Organising your meals for the week

Knowing what to eat for dinner was one of the most frequently asked questions in my family as I was growing up. Chances are many people have the same stressful dilemma each night. Coming up with an idea of what to cook after a long day at work and running errands can be so exhausting. Often it’s just easier to use Deliveroo, Just Eats, MenuLog, UberEats or another delivery service and get something delivered. Sometimes that’s ok. But doing it frequently will result in a pattern and can make you feel unwell and even guilty about not cooking. But it doesn’t have to be like that. A few simple tricks can help you organising your food for the week. Take a look at the list below to find out how to manage your meals.

Plan! Plan! Plan!

Planning is everything. Try to sit down once a week at a dedicated time and write down what you are going to eat for the week. If you live with others, it makes sense to involve everyone. Maybe pick a breakfast or plan at dinner the night before your grocery shopping. It doesn’t have to be all neat and tidy. Grab a piece of paper or even your note-taking app on your phone and write down Monday to Friday and for each night, pick out your favourite recipes. Using a note-taking app can also be helpful for when you get a great idea when you are not at home. Sometimes my best ideas come to me while I wait for an appointment or during my work break. Being organised and planning in advanced has saved me some serious time! You will also find that after a few weeks, you will start to develop some delicious go-to options.

Create a shopping list

After I have written down all the meals for the week, I make a shopping list. That way, I know in advance what I need to buy from the shops. This saves so much time since I am not dropping into the shops every evening after work, searching for something that could be a suitable dinner. While I still rely on a good old fashion paper list, there are many apps, some of which even allow your entire family to join and add to the list.

Meal Prep

Another way to save time is to take one to two hours to prepare some meals or components of a meal that can be prepared in advance. For example, suppose I’m planning to eat  Spaghetti Bolognese. In that case, I make the tomato sauce on a Sunday afternoon and pop it in the freezer until the night before we eat it. Not only does it save time on the day, but it helps with keeping on track with eating nutritious meals.

Eat the same meal twice.

I know this is a big no go for some people and don’t worry, I use to refuse to eat the same meal two nights in a row. But since eating more home-cooked meals, cooking larger batches and eating the same meal twice has been a serious time saver. Not only do I need fewer recipes for the whole week, I also only have to cook every second day. For each recipe, I double the ingredients to make sure I have enough for the next day. Sometimes, I even alternate the meals, for example, Monday I might have Fried Rice, Tuesday Vegetarian Lasagne and then Wednesday Fried Rice again. The trick is to use meals that you reheat while they still staying delicious. Sticking to these easy and quick tips will help you to reduce ‘dinner stress’ while also helping you to regain some of your valuable time.

Though you might find it challenging to come up with a set of recipes at the beginning, you will notice that it becomes easier as time goes on. You can even build your own recipe collection to help you! But be careful—soon you will find yourself faced with a new dilemma: what to do with your regained time? I suggest meeting up with friends, going for a walk, reading a new book, or finding a new hobby. I, myself, just dusted off my good old sowing machine—just in time for some Christmas decorations!