Could you give me an example of your weekly meal plans?

[Picklepopsalot]

I’m looking for inspiration. I want to start being more organised with the food shop and start making a weekly meal plan. Teen DDs are getting bored of our usual dishes and younger DSs hate change so it’s a bit difficult to please everyone! Just wondering what other people’s weekly dinners look like! Thanks 😊

Hi OP. I used to just rotate the same old same old each week. Then I was invited to try Lollipop. It's a new company which suggests meal plans (you can manipulate it to include stuff you like / amount / dietary requirements etc) When you click on the ones you like, it adds the ingredients to your shopping basket (currently only Sainsbury's for online delivery, but expanding) then when your delivery arrives, you get an email confirming details of your meal plan with recipe instructions. It has been a game changer for me!!

They also have an App. Here's a link to try it, and get a £10 Sainsburys voucher alpha.lollipopai.com/register?invite_code=LSO478 (note: I also get one too)

I've done like a PP, big spreadsheet of meals, with time it takes to cook, the non-store-cupboard stuff it needs for the shop and whether veggie or meat based. Then I can dip into it to pick meals when I do the online shop. Certain days (scouts) need quick to prepare meals so DS fed in time. Others (ballet) need a help yourself element...Dahl/curry/chilli plus flatbread...as we can end up eating at different times. I have only been doing it a few weeks but it really does help and I think I have also saved about £20-30 a week on food shopping.

A friend of friend did similar but used lolly sticks in a jar rather than a spreadsheet. Got everyone to write meals on the sticks and just picked them out of the jar. Think it it is quite a cool, randomised way to do it..and I tried (scraps of paper in an ice-cream tub...less "insta" but same concept) but I found it a pain as I'd bring out a meal that wouldn't work timings wise or I couldn't be arsed to cook so it would go back in the tub. The spreadsheet works better for me.

Oh and
Today - Burnt aubergine chilli
Tomorrow - Burgers, salad and sweet potato fries
Mon - Haggis (weird I know but we just fancied it)
Tues - DH & I out so DC Sweet potato curry from the freezer
Weds- Shallot Dahl
Thurs -Roast Butternut Squash with leeks and feta
Fri -Brazilian Fish Stew

@Picklepopsalot

Thanks! It is hard to accommodate different tastes when there are 6 of us. Feel like I go round in circles trying to come up with ideas for a week. Do you all generally plan a whole week in advance. We very rarely have leftovers, it’s a getting to be struggle to feed everyone with a roast chicken. I have a small portion but everyone else has big appetites!

There are 6 of us and we too struggle

Same op I go stir crazy trying to cater to different tastes.

Roughly :

Chicken snitzel (home made) with pasta and sour cream, onions, parmesan and lemon/parsley

Chicken fajitas.
Chicken in a magi wrap, with jacket potato

Meat balls

Plain pasta with tomatoes and garlic bread

Then a smorgasbord with pitta bread, chicken satay, crudités, dips apple.

Ready made Chinese from m and s

I meal plan a couple of weeks in advance. I use the notes app on my phone and write things down when I think of them. I like cooking BUT I can get in a rut / lose inspiration so I find planning in advance really useful. There’s 5 of us and luckily none of the DC are fussy. We’re veggies. My children eat LOADS hence all the bread to help fill them up but if there are any leftovers they get eaten up for lunch the following day by WFH DH.

This week we’re having:-

Monday - sweet and sour with loads of stir fried veg and quorn, brown rice. Vegetable spring rolls
Tuesday - Chilli cheesy bean quesadillas with sweet potato wedges, corn on the cob, avocado and pico de gallo
Wednesday - a sort of ratatouille thing with chickpeas, loads of coriander, brown rice and flat breads
Thursday - mushroom omelette, spicy wedges and salad. Crusty bread
Friday - jollof rice, plantain, Aldi fake chicken fillet things
Saturday - Halloumi burgers, sweet potato wedges, avocado salad
Sunday - orzo with spicy tomato sauce, chickpeas, sugar snap peas, garlic and spinach. Flat breads.

I have a box of recipe cards which I use to meal plan. I pull out the next 7 when doing my shopping list and the used ones go to the back. Sometimes the kids fiddle with the order so the stuff they really like comes up sooner but I pretend not to notice. So this week we'll be having:

1. Homemade tomato soup with cheese on toast
2. Oriental fish stew with noodles
3. Turkey pasta with avjar relish
4. Pork and mushroom bake with rice
5. Teriyaki salmon wraps
6. Risotto with aspargus
7. Bean and chilli stew with fried eggs

I always cook enough to have the same meal for lunch the next day.

I've posted this before - find it helpful to plan the category of meal for each day , rather than specific meals, and then have 4 or so dishes within that category for each season eg:

Sunday roast - pork, beef, lamb with trimmings

Mon - (easy).cold cuts with salad or veg or cottage or shepherd pie.

Tues - (usually veggie) rice or pasta
Veg risotto, veggie chilli, classic tom pasta, vegetable curries, veg lasagne, mushroom ravioli etc

Wed- oven tray bakes with either chicken or sausages
Self-explanatory!

Thurs - (veggie)
Chick pea casserole, gigantes plaki, lentil soup, bean burgers etc

Friday - fish
Salmon Japanese style, salade nicoise, cod en papillote, fish pie, fish cakes, fish and chips, etc

Saturday - fakeaway or takeaway
See Hairy Bikers for good fakeaway recipes, things like duck pancakes, curries, kebabs, etc

I find it must simpler to think "oh it's Thurs; therefore it's veggie" and be able to plan within that category rather than slavishly follow a set meal plan. It gives me the right balance of organisation v flexibility.

Tonight - Homemade pepperoni pizzas using Sainsbury’s dough recipe
Sunday - Pinch of Nom Tartiflette
Monday - Pinch of Nom cheesy fajita orzotto
Tuesday - Indian chicken fajitas (wrap pack I picked up in Aldi)
Wednesday - chicken stir fry
Thursday - sausage & mash
Friday - spaghetti with venison meatballs

Basically whatever we have for dinner doubles up as lunch for the next day as there’s just the two of us and it’s just as easy to cook 4 portions of everything

We very rarely have leftovers

I’m not a cook by any stretch but I cook twice the amount, halve and freeze. There are four of us and most recipes serve four. You could triple the ingredients to do the same to serve six..

There is absolutely no way I’d have the time or inclination to cook every day.

Chicken curry
Meatballs and pasta
Veg lasagne
Chickpea and spinach curry
jacket potatoes
Stew
Veggie burgers

2 spatchcock chicken from Tesco. Takes half the time to cook too

This week we had

M- Salt and pepper chicken (leftovers from Sun roast) with stir fried peppers, onions, bean sprouts and egg fried rice.
T - Lamb hotpot and pickled red cabbage
W - Red lentil dahl and flatbreads
Th - Cod wrapped in prosciutto with Mediterranean veg
F - Sausages, bacon and eggs

I'm on my own tonight so will probably do beans on toast or something exotic like a crisp sandwich

I am so rubbish since I lost weight, I used to do all sorts of things but now we are eating quite similar stuff each week. I don’t go in to the shops so it’s all done online and because it gives you the option to add your favourites I don’t change it up much now. I still eat carbs only rarely so it’s all mostly with salad or vegetables.

Burgers
Home made Nando style chicken in pitta with helim
Pizza (I have a stir fry on my own that night)
Roast chicken
Soup with bread and cheese
Shepherds pie with swede instead of potato topping
Gammon steaks
Salmon with loads of veg, cous cous for the kids
Friday night Turkish or curry.

I used to make a babotie, goulash, curries etc but not so much these days. Might bring that back.
Sausage casserole, the kids have garlic bread
A pie of some type, usually chicken and ham, which the kids help make

This coming weeks meals are

Sunday - minted lamb chops, roast veg, mashed potatoes

Monday - sausage, chips and mushy peas

Tuesday - cheese and bacon pasta bake served with cauliflower and broccoli

Wednesday - crispy chicken wraps with peppers, lettuce, cucumber and carrot

Thursday - DS1s birthday so party food

Friday - getting the kids to make pizza with a variety of toppings (no sauce for DS2)

Saturday - Thai Green curry with sticky rice.

All gluten free ingredients and tomato free for DS2 who is allergic to tomatoes and coeliac.

I don't have a set plan but I also have a fussy eater as is dh.

So I cooked a curry for today and tomorrow

Monday is a bank holiday here- steak and chips

Tues and wednes stew

Thurs pasta pesto and Friday something like chicken Kiev or fish out of the freezer.

[quote cricketmum84]@steppemum I am intrigued by your Dutch dish! I love beetroot and apart from roasting, soup or salad I find it difficult to incorporate into recipes.

Can you tell me more please? [/quote]
My dh is Dutch, so we eat quite a few Dutch dishes, there are a lot which are basically based around mashed potatoes!.

Dh makes it. Cook a load of bacon/bacon bits are chop up small.
Cook potatoes and beetroot, abotu 50/50 proportions.

When cooked mash potatoes and beetroot and stir in bacon.

So one pot dish.

Personally I would do this as a side dish with something else, but The Proper Way is as a one pot dish

Sat - peppers stuffed with parsley sausage meat and garlic bread
Sun - roast gammon, roast potatoes, leeks & apple sauce
Mon - chicken korma and brown rice
Tues - homemade burgers with peas & sweetcorn
Wed - cassoulet & rice
Thur - butternut squash & chorizo risotto
Friday - pizza (ds) and trout fillet with sautéed potatoes & broccoli.

Baked potatoes with hot coronation chicken
Roast lamb and trimmings
Chilli and rice
Stir fry beef teriyaki
Sausage and mash
Pizza
Pasta bake

I do sit down and male a meal plan every week.
Then do the online shop for it.

These days I never go to an actual shop.

I have foudn it a game changer in terms of variety, healthy eating and cost.

But the secret I think is to make sure you are realistic. I know that if I put beef casserole on Monday it won't happen as I never remember to do it early in the day. Same with tired days, quick because of club days etc.

I also have a list of all meals and I've divided them in 30 minute meals (it is amazing just how many dishes actually can be made in 30 minutes) prep in advance meals, long to cook meals etc.

I also have to remember to do eg stir fry within 2 days of online shop, before veg goes off.

Last week:
Sunday: Roast lamb, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, roast parsnips and carrots
Monday: leftover lamb in a spice tailor curry
Tuesday: lasagne and salad
Wednesday: leftover lasagne with a Buddha bowl (guacamole/salsa/chopped veg)
Thursday: Fish pie
Friday: roast chicken thighs, oven chips and beans
Saturday: takeaway

Next week:
Sunday: beef stew and dumplings
Monday: leftovers in a Yorkshire pudding
Tuesday: butternut squash and chilli soup and bread
Wednesday: sweet and sour chicken and noodles
Thursday: Prawn Thai curry
Friday: Fish fingers, chips and beans

I have a base plan, not set in stone but makes the planning easier.

Sunday - roast
Monday - eggs/'breakfast for dinner'
Tuesday - something made with roast leftovers, eg cold meat and salad, chicken in a roux-based sauce with rice
Wednesday - pasta or something from the freezer that I made previously, eg chili, cottage pie
Thursday - variable, maybe home made soup or something with chicken if we didn't have it earlier in the week
Friday - takeaway, frozen pizza or beans on toast
Saturday - fish or sometimes takeaway if we didn't have it on Friday

Most weeks I'll fit in a batch cook so I have freezer food in reserve.

DH doesn't like curry which is a bit of a pain...

My DH does our meal plans and the online food shopping. He writes the meal list in a shared Google doc each week so I know what to cook if he's not back from work in time to do it himself. The doc goes back a few years now! Here are the lists from the last 6 weeks. (We get our shopping delivered Thursday evening so that day is almost always an end-of-week freezer meal of breaded fish & frozen veg with beans):

19 Oct
Fri chicken rice salad
Sat homemade pizza
Sun lasagna
Mon lasagna 2
Tue mackerel rice &veg
Wed Tesco finest meal
Thu breaded fish

12 Oct
Fri leek potato chickpea soup
Sat Beef stew
Sun chicken salad
Mon beef stew 2
Tue pizza salad
Wed tuna pasta
Thu breaded fish

6 Oct
Fri seafood chowder
Sat veggie burgers
Sun Roast chicken
Mon Tarragon chicken
Tue mackerel rice
Wed sausages veggie sausages
Thu breaded fish

29 SEP
Fri fish soup
Sat Tesco finest meal
Sun chicken salad
Mon Chicken curry
Tue felafel and salad
Wed fajitas
Thu breaded fish

22 SEP
Fri Salmon salad
Sat takeaway
Sun Moroccan lamb
Mon Moroccan lamb 2
Tue felafel and salad
Wed tuna pasta
Thu bread fish

15 SEP
Fri Salmon stir-fry
Sat Homemade pizza
Sun Chorizo stew
Mon chorizo stew 2
Tue felafel and salad
Wed tuna pasta
Thu breaded fish

I used to do a 2 week menu, but there were options within that so it didn't get boring. Saved so much money and headspace.

Broadly it followed this pattern:
Sunday: roast
Monday: leftovers (eg chicken risotto)
Tuesday: salmon or prawns (eg pasta/stir fry)
Wednesday: mince (eg bolognese/chilli/shep pie)
Thursday: slow cooker (eg pork/beef casserole)
Friday: fish (eg breaded fish, fish pie)
Saturday: treat (eg sausages/burgers/nuggets)

Sunday: parsnip, kale, puy lentil and chorizo stir fry
Monday: honey soy baked salmon with cavolo Nero and brocolini wholegrain rice
Tuesday: freezer fish with homemade chips, courgettes, mushrooms and sweet tomato sauce
Wednesday: tuna pasta salad
Thursday: artichoke, tomato, olive sacks borlotti bean stew with fresh bread
Friday: baked sausages with sweet potato wedges, cumin roasted cauliflower and stir fry cabbage
Saturday: bean and leftover sausage casserole

There's nothing in there that takes more than an hour from start to sitting down. I try to do a minimum of two veg per meal, one or two veggie meals per week. I don't buy unhappy meat so things like the chorizo are small garnish quantities of the expensive stuff (easily left out if I'm hard up). Sausages are a huge treat this week - it's been about six months but DS2 put in a request - the second meal spins them out into a second dinner.