LUNCHBOX

Rachel Harlow, 33, personal assistant Moules marinieres (steamed mussels with shallots and wine) with three slices of French bread, fries and mayonnaise. One large glass of white wine, water, coffee with milk.

This lunch is a very good example of how to eat a healthy meal when eating out, says Juliette Kellow, state registered dietician and associate editor of Slimming magazine. Even with chips and a small amount of mayonnaise, less than one-third of the calories come from fat, well within healthy eating guidelines. The types of fat are also the correct proportions, with most coming from unsaturates rather than saturates.

Moules marinieres is a really good main course because the mussels, the main ingredient, are very low in fat. Also, this dish does not usually have oil added during the cooking process. Having French bread without the butter also helps keep the fat content down.

This lunch is also packed with iron and zinc, two important minerals needed for good health. Mussels are an excellent source of both.

Not quite so good is the lack of vegetables and salad. The target is five servings of fruit and vegetables every day - the shallots in the mussels definitely don't count! A mixed salad would make a great accompaniment and would help increase the vitamin C and fibre content of the meal.

One large glass of wine provides about two units of alcohol which is within sensible drinking limits (women should have a maximum of two to three units of alcohol a day).

All in all, a pretty good lunch!n

Glenda Cooper

Calories: 1165

47g protein 16 per cent of calories

116g of carbohydrate 38 per cent of calories

37g of fat 29 per cent of calories

10g of saturates 8 per cent of calories

30g of alcohol 17 per cent of calories

6g of fibre