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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To as what a typical week of dinners looks like for you?

147 replies

Emsonline · 11/01/2019 08:57

I need inspiration! I'm not a massive foodie. I actually quite dislike cooking... but we are a family of 2 adults and a 5 and 3 year old and I need ideas.

OP posts:
londonmummy1966 · 11/01/2019 09:38

Easy stuff usually with left overs that will make another meal or packed lunch. A typical week might be:

Monday risotto with green veg and left over meat from Sunday if not used for lunch
Tuesday spag bog - making extra sauce for later in the week
Wednesday chicken tray bake (a popular one is with sliced onions, olives, chorizo and a carton of passata) with rice or baked new potatoes - come out slightly crispy so a cross between a jacket and a roastie.
THursday shepherd's pie or chilli using the left over sauce from the spag bog.
Friday - pizza for DC and a fish bake for us - might be smoked haddock topped with softened leeks and mushrooms topped with a bit of chopped up frozen cauliflower or broccoli cheese (I'm too lazy to make it but you could)
Saturday - fish and baked potato wedges
Sunday - either a roast or a home made soup depending on what we are all doing.

BaconMaker · 11/01/2019 09:38

This week:

Monday: Spag Boll & spinach & sweetcorn
Tuesday: tomatoey Tuna pasta bake & steamed broccoli then sauted in butter and garlic.
Wednesday: Kedgeree & carrots & kale
Thursday: Home made fish fingers (with whatever fish was in the freezer). something approximating mushy peas, baked beans, broccoli and roasted root veg.
Friday: Will involve salmon as it needs using up. Either Thai style fish cakes with stir fried veg and rice/noodles or poached with a dill sauce (if there's some dill in the freezer) with new potatoes (roasted or just with parsley butter) and piedmontese roasted peppers and whatever other veg probably chucked in to roast too.

On Saturday we usually either eat out, or just grab a pizza from co-op. Sunday either another lazy meal from co-op, take away nandos or I cobble something together from the fridge.

BaconMaker · 11/01/2019 09:41

By the way if you want quick ideas I've found BBC Good Food to be the best website. All the highly rated recipes are easy, no fussy ingredients and reliably good.You can also specifically search for vegetarian/budget/healthy/ etc.

tinysnickersaremyfavourite · 11/01/2019 09:41

Last year we were in a rut of eating the same 10-15 things on repeat so I challenged myself to cook one new thing every few weeks. Some things the kids just refused to eat, some they loved.
I keep a list of the things that worked along with the old favourites so if I'm lacking brain power when I meal plan I can check the list.

Most of the things I have tried have been recipes from the waitrose magazine or recipe cards (although we actually shop mostly in aldi). I do alter them to leave out veg my kids don't like or leave out anything that's too hot as kids not keen on very spicy things.

Grumpbum123 · 11/01/2019 09:45

Jacket potato night
Omelette night
Freezer/pizza night
These once a week www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Scratch-Chicken-Pad-Thai-Noodles-for-2/95615011?from=search&param=scratch%20meals
Sausage, veg and mash
Roast
Fajita
Tacos

Coralnails · 11/01/2019 09:46

Sunday - Roast
Monday - Spag Bol/Meatballs/Lasange
Tuesday - Jacket potatoes with something
Wednesday - Curry/Chilli/homemade fish and chips
Thursday - Lamb shanks/casserole/Stew or a midweek roast
Friday - Pizza night, often homemade
Saturday - Stir Fry/Fajitas/Curry

BlackPrism · 11/01/2019 09:47

We're vegetarian right now but we would have

Veggie lasagne (butternut squash strips and mushroom Bologna's)
Mushroom pho
Squash and chickpea curry
Stir fry
Veggie burgers and salad
Pasta pomodoro
Ratatouille

I love to cook and always get at least 6 types of veg in each dish (it's almost a competition at this point).

Why don't you buy a good food mag and get some inspo?

Taffeta · 11/01/2019 09:54

2 adults 1 teen 1 tween

Chicken stir fry with noodles or rice
Thai green curry - chicken and veg plus rice
Chicken curry w flatbreads or rice
Roast chicken w potatoes and veg
Chicken fajitas
Chicken souvlaki
Chicken shawarma
Chicken fillets in brioche bun with salad
Roast salmon with new potatoes bacon and peas
Thai sea bream with sweet potato parsnip and tomato
Pizza with salad
Pasta with bacon and courgette
Soup & baguette, cheese and crackers
Dal ( my version has rice in so on its own or with a sausage )
Sausage bake with potatoes peppers and onions
Toad in the hole with green veg
Sausage and mash with veg and onion gravy
Pulled pork baps with salad
Minced Thai pork patties with salad and chilli dipping sauce
Slow roast pork with potatoes and veg
Leftover pork in stir fry or as Chinese style crispy duck type thing with hoisin etc
Moules frites
Omelettes
Scrambled egg on toast ( not DS - he'd have a bacon bap)
Gammon with maple syrup potatoes and veg

Occasionally have beef:
Beef in red wine with mash and veg
Roast beef with potatoes Yorkshires and veg
Stir fry beef
Steak chips onions mushrooms broccoli
Burgers with salad

Never buy lamb

Don't make pies - pastry or mash as DS doesn't like them

DH & I love seafood but DS allergic so we eat it out or on a special occasion without DC - it's rare we eat separate meals

Slightlycoddled · 11/01/2019 09:54

Sun: roast with trimmings (not every Sunday but most)
Mon: cold cuts with veg or salad and potato wedges for dd
Tues: veggie - pasta, some sort of roast veg with rice or quinoa, bean casserole, bean burgers, roasted vegetables and cous-cous etc
Wed: sausage or chicken tray bake
Thurs: repeat of Tues (veggie) + plus make home made veggie soup for w/e lunches/snacks
Fri : always fish (pie, home made goujons, fish cakes, roasted en papillotte) etc
Sat: take out, or increasingly, home made curry (usually Hairy Bikers recipe)

BelindasRedPlasticHandcuffs · 11/01/2019 09:56

There's some amazing ideas on this thread!

No DCs but this week for us is:

Lemon and chilli sea bass with roasted shallots and cherry tomatoes, broccoli and crushed baby potatoes (with lemon, better and parsley)

Watercress, rocket and spinach salad with roasted butternut squash, beetroot, and crusty bread

Roasted pepper risotto

Veggie chilli burritos (three bean and butternut squash chilli)

Jacket potatoes (with veggie chilli or cheese and coleslaw)

Tiger prawns with sticky rice and stir fried veg

Mushroom soup

We don't eat meat in the house (not a strict rule if someone is desperate for a takeaway or we have guests but I haven't bought and cooked meat in a very long time in our effort to cut down) and have fish once or twice a week. Other favourites are:

Paneer or chickpea and spinach curry

Halloumi, pita bread and a thick lentil, aubergine and tomato sauce (with loads of paprika) and spinach

Veggie sausages with mash and red onion gravy

Aubergine or tofu with miso glaze and sticky rice

Tofu Katsu curry

Salmon (usually with some form of glaze or sauce I throw together like teriyaki or lemon, chilli, honey and ginger)

livingthegoodlife · 11/01/2019 09:57

This week:
Monday- pasta with cream, cheese, broccoli & ham
Tuesday - lentil & butternut squash curry
Wednesday- cottage pie and veg
Thursday - jacket potato, beans, cheese & homemade coleslaw
Friday - homemade pizza, coleslaw, salad
Saturday - freezer fodder
Sunday- coq au vin

Pretty boring I think.

Taffeta · 11/01/2019 10:00

Halloumi, pita bread and a thick lentil, aubergine and tomato sauce (with loads of paprika) and spinach

This sounds delicious! But DS is lentil dodger so will have to wait til he's not around!

PhilomenaButterfly · 11/01/2019 10:02

Sweet potato and butternut squash enchiladas
Beef madras
Chicken and king prawn yaki udon
Beef cannelloni and garlic bread
Mince hotpot
Chilli
Chicken jalfrezi

KnobJockey · 11/01/2019 10:02

This week has been:

Saturday - Katsu chicken curry, rice and veg
Sunday- Hairy dieters chilli con carne made with turkey mince
Monday- Fishcakes with new potatoes and green veg
Tuesday- Burgers with chips, peas and sweetcorn
Wednesday- slow cooker beef chinese curry
Thursday- pork meatballs and pasta
Friday- something chickeny- might do a roast kinda meal, should get some veg in me.

Lunches have been a big vat of weight watchers minestrone soup or chilli con carne leftovers.

Camomila · 11/01/2019 10:10

Ours are quite boring as we try to eat earlyish with DS 2.

Usually pasta twice - Lorraine Pascals macaroni cheese is delicious, bolognese, pesto pasta with added veg.
Oven pizza and salad
Fish fingers, chips and peas
Chicken Stew
Veg curry
Gnocchi
Chilli and rice
Jacket potatoes
Sunday roast (chicken or sausages for meat)

We need to eat more fish!

Headbangdesk · 11/01/2019 10:10

This week we had:
M homemade pizza with fries
T mince curry with rotis & rainbow salad
W homemade chicken burgers, corn on the cob & fries
T Freezer day. So selection of pies, fish fingers, wedges, waffles, mini pizzas, frozen veg
F Dhal with white rice and cucumber salad

Tomorrow will be takeaway for DC and I, DH is unwell so maybe some homemade chicken soup for him or leftover dhal.
S Chicken but not sure yet what I plan to do with it.

MyNameIsABCDE · 11/01/2019 10:11

Our go to meals are..

Pasta - Sausage/bolognese/tomato/carbonara/creamy mushroom/broccoli & anchovy. We have pasta once a week but mix up what we have with it.

Omelette filled with very or any meat that needs using up - good quick meal pre gym

Chicken or salmon tray bake with whatever veg we've have delivered from Abel & Cole

Veggie or beef lasagne

Veggie curry - either Thai green or with chickpeas and sweet potato

Veggie bean chilli with rice or baked sweet potatoes

Meatballs with rice or salad

Steak and chips on a Friday

Roast on a Sunday

Always try and batch cook at the weekend and have homemade "ready meals" in the freezer eg Soups/bolognese sauce/curry

Also roast veg all the time to have readily available for a salad with halloumi and grains

Sarahandduck18 · 11/01/2019 10:14

haffalump

I wish you all the best with your post DC meal planning but I think you may be in for a shock as the vast majority of dcs I’ve known won’t eat most of that.

(Comes along a poster whose DC has spicy food every day)

PARunnerGirl · 11/01/2019 10:16

This week has been/ will be:

Squash, mushroom and lentil risotto with salad
Ratatouille with cous cous
Homemade falafel wraps with tzatziki
Thai sweet potato and lentil soup with rolls/ bread and hummus/ avocado
Greek stuffed aubergine
Cauliflower and chickpea curry with brown basmati
Veggie chilli with quinoa

CantWaitToRetire · 11/01/2019 10:20

This week we've had:

Fri - Chicken curry
Sat - Sticky pork stir fry
Sun - Gammon with roast potatoes and veggies
Mon - Ginger and soy salmon with new potatoes and veggies
Tue - Beef ragu pasta bake
Wed - Chicken Alfredo
Thu - Heck low fat sausages, mash and beans

Followed Slimming World recipes for all of them

mbosnz · 11/01/2019 10:22

This week's meal plan.

Friday night - traditionally takeout
Saturday night - good question. I think it could be home made chicken burgers with kumara fries.
Sunday night - Lamb shanks marinaded in red wine with Kumara and potato mash, carrots, asparagus, beans, broccoli and brussel sprouts
Monday night - Spag Bol (I cook a double batch of this once a fortnight, so that I get a night off cooking each fortnight, lol) - this incorporates mushrooms, carrots, courgette, capsicum and spinach, which makes the meat go further, and it's a whole hell of a lot tastier.
Tuesday night - chicken breasts poached in white wine, with potato mash, broccoli, carrots, beans and asparagus
Wednesday night - maccy cheese
Thursday night - beef braised in rioja, with potato and kumara mash, etc.

These are all made gluten free as my daughter is coeliac.

mydogisthebest · 11/01/2019 10:25

Me and DH are vegetarian. This week's menu is:

Sun - Nut roast, roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, roaster parsnips, mashed parsnips, cauliflower, carrots, brussel sprouts and peas
Mon - Vegetable stew with dumplings
Tues - Cauliflower and lentil curry
Wed - Homemade vegetable pies with jacket potatoes, peas, green beans, carrots and cauliflower
Thurs - Shakshuka - mushrooms, spinach, onion, tomatoes and eggs
Fri - Lentil bolognaise and pasta
Sat - Home made black bean burgers, home made coleslaw, sweet potato wedges

loubluee · 11/01/2019 10:27

This week:-
Monday:- Spag Bol
Tuesday:- breaded fish, mash, peas, carrots
Wednesday:- jasmine rice with mushrooms and spring onions, sweet potatoe fries and sirloin steak with miso sauce
Thursday:- lasagne and salad
Friday:- homemade pizza
Saturday:- lamb rogan josh with basmati rice and plain yoghurt
Sunday:- roast chicken, potatoes, roast potatoes, swede mash, peas, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, green beans, sprouts, stuffing, Yorkshire puds and gravy.

Left over chicken will be used with the veg in a ‘fry up’ for dinner Monday.

Working on the rest of next weeks dinners later today!

Hattifattner · 11/01/2019 10:31

OP, I found it useful to write down the kids of food my family like to eat - I categorise them according to protein or by carb.

So I have a list of items I can make with mince (spag bol, lasagne, cottage pie, meatloaf etc) chicken (curry, breaded, kievs, etc), roasts (chicken, beef gammon, lamb pork), rice dishes (risotto, jambalaya, paella) easy peasy (pizza, fish fingers,) etc etc.

Once you have written your big list (and there will be a lot on there that you might have forgotten about) then get a calendar out and plan for the month - I had a 5 week plan with no repeats that even included a take out on one saturday. (whoop de do)

I swap things around in the summer because we tend to eat dfferently then.

A couple of years ago I also implemented a system of one new recipe every 2 weeks. The kids got to help choose. Id have a read of various recipe books and pick something.

These days I find it easier to plan by week as I have 4 teens and I never know who is in and who is out.

greenllightredlight · 11/01/2019 10:39

Why does no one ever come on these threads and say:

Sunday: Lunch at my mums
Monday: Supermarket chicken kievs with oven chips
Tuesday: Pasta and Pesto
Wednesday: Defrosted something I thought was Chicken and Broccoli bake but turned out to be an apple pie so we just had that and toast beforehand
Thursday; Everyone ate different things. I had some bolognaise sauce from the freezer with chips, DS had a left over chicken kiev that was at its use by date and DH got home from someone's leaving drinks at midnight so God knows what he ate
Friday: Chinese takeaway, rest of the apple pie and too much wine
Saturday: I burnt the lasagne so we had cheese on toast and another bottle of wine.

I'm sure that's how lots of people eat, but no one ever comes on threads like this one and admits to it.

(I am a keen cook, by the way, but I love reading these threads Smile)

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