I need a menu plan for next week - any ideas?

[Hulababy]

I need to start menu planning. I need meals for me and DH, plus 5yo DD, to suit the following:

We all eat together at about 6:30pm

DH and DD eat meat, neither particularly fussy eaters although DH disn't keen on shellfish.

I don't eat meat but like fish and seafood.

DH and I need to start losing weight - so needs to be healthy and low fat.

Tuesday I work later, and Wednesday we have swimming lesson after school, so those two need to be a quick meal with little or no prep, or to be prepared beforehand.

Friday we are out so nothing needed.

Sat/Sun no plans as yet so will need to shop accordingly!

So I need meals for Monday - Thursday, and then some ideas for weekend too.

Waitrose locally is introducing internet shopping this week, so tempted to give them a try rather than Sainsburys

Thank you!

Message withdrawn

LOL!, it's not as bad as it seems.

Basically 4 main meals - two quick or do it adnave ones, 2 normal. And re veggie/meat - could be fish or veggie, or something I can substitute meat easily with. I will eat fish lots.

Maybe I am just used to having to do this all time! Hence running out of ideas and lookin for inspirations.

Have loads of cookbooks - DinnerLady. Jamie, Nigella, Delia plus more.

Gosh, agree with Cod, hard to get my head around.

But just to kick you off: for one of the days when time is short, would it be so awful to have a poached egg on toast and baked beans? That is my (and my children's) favourite quick meal. Although, come to think of it, ds1 does not like baked beans and dh refuses to eat them, so not everyone's favourite!

You are lucky to only have to please 3 people!

We have swimming after school on Wed too, and we nearly always have soup. Can be totally prepared beforehand, in fact they're often better re-heated. Usually veggie-based or pulse-based soups, occasionally meat. We have a range of things to accompany soup - bread of various types, crackers, savoury scones, naan bread etc.

Meals you can cook in advance: fish pie, fish lasagne, casseroles...

DH would want more than that though, so would I probably. Mind you, if I swapped the toast for some oven wedges would be good on the Wednesday - I have about 50 minutes between getting home from swimming and DH getting home, so enough time for that I reckon - esp if nothing else to fuss with.

For the other quick meal I would be tempted to do a pasta dish. Something really simple like a good, home-made tomato sauce that can be made in advance.

Or just cook the pasta and throw in some goodies - ham, peas, mascarpone cheese or whatever. Serve with salad.

Yes, need to get some casseroles on the go again. Good to have frozen too, same with fish pies.

I just need to get thinking and sorted!

Tuna Pasta Bake - only takes 20 minutes to prepare but could be prepared early then shoved in oven when ready!

Cottage pie with Quorn mince - prepared early then....

Chicken and mushroom risotto with garlic bread and/or salad (more time consuming though!)

Grilled salmon fillets with new pots and salad/veg

Mild vegetable curry and rice

Virtually all my weekday meals can be made within 30 mins (I have a great cookbook db gave me which is 30 min meals). I agree with portonovo, pasta is easiest and probably healthiest.

Thank you! Thanks for everyone's ideas.

I am so unmotivated at the moment - think it is down to these hormone tablets. Just can't be bothered with anything at all, plus idea of dieting again feels me with dread!

So the ideas are good. Will get something written down and then start some online shopping!

Message withdrawn

This is my meal planning this week:-

Monday:_Fish, potatoes and veg (I work monday so its a quick meal for me and dh as dd's eat at my mums)

Tuesday:- Beef stew, dumplings (put in oven in morning so its easy) plus veg

Wednesday - home made burgers (take 10mins to grill and quick to prepare) jacket potatos and salad

Thursday - Chicken and mushroom pie and veg

Friday - dd's eat at mil's as I am at work and takeaway for me and dh

Saturday - Normally something like cottage pie/fish pie for kids and steak and chips etc for me and dh (we eat late on a saturday when dd's are in bed)

Sunday - roast

After my op cod. have to have 6 times normal dose of HRT - sending me deranged! Hence off on sick leave still so I don't end up trying to strangle the prisoners!!!

Tnanks eandh - might just pinch yours, and add some vggie/fish bits for me See, told you I was unmotivated amnd lazy at mo.

Top dieting tips:

Don't buy chocolate. If you don't buy it, you can't eat it.

Drink more water, it fills you up.

Eat the same meals but smaller amounts. Fill up on vegetables.

I had to lose a few pounds recently and the above worked for me. I can't be doing with starving myself.

steamed/poached salmon with rice and steamed veg (broccoli, carrots). DO a quick oil/vinegar/garlic/pepper dressing.

All in all quick to chuck together and doesn't take long to cook.

Oriental style soup - whatever fish you fancy (or chicken for others if you want), some finely diced spring onion, ginger, garlic, and then some very quick cooking veg (baby corn, mange tout, carrot, broccoli).
Put veg and noodles into cook in some miso made up. Place cooked fish on bottom of bowl pour over noodle/veg mix and then decorate with spring onion/ginger/garlic.

Make up a fish pie in advance for one night.

Roasted veg - prepare in advance, then chuck in oven with fish in foil with lemon for you and chicken breasts for others?

Salads - big portions with cheese/fish/meat and then bread. Get ready mixed salad and if happy to have cold, can use cooked meats/cheese or tinned fish.

Do pasta bake one night and then jacket potatoes another.

Dh needs to lose weight. What we've started doing is:

1. having the same meals as always (which aren't particularly unhealthy) but reducing the amount of meat and increasing the amount of veg to compensate.

2. using smaller dinner plates. We have 2 sets, one ugly but small, one lovely but big. We always tended to use the bigger ones, but found we put more food on the plate than with the smaller ones. I've decided we need a 3rd set of gorgeous but small ones to make this easier.

3. cut out bad snacking. If you don't have snackable foods in the house you can't be tempted. Have lots of fruit available to snack on if you are tempted.

This week we're having/had:
Mon - pasta with garlic, chilli, pancetta plus salad
Tues - chilli
Weds - pizza (me only, dh away, doesn't count!)
Thurs - chicken and pepper kebabs (except i do them in a heap in a roasting pan, not on skewers), pitta bread, salad

Did you not watch Nigella 'express' last night - you could have a whole weeks worth there
Seriously - sausage and mash and veg; spag bol (made in advance); salmon pasta (spring onions, creame fraiche); quiche and salad; pasta, sun dried toms and goats cheese; chilli and rice; potato hash (made in advance); minestrone and canalinni bean soup. These can all be low fat if you buy the right ingredients and cook them in a 'low fat' way.

No, I missed Nigella yesterday. DH forgot it was on!

TBH you didn't miss much, I don't think you would have gained any useful ideas.

Funny, my DH DIDN'T forget it was on!!

The Waitrose website has some good recipes iirc.

Also Gordon did some really fast pasta meals on tv recently. Will see if I can find them for you.

For the last week we have had had:

Fri - sausage, mash, carrots, peas and cabbage (DS had friend to tea so this is my stock favourite)

Sat - lasagne sheets layered with spinach (well swiss chard) and mozarella and topped iwth tinned toms and grated cheddar - lisalisa posted the recipe on here, served with ciabatta

Sun - grilled pork steaks, roast pots, cabbage, carrots, peas, apple sauce

Mon - shepherd's pie with cabbage and peas (DH away)

Tues (today)- only DH and me because DS has sandwich at CMs before his swimming lesson and DD has nursery tea - another of the lasagne things I made at the weekend but with salad this time I think

Weds (tomorrow) - only DH and me because DS has to have a sandwich at home before football practice - rest of shepherd's pie with whatever veg we have left

Thurs - Countess Dracula's chickpea casserole which I froze last week

I am now thinking on what to have for next week. DS going to friend for tea, and DD having friend for tea (but good eater who comes regularly) on Friday, all out on Sat, all in on Sun, all in on Mon but DH may have to eat later because DS has beavers, just me and DH on Tues and Weds (as above), all on Thurs but I am working Tues-Thurs so time constraints. See mine is just as complicated as yours!