Eggplant and black bean chilli? Yes please! This has plenty of warmth (chilli and cumin) as well as fresh clean flavours from thyme and tomato. Pile it on corn chips, or your favourite kind of mash (soft polenta is a winner for me)and add some salad to make sure you eat all the colours... Vegan, DF and GF

Palak paneer is pretty much a saagwalla curry/gravy with a firm fresh cheese (paneer), but you could equally make it with firm tofu for a vegan version. I was very excited when I found the dried fenugreek leaf at the Indian spice mart on St Andrews Street! (it's called kasuri methi - a bag lasts a long time and is worth having). The green gravy is great with lamb or goat or paneer or just about anything... Vegan and DF with tofu, otherwise Vegetarian and GF

Pearl couscous is very handy - cooks really quickly and is very versatile. Here it's teamed up with some leafy greens (Kale probably or silverbeet or chard...) and Swiss brown mushrooms. You can have this meal on the table in 15 minutes and it's tasty, satisfying, and has plenty of veg... Vegan, DF. You can sub short grain rice for the couscous to make this GF as well. Pearl couscous with greens and mushrooms... yum.

This is a winter salad - weather lately has been a bit wintry, so seems reasonably appropriate! Small carrots and wedges of red onion are roasted up with honey, cinnamon and olive oil. Buckwheat groats toasted then simmered in veg stock... prunes cut into strips, walnuts chopped, mustardy vinaigrette whisked together, and then the whole lot compiled with a crumble of goats' cheese. Oh, and some flatleaf parsley... Vegan, DF and GF

And then, because I am relentlessly optimistic this is a Spring Chicken salad! it has rocket and lemon to give it zing, quinoa, chicken and cashews for substance and general yum, and peas for light and fresh. Sounds quite springy. DF and GF

Pork and apple together is an axiomatic pairing - that's just how good they are together... Adding apple to these meatballs makes them light, tender and extra delicious! tomato gravy, loads of oregano... super yum. Have them with some pasta or some polenta, or whatever you like really...Pork and Apple meatballs are  DF and GF