Meal Plan 8: Autumn and Winter Comfort
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, flour and spices are probably already at home. Every recipe is for one portion except Saturday's broth (2) and pot roast (2) and Sunday's pork (4), which make extra portions. 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 (hotpot), Thu 125 g (goulash) |
| Chicken breast | 1 fillet, about 150 g | Tue (filo pie) |
| Beef brisket or silverside joint | 450 g | Sat (pot roast, 2 portions) |
| Boneless pork shoulder joint | 1 kg | Sun (slow roast, 4 portions) |
| White fish fillet (coley, pollock or cod), skinless | 1 fillet, about 150 g, fresh or frozen | Fri (fish pie) |
Fruit and vegetables
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Small onions | 7 | Mon 1 (½ lunch, ½ dinner), Wed 1 (½ lunch, ½ dinner), Thu 1, Fri 1, Sat 2 (broth, pot roast), Sun 1 |
| Garlic | 1 head (3 cloves needed) | Wed 2 (soup, risotto), Thu 1 |
| Carrots | 8 | Mon 3 (soup 2, hotpot 1), Sat 4 (broth 2, pot roast 2), Sun 1 |
| Swede | 1 small (325 g needed) | Mon 75 g, Sat 100 g (broth) and 150 g (pot roast) |
| Parsnips | 3 (about 300 g) | Fri 2 (soup), Sun 1 (roast) |
| Potatoes | 1 bag, 1.5 kg (930 g needed) | Mon 200 g, Wed 80 g, Thu 150 g, Sat 300 g, Sun 200 g |
| Sweet potatoes | 2 (about 450 g) | Tue 1 (250 g, lunch), Fri 200 g (fish pie) |
| Leeks | 3 small | Tue 1 (pie), Fri 1 (fish pie), Sat 1 (broth) |
| Diced butternut squash | 1 pack, 300 g | Wed 150 g (risotto), Sat 150 g (broth) |
| Mushrooms | 2 packs of 250 g (380 g needed) | Tue 80 g, Wed 240 g (scramble 60, soup 100, risotto 80), Sat 60 g |
| Baby spinach | 1 bag, at least 80 g | Tue 40 g (lunch), Wed 40 g (risotto) |
| Green beans | 100 g | Tue (with the pie) |
| Red pepper | 1 | Thu (goulash) |
| Tomatoes | 2 | Thu 1 (tuna melt), Sat 1 (breakfast) |
| Eating apples | 5 | Tue 1 (breakfast), Fri 2 (porridge, soup), Sun 2 (crumble pot, roast) |
| Pear | 1 ripe | Mon (porridge) |
| Banana | 1 ripe | Thu (porridge) |
| Fresh root ginger | 1 small piece (about 3 cm), or use ground ginger | Mon lunch (1 tsp, grated) |
Dairy and eggs
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Eggs | 1 box of 6 (3 needed) | Wed 2 (scramble), Sat 1 (breakfast). 3 spare |
| Plain Greek-style yoghurt | 1 tub, 500 g (330 g needed) | Tue 150 g, Thu 30 g, Sun 150 g. About 170 g spare |
| Semi-skimmed milk | 1 litre (800 ml needed) | Mon 200 ml, Tue 50 ml, Thu 200 ml, Fri 350 ml (porridge 200, fish pie 150) |
| Strong Cheddar cheese | 1 small block, about 200 g (60 g needed) | Wed 15 g, Thu 30 g, Fri 15 g. About 140 g spare |
| Houmous | 1 small tub (40 g needed) | Tue (lunch) |
Bread and bakery
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Wholemeal bread | 1 loaf (11 slices needed) | Mon 1, Wed 3, Thu 2, Fri 1, Sat 3, Sun 1 |
| Filo pastry, chilled | 1 packet (2 sheets needed) | Tue (pie). Freeze the rest |
Frozen
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Peas | 1 bag, at least 60 g | Fri (fish pie) |
| Blackberries | 1 small bag, at least 100 g | Sun (crumble pot) |
Tins, jars and bottles
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Tuna in spring water (about 145 g tin) | 1 small tin | Thu (tuna melt) |
| Baked beans, reduced sugar and salt | 1 small tin, 200 g | Sat (breakfast) |
Dry goods
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|
| Porridge oats | 1 bag (175 g needed) | Mon 40 g, Tue 25 g, Thu 40 g, Fri 40 g, Sun 30 g |
| Pearl barley | 1 small bag (100 g needed) | Wed 60 g (risotto), Sat 40 g (broth) |
| Red lentils | 1 small bag (40 g needed) | Mon (soup) |
| Raisins | 1 small bag (15 g needed) | Fri (porridge) |
| Walnut pieces | 1 small bag (10 g needed) | Thu (porridge) |
| Reduced-salt vegetable stock cubes | 1 small box (3 cubes needed) | Mon ½, Wed 1 (½ soup, ½ risotto), Fri ½, Sat 1 |
| Reduced-salt beef stock cubes | 1 small box (2 cubes needed) | Mon ½, Thu ½, Sat 1 |
| Reduced-salt chicken stock cubes | 1 small box (1 cube needed) | Tue ½, Sun ½ |
Cupboard check
You probably have these already. Check the amounts, then add to the trolley whatever has run out.
- Olive oil: about 18 tsp (6 tbsp, 90 ml) over the week
- Plain flour: 2 tbsp (Tue, Fri)
- Tomato purée: 3 tbsp (Mon, Thu, Sat)
- Salt and black pepper: used in most recipes
- Ground cinnamon: about 1½ tsp and a pinch (Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun)
- Ground ginger: 1 tsp (Mon, Fri)
- Dried thyme: 2¾ tsp (Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat)
- Dried sage: 1 tsp (Wed, Sun)
- Smoked paprika: 1½ tsp (Thu)
- Honey: 2 tsp, optional (Mon, Sun)
Equipment
- A small ovenproof dish, about 18 cm wide and 6 cm deep (Mon, Tue, Fri)
- A flameproof casserole dish with a lid, or a large frying pan and a lidded baking dish (Sat)
- A roasting tin and foil (Sun)
- A medium saucepan with a lid (Mon to Fri) and a large saucepan (Sat)
- A stick blender (Mon, Wed, Fri, optional: a potato masher works)
- A grill and a baking tray (Thu, Sat)
- A microwave-safe plate (Tue)
- Covered containers for prepping ahead, and lidded freezer containers: 1 for Saturday's pot roast and 3 for Sunday's pork
Prep-ahead schedule
Each weekday dinner can be prepared in about 10 minutes any time that day, which leaves 15 minutes or less of work at dinner time, and the oven or the simmering pan does the rest. Saturday and Sunday are unhurried: a pot roast and a slow-roast pork shoulder, with lots of waiting time.
| Day | Prep ahead (any time that day) | At dinner time |
|---|
| Mon | Cube the carrot and swede, slice the potato (in cold water), chop the onion (10 minutes) | Oven on 200°C, brown the mince, add vegetables and stock, assemble, bake 30 to 35 minutes |
| Tue | Cube the chicken (bottom shelf), slice the leek and mushrooms (10 minutes) | Oven on 200°C, cook the filling, top with filo, bake 15 to 18 minutes, boil the beans |
| Wed | Chop the onion, garlic and mushrooms (8 minutes) | Cook the vegetables, add barley and stock, simmer 30 minutes, stir in spinach and cheese |
| Thu | Chop the onion, pepper and garlic, cube the potato (in cold water) (10 minutes) | Brown the mince, add everything, simmer 20 to 25 minutes |
| Fri | Cube the sweet potato, slice the leek, cut the fish (bottom shelf) (10 minutes) | Oven on 200°C, boil and mash the sweet potato, make the sauce, add fish, top and bake 15 to 18 minutes |
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, Monday's 125 g (freeze on buying) | Mon | Sun evening |
| Chicken breast | Tue | Mon evening |
| Beef mince, Thursday's 125 g (freeze on buying) | Thu | Wed evening |
| White fish fillet | Fri | Thu evening |
| Beef brisket joint | Sat | Fri evening |
| Pork shoulder joint (24 hours or more) | Sun | Fri evening |
Prepping raw meat and fish ahead
Cubed chicken, mince and prepared 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
- Saturday's pot roast: 1 portion in the freezer. It is a ready dinner for a busy day: defrost it in the fridge overnight and reheat it once until steaming hot.
- Sunday's pork: 1 portion in the fridge for a pulled-pork sandwich within 2 days, and 2 portions in the freezer.
- Filo pastry: wrap the rest tightly and freeze it.
- Spare yoghurt, cheese and eggs: yoghurt on porridge or with fruit, cheese on a jacket potato, and the 3 spare eggs in an omelette or scrambled on toast.
- Spare baked beans, mushrooms or spinach: use them within 2 to 3 days (an omelette or a wrap), or freeze the spinach.
- Bread: freeze the rest of the loaf in slices, if you do not use it within 2 days.