Vegetable couscous salad

175ml water, boiling

1 vegetable stock cube

100g couscous

1 medium tomato

1 spring onion

¼ cucumber

½ yellow pepper

4 dried apricots

1 x 15ml spoon parsley

2 x 15ml spoons low fat dressing

Kettle, measuring jug, measuring spoons, weighing scales, large bowl, fork, chopping board, sharp knife, can opener, scissors, mixing spoon.

1. Make up the stock by dissolving the stock cube in the boiling water.
2. Pour the stock over the couscous in a large bowl.
3. Fluff with a fork and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
4. Chop the tomato and cucumber into small chunks.
5. Slice the pepper into small strips.
6. Slice the dried apricots and parsley into small pieces.
7. Add all the vegetables to the couscous and snip the spring onions into the bowl using the scissors.
8. Stir everything together.
9. Add the dressing.

• Vary the vegetables in the couscous dish, e.g. use celery, sweetcorn, peas, olives or mushrooms.
• Try adding some chickpeas, chopped cooked chicken, ham, tuna or chunks of feta cheese.
• Use flaked almonds or raisins instead of the dried apricots.

Why not use the Explore Food calculator, the British Nutrition Foundation's free online nutritional analysis programme, to calculate the nutritional information for this and other Food - a fact of life recipes?