Weekly food shop boredom

[Pinkluster]

I buy and cook pretty much the same thing week in week out and I am bloody bored of it, so come and tell me what you buy, where you buy it and what budget you have.
I also need some inspiration for packed lunches and dinners.

@Worriesome try the weight watchers Malted brown , I’ve got that this week and it’s lovely , bread is the only thing that we tend to waste in this house .

@Floralnomad I don’t think my local has it - that’s another reason I’m so bored of repetition as my local supermarket is Lidl abs stocks very little branded items

and

Oh god I have about 5 varieties of bread in my bread bin at the moment. We don't eat white bread so its either half and half or brown.
Ds 1 will only eat soft brown rolls
DS 2 has wraps and sometimes a brioche roll for lunch.
During the week it's usually coco pops, craves or weetabix with fruit.

Mary Berry's Malasian curry , so quick to do and just add spinach if you don't want meat
baked eggs and chips , you just add cream and any cheese you have
Meat balls and mash with baked beans/ratatouille or pasta
haddock and cauliflower bake
spatchcock chicken and couscous
veggie lasangne , just buy frozen mediterranian veg
chicken , ricotta and spinach lasangne
Phil Vicorys hot pot is lovely so is Delia Smiths shepherds pie , then chuck some peas / broccoli or green beans on the side
frozen veg is better as no waste

When I go through food ruts I have one day a week when I cook something new - I tend to just pick a recipe off a site like BBCGoodFood or I've also got a couple of good recipe books I use. I then ask the family to critique. We've had a few "wouldn't want ever again" moments but equally some meals have become firm family favourites this way.

Veg box is also a good idea; you're forced to come up with meals that use up the veg.

The other thing that's really easy to do is to take your normal meals but just slightly change something. If you cook spag bol, you can add a bit of spice and turn it into chill or fajitas, for example.

I have a list which the kids choose from, but it is all very same old, same old mostly because they are very fussy.

I have one who wont eat anything potato related
two who wont eat anything egg related
three who wont eat anything fish related
one who hates all vegetables
one who will only eat a handful of vegetables
one who wont eat rice
.........
you get the picture. Plus DH and I calorie count so cant always eat the same as what the kids want to eat.

No one explains when you're thinking about having a baby, that for the next 2 decades meal times will become the biggest stress !!

About four years ago I was stuck in a rut too. So I chose a cookbook and aimed to cook a brand new recipe every Wednesday (it was a non-football training night). I got the DC to flick through and put a sticky note any anything that they thought looked good. Some of the recipes stuck and I still make them, some were duds. The cookbook that I used was Bird in the Hand by Diana Henry, but any family type cookbook that you fancy the look of will do.

I never go to the supermarket anymore unless I have absolutely no alternative - and I find if I wander in without a list I spend at least 50% more than I originally intended and get home without half the things I need to turn the things I bought into a meal!! I have no ability to plan on my feet.

We get a veg box which keeps us on our toes and trying new things, we get a notification on Sunday nights what will be in it so then I sit down with that, check the fridge and freezer for what needs using up, and make a meal plan for the week. Then I amend my online shopping basket (I do this a week in advance, checkout with a bottle of gin in the basket to hold the slot and then go back in to add the things I need later).

Cookbooks are great but if you'd rather not invest in them, there are websites that are reliable - I like BBC Good Food, Smitten Kitchen, Diana Henry in the Telegraph, and all the food stuff in the Guardian (especially "the perfect..." column by felicity cloake).

To plan the meals, I tend to try and aim over the week for 2 meat, 2 fish, 3 veggie meals. That forces me to find new recipes because I can't just go "ok whatever let's just have sausages"!!

BlackAmericano I love that cookbook. Haven't had any duds from it so far, in fact we just had the chicken forestiere from it the other day as the weather was so foul outside, it called for autumnal food!!

I often feel like this so it's great to read other people's ideas.

Regular meals I cook are:

Toad in the hole with mash & veg
Roast
Vegetable & butter bean curry with rice
Hot dogs in finger rolls with salad & corn on the cob
Vegetable & lentil stew with dumplings
Pizza with salad & chips
Pasta with soft cheese, peas & sweetcorn
Spaghetti with a stir in sauce with cheese
Jacket potatoes with various fillings
Sausage, egg & chips

Occasional (less popular) evening meals:

Lasagne
Big breakfast
Risotto
Cashew nut stir fry
Quiche with new potatoes

Packed lunches:

Crackers with marmite or cheese
Sandwiches - cheese, egg mayo, soft cheese, marmite.
Wraps with cheese & salad (occasionally choc spread)
Pasta salad
Cold pizza
Cold mini sausage rolls

Usually with:
Carrot sticks
Cucumber slices
Chopped grapes
Strawberries
Apple
Banana
Cold sausages
Mini breadsticks
Popcorn
Crisps
Viscount biscuit
Club/wafer bar
Bear yoyo
Cheese cubes/triangle/string
Frube

Obviously not all of the above at once

@Xiaoxiong

BlackAmericano I love that cookbook. Haven't had any duds from it so far, in fact we just had the chicken forestiere from it the other day as the weather was so foul outside, it called for autumnal food!!

To be fair to the book none of the recipes were actually duds, she has a lovely touch with mixing flavours. Some were only a dud for me in that someone in the family didn’t like it, so it failed the criteria of being a recipe that everyone would eat.