The French taken in down light meal (5)
I believe the answer is:
salad
'light meal' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'the french taken in down' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'la' ('the' in French).
'taken in' indicates putting letters inside.
'down' becomes 'sad' (I've seen this in another clue).
'la' going inside 'sad' is 'SALAD'.
(Other definitions for salad that I've seen before include "Green, potato, Russian or Waldorf?" , "Cold dish of raw vegetables" , "Healthy dish" , "rabbit food" , "See 22" .)