What are meals like in your house?

[nomorespaghetti]

I’m being nosey and looking for inspiration.

I feel like I spend my whole life cooking at the moment. It’s me, DH, and two DC (2 & 4). DH has IBD and can’t eat meat, and the 2 year old is a right fussy sod, so we usually eat different things to the kids (except pizza!) We eat with them half the week, after they’ve gone to bed there other half. Me and DH have a takeaway once a week, we usually have a family lunch out once a week.

Over the last couple of weeks DH and I have had (for dinner) aubergine curry, lentil veggie chilli, roast veg quesadillas, veggie lasagna, tomato & mozzarella risotto, veggie burger and chips, pizza (usual homemade)... we mostly just have these things on rotation. I like them all but I need new ideas really, and I struggle to find veggie recipes sometimes.

Lunch for me is usually a sandwich... egg, cheese, fish finger, tuna... breakfast porridge or toast.

I’m really interested in what other people eat!

Just my fiance and I. However this last week we've had:
Thai curry with tofu
Sausages and mash
Prawn Puri
Meatballs and "courgetti"
Buddha bowls with feta and avocado and either tofu or spicy mince

Occasionally get an Indian curry or go out for pizza. There aren't many restaurants where we live and nothing like just eat or deliveroo.

We seem to eat a lot of eggs for lunch, omlettes, scrambled etc. as they're so easy and stops me reaching for as many carbs during the day.

Veggies here too typical meals are things like -
Butternut squash dhal with naans
Mixed bean chilli with potato wedges or tortilla wraps baked to make nachos
Veggie lasagne
Lentil cottage pie
Aubergine and sun dried tomato pasta
Cauldron sausages and mash and veg
Veggie pasta bake
Mushroom stroganoff
Chickpea and spinach curry
Mushroom risotto or green veg risotto
Ricotta and spinach lasagne
Teriyaki mushroom stir fry
Halloumi mix veg and sweet potato fries

Delisciously Ella app or books are good - they don’t have lots of random ingredients and generally easy to make. Jamie Oliver is good and bbc food

Breakfasts normally porridge with oatly

Lunch / generally leftovers or soup

I enjoy cooking but it’s so easy to get in a cooking rut

Ooo, Thai curry is a good shout Lyricallie

I will have a look at those, thanks ForTheLoveOfCatFood
You’re right, it’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. I love something really filling in the evening. I’m very jealous of your meal list, great inspiration there!

I did halloumi fajitas I few weeks ago, they were delicious!

Just DP and I and I am sick to death of eating the same dinners on rotation due to DP being ridiculously fussy about food.
Unfortunately he has zero cooking skills and gets in from work too late to take over the cooking.

My friends and I have been doing a weekly zoom call where we all cook something from a chosen country and then eat together which has been really nice to try some new things.

I’ve asked for a couple of recipe books for Christmas and have decided I’m going to make a real effort to make one new meal a week.

This week as an example -
Enchiladas
Tesco teriyaki pork recipe (rubbish)
Chicken curry
Chicken stir fry
Belgian stew thing with french fries (Belgian night)
Homemade pizzas
Sausage and mash

Really like the idea of cooking one new meal a month Turnedouttoes I might give that a go too...

I occasionally get a Gousto box and several of those meals have made it into our regular rotation. Veggie household here too.

Sunday - sausage and mash
Monday - homemade chicken burgers
Tuesday - piri piri chicken, ribs
Wednesday - omelette and chips
Tonight - gammon and stuffing baguettes
Tomorrow - chicken casserole
Saturday - likely to be pizza

Haven't added veg/salad but we always have someone with every meal I just can't remember what we had!

We're veggie with 3 young kids - 1 is autistic and very fussy. I feel we're also in a cooking rut - I just can't really be bothered to be honest!

This week we've had -
Veggie Fingers, chips and broccoli
Tomato and lentil soup with crusty bread
Risotto with roasted tomatoes and pesto
Pasta and stir in sauce
Houmous wraps with Greek salad and vine leaves

Lunch is always leftovers or sandwiches (vegan cheese or Quorn ham)

Breakfast is toast or cereal.

I dream of being bothered enough to make overnight oats, chia pudding, slow cooker winter soups, etc etc, but I'm so busy with the kids and work, plus they wouldn't eat it so what's the point?

Things we eat that are veggie and not on your list
Aubergine parmigiana
Mushroom risotto
Butternut squash risotto
Pea and asparagus risotto (I like with goats cheese)
Pasta alla norma
Frittata
Panzanella
Stuffed mushrooms
Ribollita
Thai butternut squash soup

Veggie wise this week we've had:

Halloumi burgers with sweet potato wedges
Veggie quesadillas
Butternut squash risotto

The BBC Good Food website is great for new ideas. All the recipes are reviewed, so you know if something really works or not. Have got lots of good veggie recipes from them.

To add what others have said:

• asparagus or mushroom risotto
• mixed bean, red pepper and tomato sauce with feta
• macaroni or cauliflower cheese
• roast squash lasagne
• courgette and Parmesan pasta
• chopped up veggie sausage in grainy mustard and cream sauce with pasta
• veggie sausage toad in the hole

We have fussy kids too! We try to eat the same thing all of us together. Meals that are ok include lasagne, curry, macaroni cheese, pizza, fajitas, burger and wedges, sausage and mash, baked potato feast. Anything bland and carb loaded really!

DH and I have a takeaway on a Friday and once or twice a week wait till the kids go to bed to eat so we’ll have something like a mezze platter, steak meal, honey chilli chicken.

Mon - bacon, mushroom, toasted pine nuts, pesto pasta (you could replace bacon with tender stem broccoli). We stir through crime fraiche to make it nice and creamy.
Tues - pie and mash
Weds - Thai green chicken curry (bbc recipe) with new potatoes and green beans. We add tender stem broccoli and red pepper. No need for chicken if husband not keen.
Thurs - takeaway pizza.
Fri - red pepper risotto (bbc recipe).

Also lovely garlic and chilli spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and green olives stirred through at the end. Have just discovered souvlaki with rice, flatbreads and tzatziki. We have pork or chicken souvlaki but you could do halloumi.

We've just bought a ninja foodi so suddenly my DH is interested in cooking lots of meals again. I'm pregnant and suffering from hyperemesis so just want carbs and chicken nuggets. Also have a 2 year old.

Tonight we had homemade chicken korma, rice, poppadoms, naan bread.

Last night- chippy

Usually have a fry up on Friday for brunch - bacon, egg, hash browns, beans, tomatoes, toast

Breakfast varies from yoghurt with fruit, crumpets, jam/honey on toast, crunchy nut, cheerios, weetabix, bram flakes. Cereals sometimes with yoghurt instead of milk. Often with fruit too.

Lunch is normally a pitta, wrap or today we had cheese and bean toasties for a change. Summer we often have a picnic plate or salad. Picnic plate often has some or all of the following- ham, cheese, hummus, breadsticks, crackers, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, soft cheese, blueberries, strawberries, banana, apple, grapes, orange.

Normally have sausages once a week either with mash, veg and gravy or chips, beans and egg

We had pulled pork this week in pitta bread with homemade sweet potato fries and a corn on the cob

Beef roast with veggies and yorkshires, or chicken breast roasted. Normally have a good amount of roast potatoes with this.

Homemade chicken nuggets

Pizza either frozen or homemade depending how soon to DS tea time it's getting.

I love spaghetti bolognese.

I love lots of beans in a chilli - sometimes with rice, or wraps, sometimes with tortilla chips.

Layered nachos always popular in this house

Often have fishcakes with either new potatoes, jacket potato or rice and salad or veg.

Ooo thank you for all these lovely ideas!

We are a family of six. I feel exactly the same as you Dc3 and 4 are fussy but fussy about weird things especially dc 3 who would eat a whole bowl of olives but won't eat cheese. I try to make veggie meals at least twice per week but it's hard with the little two. We cook everything from scratch including bread. It does feel like such a drudge sometimes. We have a takeaway 1-2 per month but rarely eat out as it's just too expensive.
This week we have had:
Sunday: Cooked full English
Monday: Tacos made with turkey mince, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream and cheese
Tuesday: Orzo, mozzarella, olive and tomato bake
Wednesday: Lamb sausages, butter roasted potatoes, cabbage cooked with garlic, onions and butter and onion sauce
Thursday: Chorizo, pepper and butter bean stew with brown rice
Friday: Fish fingers , chips and beans
Saturday: Macaroni cheese and veg

I don't generally eat breakfast but the kids have a mixture of porridge or weetabix

For lunch I generally have a salad with some kind of grains, loads of fruit and yoghurt.
Kids all have a packed lunch; sandwiches, fruit and veg, Greek yoghurt blended with fruit and a treat snack.

If you are doing all of the cooking it's no wonder you feel like that! It would help if your dh took some of the load!

This week had
Veggie sausage stew
Gnocchi with home made pesto
Aubergine curry
Veggie satay stirfry
Quesadillas

Just me and DP. This week we have had:

Lorraine Pascale’s glam mac with peas
Chicken breasts with broccoli and mashed potatoes
Sausage and butterbean casserole (that does two nights)
Tomorrow is takeaway pizza
Saturday chicken pasta bake
Sunday citrate pie and veg

We do a meal plan on a Sunday, and generally try and have at least one meal that does two evenings. Other staples are:

Chilli
Chickpea curry
Chicken fajitas
Chicken satay
Pasta bake - veggie, or chorizo and red pepper
Spaghetti bolognese
Spaghetti carbonara
Sausages, mash, and peas
“Brinner” - full English for dinner
Vegetable stir-fry
Risottos - always after a roast chicken, and I often make a pea and pancetta one, or a baked ham and leek one which is super-easy

Lunches with both being at home currently are a lot of soups, beans on toast, scrambled eggs on toast, cheese and ham toastie, occasionally something like a bacon or sausage sandwich.

I have a bloody vegan in the house but sadly she is a vegan amongst carnivores!

BBC Good Food is brill and I like American sites for baking. Over the last few days we’ve had:

porridge with brown sugar, ground almonds, blueberries and cinnamon, French toast with fried tomatoes, prawn stirfry with chinese spices, ginger, garlic, soy and red pepper and peas, Vegan chocolate Oreo cake, flapjacks, Mexican 3-bean casserole with brown rice, Turkish fried tomatoes and peppers with a toasted baguette, battered sausage and chips (oh yes), Linda M sausages with sauteed potatoes and green veg, cheese and oatcakes, fried bacon, tomatoes, eggs and hot buttered toast.

this Week we have had ..
mince cobbler mash and veg
pasta with chicken.. onion .courgette in a. cream tomato sauce
split pea soup and bread and cheese
veg fajitas and salad
quiche salad and wedges
fish fingers chips and carrots

This week we have had lentil curry, Thai chicken stir fry, Lancashire hot pot . We are having jacket potatoes tomorrow and then fish pie on Saturday and lamb pilau, lamb rogan josh and raita on Sunday, there should be some leftover for dinner on Monday. Lunches for my dh usually involves
Soup, omlette or boiled eggs. I have had fish, boiled eggs, chicken steaks and fish fingers for lunch this week. At least two days a week are meat free.

Try river cottage veggie cook book- his first one. I’ve had it for years and it’s my most used cook book, every recipe is really tasty and works. We’re veggies too.

Oh god, I love cooking, adore cookbooks (take them to bed with a glass of wine some nights!!) but when it comes to meal planning and fitting it around real life it SUCKS!

This week:
Monday - stressful day: kids eat early due to sports (not during lockdown, but we’ve kept the pattern!) pizza
Tuesday - family tea - chicken, spinach and sweet potato curry, with rice, blitzed cauliflower, and popadums and naan (you could replace chicken for chickpeas?)
Weds: sports. Chilli for them, the rest for us after! (Veg chilli) served in tacos with green beans or salad
Thurs: salmon, wedges, green beans ( maybe a veg stew or replacement with it?)
Fri: take away
Saturday: kids sweet and sour chicken (sweet and sour veg for you guys?) and noodles. Us: I try something new from one of my cook books.
Sunday: ROAST.

regulars include: a mince meal once a week (could you have a plant based version?) so spag/chilli/cottage pie. A pork/chicken/fish and wedges. Various curry options. Sausages (mash/casserole/pie). Veg lasagne, stuffed peppers, pasta and sauce (our fave is a 2 pepper sauce) paella, fajitas/burritos. But also, nuggets/fish/beige option with pasta, sauce, veg. Soup and sandwiches/cheese on toast. Scrambled egg, beans, roasties.

God I love food.