Meal Plan 10: High Protein
Chapter 8 · Weekly shopping list
How to use this list. It merges the shopping lists of all 21 recipes from Monday to Sunday, so you can shop once. Amounts are totals for the week, and the last column says where each item is used. Check the cupboard section before you go, because oil, soy sauce and spices are probably already at home. Every recipe is for one portion except Saturday's soup (2) and Sunday's roast beef (4), which make extra portions. The protein figures on the recipes are rounded estimates. Each recipe page still has its own list.
Meat and fish
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Lean beef mince (5% fat) | 1 pack, 250 g | Mon 125 g (stuffed peppers), Thu 125 g (meatloaves) |
| Chicken breast | 3 fillets, about 400 g | Tue 150 g (satay), Sat 250 g (soup) |
| Lean sirloin or rump steak | 1 steak, about 150 g | Sat (stroganoff) |
| Beef topside joint | 800 g | Sun (roast, 4 portions) |
| Salmon fillet | 1 fillet, about 130 g, fresh or frozen | Fri (glazed salmon) |
| Smoked salmon trimmings | 1 pack, 100 g | Thu 40 g (eggs), Sun 60 g (omelette) |
| Cooked chicken breast slices | 1 small pack, 80 g or more | Fri (sandwich) |
Fruit and vegetables
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Bananas | 2 | Mon (yoghurt bowl), Fri (pancakes) |
| Lemon | 1 | Tue 1 tsp (lunch) and 1 tbsp (dinner), Wed 1 tsp, Thu a squeeze, Fri 1 tsp |
| Large red or yellow pepper | 1 | Mon (stuffed peppers) |
| Broccoli | 2 medium heads (400 g of florets needed) | Mon 150 g, Tue 150 g, Sun 100 g |
| Green beans | 1 small bag, 100 g | Fri (with the salmon) |
| Courgette | 1 | Wed (traybake) |
| Small onions | 5 | Mon 1, Wed 1, Thu 1, Sat 2 (soup, stroganoff) |
| Garlic | 1 head (7 cloves needed) | Mon 1, Tue 1, Sat 3 (soup 2, stroganoff 1), Sun 2 |
| Carrots | 2 | Sat 1 (soup), Sun 1 (roast) |
| Parsnip | 1 | Sun (roast) |
| Baking potato | 1 large, about 250 g | Thu (jacket potato) |
| Potato | 1 medium, about 150 g | Sun (roast) |
| Sweet potato | 1 medium, about 200 g | Thu (mash) |
| Cucumber | 1 small, about 150 g (110 g needed) | Tue 30 g, Wed 50 g, Thu 30 g |
| Medium tomatoes | 2 | Wed 1 (large, lunch), Fri 1 (sandwich) |
| Cherry tomatoes | 1 small pack, 100 g | Wed (traybake) |
| Mushrooms | 1 pack, 250 g (210 g needed) | Sat 150 g (stroganoff), Sun 60 g (omelette) |
| Baby spinach | 1 bag, at least 100 g | Mon 20 g, Sat 60 g (soup), Sun 20 g (omelette) |
Dairy and eggs
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Eggs | 1 box of 18 (16 needed) | Mon 2, Tue 2, Wed 2, Thu 3 (2 breakfast, 1 meatloaves), Fri 2, Sat 2, Sun 3 |
| Plain Greek-style yoghurt | 1 tub, 500 g (about 465 g needed) | Mon 200 g, Tue 15 g, Wed 15 g, Fri 100 g (pancakes) and 1 tsp, Sat 130 g (100 g breakfast, 30 g stroganoff) |
| Cottage cheese | 1 tub, 300 g | Mon 100 g, Tue 100 g, Thu 100 g |
| Strong Cheddar cheese | 1 small block, about 200 g (90 g needed) | Mon 30 g, Wed 30 g, Fri 30 g. About 110 g spare |
| Feta cheese | 1 small pack, about 100 g (40 g needed) | Wed (edamame salad). About 60 g spare |
| Halloumi | 1 block, 225 g (75 g needed) | Wed (traybake). Freeze the rest in 75 g portions |
| Semi-skimmed milk | 1 small carton or pint (30 ml needed) | Thu 15 ml (mash), Sat 15 ml (eggy bread) |
Bread and bakery
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Wholemeal bread | 1 loaf (12 slices needed) | Tue 2, Wed 2, Thu 2, Fri 2, Sat 3 (breakfast 2, soup 1), Sun 1 |
| Wholemeal tortilla wrap | 1 (from a pack) | Mon (lunch) |
| Wholemeal pitta bread | 1 (from a pack) | Wed (lunch) |
Frozen
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Shelled edamame beans | 1 bag (180 g needed) | Wed 100 g (salad), Fri 80 g (rice) |
| Mixed berries | 1 bag, at least 160 g | Tue 80 g (pancakes), Sat 80 g (eggy bread) |
| Peas | 1 bag, at least 160 g | Thu 80 g (mash), Sat 80 g (stroganoff) |
Tins, jars and bottles
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Pink or red salmon | 1 small tin (about 100 g drained) | Tue (sandwich) |
| Tuna in spring water | 1 small tin (about 100 g drained) | Thu (jacket potato) |
| Chickpeas (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Wed (traybake) |
| Cannellini beans (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Sat (soup) |
| Peanut butter, 100% peanuts | 1 small jar (30 g needed) | Mon 1 tbsp, Tue 1 tbsp |
Dry goods
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Porridge oats | 1 bag (110 g needed) | Mon 30 g, Tue 30 g, Thu 20 g, Fri 30 g |
| Basmati rice | 1 small bag (180 g needed) | Tue 60 g, Fri 60 g, Sat 60 g |
| Reduced-salt chicken stock cubes | 1 small box (1 cube needed) | Sat (soup) |
| Reduced-salt beef stock cubes | 1 small box (1 cube needed) | Sat ½ (stroganoff), Sun ½ (gravy) |
Cupboard check
You probably have these already. Check the amounts, then add to the trolley whatever has run out.
- Olive oil: about 16 tsp (5 tbsp, 80 ml) over the week
- Tomato purée: about 3 tbsp and 1 tsp (Mon, Thu, Sat)
- Reduced-salt soy sauce: 2 tbsp (Tue, Fri)
- Honey: 2 tsp (Tue, Fri)
- Salt and black pepper: used in most recipes
- Smoked paprika: 3 tsp (Mon, Wed, Sat)
- Dried thyme: 2 tsp (Thu, Sat, Sun)
- Ground cinnamon: 1 tsp (Tue, Sat)
- Ground ginger: ½ tsp (Fri)
Equipment
- A baking tray, a baking tray lined with baking paper, and a roasting tin with foil (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun)
- A non-stick frying pan, about 20 cm (most breakfasts, Sat dinner)
- A medium saucepan with a lid (Mon to Sun) and a large saucepan (Sat)
- A microwave and a microwave-safe plate (Tue, Thu, Sat)
- A stick blender (optional, Fri pancakes)
- A meat thermometer (optional but useful for the meatloaves and the roast)
- Three lidded freezer containers for the beef (Sun)
Prep-ahead schedule
Each weekday dinner can be partly prepared in 5 to 10 minutes any time that day, which leaves about 10 to 15 minutes of work at dinner time, and the oven does the rest. Saturday is a quick stroganoff, and Sunday is a beef topside roast with lots of waiting time.
| Day | Prep ahead (any time that day) | At dinner time |
|---|
| Mon | Deseed the pepper, chop the onion and garlic, cut the broccoli (10 minutes) | Oven on 200°C, bake the peppers, make the filling, fill and bake 12 to 15 minutes |
| Tue | Mix the satay sauce, cube the chicken (bottom shelf), cut the broccoli (10 minutes) | Oven on 200°C, roast the chicken and broccoli 18 to 20 minutes, boil the rice |
| Wed | Drain the chickpeas, chop the vegetables (10 minutes) | Oven on 220°C, roast the vegetables 10 minutes, add the halloumi for 8 to 10 minutes |
| Thu | Shape the meatloaves (bottom shelf), peel and cube the sweet potato (10 minutes) | Oven on 200°C, glaze and bake 22 to 25 minutes, boil and mash the sweet potato |
| Fri | Glaze the salmon (bottom shelf), mix the clean glaze (5 minutes) | Oven on 200°C, bake the salmon 10 to 12 minutes, boil the rice and edamame, steam the beans |
If you shop once: freeze and defrost
Raw meat and fish should not wait several days in the fridge, so buy them on your shopping day, freeze them at once, and take each one out the evening before you cook it. Defrost on a plate on the bottom shelf of the fridge, never on the worktop. Check the use-by date on the pack: if it falls before the day you need the item, freeze it. Do not refreeze raw meat that has defrosted.
| Item | Cook on | Take out of the freezer |
|---|
| Beef mince for Monday (freeze on buying) | Mon | Sun evening |
| Chicken breast for Tuesday | Tue | Mon evening |
| Beef mince for Thursday (freeze on buying) | Thu | Wed evening |
| Salmon fillet | Fri | Thu evening |
| Chicken breast for the soup | Sat | Fri evening |
| Sirloin steak | Sat | Fri evening |
| Beef topside joint (24 hours or more) | Sun | Fri evening |
Prepping raw meat and fish ahead
Cubed chicken, sliced steak, mince and glazed fish wait in the fridge on the
bottom shelf, covered, away from other food. Cook meat the same day (within about 8 hours) and fish within about 6 hours. Never leave prepped raw food on the worktop. Chill any batch portions within 1 to 2 hours of cooking, reheat them once until steaming hot all the way through, and never refreeze food that has been defrosted.
Leftovers: using it all up
- Sunday's beef: 1 portion in the fridge for a roast beef sandwich within 2 days, and 2 portions in the freezer.
- Saturday's soup: the second portion is Sunday's lunch, so there is no waste.
- Halloumi and feta: freeze the spare halloumi in 75 g portions. Use the spare feta in a salad or an omelette within 5 days.
- Spare Cheddar and yoghurt (about 110 g of cheese, 40 g of yoghurt): cheese on toast or a jacket potato, and yoghurt on porridge or fruit.
- Spare eggs (2): a boiled egg for lunch or an omelette. Spare edamame: keeps in the freezer, and is good in soups and rice.
- Spare spinach, broccoli and bread: use the spinach in an omelette or soup within 2 days (or freeze it), steam any broccoli, and freeze the rest of the loaf in slices.