Meal Plan 11: One-Pan Week
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, honey, mustard and spices are probably already at home. Every recipe is for one portion except Saturday's soup (2) and curry (2) and Sunday's gammon (4), which make extra portions. Every dinner is made in one pan, pot or tray, and each recipe says how much washing up it makes. Each recipe page still has its own list.
Meat and fish
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Lean beef mince (5% fat) | 1 pack, 125 g or a 250 g pack | Mon (pasta) |
| Boneless, skinless chicken thighs | 2 thighs, about 200 g | Tue (tray bake) |
| Lean sirloin or rump steak | 1 steak, about 125 g | Thu (shawarma tray) |
| Braising or stewing beef (chuck or shin) | 300 g | Sat (curry, 2 portions) |
| Undyed smoked haddock fillet | 1 fillet, about 150 g, fresh or frozen | Fri (kedgeree) |
| Unsmoked gammon joint, boneless | 800 g | Sun (roast, 4 portions) |
| Lean cooked ham | 1 small pack (2 slices needed) | Tue (toastie) |
Fruit and vegetables
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Bananas | 3 | Mon (oats), Wed (porridge), Sun (baked oats) |
| Eating apples | 2 | Thu (yoghurt bowl), Sun (roast) |
| Lemon | 1 | Wed 1 tsp, Thu 1 tsp, Fri 1 tsp, Sat 1 tbsp |
| Onions | 6 (small to medium) | Mon 1, Tue 1, Thu 1, Fri 1, Sat 1 (soup) and 1 (curry) |
| Garlic | 1 head (4 cloves needed) | Mon 1, Wed 1, Thu 1, Sat 1 |
| Carrots | 2 | Mon 1 (noodle bowl), Sun 1 (roast) |
| Parsnip | 1 | Sun (roast) |
| Baby new potatoes | 1 small pack, 250 g (200 g needed) | Tue (tray bake) |
| Potatoes | 1 bag, 1 kg (550 g needed) | Sat 400 g (curry), Sun 150 g (roast) |
| Cauliflower | 1 small head (200 g of florets needed) | Tue (tray bake) |
| Courgette | 1 | Wed (gnocchi) |
| Cherry tomatoes | 1 pack, 150 g | Wed (gnocchi) |
| Medium tomatoes | 5 | Tue 1, Wed 1, Thu 1 (small), Sat 2 |
| Cucumber | 1 small (50 g needed) | Thu (pitta). Spare cucumber for salads |
| Red peppers | 3 | Thu 1, Sat 2 (soup) |
| Mushrooms | 1 small pack, at least 80 g | Sat (baked eggs) |
| Baby spinach | 1 bag, at least 140 g | Mon 40 g, Tue 20 g, Fri 20 g, Sat 60 g |
Dairy and eggs
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Eggs | 1 box of 10 (8 needed) | Mon 1, Tue 2, Thu 1, Fri 1, Sat 2, Sun 1 |
| Plain Greek-style yoghurt | 1 tub, 500 g (305 g needed) | Mon 50 g, Tue 60 g, Thu 195 g (breakfast 150, dinner 45) |
| Semi-skimmed milk | 1 pint (568 ml, 435 ml needed) | Mon 120 ml, Tue 15 ml, Wed 200 ml, Sun 100 ml |
| Strong Cheddar cheese | 1 small block, about 200 g (115 g needed) | Mon 20 g, Tue 45 g (breakfast 20, lunch 25), Fri 50 g (breakfast 20, lunch 30). About 85 g spare |
| Light mozzarella | 1 ball, 125 g | Wed (gnocchi) |
| Houmous | 1 small tub (40 g needed) | Thu (pitta) |
Bread and bakery
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Wholemeal bread | 1 loaf (8 slices needed) | Tue 3, Fri 2, Sat 2 (breakfast 1, soup 1), Sun 1 |
| Wholemeal tortilla wraps | 1 (from a pack) | Fri (quesadilla) |
| Wholemeal pitta bread | 2 (from a pack) | Thu 2 (lunch, dinner) |
Frozen
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Peas | 1 bag, at least 160 g | Mon 80 g, Fri 80 g |
| Sweetcorn | 1 bag, at least 120 g | Wed 60 g (couscous), Fri 60 g (quesadilla) |
| Blueberries | 1 small bag, at least 80 g | Sun (baked oats) |
Tins, jars and bottles
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Chopped tomatoes (400 g tin) | 2 tins | Mon (pasta), Sat (soup) |
| Reduced-fat coconut milk (400 ml tin) | 1 tin | Sat (curry) |
| Tuna in spring water (small tin) | 1 tin, about 100 g drained | Wed (couscous) |
| Baked beans, reduced sugar and salt | 1 small tin, 200 g | Fri (breakfast) |
| Massaman curry paste (or Thai red curry paste) | 1 small jar (2 tbsp needed) | Sat (curry) |
| Peanut butter, 100% peanuts | 1 small jar (15 g needed) | Wed (porridge) |
Dry goods
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Porridge oats | 1 bag (150 g needed) | Mon 40 g, Wed 40 g, Thu 30 g, Sun 40 g |
| Dried wholewheat penne or fusilli | 1 small pack (75 g needed) | Mon (pasta) |
| Dried egg noodles | 1 nest, about 60 g | Mon (noodle bowl) |
| Couscous | 1 small pack (60 g needed) | Wed (couscous bowl) |
| Basmati rice | 1 small bag (60 g needed) | Fri (kedgeree) |
| Potato gnocchi, shelf-stable | 1 pack, 500 g (250 g needed) | Wed (tray bake). Freeze or keep the rest |
| Walnut pieces | 1 small bag (10 g needed) | Thu (yoghurt bowl) |
| Unsweetened cocoa powder | 1 small tub (1 tbsp needed) | Mon (overnight oats) |
| Reduced-salt vegetable stock cubes | 1 small box (1 cube needed) | Mon ½, Sat ½ |
Cupboard check
You probably have these already. Check the amounts, then add to the trolley whatever has run out.
- Olive oil: about 13 tsp (4 tbsp, 65 ml) over the week
- Reduced-salt soy sauce: 1 tbsp (Mon)
- Honey: 4 tsp (Mon 1 tsp, Sun 1 tbsp)
- Mustard: 1 tsp (Sun)
- Salt and black pepper: used in most recipes
- Mild curry powder: 4 tsp (Tue, Fri)
- Dried oregano: 2 tsp (Mon, Wed)
- Smoked paprika: 2 tsp (Thu, Sat)
- Ground cumin: 1 tsp (Thu)
- Ground cinnamon: 1½ tsp (Thu, Sun)
Equipment
- A large baking tray (Tue, Wed, Thu) and a roasting tin with foil (Sun)
- A deep frying pan with a lid, or a wide saucepan with a lid (Mon, Fri)
- A medium saucepan (Mon, Thu, Sat, Sun) and a large, heavy pot with a lid (Sat)
- A non-stick frying pan (Tue, Fri)
- A small ovenproof dish, about 18 cm (Sat), and an ovenproof bowl or large ramekin (Sun)
- A large microwave-safe mug (Tue), a bowl (Wed), and a jar or lidded container (Mon)
- A stick blender (Sat, optional)
- A meat thermometer (optional but useful for the gammon)
- Four lidded containers for freezing: one for Saturday's curry and three for Sunday's gammon
Prep-ahead schedule
Each weekday dinner can be partly prepared in 5 to 10 minutes any time that day, which leaves about 10 minutes of work at dinner time, and the oven or the simmering pan does the rest. Saturday is a slow curry and Sunday is a gammon roast, both with lots of waiting time.
| Day | Prep ahead (any time that day) | At dinner time |
|---|
| Mon | Chop the onion and garlic (5 minutes) | Brown the mince, add the tomatoes, water and pasta, simmer 12 to 14 minutes, stir in the spinach |
| Tue | Marinate the chicken (bottom shelf), chop the vegetables (10 minutes) | Oven on 220°C, roast everything on one tray for 30 to 35 minutes |
| Wed | Chop the courgette and garlic (5 minutes) | Oven on 220°C, roast the gnocchi and vegetables 18 to 20 minutes, add the mozzarella for 3 minutes |
| Thu | Marinate the beef (bottom shelf), chop the vegetables, make the garlic yoghurt (10 minutes) | Oven on 220°C, roast the vegetables 8 minutes, add the beef for 8 to 10 minutes |
| Fri | Chop the onion (5 minutes) | Cook the onion and rice, add the haddock and peas, bake the egg on top |
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 (freeze on buying) | Mon | Sun evening |
| Chicken thighs | Tue | Mon evening |
| Sirloin steak | Thu | Wed evening |
| Smoked haddock | Fri | Thu evening |
| Braising beef | Sat | Fri evening |
| Gammon joint (24 hours or more) | Sun | Fri evening |
Prepping raw meat and fish ahead
Marinated chicken and steak, mince and smoked haddock 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 gammon: 1 portion in the fridge for a gammon 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. Saturday's curry: the second portion goes in the freezer.
- Spare gnocchi (about 250 g): freeze it in a freezer bag, and roast it straight from frozen with 5 extra minutes in the oven.
- Spare Cheddar (about 85 g), yoghurt (about 195 g) and eggs (2): cheese on toast or a jacket potato, yoghurt on porridge or fruit, and eggs in an omelette.
- Spare ham, spinach and cucumber: ham in a sandwich within 2 days, spinach in an omelette or soup (or freeze it), and cucumber in a salad.
- Spare bread: freeze the rest of the loaf in slices. Curry paste: keeps for weeks in the fridge, and is good in a stir-fry.