Have we forgotten what a healthy amount of food looks like? GP Ann Robinson thinks so. Writing in the Guardian, she responded to the warning by the charity Diabetes UK, that the rise in cases of the disease is threatening to bankrupt the NHS.

Robinson pointed out that because the rise in cases seems to be due to the increase in the number of people living with Type 2 diabetes – which can be linked to obesity – tackling it will require a “massive change in the way we lead our lives”. With the UK becoming a “nation of grazers”, it was time schools taught pupils what 2,000 calories a day “looks and feels like”, said Robinson.

So we asked Kelly McCabe of the British Dietetic Association to produce a working week’s approximate 2k-a-day plan. We hope you like lentils:

Monday

Breakfast: Yoghurt with berries, nuts and seeds (100g Total 0% yoghurt, handful mixed berries, 1 tbsp mixed seeds, 2 sliced brazil nuts).

Lunch: Smoked salmon, low-fat cream cheese and spinach sandwich on soya and linseed bread, with a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Dinner: Sweet potato, spinach and lentil dhal (made with 100g red lentils, and a large sweet potato: makes enough for lunch tomorrow).

Tuesday

Breakfast: Banana porridge (3 tbsp whole rolled porridge oats, semiskimmed milk, ½ sliced banana, 2 sliced brazil nuts).

Lunch: Sweet potato, spinach and lentil dhal (leftovers).

Dinner: Parma-ham-wrapped salmon (one small fillet, 2 slices ham) with asparagus and 4 tbsp pesto sauce, 80ml creme fraiche, handful new potatoes.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and avocado on soya and linseed toast.

Lunch: Shop-bought or homemade tomato soup (add a handful of lentils or black-eyed beans or a handful of spinach to boost nutritional value).

Dinner: Wagamama Cha Han (made with 2 small chicken thighs, 4 large prawns, an egg, rice: double the quantities to include lunch tomorrow).

Thursday

Breakfast: Bircher muesli (3 tbsp porridge oats, 1 tbsp raisins, grated apple, apple juice, 2 tbsp natural yoghurt).

Lunch: Wagamama’s Cha Han.

Dinner: Roasted vegetable frittata (1 large onion, 300g cherry tomatoes, 100g spinach, basil, 100g ricotta, 6 eggs: enough for lunch tomorrow) with spinach and rocket salad.

Friday

Breakfast: Yoghurt with berries, nuts and seeds.

Lunch: Roasted vegetable frittata with spinach and rocket salad.

Dinner: Spicy tilapia with green beans and sweet potato mash.

● This article was amended on 19 August 2015 to clarify Anne Robinson GP’s response to Diabetes UK’s warning about the threat to the NHS.