Anybody do weekly meal plans? Care to share yours?

[NorthernGravy]

I try and be organised and do a weekly meal plans and find that it is the most boring uninspiring task. I want to plan to help save money and reduce food waste. DH is useless and just says something helpful like “pasta, eggs and something with mince”. I’m trying to cut down on meat and eat lower calorie food (blame my neighbour who keeps slyly glimpsing at my tummy trying to work out if I’m fat or pregnant every time I chat to her). Would anybody care to share their plans. Inspire me!

Following for ideas! We are still on all the Christmas leftovers! Later this week we will have
steak pie, mash and peas
Roasted parsnip soup and crusty bread (then pudding)
Risotto with wilted spinach and feta.
That's as far as I've managed so far. It's my least favourite task of the week coming up with new ideas.

This week has been a bit random as we've had loads of leftovers to use, DC's friends over and DH and I have had a night out so DD 18 cooked- she's only just shown any enthusiasm to learn anything more elaborate than a fried egg!
Fri- sausages or turkey, ham,leek pie mash and veg, one DC and friend had fish fingers, chips and peas,
Sat- turkey enchiladas and salad (DD cooked)
Sun- beige buffet, cold ham, salad stuff, cheese and crackers whatever needed eating!
Mon- DD and friend ordered pizza, boys had burritos and salad DH and I had steak, Stilton mash, asparagus and peppercorn sauce,
Tue- eating out
Wed- lasagne and salad
Thurs- cheese, onion and tomato hot pot,
Fri- eating at my parents so only making a chocolate torte and mince pies
Sat- fish pie for 5 of us and cheese and onion crispbake for DS1 who doesn't eat fish

Sorry OP!

IP = Instant Pot which is basically a pressure cooker that will keep things warm for you.

Also, sushi platter would be bought in, before anyone faints.

@LookImAHooman haha you’re welcome!

Yesterday was shroomdog and bean casserole with mash and green veg
Having fajitas with roasted pepper and portobello mushroom today
Tomorrow: dhal and rice
Friday: leftover Dahl and jacket spud

Turkey dinner (I was poorly over Christmas so am redoing it with a turkey breast!)
Salmon on risotto with tender stem broccoli
Fish pie with carrots peas
Chicken breast with sw pot fries sweet corn
Sausages mash red cabbage gravy
Gammon jkt pot salad
Chunky fushfingers chips beans

How do you all have the energy to get home after work every night and start cooking all of this? I think that’s my main problem. I’m just so tired!

This week we have on the list;

Jacket potato, grilled chicken and salad
Fajitas
bean burgers with sweet pot wedges and salad
Gnocchi with tomato sauce
chicken, chorizo and mozzarella

We have a loose plan for weekly meals that goes like this:
Monday adults do 5:2 dcs get something on toast.
Tuesday = Pasta
Wednesday = fish
Thursday adults do 5:2 kids get nuggets/fish fingers/sausages
Friday = spicy food
Saturday = sofa food (ie pizza or burgers)
Sunday = roast or stew or pie

Obviously we still have to plan the individual meals but it makes the planning much easier.

Chickpea and cauliflower curry
Homemade pizza
Cheesy pasta with cauliflower, broccoli and leftover turkey + side salad
Bean enchiladas
Salmon, jacket potatoes and roasted veg
Falafel burgers, potato wedges and salad
Veggie fried rice + egg

Tonight - prawn & tuna pasta with garlic bread

Thursday/Friday - chilli with rice

Saturday/Sunday - cornedbeef hash with broccoli & pickled onions

It's only me & DH so find having the same meal over two nights means I only have to prep once & use up all the ingredients.

hmm I find it easier if I've meal planned. I'm off today so have just made the meatballs and have batch cooked a bolognese. The fish tonight is just bunged in the oven so I just need to cook the veg

I plan around the activities so if it's an activity night it'll be something quick or from the freezer. If I'm on long days I'll plan with DH so he has in what he's cooking the days I'm not here. Much easier for me than standing in front of the fridge every night wondering what to cook.

This week we had cabbage, potato, bacon and ham soup (using up bits from Christmas feasting). That did two dinners. We had curry last night. Today we will make a beef pasta sauce which my OH will have with pasta and I’ll have with a roasted aubergine. That will do two dinners. My OH had a pizza one night when I wasn’t in. Friday night we will probably go out and get something but I don’t know what, yet.

We tend to do one meal that will give us leftover meat to use for at least one other meal, usually a roast chicken. We’ll have a breast or a leg each on the first night. Then the next day I will make something like braised chicken, lettuce and petit pois in stock (based on a French recipe but I don’t remember what it’s called). There is usually more meat left on the carcass which i will use for a lunch for myself.

Then we”ll do another meal that’s big enough for two meals, so for example chilli. On the first night we’ll have it with rice, then the second time we might have it over jacket potatoes along with a salad, or a bigger, more filling version of nachos.

One very easy, low prep meal like a chicken curry or a stir fry with prawns.

One premade meal for ease and convenience, such as a microwave curry, frozen fish, fish cakes,

We just sit and make a list before we go out to do the weekly shop, discussing what we fancy and making sure we’ve got all the ingredients, and ensuring that anything we do buy will be used up throughout the week (so that bag or sides work for multiple meals).

Next week it will look something like this (based on what I fancy. If he fancies something else in place of one or two meals we will tweak as needed):

Peri peri spatchcock chicken with rice and roasted med veg

Leftover chicken with crushed garlic potatoes and ratatouille

Frozen lightly dusted fish fillets with homemade chips and leftover ratatouille

Chilli, with rice, there’s lot of beans and veg in the chilli so we probably won’t have anything else with it

Leftover chilli in burritos, salad and salsa, etc, on the side

Chilli tomato and garlic prawns with courgette, plus pasta for my OH

Minestrone or other mainly veg soup, enough for two days.

Purpledaisies the Seitan Appreciation Group on FB have a great looking recipe for vegan Yorkshire puddings. I haven't tried it yet but they do look amazing.

I find meal planning really hard because no one wants to eat the same things.

I normally do monthly meal planners, buy most things at the beginning of the month, and small top up shops for milk, fruit and veg.
This is mine for the coming week ...

• Leftover Drumsticks, Salad
• Corned Beef Ash
• Crab Linguine
• Cauliflower Cheese
• Roast Dinner
• Fried Rice (using meat from Roast)
• Jacket Potatoes, Cheese & Beans

Katsu curry
Spag bol
Chilli
Fish fingers and chips (I like at least one meal I don't need to do much with )
Pizza
Lamb stew
Roast chicken

I have this on a whiteboard in my kitchen and then just replace a few meals a week for variation as I don't like writing a whole plan every week.

Do a fridge/freezer and cupboard inventory first to see what you have so you can 'build' meals around this. Then, usually for our house - a roast on a Sunday & ear mark left over meat for a curry or pie or similar extra meal 2 days later. A pasta dish - favourites are sausage and fennel or prawn, both simple & quick. Chilli & rice. Stir fry with quorn. Burgers with brioche buns & sweet potato wedges. Chicken enchiladas with refried beans and salad. Pork steaks (marinated) with mash & veg. Lamb mince curry.

I add and change to this list of meals depending on the season!

There's a limited list of what we will all eat.
There is the limit of where I can buy the food.
There's the seasonal changes so that right now in winter there's a lot of casseroles and root veg.
I aim to have one fish, one red meat and one vegetarian main course in the week. And try for veg the kids will eat with every meal.

I have written a winter list before , I'll look it up for next week when we've finished visiting and eating out.

Can anyone tell me what veggies they add to their curry? I’ve completely lost ideas

This week we are having:

Shepherds pie with broccoli and green beans
Pea and mint risotto
Lamb chops, cous cous with a feta a pomegranate salad
Beef chilli, rice with tortillas and sour cream
African pasta dish

I'm going to follow this thread to get ideas, we need to drastically cut our shopping bill, it's got rather out of control!
I'm using my millions of cool books to pick meals for upcoming meal plans and aiming for one meal to use left over meat from the weekend roast and 2 meals a week to be veggie.

Also I prep the next days meal when I'm doing the current days meal if that make sense?
She today I've used the scraps of leftover gammon in a veggie lentil pie and whilst prepping it I've chopped all the veg and dusted the meat for tomorrow's stew, tomorrow when I put it into cook I'll prep what I can for Friday etc etc.

Sunday roast lamb etc
Monday home made fish fingers
Tuesday macaroni cheese
Wednesday garlic chicken, bulgur and salad
Thursday lamb suet pudding
Friday real shepherd's pie

This week:

Monday - Beef in Guinness casserole
Tuesday - Egg & Chips
Wed - Hummus, left over deli meat platter, cucumber, tomatoes, beetroot
Thursday - Vegetable soup
Friday - Meatballs and spaghetti
Saturday - Chicken stirfry
Sunday - Sausages and mustard mash

I try to have 2 veggie meals, then 1 each of beef, chicken, pork, fish

@InLoveWithMyDressingGown - I have an approximate recipe in my head, which will do about 10 portions, depending on appetite. It is not fancy, but is veg-heavy and tasty. Key to being non-bolognese is spice (inc cumin) and beans.

• Bag of frozen mince - tip straight in without defrosting. V good with the mixed pork & beef mince sold as 'value' eg Tesco. Usually 750g, but does fine with 500g - 1kg.
• 2 big carrots, 2 onions, 2+ sticks celery all chopped
• tin kidney beans, tin black eye beans
• 2 or 3 tins chopped toms
• few handfuls of red lentils
• either a sachet of chilli con carne spice mix (I buy when on special!) or chuck in some garlic, cumin, cinnamon and a stock cube, with more or less chilli powder or smoked paprika to taste.
• I'll also add in tomato puree if I have it, and any leftover bits of veg as long as they won't sway the proportions too much. Sun-dried tomatoes also a nice addition.

I leave house at 7:30 with it on low (prep veg night before, add frozen mince in morning) and eat about 17:30.