Struggling with meal planning can anyone help me?

[Mealplanningfatigue]

I'm really struggling with mental load fatigue as a lone parent. I'm on a really tight budget feeding 1 child with ARFID and another with allergies (dairy and peanuts) any solutions must be available in Aldi. Can anyone help with a work week friendly meal plan for me please? I'm a competent cook and have about £50 a week for grocery shopping.

Do you have a slow cooker? An air fryer? X

Try ChatGPT - honestly, it’s really helpful.

What are the meals you currently make and the kids can eat?
How old are they?

If you have a slow cooker then any of these you can just pop in on low before you leave in the morning and it’ll be ready for dinner time:

• Bolognese
• Curry
• Casserole
• Honey BBQ shredded chicken
• Mince & veg (for mince & dumplings)
• Soup
• Butter chicken
• Meatballs & tomato sauce
• Pulled pork
• Chilli

What does your DC with arfid eat?

Primary school age children. ARFID child is typical in their love of beige and will only eat pasta, ham sandwiches made with a specific ham and a specific bread, and raw salad veg. We are working on rice but they're not impressed. Wet food is a big barrier for them.

I'll be honest I'm sick of the sight of pasta and would happily not have it in the house again.

Could you trial with orzo, then bit by bit start adding in some rice? Eventually moving to all rice? I noticed its now sold at aldi!

Does no 'wet food' rule out soups, coconut based curries etc?

I don't have kids, just DH and I, and we make several meals from a MN famous never ending chicken! Sunday, we might have a roast chicken/veg and I keep the juicy bits (stock) from the bottom of the pan.

The stock can be used to make a Chinese sweet corn soup, risotto (or with orzo) or dare I say base for a pasta sauce- but all of these might be on the wet 'no' list. The meat gets used in sandwiches, pasta bake, stir fry, coronation chicken etc.

I assume only having to make 1 meal for everyone is the trickiest thing OP?
-Baked potatoes and everyone chooses their topping
-Pizzas made with wraps and again, everyone chooses their toppings
-Toasted sandwiches
-omelette or quiche
-Home made fish fingers https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/homemade-fish-fingers
-Home made chicken nuggets https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-nuggets
-I found this link. Some look too wet/have dairy etc, but you might get some ideas from it https://www.mostlybeige.com/

To be honest I think trying to incorporate the ARFID into a meal plan isn't going to work, I think you need to resign yourself to catering separately for that child, except for perhaps a couple of nights a week where you could serve a pasta dish and plain pasta for your arfid child.
I'd concentrate on simple foods that are nutritious but don't take long to cook. Omelettes or fritata with veg
Sausage, mash and peas
A simple chicken, sweetcorn, broccoli and noodle stir fry.
Pasta with a tomato, garlic and bacon sauce (buy a pack of bacon and split between a fritata and a pasta dish, you don't need much it's just to add a bit more flavour).
A second pasta dish with tuna, sweetcorn and peppers
If you have some spice a simple cauliflower and chickpea curry is cheap. Serve with rice.
There's nothing wrong with beans or egg on toast one night a week.

All are really minimal effort but in your situation there would be no shame in using a jar of curry sauce or ready made mash.

Does your child just eat plain pasta or do they have a sauce on it?
If you're trying to cut costs then reducing the amount of meat you eat is probably a good way to go.
I would do something like:

• roast a chicken at weekend (obviously on mn that will feed all of you for the rest of the week!) with potatoes, carrots and brocolli or frozen peas which aren't expensive.
• use the leftover chicken the next day in a risotto with some mushrooms
• make a veg curry using lentils or chickpeas for protein - make a big batch and freeze the rest so that's an easy dinner for another week
• a pasta dish one night so the ARFID child can eat with you
• jacket potatoes and beans one night is really cheap

Use your freezer to buy meat and fish when it's reduced or on offer. Frozen veg is good for making homemade soups too.