Dinner on the table by seven.

For the right meals, yes — but recipe times usually exclude chopping. In the calculator, 8 minutes of prep, 15 of cooking and a pan of water coming to the boil is 31 minutes done badly, or 22 with the kettle on and chopping happening while things cook. So the plan counts prep and cooking together, and tells you honestly when a meal won't fit.

Dried beans, whole roasts, braises and stews, baked potatoes and thick bone-in cuts. Those belong to weekends or a slow cooker. Weeknights are for thin, small or minced: stir-fries, quick pasta sauces, eggs and frittatas, wraps and quesadillas, fish fillets, grain bowls with pre-cooked grains, and soups with tinned pulses.

Not really. Frozen vegetables are picked and frozen quickly, tinned pulses save the hours that dried beans need, and pre-cooked grains turn a 25-minute meal into a 10-minute one. A stocked speed cupboard is what makes fast cooking possible at all.

Serve components separately, keep one accepted food on the plate, and offer without pressure — repeated calm exposure works better than negotiation, and dinner shouldn't become a battle. If eating is very restricted or a child is losing weight, that's worth raising with a doctor or health visitor.

As long as the basics hold: poultry, mince and sausages cooked through; leftovers cooled quickly, refrigerated within a couple of hours and used within a couple of days; rice cooled fast and reheated only once, until steaming hot. If anyone has an allergy, check labels yourself every time, since ingredients change.