Reducing your weekly food bill means being lean but it doesn’t have to be mean. By cutting down on food waste and on expensive animal protein and filling up on nutritious plant protein, not only reduces the cost of your shopping basket but it also provides a delicious variety of new meals.
About our family meal planner
This week’s family meal planner
Shopping list
About our family meal planner
This week’s meal plan is inclusive of animal and plant protein such as fish, white meat, red meat and eggs. You’ll find nuts, chickpeas, cheese and seeds on the meatless day’s of our meal plans. Sian comments that the secret to affordable, healthy meals is to plan ahead to make sure you are stress-free, and have the right ingredients in the correct amounts in your kitchen, all ready to cook.
These family meal planners are made up of dinners that are child friendly, forming part of a weekly balanced diet. It will give you plenty of nutrients from each of the food groups (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals), says Sian.
Every week, Sian provides you with five simple recipes to plan. You can decide when to make them, on whichever day suits you best. There is also a shopping list (below) that can be printed ready to take with you to the supermarket.
This week’s meal plan
- Medallions of pork with black pudding and root vegetable mash
- Banoffee pie
- Chilli Con Carne and rice
- Baked bean and cheese omelette/frittata
- Chicken and vegetable casserole served with stir fried cabbage and carrots
- Chicken madras curry
- Chowder
- Vegetable broth/soup
- Poached chicken
Shopping list
Baked Products
Digestive biscuits – 350 g
Beverages
Red wine – 100 mls
Cereal Grains and Pasta
Cornflour – 1 tblsp
Basmati Rice – 100 g
Dairy and Egg Products
Butter – 250 g
Cream or Natural Yoghurt – 250 mls
Cream Whipping – 300 mls
Condensed milk – 400 g
Eggs – 8 Medium
Mlk – 4 tblsp
Fats and Oils
Olive oil – 2 tblsp
Fruits and Fruit Juices
Apple – 2
Bananas – 3
Legumes and Legume Products
Chickpeas (canned) – 2
Baked Beans – 1 tin
White beans – 1 Can
Kidney Beans – 1(or 2) tin
Pork Products
Bacon Lardons – 100 g
Pork Tenderloin (or 8 – 12 pork sausages) – 1
Poultry Products
Large Whole Chicken – 1
Fish Products
Fish (salmon, cod, prawns, sea fish) – 400 g
Beef Products
Black Sausage – 1
Beef Mince – 250 g
Soups, Sauces, and Gravies
Beef Stock – 200 mls
Chicken Stock – 800 mls
Fish Stock(or Chicken/Vegetable stock) – 650 mls
Tomato puree – 2 tblsp
Spices and Herbs
Curry Paste – 2 tblsp
Bay leaf – 6
Garlic Cloves – 2
Medium Chili Powder – ½ tsp
Ginger – 2 tblsp
Nutmeg – 1 Pinch
Herbs Finely Chopped (dill, parsley, tarrogan) – 2 tblsp
Vegetables and Vegetable Products
Green Pepper (use half for frittata/omelette) – 1
Red pepper (use half for frittata/omelette) – 1
Yellow Pepper (use half for frittata/omelette) – 1
Courgette (Optional) – 1
Onions – 8
Chopped Tomatoes – 2 tin
Cabbage – 1/8th
Carrots – 14
Parsnips – 4 Medium
Cabbage – 250 g
Celery – 4 stalks
Potatoes – 2.5 kg
Store Cupboard
Red Lentils – 1 tblsp
Sian is a home economist with over 25 years experience as a secondary school teacher and now running her own private cookery school with a focus on meal planning. After years of seeing people struggling to provide healthy meals everyday for their families, she created her own meal planning system at Siansplan.com.
