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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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RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 03/08/2025 18:39

I’m making quiche today. Tomorrow dp finally gets to make his chilli! Then we’re away and I’m unlikely to be meal planning until the last week in August.

DilkushaKitchen · 03/08/2025 22:42

Some lovely spinach ideas on here this week!

My plan

Monday - Sticky chicken and plum traybake from this month's Waitrose magazine, I have an abundance of plums. Will do it with roast new potatoes, Swiss chard and beetroot (plus some for a halloumi and lentil salad lunch in the week)

Tuesday - Lebanese green beans and vermicelli rice

Wednesday - something from a food stall at Sidmouth Folk Festival hopefully, or fish and chips on the beach

Thursday - Mixed pepper and smoky barbecue corn fajitas

Friday - Lebanese spinach and chickpeas with preserved lemon and giant couscous (bit of a theme developing!)

BiddyPopthe2nd · 04/08/2025 09:38

Quiche is a great call. DH has suggested roasting a small chicken tonight to use up the potatoes I have left, and that will suit the sugar snaps.

We’ll use leftover chicken for sandwiches tomorrow, and a quiche is easy to do here for dinner (there are lots of different types of pastry sold ready rolled). And that can use up the last of the salad and pepper also.

Thank you!

Citygirlrurallife · 05/08/2025 16:00

ours has been simple and boring the last few weeks because I've had so much work on, now on holiday but self-catering and trying not to eat out constantly but also not really plan, just deciding each day what to do. Yesterday was wild mushrooms, courgettes and king prawns spaghetti, today is steak/sea bass, jacket potatoes and green beans. back to it properly in another week but lurking in the meantiome

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BiddyPopthe2nd · 06/08/2025 13:24

We ended up missing the shops while driving, DH got distracted. So we used up a half pack of lardons, 4 inches of chorizo and some cooked chicken breast with half a pepper and some sugar snap peas mixed into pizza sauce with fresh pasta (it had a long enough date to leave, but useful) for Monday night.

Yesterday, I made the quiche for lunch with the last of the bacon and eggs, some cheese, and an onion. Which I had with some salad (lettuce, sugar snaps, olives). Just needed some ready rolled pastry (very common here).

And we bought burgers and a tomato, baked a pack of Bart baked round rolls, and used almost the rest of the veggie bits (most of the lettuce, 2 spring onions, 2 carrots (grated them), an avocado, black olives), cheese, and most of my baby potatoes diced up and roasted with some garlic for dinner.

We used the other 2 rolls with the last of the sliced chicken and some cheese for breakfast, the last of the OJ, the end of the milk in our coffee, for breakfast today.

I left 2 inch chunk of ginger (might still be ok in fridge) and half a pack of grated cheese (which I froze), 2 single person dinners of baby potatoes that might still be ok. I threw out 5 apples and a lime that were very wrinkled/old and I had no ideas for. I whizzed up and froze the blueberries dd left behind for my breakfast smoothies when I get back.

And I brought the half bag of crisps, half bag of Leonidas choc, handful of sugar snaps (I’ll eat as a snack raw), and 2 slices in each of 2 different packs of sliced cheese with me for the road trip. And the 2/3 pack of choc hob-nobs that DH opened.

So I am very happy with how that all worked out. I still have some of my dinners in the freezer that they didn’t raid. But I have space to bring back some good meat (a few packs of good steak and maybe some lamb - meat here is very expensive and not nearly so good as “at home”). And some proper cheese and good crackers too.

Thanks for the ideas!

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 07/08/2025 08:58

This week

friday: French onion grilled cheese
Saturday: mushroom and asparagus risotto
Sunday: Spicy roasted cauliflower and chickpea flatbread with wedges
Monday: burratta salad
Tuesday: veggie sausage stew
Wednesday: out so a freezer raid.
Thursday: mushroom stroganoff

SpaceOP · 07/08/2025 21:49

I think I'm going on strike. I'm so bored of all our meals but don't feel any interest in researching or coming up with new ones.

DS and DH are going camping for the weekend. DD is a boring and annoying eater. I think we're having burgers, steak, chops, etc for the next few nights and then that's it, I'm done.

I do have some old food mags that I haven't even read yet and a bunch of recipes that I've saved but not tried so hopefully will find time over the weekend to come up with ideas. DD and I are also hoping to get a slot at our local pick your own farm over the weekend, so that might inform decision making!!!

Oh, and I have a vegetarian friend and her family for dinner on monday. ARRGH!!!!!!!

SpaceOP · 08/08/2025 15:18

Dh and ds might not go camping. I am, i admit, annoyed. It's not.even like I can tell them to sort their own meals - they would. But nothing they would make it would want to eat.

Forgottenmyphone · 09/08/2025 06:58

We go away on Friday so this week it’s all about using things up and batch cooking so I don’t have to shop or cook for the first few days when we get back.
Tonight - Mexican-style black bean traybake
Tomorrow - batch cook lentil bolognese
M - batch cook chickpea tagine
T - French bean and potato sabzi with grilled masala paneer
W - courgette lasagne
Th - menemen

Sgtmajormummy · 09/08/2025 11:34

DD (vegetarian) is going to be on her own dog sitting for 10 days so this week I’ll be making extra portions to freeze. I’m thinking:
Veg risotto, lasagne, curry, couscous sauce
Pasta sauce, soup
Quiche, spinach pie

That, plus fish and meat, will be our menu for the coming days.

I’m not a fan of parboiled pasta, but Findus make a nice pasta with mushroom sauce (cubes of sauce and mini nests of egg pasta, add water and pan fry) which I might try to replicate, mushroom and/or zucchini.

I have microwave-safe glass dishes for the freezer but not enough for 10 days. I’m intrigued by those silicone cubes that hold a 250ml? portion so you can bag up several once frozen or put them side by side in an oven dish to heat.

Has anyone used them? Do they get stained with tomatoes or oil?

UnimaginableWindBird · 09/08/2025 18:22

I have these and use them all the time. I currently have bags in my freezer with single serving portions of Bolognese sauce, vegan chilli, chicken curry, veg curry, and soupe au pistou. They are really handy for days when nobody wants to cook, or when I need feed a vegan and carnivore at the same time, or when I'm coming something that I know one person will hate.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freezing-Silicone-Freezer-Container-portions/dp/B08R78LTCX

BiddyPopthe2nd · 09/08/2025 18:43

Last night was steak on bbq, as well as tomato/peppers/onion/garlic in balsamic cooked in a tin foil tray (using up old veg) and some steamed potatoes.

this week will involve a lot from the freezer:

Tonight DH is cooking a prawn, pepper and pea curry.

Tomorrow, I am defrosting some very large turkey rashers and breadcrumbs, to make a sort of stuffed turkey thing, with sautéed leeks.

Also on the list this week:
Feta and thyme chicken thighs with roasted baby potatoes and maybe garlic French beans or roasted Mediterranean veggies

stuffed tomatoes and mushrooms (need the toms/mush’s yet, and some ham and blue cheese) with salad.

chicken fajitas or beef tacos

a curry night - doing a large batch of 2 different curries to refill the freezer for him

possibly a chilli con carne (ditto)

Also have plenty more prawns, a couple of tomato sauces, some chicken stock and mussel liquor (for in the sauce for risotto or pasta dishes) and more turkey rashers I can use up. And no issue going food shopping for extra bits to add.

May also do another BBQ, or a pizza night to use a pizza dough kit.

UnimaginableWindBird · 09/08/2025 18:48

I've got a pretty stressful week ahead - I have a breast lump which I'm fairly sure is just a cyst, but on Tuesday I have an appointment at the breast clinic for various tests, so even though the likelihood is that it's not anything serious, it's still a worry, and DD gets her A-level results on Thursday. And then my in-laws are visiting for the weekend.

So the plan is:

Monday: maple and chilli salmon with sweet potato wedges and asparagus and green beans.
Tuesday: quiche and a big salad
Wednesday: Chinese takeaway (DD's pre-results choice)
Thursday: spinach and ricotta ravioli (cooked by DC)
Friday: pizza cooked by DH
Saturday: out with in-laws
Sunday: kleftiko.

Sgtmajormummy · 09/08/2025 19:56

Thanks for the recommendation! @UnimaginableWindBird

DilkushaKitchen · 10/08/2025 10:17

That does sound like a stressful week @UnimaginableWindBird, hope it goes as well as possible!

DilkushaKitchen · 10/08/2025 10:24

I haven't been shopping yet, but this week I have planned:

Yesterday: Stir fried chicken with sesame sugar snap peas, broccoli, carrot and noodles

Tonight: Melon, multi vegetable paella, chicken and chorizo paella. Need to think of some protein to go with the veggie version

Monday: Mustardy salmon with beetroot and lentils, potato salad, rocket

Tuesday: Roasted Mediterranean vegetable lasagne/ready meal beef lasagne

Wednesday: Rigatoni with cavolo nero (must remember to put the cavolo nero in a stay fresh bag)

Thursday: Smoky harissa aubergine and chickpeas / freezer chilli

Friday: going out for tapas 😁

myrtleWilson · 10/08/2025 20:00

Hope all goes well @UnimaginableWindBird x

This week looks like this

Sunday - Moro pork in almond sauce and roast potaotes
Monday - - leftover from Sunday
Tues- Fri
Flat beans, tomatoes and feta (Rachel Roddy)
Kale Paneer Saag (meerah sodah)
Spanish-y hake/chickpea broth with chorizo (model's own)
Pepper and lentil soup with halloumi (sophie wyburd)

UnimaginableWindBird · 12/08/2025 12:59

Good news at the clinic, so that's one large chunk of stress off my plate.

HalloumiFries · 12/08/2025 19:40

Been away for a couple of weeks and have eaten very well but equally very badly 😂 In need of veggies and fibre now to give our bodies a detox.

Tonight I'm making a butterbean, courgette, spinach and tomato dish - recommended on insta as a diet kick-starter. Then the plan is:

Tomorrow: mushroom and spinach curry w/ brown rice
Thursday: Roast veg and farro bake
Friday: Veggie fajitas
Saturday: At MiL's so likely to be stodgy and heavy 😂
Sunday: Braised lamb shanks with root veg mash, green beans and peas (not ideal but needs used from freezer)
Monday: Mediterranean lentil bake (sort of lasagne but with courgette strips rather than pasta)
Tuesday: mushroom quinotto

That's as far as this morning's big shop is taking me but if anyone has any similar ideas for healthy but filling food, please feel free to make suggestions.

Glad to see all went well @UnimaginableWindBird

MotherofPearl · 12/08/2025 19:41

That’s good news @UnimaginableWindBird, you must be very relieved.

I’ve been on holiday for the last few weeks so meals have been erratic. Now easing back into a more organised routine.

Wednesday: dhal and roti with clafoutis for pudding otherwise my greedy family will say they’re hungry after ‘just dhal’

Thursday: lemon and thyme chicken breasts with cherry tomato couscous

Friday: salmon puttanesca traybake with green veg

Saturday: prawn spaghetti with a salad

Sunday: roasted vegetable lasagne (planning to make a huge batch so there is plenty to portion up for the freezer)

Monday: marry me chickpeas

Tuesday: tbc but probably broccoli and mackerel pasta

MotherofPearl · 12/08/2025 19:46

@HalloumiFriesI know the feeling of wanting some wholesome food with lots of vegetables after holiday eating; I’ve been feeling the same.

I made a big Mediterranean vegetable casserole served with brown rice the day after we got home.

Maybe a vegetable curry would be good? Or if you like chilli, the BBC burnt aubergine chilli? Lots of veg in that one.

HalloumiFries · 12/08/2025 19:51

That burnt aubergine chilli is a firm favourite here so will very likely find itself on our plates soon.

BiddyPopthe2nd · 14/08/2025 09:45

So far, managed to somewhat use things up (chick fajitas with HM guacamole, seafood risotto and have the makings of feta chicken tonight and stuffed tomatoes and
mushrooms tomorrow). But we opted to BBQ last night as it was nice so I bought lamb chops and doused them in garlic and rosemary - only cooked 3 in the end so there’s an extra one now in the freezer for DH when I’m gone again.

And I have ordered my curry spices to do a batch cooking day, but they haven’t arrived yet. I have until Mi day to do that as we’re away a few days next week.

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 14/08/2025 10:40

Feeling slightly more inspired again.

tomorrow: harrisa roasted chickpeas and feta with flatbread
Saturday: caramelised leek pasta
Sunday: pie, chips and mushy peas
Monday: Thai fried rice
Tuesday: Gochujang tofu
Wednesday: lentil sloppy joes
Thursday: West African peanut stew

SpaceOP · 15/08/2025 09:10

@UnimaginableWindBird so glad to hear about the clinic. How were results!?

We are off on holiday next week so I'm now just trying to get through these last few days.

Chicken schnitzel tonight
Pork mince stir fry tomorrow
Gnocchi on Sunday.

I need to do my order - we're self catering but the drive is long so I'll be buying dried/tinned/jarred stuff and snacks and basics to take with us but we'll do fresh food there. To be honest, I'm not expecting to do a lot of cooking while there. We're eating at friends one night anyway, I'm sure we'll eat in the restaurant at least one night and we'll do simple bolognaise or something the others.