Apparently most people have 6 meals they make on a loop? How about you?

[BarrelOfOtters]

Some random study I read.

It's probably about right..

stirfry
fajitas
a roast of some kind (not every week)
salmon and veg
sea bass with veg
fishfingers chips and peas (or similar)
a curry - usually prawn.

We have way more than that, based around the protein / cuisine eg

Mexican - nachos, chilli, fajitas, tacos

Indian - chicken beef or veg balti, dansak, madras, dahl

Asian - pho, various fried rice, stir fry, lettuce cups, Thai curry

Italian - endless pasta dishes

And then

Cottage pie
Sausage and mash
Freezer food

We eat quite a lot of bbq too so various grilled meats / veg with wraps or pitta

Mac and cheese
Mince and tatties
Sausages, chips and beans
Sausage casserole
Corned beef hash
Stovies
Fajitas
Crispy chicken wraps
Bakes tatties
Salad
Chicken burgers
Beef burgers
Beef pie
Chicken pie
Lentil soup
Broth
Butternut squash soup
Pea and ham soup
Pulled pork
Ribs
Roast chicken/beef

And that's just off the top of my head. 6 meals doesn't seem much to me

Barely more than that and only because we vary on a theme!
Curry (korma/coconut) - chicken or lentil
Tacos/burritos/quesadillas
Meatballs or sausages and mash
Lasagne or spag bol (or cheese/pesto when short of time)
Stirfry
Pizza
Freezer dinner

Chicken fried rice
Tuna pasta
Spaghetti bolognese
Chicken and mushroom pie
Steak and veggies

I definitely have go to recipes to make life easier and try to do something a bit different at least once per week. My main dinners are curries, stir fry, lasagne, chilli, spag bol, carbonara, koftas, steak and chips, pie, casserole, tacos, a fry up and open sandwiches. I try do variations but that's my list!

Mine are

1 Spag bol
2 Chilli and rice
3 Chicken curry
4 Salmon stir fry
5 Spicy meats balls in harissa tom sauce and couscous
6 Bangers and mash
7 Faggots and mash - husband only
8 Chicken fajitas
9 Various salads in summer
10 Roast dinner in winter.

Since having Covid and losing my taste and smell I definitely need more spice/chilli in my food.

We have a lot of repetition but more on a theme rather than the exact same meal. A lot of it is because we try to have two or three really cheap dinners every week. For example most weeks we have:

Egg/mushroom/beans/tomatoes on toast or some combination of those.

Soup and garlic bread (but the soup flavours vary.)

Jacket potatoes with whatever toppings we have that need using.

Some sort of mince dish (bolognese or chilli).

A pasta or gnocchi bake.... using whatever we have in the fridge that needs using up.

Pizza (every Saturday night without fail.)

Some form of stir fry (usually peanut noodles and veg) or curry (usually spinach and chickpea).

We mix it up a bit sometimes e.g. in winter we'll often have roast dinners whereas in summer it'll be bbq meat with cous cous/salad. But the majority of meals are usually pretty similar.

Yes and it drives me nutty! Bolognaise, curry, omelette chips and salad, roast chicken potatoes and veg, steak and chips/ potatoes, fish and rice, fry up

Oops sorry forgot pizza, homemade when we don’t do a roast and frozen one when we’re just back from shopping

Yep - only they're even split between me and himself 😁.
Mine :

• risotto - various
• chicken and chicory
• Thai curry
• nasi goreng

More rarely: - coq au Vin; roasted rack of lamb

Current rotation, impressed it's 14 as feels very uninspiring in my head day to day.

Chicken pasta.

Prawn stir fry.
Goats cheese, asparagus, boiled egg and pine nut salad with sweet potato chips.
Tuna lasagna.
Sausages with juniper berries, cider and cream.
Roast dinner.
Curry with chicken, garlic and spinach.
Baked potatoes.
Mushroom stroganoff.
Fresh tuna steaks with red pepper sauce.
Beef Steaks with potatoes/vegetables.
Turkey mince bolognaise.
Pizza oven pizzas.

Chicken quarters marinaded in oil, honey, lemon, garlic, lavender and Rose

Hmm, I have to think about this…
these are all the dishes I (or dh) cook regularly. We pretty much always have the same ingredients in our weekly food shop, so we make variations of dishes. I make fajitas or the burrito bowl most weeks. Dd loves pasta in any form, so we have a pasta dish from the below at least once a week too.

Tomato, garlic & baked feta pasta
Lemon and garlic spaghetti with salad & garlic bread
Lemon chicken and broccoli tagliatelle
Teriyaki beef/chicken with rice
Butter chicken with rice
Burrito bowl with pulled chicken or beef
Beef tacos
Chicken fajitas
Grilled halloumi salad wrap with French fries
Greek salad with hummus, falafel & flatbread
Orzo pasta salad with grilled fish or chicken

Chicken curry
Red lentil dhal
Lasagna
Sausage & mash
Spaghetti bolognaise
Crispy Salmon, broccoli and savoury rice
Roast dinner

Our meals aren't set in stone, we eat out, eat other stuff...but generally speaking, on a normal week when we've been working full time - it'll be similar to what i posted in the OP.

Different protein and veg, sometimes Thai or Indian (from a paste) with different sides.

Traybakes fairly often too...as can chuck them in the oven and do something else.

I like to tray out new dressings for veg or salads.

sometimes veg will be roasted, sometimes steamed.

Roast dinner most Sundays (beef, pork, lamb, chicken, gammon, duck- on rotation. Leftovers either reheated or made into curry, stew or casserole, except gammon which we serve with pasta).
Fajitas
Omelette
Fish , new potatoes and beans
Kievs with veg or jacket spud and baked beans
Pizza
Seafood tagliatelle
Spaghetti bolognese
Lasagne
Meat pie and veg
Full English breakfast plus burgers/fish fingers
Steak or chops with salad or veg.
Haggis, neeps and tatties
Faggots, peas and mash
Bangers and mash.
Bubble and Squeak

(Although it's DH who does the cooking, as he gets home from work first)

Yea pretty much.
Usually one stir fry type thing with rice
Chicken roasted on a bed of Mediterranean eg with rice
Chicken kyiv with potato and veg
Sausages and mash with onions and veg
One marinated fish dish
Lasagna on occasion
Curry if I feel up to it
Chilli
Hungarian Goulash
Spanish chicken tagine (I don't make this nor the kyiv I get it ready made)

Occasionally get a Bighams fish pie or something.

I'm making a conscious effort to be more adventurous with my cooking as I get a bit stuck in a rut, but we have a roast (or big lasagna etc) every week as I like leftovers as an easy tea on a Monday. Other than that I'm trying to cook at least one new thing a week!

Pretty much...
Spag Bol
Pulled chicken chilli
Stir fry/noodles/salmon
Chicken tray bake
Jacket potato/breaded chicken
Breaded baked fish/chips

More casseroles in the winter tho!

I tend to rotate through a regular selection

Roast - most weeks swapping between chicken, lamb, beef and pork depending on whether any are on offer or not
Chicken - usually a sweet & sour, curry or stew
Bacon - either bacon, egg & toast with mushrooms and onions, a lentil & bacon casserole or boiled bacon with potatoes & veggies
Sausages, mash & beans
Mince becomes either cottage pie, lasagne or bolognese
We also have pork chops, breaded chicken steaks or kievs, breaded fish portion with oven chips and veggies or salad

Nearly all of our choices are wasted on my fussy kids so I’m also making pizzas, pasta & sauce, noodles, nuggets or other chicken shapes with potatoes and limited veggies

we should share recipes! Some great meals on here that I havent tried

I rarely make the same thing twice for dinners or packed lunches. With the exception of a Sunday roast and even then pretty much everything in it will change.

I’d be very bored, and I would rather not eat the same thing I had yesterday again as leftovers. I know what I’m like, I’d just not eat lunch and leave them in the fridge.

Breakfast however, for some reason, is fine to have repetitively.

But dinners, I make a different thing every day and I’ve not run out of options yet.

Love cauliflower cheese. I only ever thought to put this with a roast, so I'm going to do this with the ham. Thank you

Yes, we tend to have particular tried and tested meals that I know the whole family likes:

-spaghetti / pasta bake / lasagne

• chilli con carne

-pizza and garlic bread -curry -cottage pie -roast dinner

Then I cook one adventurous meal per week to try something new.

That way there's less food wasting and less grumbling 😁

I have no set oatternand go through phases.

Things I cook include
Tomato pasta, or some variation of (bolognaise, meatballs)
Macaroni cheese
Cheesy Jackets
Homemade soup and cheese on toast
Roasted things with salad
Mushroom and spinach/chickpea curry
Sweet potato/carrot etc curry
Fish veg and some form of potato
Omelette or Frittata
Occasionally a roast
Sausage or beef casserole
Veggie burgers

But I like trying new things eg yesterday a mushroom stroganoff.

Definitely me! Mainly because I make all these plans to create lovely recipes, then finish work and say f that what’s easiest. Writing this out made me realize that apparently, chicken is the easiest….

• Chicken burger & chips
• Chicken pie, veg and potatoes
• Chicken curry & rice
• Fish, potatoes & peas
• Beef, potatoes & veg
• Pizza & Garlic Bread