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2025 Meal Planners!

988 replies

Citygirlrurallife · 01/01/2025 18:47

Here it is - all welcome, long termers and newbies, I imagine this week is leftovers leftovers leftovers and kicking off from Thursday onwards.

ive gone back to Oddbox and our deliveries now come on Friday nights so I’m going to try to force my brain to meal plan Thursday-Thursday and have delivery on Thursdays to make it happen. Won’t happen this week but hopefully from next

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Twinkletwinklelil · 03/01/2025 07:02

today- marry me chicken and pasta
saturday- fish and chips
Sunday- stir fry
Monday- lentil dhaal
tuesday - chicken curry and roti
wednesday - chicken curry and rice
thursday - Chicken and Mediterranean veg with rice
Friday - shepherds pie
saturdsy - tbc, we have family over so maybe pizzas
Sunday - shepherds pie

trying to spend less this year too so stretching meals out

Lomoto · 03/01/2025 07:21

Oh I love meal planning. I looked forward to doing it!

Thursday: cauliflower cheese, sausages, peas and fries
Friday: fish pie
Saturday: mashed sweet potato, fries, coleslaw and crispy chicken
Sunday; ricotta and spinach stuffed pasta shells (I think it's a Jon watts recipe)
Monday: egg fried rice with smoked salmon
Tuesday; freezer beige food
Wednesday: orzo broccoli pasta bake (Taming twins)

I like to cook as much from scratch as possible and try not to use pre-made. Some weeks are easier than others as I try to cook something we will all eat.

LittleRedRidingHoody · 03/01/2025 08:33

Here is mine for next week! Just put in the Ocado order for Sunday (we're away until then).

Sunday - Mashed sweet potato, garlicy lentil stew, roasted tenderstem broccoli with lemon and parm
Monday - Will use half the potatoes/lentils from Sunday to make a veggie cottage pie, and serve with baby carrots and peas.
Tuesday - (hosting a playdate) Homemade mini pizzas, veggie sticks and homemade hummus to dip
Wednesday - Shakshuka with crusty bread
Thursday - Out with friends
Friday - Lasanga, garlic bread and salad
Saturday AM - (hosting a brunch/playdate) Banana bread pancakes, yoghurt/fruit salad, bagels with cream cheese

Sgtmajormummy · 03/01/2025 09:05

Hello!
I haven’t seen your previous thread but happy to join.
For the last 5 years I’ve kept a Kakeibo notebook with categories of daily spends that you can add up daily, weekly etc. Just as a record, not restricting myself.
All that time my food “budget/desired amount” has been €150 per week (for three people and a one guest meal which is usually a roast and a cake).

With the COL increasing I’ve had to find more and more creative solutions with vouchers, own brands, cooking dishes from scratch etc. Lockdown, when I challenged myself to feed 4 people all meals for €20 a day, gave me the luxury of time to learn new recipes, bake bread, soak pulses etc and those habits have carried on.

I make a weekly meal plan for all lunches and dinners on a Monday morning, stick it on the fridge and send a photo to the family WhatsApp. Of course it’s flexible but it means I only have to think hard about it once a week.

And as of 1/1/25 the food budget has gone up to €175!

worriedgal · 03/01/2025 10:58

Copied from old thread Blush

Today
Leftovers pie topped with all butter puff pastry,mashed potatoes,shredded sprouts and peas

Sat- pasties from leftovers ,chips and vegetables

Sunday- chicken and bacon pasta with peas and mushrooms

Monday-stir fried vegetables with noodles

Tuesday- fajitas with southern fried chicken tenders,veg and dips

Wednesday-butternut and sage linguine with walnuts and pecorino

Thursday-beef stew ,mash and cabbage

SpaceOP · 03/01/2025 11:29

I've shopped... and still don't really have meal plans. Sigh. But, roughly:

Spanakopita and salad
Tacos-ish /Fajita-ish something or other with leftover wraps that need eating
Buffet type food (charcuterie, cheese, bread, crackers, sausages, pates) for friends coming over tomorrow.
Pork schnitzel
Some sort of stir fry most likely with random bits of veg left in the fridge and/or a pasta dish with random bits of veg/chorizo/bacon left in the fridge! I'm leaving this one until last, so I can see what's there!
Roasted tomato soup with a cheese toastie from Instagram.

TheGirlWhoLived · 04/01/2025 08:41

I’m definitely here for this thread, really making a big push towards non ultra processed food, huge focus on fresh and homemade food. I think I’ll probably do a 3 week meal plan with a view of changing once per season (so January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December)

Iamnotaloggrip · 04/01/2025 09:08

I usually plan on a Sunday but did one yesterday as DP will shop this morning now most of the leftovers are gone and we can get back to eating proper meals!

Tonight - sea bass and leek risotto
Tomorrow - cottage pie
Monday - stir fry
Tuesday - pie leftovers
Wednesday - sausages (not sure how I’ll do them yet!)

That’s as far as I’ve got but I’ve already seen some lovely ideas on this thread so will start making a note of those.

HalloumiFries · 04/01/2025 12:16

Today: Butter halloumi curry with naan bread
Tomorrow: Lentil and aubergine lasagne-style pie
Monday: Harissa aubergine bean stew
Tuesday: Vegetable soup, cheese and crackers
Wednesday: Same as Tuesday
Thursday: Pasta with tomato, chorizo and spinach sauce
Friday: Turkey enchiladas
Saturday: Jambalaya
Sunday: Roast ham but not yet sure about sides.

UnimaginableWindBird · 04/01/2025 12:21

I'm trying to do all my meals prep in the morning on weekdays and then either have something that DH can put in the oven when I'm on my way home or which I can cook/assemble really quickly when I get in, or which just needs to be reheated.

Monday: lentil soup
Tuesday: loaded jacket potatoes
Wednesday:pizza and salad
Thursday: maple-glazed salmon with roast veg
Friday: chipotle roasted sweet corn and squash
Saturday: chicken curry (made in triple quantities to freeze)
Sunday: burnt aubergine chilli (also made with plenty to freeze).

Lunches will mostly be leftovers, but I will make a batch of marry me beans for non-leftover days.

IDareSay · 04/01/2025 13:50

Just done a quick sweep of the freezer and I can see we don't need much fresh meat or fish to be delivered on Monday so that brings the shopping bill down. Provisional meal plan is:

Monday chicken goujons and salad
Tuesday duck stir fry
Wednesday fajita beef casserole
Thursday fish curry
Friday fajita beef casserole leftovers
Saturday sausages and veg
Sunday chicken curry

Breakfasts are usually eggs of some kind, pancakes, or fruit and yoghurt.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 04/01/2025 14:21

Tonight is homemade pizzas with pesto and vege; rocket salad
Tomorrow - no idea - might go out for lunch, as it's the last day of the holidays
Monday - vegetarian Cornish pasties with roasted vege
Tuesday - dhal, parathas
Weds - vegan macaroni cheese plus roasted broccoli
Thursday - freezer surprise or something with eggs

forgotmyusername1 · 04/01/2025 16:40

Have had a look through the fridge and freezer and done a meal plan and I think we can avoid the supermarket this week

lorisparkle · 04/01/2025 20:44

My weeks plan are

Today - Greek chicken traybake
Sun - Stew
Monday - Fajitas
Tuesday- Taco shells
Wednesday- pesto pasta
Thursday- Thai green curry
Fri - jacket potatoes
Sat - Harissa chicken tray bake
sun - Souvlaki sandwich

Lentilweaver · 04/01/2025 20:46

Marking.

Custardandcreams · 04/01/2025 23:01

Tonight pork stirfry
sunday cheese/leek/mushroom risotto
monday soup and crusty bread
tuesday Cajun halloumi pasta
wednesday sausage casserole with sweet potato mash and veg
thursday chilli and rice
friday panini pizzas/salad corn on the cob

Zippidydoodah · 04/01/2025 23:57

I’ve actually done a meal plan and although I wanted to save money, I’ve ended up spending more on my supermarket shop as I wanted to do healthy meals, including lunches.

I have:

Roast chicken with trimmings
lasagne
Creamy halloumi and tomato curry (haven’t tried it before but just saw it on a website)
pasta arrabbiata and salad
barbecue sausage tray bake
beef tacos
pizza pinwheels and chips/salad or broccoli (determined to get my kids eating broccoli!)

i started a thread a while ago to help me with cooking and meal planning ideas, as it was slowly killing me! I had some amazing help, ideas and advice. I’ve been away over Christmas so had a bit of a break from cooking, which has really helped with motivation too!

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 04/01/2025 23:59

Try roasting the broccoli - it magically becomes edible.

Sunshineandrainbow · 05/01/2025 00:00

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 04/01/2025 23:59

Try roasting the broccoli - it magically becomes edible.

Do you par boil?

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 05/01/2025 00:03

Sunshineandrainbow · 05/01/2025 00:00

Do you par boil?

Nope, just cut it really small.

Zippidydoodah · 05/01/2025 01:12

Thanks! I’ll try that!

hailholyqueen · 05/01/2025 09:51

Not very inspiring but...

Sun: 'Marry Me' chicken pasta
Mon: Leftover beef & orzo stew (IG: JohnGS)
Tues: Chilli and rice
Weds: Dan Dan pork noodles
Thurs: Leftover chilli and jacket pots

BiddyPop · 05/01/2025 10:14

Happy New Year!

I have seen off the last of my visitors yesterday, so had a couple of weeks of richer meals but finished with a pasta/salmon/prawns/peas in a tomato and chilli sauce concoction.

Dd wanted sushi on her last night so I made a chicken vadagam for myself (and the freezer) with proper pilau rice and puppodums.

I used the leftover rice (I'd cooked enough in case dd wanted some after all - she took some sauce but not the rice) to make a nasi goreng last night - using up all the leftover bits of cooked chicken, veggies, open tin of corn etc. with a couple of frozen prawns and a tin of tuna added in.

Tonight, I have defrosted a couple of lamb chops and some lamb gravy, which I will have with the half cauliflower DH left behind, topped with garlicky breadcrumbs (from the various ends of bread they don't eat).

I have another 8 nights here before I need to go back home for almost a week (meetings for a few days in my HQ, and most of the weekend tacked on).

So I plan to try and empty out what's in the fridge and use up things in the freezer for those 8 days. My vague plan is (and not necessarily in day order yet - easy meals on Mondays and Thursdays, more complicated things at the weekend):

Bacon and mushroom pasta with an egg and cream sauce (almost a carbonara).

Pepperoni and fennel salami pizza.

Chicken and mushrooms with a creamy sauce - either in vol au vent cases or over pasta or rice.

Baked butternut squash - possibly with another lamb chop or chicken joint, or just on its own. Any leftover will be made into soup for a lunch.

Roasted veggies (from freezer) with pasta (possibly with some bacon lardons).

And I have a few packs each of beef chilli, veggie chill, chicken vadagam, chicken korma; as well as a pasta bake, and a portion of lasagna that I can have from the freezer as easy midweek meals. And a fish covered in tomato and mozarella pre-made thing to try out.

InTheLibrary · 05/01/2025 10:24

Hi all, Ocado shop arrived Friday afternoon ready for the week:

Sat - chicken fajitas
Sun - beef burgers with chips and onion rings
Mon - fish fingers, parmentier potatoes, peas
Tues - chicken kievs, roasted veg, herby boiled potatoes
Weds - tomato soup with cheese toasties
Thurs - chicken meatballs, gravy, mash, peas and spinach
Fri - I’m out but DH and DS having mac and cheese.

3within3 · 05/01/2025 10:24

foodiemama26 · 02/01/2025 23:46

I used to be really good with meal planning and I’m hoping to get organised again! Here’s this week:

Thurs: fish parcels, bang bang salad and sticky rice
Fri: Chicken/mushroom fajitas with salad and guacamole
Sat: chicken and pepper pasta
Sun: cottage pie and peas

Looking forward to getting some inspiration!

Fish parcels and bang bang salad sounds delicious! Do you use a recipe you could please share?