2023 meal planning thread

[Lastqueenofscotland2]

Very much looking forward to getting back on the bandwagon and not eating another Pringle for 11 months.

Tomorrow: Tuscan gnocchi
Saturday: pizza take out
Sunday: enchilada bake
Monday: Jambalaya
Tuesday: Thai peanut noodles
Wednesday: friend is cooking
Thursday: mushroom stroganoff

Why not cook a big batch then refreeze? Saves the endless chicken thigh dilemma?

I make paella using chopped chicken thighs. A friend does a version with whole chicken thighs which is less chopping hassle.

@SpaceOP normally I would but we have no room in the other freezer and have taken th opportunity now to defrost the shed freezer so think we’ll have to eat them.

Luckily DP is more happy than me to eat the same things over and over again (and he’s the one that turned the freezer off! 😂) so he’s taking the rest of the peri peri for lunch tomorrow.

Think I will do a Spanish traybake thing tomorrow evening with chorizo, new potatoes tomatoes and peppers and make the last lot into chicken, veg and brown rice soup for lunches and by then I should be able to freeze some portions of that…

Thank you though :-)

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie I've got the Meat Free Mowgli but haven't gotten around to using it yet - I got quite a few books for Christmas. Will update when I do.

@Chelsea26 this recipe is lovely. I usually just use chicken thighs in it, and a regular onion rather than faffing with shallots. I just cut the chorizo into slices rather than dicing.
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_braised_in_cider_22812

Our garage freezer died in the cold weather the other week, so we had an “interesting” week of dinners and batch cooking (also mostly chicken based) to freeze in the indoor freezer, worst time for it as was all pretty stuffed full already, getting prepped for Christmas! I feel your pain.

My DH is the same. Just keeps eating the leftovers until they're gone! :)

I've done a rather minimal shop this week, as the fridge is full of loads of Christmassy bits, so planned a using up week! Then planning ahead to next week as we're away from Thursday...

Mon - egg, chips and beans
Tues - jackfruit, broccoli, pepper and cabbage peanut sauce pad thai
Weds - mash, bockwurst, sauerkraut. Maybe carrots.
Thurs - pasta bake
Fri - corned beef potato cabbage carrots one pot thing
Sat - butter bean, leek and polish sausage bake
Sun - out all day so maybe a takeaway? Or more cheeseboard....!
Mon - chicken shwarma and veg, pickles
Tue - salmon tikka, rice, saag paneer
Weds - stuffed pasta and ready made sauce, with extra mushrooms

Shopped today but no plan so for the next few days will be the following 'main' part with veggies or sauce:
Steak
Salmon
Macaroni
Cold meats/cheeses etc that need using up
Breaded fish

ooh i'd like to join this thread if I may. I am away this week so we are out, but I LOVE meal planning, although I sometimes lack inspiration.

I love these threads but haven't participated for ages. Really need to re-start better planning and healthier eating though and as luck would have it - I made a 10 day plan this morning. Hoping that posting it here will help me stick to it

Today - Tagliatelle with kale, bacon and walnuts
Tomorrow- cod fishcakes with roasted veg and kale
Thursday- 3-bean veggie chilli and flatbread
Friday - chicken and broccoli stir-fry with wholewheat noodles
Sat - will be out all day into evening so charcuterie, olives, cheese & oatcakes when we get home.
Sun - chicken thighs in saffron and lemon orzo
Mon - baked potato with l/o bean chilli and coleslaw
Tues - carrot and lentil soup - sausage rolls
Wed- carrot and lentil soup with egg rolls
Thurs - pasta with tomato and veg sauce

Ok, slightly better planned now:

Yesterday: smoked haddock and broccoli pie
Today: chicken fajitas
Tomorrow: pasta with a bacon, mushrooms and tomato sauce, garlic bread
Friday: steak with baby potatoes and roasted tomatoes
Saturday- no plan yet
Sunday: chicken or lamb curry
Monday: Feta chicken joint and roasted baby potatoes with some steamed or roasted veg
Tuesday: shepherds pie (from freezer)
Wednesday: Prawn stir fry with rice
Thursday: pasta with mussels and creamy garlicky sauce
Friday: takeaway

There you all are! It’s freezer surprise all week here for us but marking my place for ideas as usual from @Lastqueenofscotland2 and @Fivemoreminutes1

Lovely to see this so active!

This week
Friday: Baingan Bharta
Saturday: pasta in white wine sauce
Sunday: DP doing something
Monday: A wildly inauthentic Laska
Tuesday: Roasted pepper and portobello fajitas
Wednesday: Pie and mushy peas
Thursday: Moroccan chickpea and cous cous warm salad

Today - chilli and tortilla wraps, might do some nachos to go with
Tomorrow - pizza (homemade) and salad
Saturday - out
Sunday - might do a lasagne
Monday - jerk chicken and rice
Tuesday - salmon pasta
Wednesday - minced pork with noodles

After that I'm not sure

Finished the chicken thighs - hurrah!

So now

Tonight - Thai pork mince in lettuce cups
Friday - Chilli
Saturday - Salmon and veg for DP (I’m out)
Sunday - Leftover chilli
Monday - Salmon and veg for DP (I’m out and he’s not very imaginative!)
Tuesday - Teriyaki Beef Noodles
Wednesday - Gammon, Egg, AF chips and beans
Thursday - Bang Bang Chicken lettuce wraps
Friday - Ribs and Wings with fully loaded JP’s

@Lastqueenofscotland2 - would be interested to know how you make your wildly inauthentic Laska, I bloody love it but just can’t be bothered normally!

Gosh you are all so organised and fancy eaters!

I love food, cooking and being organised and yet menu planning remains a huge mysterious dark art I have yet to master (I'm nearly 51 and have three kids from 20-15!)

Wtaf do i do to unblock this?

Surely is all it takes is think 'What shall we eat this week?' then buy the ingredients & cook the food!

This thread is so inspirational and I really enjoyed having Gousto boxes last year mainly because there was a deadline to make the choices and everything was delicious but simple.

I'm stuck with really boring:

• Homemade pizza,
• Veggie or meat burgers,
• Tomatoey or cheesy or bolognaise pasta,
• Tofu or prawn stir fry,
• Steamed salmon and new potatoes with veg,
• Fajitas with all the trimmings
• Roast dinners
• Slow cooked gammon
• chunky Soups and homemade bread
• Omelettes
• Full English breakfasts

Ooh me too @Chelsea26 @Lastqueenofscotland2

Boston baked beans and jacket potatoes
Ukranian Christmas Day on Saturday - my guest is making traditional Ukranian salads
Slow cooked tomato sauce and pasta
Chicken roast dinner
Thai green curry with aubergine
Prawn pil pil, Spanish omelette

Hello again.

We are back from our trip so I can now meal plan properly!

Tonight- Shakshuka for me and DH and pasta with tomato and evegtables for DC.s
Saturday- Cabbage and mushroom pierogi with carrot salad
Sunday-Roast chicken with trimmings
Monday- Chicken ramen
Tuesday- Lamb with hummus and Greek salad

From yesterday:
Lancashire lentil and mushroom hotpot
Leek and Fontina gratin with baked potatoes
Tuscan bean stew and ciabatta
Spinach and ricotta pasta shells
Chickpea and smoky harissa burgers
Aubergine chilli
Curried cauliflower and paneer pasties

Let's see how we'll I've stuck to this...

Mon - egg, chips and beans
Tues - jackfruit, broccoli, pepper and cabbage peanut sauce pad thai
Weds - mash, bockwurst, sauerkraut. Maybe carrots. Nope, but did have the pasta bake instead
Thurs - pasta bake Had leftover bean sprouts, so had them as slaw with refried black beans, veg chilli, cheese and sour cream
Fri - corned beef potato cabbage carrots one pot thing Nope, got a chippy tea!! But it will all keep, so no waste
Sat - butter bean, leek and polish sausage bake Change of plan as I found a rogue pint of double cream veering wildly out of date! So potato and leek dauphinoise to have with...maybe bockwurst and sauerkraut?
Sun - out all day so maybe a takeaway? Or more cheeseboard....! Marinading the salmon now as I managed to rip the packet, so will swap Tues salmon to Sunday
Mon - chicken shwarma and veg, pickles Will add the mash as it needs eating
Tue - salmon tikka, rice, saag paneer Either soup and garlic bread rolls, or jacket spuds
Weds - stuffed pasta and ready made sauce, with extra mushrooms

Not a bad start, it has helped having various swappable things. Also been determined to get a load more veg and fibre in after some horrendous rich food indigestion over the festivities!

Last night- bean and veg chilli with rice
Tonight- pasta bake
Tomorrow- mac a ratatouille (slimming foodies book)
Monday- beef cheesy orzo
Tuesday- veggie traybake pasta
Wed- chicken korma and veg in slow cooker with rice
Thursday- chicken nuggets, home made wedges and corn on cob

@WontLetThoseRobotsDefeatMe that's a brilliant idea! I usually end up swapping days or have the odd day that ends up being something else! Intention v reality thread is great

doing my plan tomorrow but will involve a lot of root veg thanks to oddbox!

• Greek stuffed green peppers
• Soul soothing African Peanut Stew
• gonna do that Lentil and Mushroom hotpot @Fivemoreminutes1 posted
• golden beetroot borscht with cabbage

not sure about the rest of the week but that covers everything in the veg box at least

I like the idea of reality vs intention too! Here is my list from last week and how I did:

Monday: Veggie Cottage Pie with Root Veg Topping – YES. I doubled this up and added to the freezer
Tuesday: Veg and Paneer Curry – YES – I made a huge pan of this and portioned up for the freezer.
Wednesday: Baked Spinach Ziti – NO - Was my birthday and I forgot we were going out to eat so had this yesterday. Again I doubled up and added to the freezer.
Thursday: Courgette Fritters - NO – We ended up getting a takeaway
Friday: Quorn, Asparagus and Emmental parcels with roast potatoes – NO - did not get round to making these so pushed back to this week. Had Quorn pie, potatoes and veg instead.

Not a bad start, and now I have some meals in the freezer I think I should do better next week. The main aim is to avoid ordering takeaways!

Sunday: Quorn, veg and Paneer tikka masala with bombay potatoes, poppadoms, rice and naan
Monday: Shepherd’s pie (filling from the freezer and ready made mash)
Tuesday: Broccoli, mushroom, potato and halloumi peri-peri tray-bake
Wednesday: Shepherd’s pie (leftovers from Monday)
Thursday: Veg and sun-dried tomato pasta with garlic bread
Friday: Sweetcorn fritters with chips and beans
Sunday: Mushroom, asparagus and emmental parcels with potatoes and peas.