pita bread filled with tabbouleh salad and cold chicken (a nutritious choice for exam days!)
6. Quebec - White bread and egg salad (chopped hard-boiled eggs mixed with mayonnaise, a little salt and chives)
7. Israel - Bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon (for a more economical version, combine one or two slices of smoked salmon with a 250 g package of cream cheese and 4 tbsp. milk or cream in a blender: you'll have enough for 4 bagels)
8. Mexico - tortillas or tacos with mild salsa, sour cream, ground beef cooked with onion and broken up with a fork, chick peas or kernel corn
9. Quesadillas with pears and prosciutto
10. Ham, cheddar and pear sandwich - top with fresh spinach leaves and some honey mustard.
11. Need inspiration? Check out our "sandwich" listing.

Wednesday - Ten weeks of salads

To add the necessary grain and cereals component, complete the menu with a muffin

1. Italy - Caesar salad with sliced cold chicken
2. Thailand - Pineapple boats - combine pineapple chunks and cold cubed chicken with mayonnaise and a touch of curry powder - you can serve it in the hollowed out pineapple half!
3. Quebec - tuna and potato salad (boiled potatoes, cooled and diced, mayonnaise thinned with a little milk and lemon juice, salt, pepper, green onions, celery, canned tuna and paprika)
4. Greece - Greek salad - tomato, cucumber, peppers, olives, feta cheese, with olive oil dressing
5. Salad of shrimp (use small northern shrimp for a more economical version), artichoke hearts or hearts of palm, small dice of mango with balsamic vinegar
6. Orange chicken salad - sliced chicken on Boston lettuce, dressed with orange juice, olive oil and honey, sprinkled with walnuts, raisins or other fruit
7. Pasta salad - prepare your favourite; add color with diced or julienned green and red peppers, kernel corn, tomato, etc.
8. Spinach salad with hard-boiled egg, orange sections and walnuts; drizzle with an oil, wine vinegar and honey dressing
9. Spain - Tenerife salad: prawns (use small northern shrimp for a more economical version), bananas, walnuts, and frisée lettuce dressed with mayonnaise or yogurt thinned with the juice of an orange.
10. Morocco - Grated carrot salad with orange
11. Want more ideas? See the recipes under our "salads" heading

Thursday - Ten weeks of meats and cold cuts

1. Italy - salad topped with alternating slices of ham and cantaloupe, with Italian bread or rusks on the side
2. Iran - kabobs - these beef skewers are excellent cold, served with plain yogurt seasoned with a little mint or basil
3. China - Cold chicken with lemon and herbs
4. Japan - Yakitori - (chicken skewers served cold on rice or bean sprouts, accompanied by a soya sauce-based dip)
5. Quebec - roast pork (left over from the night before) with apple sauce or potato salad
6. Cold sliced meat loaf with tomato preserves
7. United States - Sliced cold turkey with ambrosia salad (a combination of fruit, marshmallows and flaked coconut)
8. France - Sausage Rolls or "Pigs in Blankets" - roll up a grilled sausage of your choice in puff pastry and seal at the ends; bake for 15 to 20 minutes; excellent cold, on their own or with ketchup
9. Germany - German sausages (knackwurst style) with sauerkraut or cabbage salad
10. Quebec - lamb meat balls stuffed with fresh grapes and cumin - can be served cold; replace the lamb with ground beef if you wish

Friday - Ten weeks of dairy, vegetables, combinations

1. Russia - Russian style stuffed eggs: hard boil the eggs, peel and cut in half lengthwise; remove the yolks and combine with mayonnaise and finely chopped cooked vegetables (use frozen or canned); fill the egg whites with the mixture; line a container with lettuce and place the eggs on top, surrounded by the remaining vegetable mixture
2. Hungary - Stuffed raw peppers - a traditional Hungarian filling is made from sheep's milk cheese, butter, chopped onion and diced salami, seasoned with paprika, cumin, chives, mustard, but you could also fill peppers with a rice or tiny pasta salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, etc.
3. Middle East - Hummus (a dip of puréed chick peas, garlic, lemon juice and sesame paste), served with pita bread and raw vegetables
4. France - Ratatouille (a Provençal vegetable stew made with eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomato, onion, etc.) - can be served hot or cold accompanied by baguette slices
5. Japan - Maki - Maki is rolled sushi. It may include several ingredients in the centre: raw fish, fish roe, omelette or vegetables: replace the raw fish with canned tuna, cooked beaten egg, etc.; leave out the Japanese horseradish and add a few drops of barbecue sauce or ketchup; serve with soya sauce diluted with a little water and a pinch of sugar
6. France - cold quiche with cheese, ham, spinach, mushroom, etc.
7. Greece - sliced sausage, feta cheese, tomatoes, olives, served with pita bread or a hearty rustic bread
8. Sticks of cheddar cheese, apples and raw vegetables with different dips, served with crackers or a puffed rice cake
9. Provence - "Petits farcis" - these are vegetables stuffed with a mixture of braised meat, parmesan cheese, onion and garlic, bound with eggs and bread crumbs and baked. They can be prepared for an evening meal and the leftovers served cold for the next day's lunch.
10. Italy - bruschetta: chopped fresh tomatoes, seasoned with a little olive oil, garlic and basil; serve with toasted baguette rounds

Welcome back to school!