The cost-of-living crisis shows no sign of abating and, as winter takes hold, nutrition is more important than ever, especially as free time can be scarce.

Reporters Chantal Weller and Ollie Leonard explored the benefits and pitfalls of ordering in or slaving over a stove in the evening…

With so many weekday hours centring around work, childcare, chores and other duties, time can slip away easily during the evenings.

It is no secret striking a balance between eating meals loaded with goodness and enjoying plenty of leisure time is key to a healthy lifestyle.

And so for one working week, Ollie freed up as many hours as humanely possible with the 'order delivery' button, while Chantal sharpened her blades to cook healthy cheap alternatives - and with some unexpected results.

Day One

Chantal – Lean homemade hamburger and chips

With all the ingredients laid out on my kitchen counter, soon enough beef mince, egg, onion and seasoning would become burger patties – and it would take just minutes to make.

Potato wedges were parboiled and cooked in the air fryer with only a dash of oil.

Another small drop was used to help the burgers along and, roughly 20 minutes later, dinner was ready and it looked appetising.

Served in a wholemeal bun and dressed with lettuce, tomato and ketchup, the burger looked the part but I must admit it could have done with a bit more oomph – you could tell it consisted of five per cent fat mince.

Next time I’ll spruce the dish up with some cheap and flavoursome ingredients like spices, garlic and celery salt.

But, that said, it was still tasty, left me full for the rest of the evening, wasn’t greasy and I didn’t feel bloated or lethargic like I have after some fast food spots.

It felt like a quick and fairly nutritious dish however, if you wanted to speed things up just prepare the patties the day before or quickly bump up the salad for more nutrients.

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Portion cost: £2.09

Calories: 550

Flavour: 3/5

Ollie – McDonald's Quarter Pounder with cheese meal

It wouldn't be a takeaway challenge without ordering a McDonald's, would it?

Having that typical Monday feeling, I arrived home from work tired and hungry.

Realising that I would not have to spend the night cooking was welcomed and I looked forward to my first takeaway of the week.

In an attempt not to spend a fortune on the challenge, I opted for a standard quarter pounder burger with medium fries and an Oasis.

As I press the order button the JustEat app tells me my food will be delivered to my door in 30 - 40 minutes.

To my dismay, over an hour later my stomach was still rumbling as the takeaway had yet to arrive.

After an hour and 10 minutes, the delivery driver finally knocked on my door.

However, as I began to tuck in I discovered the chips to be stone-cold and resembled the taste of cardboard rather than french fries.

That said, the burger itself was tasty, despite not being piping hot. It was served in a seeded bun and included a standard meat patty, onion, two pickles and was topped off with ketchup and mustard.

Overall, the meal was incredibly disappointing. I was not left feeling full and it would have been much quicker for me to make my own dinner. I was looking for a quick and easy meal but instead was left waiting.

As can be expected from McDonald's, the food wasn’t loaded with nutritional value and, after looking at Chantal's dinner, I think it was the much better option.

Delivery time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Portion cost: £8

Calories: 1,000

Flavour: 2/5

Day Two

Chantal – Reduced fat chicken tikka masala

When it comes to curry, flavour is everything so I felt the pressure preparing this one.

Being slightly more difficult to make because of the number of ingredients, I was in the kitchen for about an hour.

But the beauty was that when the preparation was done, I left the dish to simmer while the rice cooked.

After a long day, this dish is probably not going to be the favourable option to make, but gosh, it was packed with flavour and much more authentic than jarred sauces I’ve tried.

But, because the recipe I used recommends light coconut milk instead of cream and butter I did find myself longing for more dairy to help take the curry up a level.

Overall, I couldn’t complain and the plate looked great but after a long and busy day, you wouldn’t want to slave over a stove making it.

It included a huge array of spices, coconut milk, tomatoes and onions, and boasted plenty of flavour and fresh ingredients that I was excited for the final product.

After combining the spices with a mortar and pestle alongside the garlic and ginger, the classic tikka masala smell was already filling the room.

The onions began to soften in the pan before the chicken was added. Then in went the brilliant-smelling spices, chopped tomatoes and coconut milk. From here, the dish came along quickly.

I was left full for hours again and the meal came in at a reasonably price – in fact it was cheaper, tastier, more fulfilling and healthier than buying a ready meal.

Fat and sugar-wise, this dish was low in both because of the lack of butter and cream - both of which you would often find in a tikka masala sauce.

I also used very little oil and could have swapped this out for fry-light to make it that bit more healthier.

Cooking time: 1.5 hours

Portion cost: £2.67

Calories: 600

Flavour: 4/5

Ollie - Takeaway chicken tikka masala, pilau and naan

For my second meal of the week, it was time for my favourite of all takeaways.

An Indian takeaway has always been one of my go-to's and has been something I've ordered since I was a child. But what made this meal so special was the incredible value for money.

I opted for a chicken tikka masala, pilau rice and peshwari naan.

The mammoth portion came to a total of £12 and with the welcome surprise of a free portion of onion bhajis.

Unlike the previous evening, I fully expected to have a bit of a wait for the food to arrive as previous experience suggested that a curry takes a while to prepare. However, to my shock the meal arrived within 30 minutes of ordering.

My apprehension soon evaporated after the first mouthful was rich, creamy, and came with a host of nutty and spicy layers cutting through the velvety tomato textures.

The sweet peshwari naan, filled with desiccated coconut, sultanas and almonds, was the perfect side to dip in the sauce while the onion bahjis offered a peppy tang to offset the sweetness.

My food arrived by around 6.30pm and was demolished by 7pm. This meant I had three to four hours of my evening to get some chores done and spend some quality time chilling out with my house mates.

For me, this takeaway was the perfect example of how it should be done.

did not have to spend over an hour cooking my meal and considering the portion size, I think the price was more than fair.

I was left feeling incredibly full up and satisfied after dinner and will definitely be ordering from the Spice of India in Ashford in the future.

But the only downside was when I had a look at the amount of calories I had consumed.

Coming in at over 1,700 calories I had ingested around 70% of my recommended daily intake in half an hour.

Delivery time: 30 minutes

Portion cost: £12

Calories: 1,700

Flavour: 5/5

Day Three

Chantal – Pan fried salmon with buttery potatoes and braised vegetables

Fish and chips has got to be my favourite takeaway so I feared the healthier version I was about to make of pan-fried salmon, buttery potatoes and vegetables wouldn’t live up to my expectations.

I started by seasoning the salmon with salt and pepper and scoring before adding a squeeze of lemon.

I then chopped all-rounder potatoes into quarters before putting them on the boil.

A dash of oil was added to the pan and I began frying the salmon.

While this was on the go I prepared the broccoli and carrots for boiling and got them on the heat about 10 minutes before the salmon would be done.

After the potatoes were cooked in went a couple of knobs of butter, salt, pepper and parsley.

I finished cooking the salmon in the air fryer for the final five minutes and once the vegetables were pretty much there, I drained them and used the water for boiling the spinach.

When serving up, I added a dash more lemon juice and dinner was done.

The preparation and cooking time for this dish was quick and easy and I was in and out of the kitchen within 30 minutes. Full of nutrients, this meal was tasty but definitely had nothing on fish and chips.

I felt satisfied after this meal and not as heavy as you certainly feel after eating fish and chips - I was full for the rest of the night.

Coming in at about 404 calories and roughly £2.77 per portion, this one doesn’t break the bank despite the salmon costing £4.85 for a pack of two.

The main fat in this dish was the butter for the potatoes but without it, I feared it would have been terribly bland and lacking depth. Also, the oil is used for pan frying the salmon but a fry-light alternative can always be used.

The salmon also could have done with a bit more sauce other than just lemon juice to take it up another level but nevertheless, it was a tasty dinner.

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Portion cost: £2.77

Calories: 404

Flavour: 3/5

Ollie – Fish and chips

My third takeaway of the week would be slightly different as I was visiting my mum for dinner in my hometown.

I took this as the perfect opportunity to pick up fish and chips from the local Torbay in Hythe, a chippie I’ve ordred from for years which scores well on review websites.

This turned out to be one of the cheapest meals of the week, partly due to the fact we picked up the food from the shop itself, meaning no delivery fee was included.

Long gone are the days where you can buy fish and chips for under a fiver, but I thought £8.50 wasn't too bad considering the quality of the food.

We called the shop to order our meal and within 20 minutes it was ready to be collected. I went for the medium cod and half a portion of chips.

The meal was fantastic.

Despite only ordering a small amount of chips, the portion size was more than respectable and I was left feeling full after eating.

This is another perfect example of how takeaways can be effective. For one, it saved my mum slaving over the stove for hours, which meant she was in a significantly better mood!

And although the fish and chips were cooked in oil, it really did not feel that unhealthy. Especially, compared to some of the high-fat takeaways I consumed throughout the challenge.

With the whole process only taking half an hour, it meant I was able to enjoy the evening with my family.

Rather than us needing to spend a good portion of the night cooking we could have a much better catch up with minimal plates, pots and pans to clean afterwards.

We had both had a long day at work and this takeaway treat was welcomed by us all.

Collection time: 30 minutes

Portion cost: £8.50

Calories: 900

Flavour: 4/5

Day Four

Chantal – ‘Healthy’ KFC with homemade chips and beans

After a quick Google for a recipe, a simple one from Tesco popped up.

Consisting of just four ingredients, plus some spices, it looked easy but required a bit more effort than I thought at first glance.

Prepping this meal began 24 hours before cooking because the chicken needed to marinate in the buttermilk so the day before I cut the breasts into KFC-style strips and left them to soak until the next day.

After this it was easy, but a tad time-consuming as I needed to coat every piece in panko breadcrumbs which I also had to season with lemon zest and salt and pepper.

But before they could start cooking I needed to prepare the chips.

After meticulously cutting the potatoes I put them on the hob to parboil and kept out a watchful eye.

Luckily, I caught them just in time so put those into one section of the air-fryer.

Then, when there was approximately 15 minutes left, the chicken went into the other side of the machine.

After seasoning and heating through the beans it was time to serve.

The only downside with this meal was the chicken strips were nowhere near as crunchy as KFC would be because I didn’t deep fry them in oil.

But they were tasty - especially with the lemon zest in the breadcrumbs.

The chips were good too, not greasy but could have been slightly more crisp.

Calorie-wise, this dish comes in at much less than if you were to go to KFC, with fat and sugar content largely coming from the beans and marinade.

I was really satisfied with this meal and surprised the chicken tasted so good - I loved the lemon zest in the breadcrumbs.

Again, I felt full but not bloated after this meal like I often do after a takeaway.

I’d say the taste was fairly decent but after taking all that time to prepare and cook, I wondered if it was worth all the effort.

Cooking time: One hour

Portion cost: £2.18

Calories: 527

Flavour: 3.5/5

Ollie – KFC Stuffing Tower Burger Box Meal

As the week began to draw to a close, I'd be lying if said my body wasn't screaming for some vegetables and a good home-cooked meal.

However, In a fast-paced world where time is of the essence, the allure of fast food has become undeniable, and KFC stands as a beacon of convenience and flavour.

With that, it was time for my week of takeaways to direct me to the Colonel's iconic fried chicken.

Delivered from Ashford High Street, the Stuffing Tower Burger Box Meal consisted of a chicken burger, one piece of the colonels’ pressure-cooked chicken, gravy, fries and can of drink.

It came in at a pretty hefty £13.50 which, for many of us, is a lot of money.

Coming in at almost 1,500 calories, almost my whole day’s recommended intake, the meal contained 80 grams of saturated fat and 70 grams of sugar.

Clearly, convenience rules the show here but the flavours were good.

Nestled inside a warm brioche bun, the burger meat was tender and salad leaves were crunchy, and though the chicken thigh was slightly dry the chips had a crisp bite.

After four days on the bounce, I was beginning to feel a little lethargic and my stomach was not thanking me.

But, I was still enjoying the lack of washing up and my evenings were still feeling a lot longer than usual.

Delivery time: 30 minutes

Portion cost: £13.50

Calories: 1,500

Flavour: 3.5/5

Day Five

Chantal – Homemade chicken, sweetcorn, mushroom and onion pizza

The fifth and final meal on the agenda was homemade pizza, which I’ve done before and was excited about – it’s a brilliant Friday night dinner.

The process was fun but messy and flour was everywhere so it was a bit of a pain to tidy up.

I got started by combining my ingredients for the dough which included fast-action yeast, plain flour, olive oil, water and a dash of sugar and salt.

Dry ingredients combined, I made a well in the centre to add the wet ingredients into and then began kneading.

I then left the dough to rise and got cracking on preparing my toppings. My challenge was to make a “healthy” meat option so my plan was chicken, mushrooms, red onion and sweetcorn.

I cooked a chicken breast in the air fryer for 15 - 20 minutes (this went in before I got cracking with the dough). This meant it came out lovely and succulent and it didn’t dry out too badly when I put it on the pizza.

For the other toppings, I sliced mushrooms and cooked them in butter on the hob, cooked my sweetcorn in the microwave, grated the cheese and sliced the red onion to go on top.

Next up was shaping the pizzas and I must say, getting them round was a challenge… Mine ended up more as a rectangle. But shape doesn’t matter - it’s all about the taste!

After shaping the dough on went the tomato passata and cheese before the chicken, mushroom and sweetcorn. Into the oven and no more than 15 minutes later I was eating my dinner.

It was lovely but, nothing on a takeaway pizza.

Although, it didn’t taste heavy or greasy like some takeaway options. The toppings were yummy but it could have done with a bit more flavour and a richer passata.

The process was fun but the clean-up was not. Making the pizzas was easy and it took about one hour and 30 minutes all in all as I made enough dough to make four pizzas meaning lunch the next day was sorted too.

I’d do this again but next time, leave the dough to prove for longer. If you’re in a rush this meal certainly won’t be a good choice but on a Friday night after a long week at work, it’s a fun and rewarding meal to make.

Coming in at about 600 calories this is much healthier than ordering in but flavour-wise the pizza only gets a 3/5.

Fats and sugar in this dish would have been some of the highest of the week with the cheese and dough but it was a lovely treat and cheaper than ordering in as it only cost about £2 per portion - cheaper than buying a premade pizza from the shop let alone buying a takeaway.

Cooking time: 1.5 hours

Portion cost: £2

Calories: 600

Flavour: 3/5

Ollie – Takeaway meat feast pizza

As I was getting ready for my final dinner of the week, it is safe to say I was relieved this was going to be my last takeaway.

I was starting to feel the effects of eating fast food for the past four days and I was excited to get back to my regular diet.

For my final meal, I decided to order a pizza. My first thought was to order a Domino's, but after looking at their prices I swiftly decided against it.

Instead, I ordered from Perfect Pizza in Ashford and I opted for the 12" meat feast. To my surprise, there was only a 50p service charge on JustEat for this meal.

The pizza was loaded with an array of different meats. It included beef, ham, pepperoni, and sausage and was piled on a thick cheese and tomato base.

I can't say I enjoyed the pizza that much, but I think my judgement was party-clouded due to the fact I really did not fancy a takeaway.

However, I still completed the meal and was completely stuffed afterwards. A weekend of healthy eating was certainly on the cards.

This felt like my most unhealthy dinner of the week as the pizza was incredibly greasy.

The nutrition stats backed this up as the meal came to around 1,700 calories and had nearly 80 grams of fat.

Delivery time: 40 minutes

Portion cost: £11.50

Calories: 1,700

Flavour: 2.5/5

Of course, balance is key to a healthy and productive lifestyle but what struck us was how much difference 30 minutes to an hour in the kitchen made.

After five days of swapping out regular meals for takeaways, our reporter gained half a stone in weight and and suffered an upset stomach.

Meanwhile, as somewhat tired of food preparation our healthy eater became, she made a huge saving on each portion while keeping the calories low and largely packed with nutrients.

Feeling fulfilled and comfortable after each meal, knowing the food was healthy had a positive effect on her mood - she looked forward to experimenting in the kitchen.

But given the time constraints and long preparation times, the lifestyle did not feel sustainable by the final day, which is exactly where the occasional Friday night takeaway comes in.