WEEKLY MEAL PLANNING

We all know that the worst thing you can do is to shop for groceries when you are hungry. You have a craving for everything and anything and end up with a mountain of mismatched products that won’t make a meal. I feel the same can be said about hitting the supermarket without a shopping list. I know it takes extra time to plan ahead and might be a little inconvenient, but it pays as you end up with much less to no waste, don’t need to pop back to the supermarket every night because you are missing a vital ingredient for dinner and it most certainly works out much cheaper than just going gung-ho. The time it takes you to plan will be saved during the week as you already know what you are going to do without having to wreck your brains after a long day at work. So it saves you time and money which you can spend on more fun activities than grocery shopping.

The first thing I do is check what I have already got and what produce needs using up. I always keep an eye out for special offers, especially meat and fish, when shopping so I usually end up with a fairly well stocked freezer.

Then I work out how many meals I need to plan for. Most weeknights we eat at home but we often spend weekends with friends and don’t need to cook.

Once I know exactly how many dishes I am aiming for my favourite part of the planning starts. Out come all the cookbooks and I start leafing through for new exciting recipes or old time favourites we haven’t had for a while.

We both like variety so we try to make something different each week. By mixing up different proteins our diet stays varied and we don’t get fed up too quickly. This is a loose formula that works for us:

·         1x poultry dish (chicken/turkey/duck)

·         1x pork dish (pork/bacon/sausages)

·         1x lamb or beef dish (lamb/beef/mince)

·         1x fish/seafood dish (fresh, canned or frozen fish/prawns/squid/mussels)

·         vegetarian dishes for the remainder

We tend to cook larger portions as it doesn’t make a difference time wise whether you cook for 2 or for 4. Any leftovers are used for lunch the next day (I recommend “Save with Jamie” for great left-over recipes!) or go in the freezer for those days you just can’t bear to spend any time behind the stove. Things like Bolognese sauce are easy to make in large badges, freeze really well and come in handy for lot’s of dishes. You can portion them up before freezing, then take the individual packages out as and when you need them. Half the work is already done , all you need to do is to add a few extra ingredients for Spaghetti Bolognese, Chilli Con Carne, Lasagne, Moussaka, Stuffed Peppers or Cottage Pie.

Once I’ve got all the ”big decisions” out of the way I just add the staples like milk, bread, breakfast, fruit, snacks etc. I don’t get too hung up about these and often make an ad hoc decision in the store based on current offers.

We keep a blackboard in the kitchen (it is not exactly the one pictured but something very similar) where we scribble down anything we run out of while it is fresh in our mind (e.g. quick note when using the last bit of the tin foil, garlic, ketchup etc.) so a last check on there finalises my list and I’m off to the supermarket for one big sweep to see us through the week. If I find any good offers during my travels I stock up and put them in the freezer for the following week together with any meat I might not use until the end of the week to keep everything fresh and safe.

We love it as it takes a lot of pressure off during the weeknights and we save money on top. Of course, nothing is set in stone, so if we don't fancy what we've got planned for the night we just switch it up with something else from another day. Or we just can't be asked and opt for a pizza from the freezer instead and push everything back by a day. It's supposed to help us, not punish us so we don't get too crazy strict about it.

Do you plan your meals and shopping in advance or are you more spontaneous in your approach?

PS: Yes, I know there are a lot of Jamie Oliver Books, and that's not even all of them. Hands up, I admit it, I am slight obsessed.