How to plan a week of meals

Planning meals is one of those jobs that saves far more time than it takes. Here is a simple routine you can finish in about ten minutes.

Start with the week, not the recipes

Before you pick anything, look at the week ahead. Which evenings are busy? Who is eating at home, and when? A Tuesday with clubs and a late finish needs a very different dinner from a slow Sunday.

Write down how many dinners you really need, then add lunches and breakfasts if you plan those too. Many people only plan dinners, and that is a perfectly good place to start.

Mix easy and ambitious

A week of all-new recipes is exhausting, and a week of all the same favourites gets dull. A good balance is:

One or two tried-and-tested favourites you could cook half asleep
One or two meals that make leftovers for the next day
One new recipe you are looking forward to trying
One flexible "use it up" night near the end of the week

Cook once, eat twice

Bigger batches of things like chilli, curry, bolognese or soup turn tonight's dinner into tomorrow's lunch or a portion for the freezer. Check how many servings a recipe makes and plan around it.

Lock in the meals you love, swap the rest

Nibbowl fills your week from your own recipes once you say how many dinners, lunches, breakfasts and snacks you want. If you love a suggestion, lock it so it stays. Swap or remove the ones that do not suit, and the rest of the plan stays as it is.

Turn the plan into one shopping list

The plan is only half the job. Once the week looks right, build a single shopping list from every meal in it, with the same ingredients added up and grouped by aisle. You do one shop instead of several top-up trips, and you only buy what the plan needs.

Be kind to yourself

Plans change. A friend invites you out, someone is ill, or you simply fancy something else. That is fine. Swap a meal, or mark one as eaten and move on. A plan is there to make the week easier, not to tell you off.

Let Nibbowl do the planning

Plan your week of meals, get one shopping list and cook from your pantry. Free to start.