Hi all, I’m early 20s and already painfully bored of food shopping/meal planning and I run out of ideas so quickly. So what meals do you often include in your food shopping? What are your classics?
Edit: realised I should probably list some of my classics for anyone else using this as a place to write their meal list! my week will usually look something like
M: something veggie e.g. soup, pizza, or falafel & rice
T: something in a “kit” e.g. tacos, fajitas
W: something pasta, usually a pasta bake
T: leftover pasta, or a different veggie one
F: burgers or something similar
S: easy tea, e.g. ready meal, something with chips
S: fake roast, sausages instead of a proper meat
33 comments
I usually have set meals I intend to make that week, so my shop changes a lot.
But one of the best foods to always buy is mince, in my opinion. So versatile. Make cottage pie, burgers, bolognese, meatballs, burritos, chili con carne, even just fry it with some onion. Great source of protein that can be used for so many different meals
Pasta dishes….easy to knock up with peppers, mushrooms, onions. The same goes for stir fries with noodles instead of pasta. Meat optional in both cases.
Baked potatoes…got bored of them myself, but recently started microwaving them and finishing off is one of the air cookers. Seem to taste so much better.
Mon, Wed and Fri are pizza. Tue, Thur and Sat are curry. Roast on a Sunday at my mums but if she isn’t doing one I’ll have a pizza or a curry.
Rinse and repeat.
My advice is sign up for the introductory cheap trial offers for services like Hello Fresh, steal all the recipes, then cancel the subscription and make them yourself. Also some supermarkets have free recipe cards. Waitrose has a little card stand near the tills with free recipe cards.
EDIT: I just checked and my Hello Fresh login still works from 4 years ago and I can still see all sorts of recipes. In fact you might not even need a login. http://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes
* Go to BBC Good Food, type an ingredient, a meal, a keyword, see what it brings you: [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/)
* Most supermarkets do a free magazine with recipes. They often coincide offers to match the recipes
* When I’m stuck I go to [https://www.gigacalculator.com/randomizers/random-country-generator.php](https://www.gigacalculator.com/randomizers/random-country-generator.php), get a random country, then research its cuisine, find a recipe, and cook something new to me
I like to make larger meals that last a couple of days, saves on cooking every night.
Chilli, Curry, Stew (beef or chicken)
Sometimes it’s fun to try to eat from a different country every day for a week.
You might think about seven dinners from different European countries – maybe Belgian steak frites, Italian risotto al funghi, Swedish meatballs, Irish ham and potatoes, Greek souvlaki, German pork chops and a British fry up.
I think if you get into a rut all you need to do is remind yourself what you actually know how to cook, and cook that.
Make a chilli or curry once a week, it literally takes about 10 mins to prepare. You could also do a stew, stuff like that.
I’d recommend the Hairy Dieters books.
They are simple recipes, home cooked food and pretty tasty. What I like about them, they don’t try to be pompous and the food is pretty easy to bang together.
They have a spicy pork and rice recipe that is beautiful.
Slow cook stuff is a good shout so chilli con carne, stews etc etc.
Pasta bake.
Fish is a good shout as there are so many types to stop it getting boring. Salmon, basa, smoked mackrel etc etc. depending on the fish you can do rice or potato and veg
I am a fan of big mothership recipes. So roast a chicken once a week and have with the trimmings, leftovers can be used in pasta. Slow cook shoulder of pork to be had in several ways. Sausages and mash, use the rest of the bangers in sandwiches. A big batch of bolognese or chilli, that can be had in the classic way or made into a bake or lasagne. Chicken thighs in a curry. A few cheaty things like frozen fish, chicken kievs and pizza get thrown in. But ultimately it is a pile of meats, fresh veg, some cans and jars. In somewhere like Lidl it can be very cheap.
I remade my monthly meal plan recently. I’m veggie, WFH, live alone. I like a lot of food, not keen on the same things too often, etc so hence monthly. To make it easier, I only did Mon-Fri dinner, leaving weekends for things like going out/takeaways, dinners at/with friends and so on. I stuck with toast/yoghurt/smoothie for breakfast and jacket potato with random filling for lunch or soup or sandwich, Depending on mood/day yada.
I then drew up a grid and filled it in with the first things that came to my head, I liked, like you’ve listed, then added in other stuff in around it like what you’ve got in your cupboards and so on.
Mon: Week 1: Nachos, Week 2: Risotto, Week 3: Takeaway, Week 4: Pasta
Tues: Week 1: Gnocchi, Week 2: Quesadillas, Week 3: Burgers, Week 4: Lasagne
..
You can then shuffle things round so you don’t have two Italian meals back to back. Or if you’re making spaghetti Bolognese and make it in advance, can you make extra Bolognese and have that as your jacket potato filling the next day for lunch. You can then also shuffle things round so if can a jar of sauce of for two meals, one this week, freeze one and have it next week. Add in some sides (chips or salad or veggies) and you can then come up with a nice neat shopping list too.
DM me if you want more.
Chilli con carne
It’s not too hard to make and you can get a lot of left over meals and it’s easy to have it in different ways like with rice or a wrap. I usually just have it with veg or salad and cottage cheese.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chilli-con-carne-recipe
This is a pretty good recipe, but I add more stuff like courgettes, sweetcorn, carrots. More spices as well.
Once you start cooking meals you realise you can get more flexible with recipe and experiment. Always make sure to have a bank of spices and staples in the cupboard.
For me. If I have onions, garlic, spices, herbs, potatoes some veg. I can usually knock up a lot of meals or the vast majority of the recipes I like.
I also regularly make
Stir fries
Grilled chicken thighs
Fajitas
Also whacking some veg in a tray into the oven with some oil and seasoning is great.
Sweet potato chips
I always have eggs in the fridge – many different ways to make them (scrambled, fried, omelettes with various toppings), easy to make a meal, very quick to cook, delicious, cheap, nutritious, low in carbs. Eggs are my default meal for when I can’t be bothered to go shopping, or order takeout, or come up with what to cook. Just super versatile in every way, what’s not to like.
These aren’t strictly on rotation, but most of them get eaten during any 2-3 month period, and I know them well enough to not need recipes:
Large tarka dal, rice
Chicken breast stuffed with chestnuts and/or dried fruit, potatoes, vegetables
Vegetable Singapore noodles, lots of chillies
Veggie pizza, usually mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes, capers, olives
Tuna and egg salad, croutons
Prawn curry, naan, pilau rice
Five bean chilli, Spanish rice
Mushroom ravioli in cream sauce or butter
Baked salmon, new potatoes, Hollandaise sauce, lemon
Katsu chicken, sticky rice
Savoury bread and butter pudding with stilton and mushrooms
Sweet and sour Quorn, egg fried rice, prawn toast
Tomato, cheese, red pepper and herb omelette
Vegan sausage toad in the hole
Chicken burgers, salad, sesame seed bun, triple fried chips
Seafood mornay, green salad
Tuna and red pepper pasta bake
Baked potato, cheese, tomato soup
Scampi and chips, salad, French dressing
Prawn laksa noodles
Turkey meatballs, spaghetti, arabbiata sauce
Arancini rice balls stuffed with ragu and mozzarella
Bibimbap, with egg, rice and pickled vegetables, but no steak
Plant-based shawarma in a wrap with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickled chillies, chilli sauce
Potato, onion and cheese fritters with smokey BBQ sauce
Macaroni and cheese, garlic bread
Nut roast with dried fruit and asparagus with almonds
Peppers stuffed with quinoa, onions and herbs
Dairy free kedgeree – smoked fish, rice, peas, chillies, madras powder
Quorn Kievs, chips, salad
Baked brie, raspberry coulis, crusty bread, green salad
Meat-free lasagne/chilli con carne fusion
Shakshuka – eggs in spicy tomato sauce, rice salad with currants and almonds
Are you a veggie? Not sure, you have some veggie meals, and some ambiguous (‘burgers’)
If not veggie: Birds Eye Chicken pies are a British tea time classic. Have ’em with oven chips and peas on a Tuesday. I also notice you’re not eating enough oily fish- what about mackerel or smn with an egg salad? Nice vinaigrette dressing, mmm!
If vegetarian: You’re not getting enough veg, or pulses. There’s loads you can do, but it takes more prep and or/cooking. A nice lentil Daal with rice? Stir fried veg with fried rice? Use tofu in place of meat for your protein, theres literally hundreds of things you can do with a wok. I would also say not to overthink veggie cooking- you can just boil or steam up a pot of seasonal veg- potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and thats wholesome meal in itself.
Anyway Im lurking in the thread looking for suggestions too. UK tea time cooking for midweek meals is an area of cuisine that is seldom is discussed, and is usually derided as being crap by our colonial cousins. We all know thats not true, but that the same time Im always looking for new, simple ideas.
I’m quite easy to please so I often just have a chicken breast with some seasoning and rice, but try this
Gammon Steaks, Eggs & Rice or Chips
Beef Medallions (Cheaper than steak and healthier), Rice or Chips
Chicken & Egg Fried Rice (Fry chicken while boiling the rice, throw it all in the pan with veggies and crack an egg or two and mixed it all in
Corned Beef Hash is my secret pleasure, slice up a tin of corned beef and dice a potoato or two into small cubes, throw the potatos in a pan until they start going soft and then throw in the corned beef to sear it, add cheese! (A lot of people use frozen mash, but I dont really like it)
Curry is a good option, Sharwoods do a good Tikka Sauce and its reasonably priced, just cook the chicken its softer if you boil it but more hassle than throwing it in the Oven.
If you can be bothered with the extra hassle, always make your chips out of a potato. Just peel the potato and then slice it, throw the sliced “chips” into a pot and boil them until they are soft and then drain, add to a tray and season and cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes, they are lovely and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside and a lot better than oven chips from the freezer!
My go to’s are –
Chilli, Fajitas or Fajita pasta.
Stir fry or chicken fried rice and curry sauce.
Pizza. Breaded chicken and chips or noodles.
Bolognese, tomato pasta or risotto.
Sunday try and have something hearty like stew or roast.
Stir Fry, with steak or chicken and a spicy sauce.
Lamb shish kebabs on plate of mixed Mediterranean veg.
Roast chicken (legs or thighs) with cauliflower cheese and green beans.
Chinese( duck pancakes, ribs, sweet n sour prawns) .
Steak with mushrooms and fries.
Paella or Curry (shop bought).
My mum found herself in this kind of rut a few years back, so she went and got herself a couple of cookbooks and just started picking random pages and buying those ingredients. Think she started with the Jamie oliver 15/30 minute meals ones since she’s a busy lady (dad helps with cooking too but she really spearheaded this)
It’s been at least 5 years and they’re still doing it and having a blast. Their cookbooks take up an entire shelf in the kitchen now
https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/f65amk/new_favorite_thing_to_do_for_weekend_dinners/fjyxcz5/
Chilli con carne, homemade Cajun chicken with homeade spicy wedges not homage but make my own spices for the chicken and wedges, spaghetti bolognaise, and my favourite is you know them colmans season and shake bags I put chicken and veg in them and serve with salad and proper buttered French bread! Also I have a fry up for tea on the odd occasion and steak and chips and I also add a meat roast of some sort into the week, they won’t just for Sundays! Stew in the slow cooker, toad in the hole, all sorts! Edit also, I like homemade pizza, I buy shop bought doughy but just add own toppings. EDIT: spelling! Bloody predictive text!
Curries, from scratch.
Hella easy, cheap, filling, good for you, easy to store and reheat, get better with time in the fridge.
Basic recipe I use for a veggie one:
White & Red Onions – chop and simmer in butter on medium for about 20-30mins, you want them to break down. I sometimes add some honey if I’m feeling fancy.
During this time prep your veg etc. I use Bell Peppers, aubergine, chili peppers, sweet potato (I roast it first) and chickpeas. Play around as you see fit or even add meat/fish.
Grate a carrot, some garlic & some ginger – throw in and mix in with onion, cook 5 mins
Mix some spices with oil (can do this yourself or just get a pre made mix/garam masala) and chuck in pan, fry for about 30s and then mix all together.
Throw in your veg, stir around a bit.
Now add some tinned tomatoes and mix it all together again, it will be thick and chunky so throw in some boiling water so everything can mix together and break down a bit. Don’t add too much or it will go watery.
Keep an eye on it, stir it about and don’t let it go dry. Eventually it will get the consistency you want. At this point you can take it off the heat and add coconut or yoghurt if you want to add some body and sweetness to it. If you like Coriander hitting it with some fresh shredded stuff at this point really ups it, along with some lime juice.
Voila, can be made in massive bulk, cheap and easy and healthy. All you need to do is add some rice, naan bread (don’t get that sharwood shite, naans should be flat and stretched, not thick and doughy like their crap. I’ve seen better nanns for cheaper than sharwoods!) or/and Bombay potatoes.
I would recommend making in bulk in a big wok but you can use a casserole dish or saucepan if willing to take it out/stir it frequently haha
The secret is the onions. You need a load of onions and you need to let them cook in butter for a while. It really makes the dish richer.
You can experiment very easily, at it’s core I guess its a bastardized Dopiaza.
Hope this makes someone’s meal times/shopping better. It honestly is so cheap and easy and can make loads of easy to reheat leftovers 🙂
My big shop is fruit for breakfast. Chicken fillets, peppers, spring onions, plum tomatoes, tortillas & chilli sauce which I’ll cook all in one batch and freeze (work lunch for 2 weeks). When I’m off work I’ll make a large homemade pizza that does me for my lunch on my days off. For my tea I’ll I usually have either a small roast dinner or chicken, chips and sweet corn. Probably spend about £40 every 2 weeks for myself.
Get red lentils and chopped tomatoes. Great base for a veggie Bolognese (add onion, carrots, celery, oregano, dash of cinnamon) or a dhal (add onion, garlic, cumin, garam masala and roasted aubergine) or a chili sin carne (add bell pepper, kidney beans, sweetcorn, chili).
Kidney beans, sweetcorn, tinned toms and onion makes a great base for a chilli, I do this with baked pots and cheese.
Chorizo, potato’s, Savoy cabbage and onion for Calo Verdi (great soup)
Orzo pasta, fennel and cheese for a pilaff.
We’ve just started using the Sorted Sidekick app, which gives you 3 midweek meals and a shopping list which will be totally used up by them. So far been very impressed and it’s definitely made our cooking feel more fun and interesting, so would recommend you have a look if you’re interested. There’s lots of different meal packs to choose from, which is cool.
I use the Whisk app. They have a meal planner on there and you can add all ingredients to a shopping list on there. This week we are attempting Pho, a meatball tray bake, a Japanese beef dish I can’t remember the name of, veggie stir fry.
The “roasting tin” cookbooks by Rukmini Iyer are very good. I’ve got The Green Roasting Tin and I’ve tried literally about 30 recipes from there and 25+ have been great (as in I would cook and eat them again).
They’re all very easy to cook and they mostly have ingredients that can be found in any shop.
Usually 1 day I’ll have chicken breasts and some sort of veg, another same story with fish, something vegetarian, a chilled soup of some kind and rye bread, occasionally I eat an entire quiche. Pretty boring tbh.
I use an app called Sidekick which was created by Sorted Food. Essentially you get a a choice of recipe packs which have 3-5 recipes using one shopping list for 1,2 or 4 people. It’ll create the recipes so all fresh or perishable ingredients are fully used. You’ll have leftovers of staples like rice, pasta, spices etc but they last for ages so aren’t going to be wasted.
It’s designed for mid week cooking so most meals are done in 30 mins or less with both audio and written instructions. Also gives me prompts when I may have time to wash up whilst things are cooking (say if I’m waiting 5 mins for pasta to finish cooking).
You can then pick a pack each week and be ready for the week ahead. Personally I cook for myself and cook 2 portions and have leftovers for lunch.
They have a free trial for a month so worth trying. Outside the trial it’s £5 a month and I generally save that from having more efficient meals planned and not wasting food.. I’ve used it for almost 2 years and always have something new each week. I can also use a previous recipe pack that I enjoyed if I wanted something more familiar. Can get some more info here https://sortedfood.com/sidekick/
You could try the app “sidekick” which was created by sortedfood. Each week you select a new set of meals and the premise is that they are designed to not result in any food waste. It’s free for the first month so perhaps worth a try.
I see nothing in there involving jacket spuds.