BUSY family life, with parents and kids rushing all over the place to activities and events, can get in the way of mealtimes.

But sitting down to a healthy meal together is a great way of pressing the pause button on a hectic day.

The Scottish Government’s Eat Better Feel Better campaign has enlisted the support of Healthy Helpers – parents armed with tips on how to make eating healthily much easier to achieve.

Erin Davies, who works in customer services, has signed up to pass on tips and advice to families struggling to keep on top of mealtimes.

The 28-year-old lives in Hamilton with her husband Christopher, 29, who is a site manager and their two children Logan, four, and six-months-old Tilly.

Erin has always loved to bake but her interest in cooking began when she started weaning her son Logan.

“When I was first weaning with Logan, I was very aware of everything that I was giving him and I wanted to make sure that he had a balanced diet,” she explained.

“I quickly realised that I should pay better attention to my own eating habits. Ultimately, I wanted to set a good example to my kids. I joined a Weight Watchers group and still go as a way to maintain my healthy weight and to encourage other members too.”

Erin’s top tips for taking the stress out of mealtimes include quickie meals such as French toast with beans and cheese and tuna with mixed bean salad, plus batch freezing individual portions of dishes such as spaghetti Bolognese and cottage pie.

Her go-to recipe to make for batch freezing is cottage pie.

“Although this takes a while to make, it lasts throughout the week and it can be bulked up with all sorts of veg,” says Erin. “I like to use a meat or lentil base for the pie, fill it with different kinds of veg, and top it with half mashed potato half parsnip mash.

“It’s an easy way for the kids to get some of their five-a- day.”

Don’t miss the Evening Times Eat Better Feel Better column every Thursday. As well as providing recipes for healthy, balanced dishes that can be made at home, we’ll be including tips on how to save money and get the kids involved in cooking. Discover more online at eatbetterfeelbetter.co.uk and eveningtimes.co.uk

Inspired by Erin, here is an easy recipe for a tasty and affordable cottage pie.

Cottage Pie

Ready in 1 hr 5 mins

Serves 4, costs less than £5

Ingredients

1 Pack Minced Beef, Lean (400g)

1 Leek, Medium Sized (160g)

1 Parsnip, Medium Sized (90g)

2 Carrots, Medium Sized (160g)

4 Tablespoons Tomato Puree (60g)

1 Tablespoon Plain Flour (20g)

3 Cups Water (500ml)

1 Stock Cube (Beef or Vegetable), Reduced Salt (7g)

1 Pinch Ground Black Pepper (1g)

5 Potatoes, Large sized (1kg)

½ Cup Semi Skimmed Milk (75ml)

2 Teaspoons Low Fat Spread (10g)

Time Saver Tip: You can prepare this pie in advance and pop it in the oven when you're ready to serve it up.

Tip for Kids: Let the kids get involved by asking them to wash the veg. Remember to chop it into bite-sized pieces for them.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC / 160oC fan oven / 350oF / gas mark 4.

Wash the leek, remove its outer layer and slice. Peel and dice parsnip, carrots and potatoes.

In a large pan cook the mince until it starts to brown then add the leek and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the parsnip and carrots to the mince and cook for 5 minutes. Next add the flour and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Dissolve the stock cube in boiling water and add to the pan along with the tomato puree.

Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes until sauce begins to thicken and vegetables soften.

In another pan boil the potatoes until soft then drain them, add the milk and low fat spread then mash with a fork or masher. Add pepper to taste.

Add mince to oven proof dish and top with potato leaving no gaps.

Cook in oven for 30-40 minutes, serve when potato has turned golden.