Meal planning

[rupertpenryswife]

Apologies I know this has been done to death but I am sooo stuck. I am a married mum of 2, dd 11 and ds 10 and have lost the will to cook.

DH barely helps, I do all the cooking, shopping and planning, when I have a rant at him he just says do nuggets!! Which of course the kids would love. I shop mainly Tesco, Waitrose and Iceland. I have started seriously considering the delivered meal kits but they seem expensive.

I am not sure I enjoy cooking anymore or am even very good at it. Please give me some tips to get my mojo back. I work 2, 13 hour days a week so am around alot.

I guess I just feel fed up no one tells me what they want, just what they don't after I have cooked it. Please help.

You sound quite ground down by the job- which is fair as you are obviously doing it all alone with only negative feedback.

Could you get them to each write up a list of their favourite meals and work from there? Say ten each, and then mix and match them through the week- ensuring that YOU pick your favourites too?

When I get in a rut I pass out some cookbooks and get the dc to post it note recipes they fancy (at least 3 a book- Only 1 can be a dessert!) and either we make it together or I'll do it. Helps to keep them engaged, and means I make more use of the cookbooks .

My meal plan for the week is

Pork tacos

Risotto

Lentil bolognese

Arancini (with left over risotto )

Middle Eastern Roasted veg with feta

Crab tart

Sunday roast- chicken I suspect

I would get the kids to cook a meal each, for a start, with you supervising. They choose the meal and add the ingredients to the shopping list.

BuzzFeed, tasty and delicious and similar sites often do weekly meal plans which you can steal. Also the free tesco magazine does a weeks meal plan.

Have a bank of staples that everyone eats and choose 7 each week; draw the meals out of a hat if necessary.

Double up if you can, so cook a double batch and freeze half to eat the following week to save prep time.

Also nothing wrong with weekly sataolea like soup, omelettes and baked potatoes which are cheap and easy to prepare.

My plan for this week:

Lamb, pita and salad
Soup
Omelette and salad
Meatballs and courgetti
Sausage and root veg tray bake
Salmon, rice, Asian greens

*weekly staples

I always find it helps to give yourself some categories swap them around each week and categories always overlap but it gives you somewhere to start.
Mon pasta dish
Tues tray bake
Weds rice dish
Thurs fish dish
Fri Bread based dish (pizza, wraps, burgers etc)
Sat egg based dish (quiche, fritata, egg fried rice, egg and potato salad)
Sun roast

Swap categories round and add new ones as often as you want

Thank you all, I knew I could get some help here. Working tomorrow so will sit down Wednesday and work out a plan.

Does this sort of method mainly always work for you guys? My DH moans if I spend to much but, then does not give much help. I really want to cook healthy inexpensive meals for my family (who doesn't?). I used to love cooking I now find it a real slog/mum job.

Any books/websites you might recommend? Kids eat most things would love more vegetarian kid friendly meals also.

The roasting tin books are really popular- there's an active thread about them on here. I'd think they achieve the easy, healthy, varied title. I'd also recommend Diana Henry's simple- it's well worn in this house. Vegetarian - the modern way to eat / cook by Anna Jones are fabulous books and have really changed how I cook for the family.

I know what you mean re dh- mine always wants the mysterious "anything" which often translates to anything I haven't made I haven't solved him, or successfully got him involved but I have stopped ANY griping about it. Because unless he gives me in put and help to achieve his saving/ diet/ taste goals then he puts up and shuts up.

The dc however have responded brilliantly to being given books and choosing a new thing to try occasionally. Getting them involved means it's more of a family affair and I'm more appreciated and the meals often far better received.