Meal ideas for flexible plans

[autumn666]

Up until now I have always planned meals in advance based on a the DC's relatively fixed routine so I have a range of quick meals and some for when I have more time.

They are now at an age where they have part time jobs with various shifts and a social life and I no longer know so far in advance what the plans are so I need to come up with something a bit more flexible without my food bill going through the roof.

How do other people manage their meals whilst accommodating everyone's routine and without all cooking separately? And what sort of things do you cook? I have a slow cooker and a decent amount of freezer space and we generally eat anything.

The obvious tip is to have well-stocked cupboards with staples like pasta, tinned sweetcorn, tuna, beans, jars of tomato sauce etc… Avoid buying a lot of fresh veg which goes off quickly.
I was going to suggest a combination of slow cooker and batch meals before I read the end of your post. I slow cook meals for 6 so people can eat at different times and any portions we don’t use can get frozen individually ready for reheating from frozen or after a quick defrost in the microwave.
Always over-cook. By that I mean plan and cook for the maximum number of people you could end up with, but make sure they’re meals that can either be frozen or eaten cold later or for lunch the following day if some of the family aren’t around.
During the summer, I haven’t done as much slow cooking because of the heat. Instead, I’ve done quiches or massive salads that keep for a few days in the fridge and we can help ourselves to as and when needed. Some of our favourites:
Pesto salad www.coop.co.uk/recipes/pesto-pasta-salad
Couscous www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10minute-couscous-salad
Mexican https://gran.luchito.com/recipes/sides/mexican-salad/