Do you know how to meal plan and write a shopping list?

 

I’ll be honest I’ve done this for so many years now I don’t even think about it anymore. But looking back I know it was tricky at first so thought I’d write a bit about how I do it to see if it can help anyone.

 

I always start my meal plans on a Sunday because once I’ve decided what, if any, roast we’re having I know what leftovers I’ll have. So, I’ll decide that first.

 

I have two pieces of paper, one for the meal plan and one for the list. And a pencil and eraser. You’ll see why in a minute

 

Meal plan

 

Sunday – roast gammon, cheesy cauliflower and leeks, roast potatoes

 

List

 

Gammon joint

 

Cauliflower  (1)

Leeks (2)

Potatoes (500g)

 

Honey (1 tbsp)

Flour (2 tbsps.)

 

Cheese (200g)

Butter (30g)

Milk (1/2 pint)

 

So now I know I’m going to have leftover gammon and I’m making cheese sauce, so I move on to Monday. We had something with potatoes last night so don’t want to repeat ourselves, so I think ok let’s have pasta or rice. We had a cheese sauce so let’s have something in gravy or in a tomato sauce. We had gammon so let’s have chicken or pork or beef! Then I think about what we have on Monday. Am I busy during the day? If so, I might use the slow cooker. Is anyone got an evening activity they need to be at? Does dinner need to be at a certain time? Will people be eating at different times? All important factors in making sure we stick to the meal plan! Let’s say I decided on chicken and chorizo jambalaya

 

Meal plan

 

Sunday – roast gammon, cheesy cauliflower and leeks, roast potatoes

Monday – chicken and chorizo jambalaya

 

List

 

Gammon joint

Chicken breast (1)

Chorizo (100g)

 

Cauliflower  (1)

Leeks (2)

Potatoes (500g)

Onion (2)

Red pepper (2)

Garlic (1 clove)

 

Honey (1 tbsp)

Flour (2 tbsps.)

Cajun spices (2 tbsps.)

Chicken stock cubes (2)

Tin of chopped tomatoes (1)

Rice (300g)

 

Cheese (200g)

Butter (30g)

Milk (1/2 pint)

 

 

And so, we move on to Tuesday. No chicken, no tomato sauce, no rice etc what do we have on Tuesday? But I have gammon leftovers to use up so decide on omelette.

 

Meal plan

 

Sunday – roast gammon, cheesy cauliflower and leeks, roast potatoes

Monday – chicken and chorizo jambalaya

Tuesday – omelette, salad, crusty bread

 

List

 

Gammon joint

Chicken breast (1)

Chorizo (100g)

 

Cauliflower  (1)

Leeks (2)

Potatoes (750g)

Onion (3)

Red pepper (2)

Garlic (1 clove)

Lettuce (1/2)

Spring onions (4)

Radish (6)

Carrots (2)

Tomatoes (2)

Cucumber (1/2)

 

Honey (1 tbsp)

Flour (2 tbsps.)

Cajun spices (2 tbsps.)

Chicken stock cubes (2)

Tin of chopped tomatoes (1)

Rice (300g)

Bake at home crusty bread (1)

 

Cheese (400g)

Butter (30g)

Milk (1/2 pint)

Eggs (6)

 

Wednesday is next so what haven’t we had yet?

Meat – beef, pork, fish.

Carb – pasta, noodles

 

Again, I think about the activities the family have on and decide we’ll have a pork chow mein style stir fry.

 

Meal plan

 

Sunday – roast gammon, cheesy cauliflower and leeks, roast potatoes

Monday – chicken and chorizo jambalaya

Tuesday – omelette, salad, crusty bread

Wednesday – pork chow mein

 

List

 

Gammon joint

Chicken breast (1)

Chorizo (100g)

Pork (200g)

 

Cauliflower  (1)

Leeks (2)

Potatoes (750g)

Onion (3)

Red pepper (2)

Garlic (1 clove)

Lettuce (1/2)

Spring onions (4)

Radish (6)

Carrots (2)

Tomatoes (2)

Cucumber (1/2)

Stir fry veg pack

Beansprouts

 

Honey (1 tbsp)

Flour (2 tbsps.)

Cajun spices (2 tbsps.)

Chinese 5 spice (2 tbsps.)

Sweet chilli sauce (2 tbsps.)

Sesame oil (2 tbsps.)

Soy sauce (2 tbsps.)

Noodles (2 nests)

Chicken stock cubes (2)

Tin of chopped tomatoes (1)

Rice (300g)

Bake at home crusty bread (1)

 

Cheese (400g)

Butter (30g)

Milk (1/2 pint)

Eggs (6)

 

Next is Thursday and we only really have pasta that hasn’t been used yet but Thursday night is football training, so I want something that can be cooked earlier and then put in the oven while I’m out, so I decide we’ll have lasagne.

 

Meal plan

 

Sunday – roast gammon, cheesy cauliflower and leeks, roast potatoes

Monday – chicken and chorizo jambalaya

Tuesday – omelette, salad, crusty bread

Wednesday – pork chow mein

Thursday – lasagne, sweetcorn

 

List

 

Gammon joint

Chicken breast (1)

Chorizo (100g)

Pork (200g)

Mince (200g)

 

Cauliflower  (1)

Leeks (2)

Potatoes (750g)

Onion (4)

Red pepper (2)

Garlic (1 clove)

Lettuce (1/2)

Spring onions (4)

Radish (6)

Carrots (4)

Tomatoes (2)

Cucumber (1/2)

Stir fry veg pack

Beansprouts

 

Honey (1 tbsp)

Flour (3 tbsps.)

Cajun spices (2 tbsps.)

Chinese 5 spice (2 tbsps.)

Italian mixed herbs (2 tbsps.)

Sweet chilli sauce (2 tbsps.)

Sesame oil (2 tbsps.)

Soy sauce (2 tbsps.)

Worcester sauce (2 tbsps.)

Noodles (2 nests)

Chicken stock cubes (2)

Beef stock cubes (2)

Tin of chopped tomatoes (2)

Rice (300g)

Lasagne sheets (6)

Red lentils (100g)

Bake at home crusty bread (1)

 

Cheese (500g)

Butter (45g)

Milk (3/4 pint)

Eggs (6)

 

Frozen sweetcorn (200g)

 

That takes up to Friday and it’s usually our fakeaway night. As we haven’t had any fish yet this week I decide on fish and chips and mushy peas!

 

Meal plan

 

Sunday – roast gammon, cheesy cauliflower and leeks, roast potatoes

Monday – chicken and chorizo jambalaya

Tuesday – omelette, salad, crusty bread

Wednesday – pork chow mein

Thursday – lasagne, sweetcorn

Friday – fakeaway chippie

 

List

 

Gammon joint

Chicken breast (1)

Chorizo (100g)

Pork (200g)

Mince (200g)

 

Cauliflower  (1)

Leeks (2)

Potatoes (1.25kg)

Onion (4)

Red pepper (2)

Garlic (1 clove)

Lettuce (1/2)

Spring onions (4)

Radish (6)

Carrots (4)

Tomatoes (2)

Cucumber (1/2)

Stir fry veg pack

Beansprouts

 

Honey (1 tbsp)

Flour (11 tbsps.)

Cajun spices (2 tbsps.)

Chinese 5 spice (2 tbsps.)

Italian mixed herbs (2 tbsps.)

Sweet chilli sauce (2 tbsps.)

Sesame oil (2 tbsps.)

Soy sauce (2 tbsps.)

Worcester sauce (2 tbsps.)

Noodles (2 nests)

Chicken stock cubes (2)

Beef stock cubes (2)

Tin of chopped tomatoes (2)

Rice (300g)

Lasagne sheets (6)

Red lentils (100g)

Dried peas (50g)

Bake at home crusty bread (1)

 

Cheese (500g)

Butter (45g)

Milk (3/4 pint)

Eggs (6)

 

Frozen sweetcorn (200g)

Frozen white fish fillets (4)

 

Yay Saturday last day of the week! We’ve covered the main meats and carbs, so the world is our oyster so to speak! What have we got on Saturday? Well it’s a busy day with kids footie in the morning and real footie in the afternoon. We will be home midday then won’t be back home until 6pm so I want something that I can prep at lunchtime and will be ready when we get in, so I decide on butternut squash and chicken stew in the slow cooker and I’ll put the potatoes in too so that we can eat as soon as we get home.

 

Monday – chicken and chorizo jambalaya

Tuesday – omelette, salad, crusty bread

Wednesday – pork chow mein

Thursday – lasagne, sweetcorn

Friday – fakeaway chippie

Saturday – slow cooker butternut squash and chicken stew

 

List

 

Gammon joint

Chicken breast (4)

Chorizo (100g)

Pork (200g)

Mince (200g)

 

Cauliflower  (1)

Leeks (2)

Potatoes (1.75kg)

Onion (6)

Red pepper (3)

Garlic (2 cloves)

Lettuce (1/2)

Spring onions (4)

Radish (6)

Carrots (4)

Tomatoes (2)

Cucumber (1/2)

Stir fry veg pack

Beansprouts

Butternut squash

 

Honey (1 tbsp)

Flour (12 tbsps.)

Cajun spices (2 tbsps.)

Chinese 5 spice (2 tbsps.)

Italian mixed herbs (2 tbsps.)

Chilli flakes

Sweet chilli sauce (2 tbsps.)

Sesame oil (2 tbsps.)

Soy sauce (2 tbsps.)

Worcester sauce (2 tbsps.)

Noodles (2 nests)

Chicken stock cubes (4)

Beef stock cubes (2)

Tin of chopped tomatoes (2)

Rice (300g)

Lasagne sheets (6)

Red lentils (100g)

Dried peas (50g)

Bake at home crusty bread (1)

 

Cheese (500g)

Butter (45g)

Milk (3/4 pint)

Eggs (6)

 

Frozen sweetcorn (200g)

Frozen white fish fillets (4)

 

Now you’re finished right? Noooo you’re not! Take your list and go into the kitchen. Look in the fridge, the freezer, the cupboard and if you have any items on the list, rub them out! You’ve got a half bag of flour, rub it off the list. There are 4 chicken breasts in the freezer, rub them off the list, you bought honey the last time you cooked a gammon joint, rub it off the list! And so on.

 

Now you’re ready to go shopping! Just don’t forget the list lol xx Lorna xx