£23 a week meal plan

[MindYourUsage]

Taken me ages (and a headache) but I have eventually worked out a £23 a week meal plan... Looks like I'll be eating a lot less meat....!

With the portion control I might lose a few lbs too...?!

It doesn’t list your calorie and fibre quantities so ..

I’d aim for 25 and throw a couple of bags of frozen veg in

Good work op. I actually think it looks pretty nutritionally balanced given the price. I'd struggle with the lack of variety though, is this designed to be your permanent diet?

@LayaM for the forseeable yes, i might revisit in the heatwave when I don't fancy jackets and chilli! 😅 Baked potatoes at lunch are just so easy and means I can use my lunch break for other commitments. (I chuck one in the slow cooker at 7am).

I hate (hate hate hate) cooking, if I enjoyed it they'd be more variety I'm sure!

Interesting point. Some frozen grilled med-style veg might liven up Thursday's dinner...

I quite often do a spinach and chickpea curry- which again isn't expensive and is great with fibre content (and takes 15 minutes to cook with occasional stirring).... From BBC good food
But it looks like a good meal plan!!

I’d struggle on lack of variety and lack of dal and rice which i would happily eat at least twice a day.

you really need some more vegetables! I'd ditch the butter on everything if you're trying to save money and loose weight - you've already got mayo with the tuna, the cheese will melt on the potato, coronation chicken has mayo in it....

Oh yes I love dahl and lentil-y type foods....

... that other people have cooked 😂

Include more fruit and vegetables - they don't add much cost but will help keep you healthy. Cabbage, kale, cauliflower, green beans, etc.

Your plan is ok but could be much better with a few tweaks.

That's great OP, def add a bit of seasonal cheap veg though.

I could add broccoli pieces to the 2x mushroom tagliatelle meals and also to the peas in the chicken-stock risotto....

Some mixed frozen basic-type veg to the beets and onions sunday's dinner.

And maybe some frozen spinach to Thursday's pasta-pesto.

try buying frozen fruit and veg then you can have a bigger variety without any wastage e.g. a handful of frozen peppers in your chilli, some spinach or broccoli in your tagliatelle and pesto pasta. carrots and tomatoes can be bought individually and keep well in the fridge. have frozen berries in your porridge for a change from banana or make overnight oats with them for a change.
grate any leftover cheese too and freeze it before it goes off.
(cross posted with your update above!)

Do you batch cook with frozen veg and does it turn out ok? I have never done this... would the cooked frozen veg refrozen turn to mush? For example if you chucked a load of frozen mixed veg (soooo cheap!) into your chillis or bologneses and then froze the portions, how does it come back out?

if you're putting it in things with a sauce it should be ok, just don't overcook it the first time you make it

I use frozen veg in my batch cooking with no issue. If I buy a bag of onions or peppers I chop them all and freeze and have no issues.
I also am on a tight budget.
For some variety I bought a soup maker which makes 5 portions at a time. Half a bag of carrots or a couple of leeks, herbs and spices and a stock cube, very inexpensive and gives me variety. Don't have to think about lunch Monday to friday then
I also have tinned tomatoes with frozen mushrooms, fried egg and toast regularly.
And I eat alot of jacket potato!
Tesco do a 1kg bag of mixed frozen berries for £2.99.

Can you swap some of those breakfast bananas for other fruit / veg? An apple? A couple of satsumas? To increase the variety of fruit and veg. Look for cheap deals on frozen veg in Iceland, cheap deals on veg in Lidl.

I eat oats everyday for breakfast as well.
They are incredibly cheap and I really like them, AND they keep me very regular! Win win. I haven't got sick of them yet, about 5 years in.

Dal is very easy to cook, basically just simmering lentils and spices. Don't even need to chop onions, could add something like grated carrots, courgette or frozen spinach. Freezes well in portions. I have a microwave rice steamer that cost under £10. Really recommend adding to your plan.

I def think that could / should cost you even less dep on where you shop.

Farmfoods have great deals on frozen fruit & veg. Plus vouchers for £2 off £25 spend.

I get points on value oats and other essentials in my nectar app. Some things are almost free lol (eg. 30 points for one tomato etc).

Lidl app - when you spend £50 in a month, the 7.5kg bag of potatoes can be your 'free' veg item.

Take a look at the Trolley app, and also monitor prices in store.

impresive costing but wouid you get bored of porridge and jacket every day ?

as much as I love jackets , every day wouid be too much

70gcheese is quite a lot - I have 30g tho due to calories / think 118c is 30g but it’s enough on jacket - pasta etc

Would it be possible for you to share your Dal recipe please ?