Meal planning help please

pokerface123

Hi
I've recently become single after living with my partner, and I'm struggle to get back into cooking for one - tbh I've been living off ready meals since we split! I don't have much in my cupboards at the moment (I'll make a list for you) and can't get motivated to do a 'big shop' although I know I need to. I need to draw up a master basic shopping list but it's all still a bit painful at the moment I suppose
Anyway, here are the contents of my kitchen cupboards, please give me your much needed inspiration:

pasta
tomato mascarpone pasta sauce
set honey
dorset cereal
salt
veg oil
red pesto
choc chip cookies
crisps multipack

chicken bacon parcel (with blue cheese in it)
4 butcher sausages
milk
butter
jacket potatoes
home made lasagna (ready meal)
salad leaves
balsamic dressing
bit of cheese
orange juice

frozen ready meals
frozen peas
frozen bread, muffins, ciabatta

as you can see i seriously need help with planning breakfasts, lunches and dinners!! I used to be so good at this but I'm struggling to see past ready meals at the moment - please help

Meadows

This thread may well get moved to a similar thread, have a look at MealPlans WB 24th August 2009
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1894281

pokerface123

Thanks for your reply
I'm hoping my thread doesn't get moved as most of the menu plans on that thread are for families or couples, and I'm cooking for one (or will be). I'm just so not interested in food shopping and planning and cooking and it's really not like me. I NEED some one to tell me, this is what you need to buy and this is what you could eat with it...
...please don't move me

CCP

I cook for one too, and I find the meal planning thread really useful for inspiration when I'm running a bit short of ideas!

My first thought for you was to perhaps break yourself in gently - could you plan to cook something one or two nights a week, then build up to doing a whole week? It might just be a bit less intimidating when you haven't done it for a while!

From what you've got already you look to me to be OK for breakfasts: you've got cereal (just need milk to go with it) and bread/muffins if you fancy toast instead (just buy some butter/jam/whatever you like best to spread on it).

I'm not much good at lunches, I'm afraid, as I take sandwiches to work during the week and that's all I can think of!

For dinners, from what you've got already my first thoughts are:

• Chicken parcel with sald and a jacket potato
• Pasta with the pasta sauce, or with the red pesto - I like to add some chopped fresh tomato with this - yum! You could also add a sliced, cooked sausage if you fancied something different.
• If you got some eggs, you could turn the sausages into toad in the hole, and serve with peas and a bit of gravy (if you like it).

I'm sure others will be along with some more good ideas shortly!

rachbc

Well if it was me I'd turn the negative into a positive and start enjoying all my fav foods that OH doesn't like lol.

I know how hard it can be to motivate yourself, or even want to eat when things like this happen so try not to be too hard on yourself. Take small steps, get a good supply or store cupboard items in so you can then make stuff as you become a bit more motivated and focused on food again.

Pasta, rice, cous cous, noodles

Tins of toms, beans, tuna

Tasty things to add flavour and interest like spices, soy sauce, etc etc

Chicken, mince sausages etc you can wrap in individual portions and freeze.

That way you will have the werewithall to make something tasty and healthy - wither very simple when you can't be bothered or more fancy well you get your cooking mojo back!

Cat72

Hi
I sympathise with how you feel I split up with my partner after 9 years last year and at first had no motivation for a good while.
Im not very good at meal planning myself but will have a go until someone can help better.
It seems you have a fair amount there, like pasta with pesto or pasta with tomato pasta sauce.You could also make a batch and freeze part ot it or store it in the fridge for a day or two.
4 sausages could be either bulked cooked and half stored by.

It sounds like you want away from the ready meals and there doesnt seem to be a lot of fresh vegetables or fruit.Also veg is great for making cheap soup to store buy.
Maybe just buy some of these to help lift your mood and bulk your other food out -too many carbs just lowers your mood. I would buy my fav veg & fruit foods this now.
Good luck I will try to post back later- Im a bit pmt at the moment and have tummys cramps so a bit fuzzy myself ! x

debtmuncher

pokerface123 wrote: »

Hi
I've recently become single after living with my partner, and I'm struggle to get back into cooking for one - tbh I've been living off ready meals since we split! I don't have much in my cupboards at the moment (I'll make a list for you) and can't get motivated to do a 'big shop' although I know I need to. I need to draw up a master basic shopping list but it's all still a bit painful at the moment I suppose
Anyway, here are the contents of my kitchen cupboards, please give me your much needed inspiration:

pasta
tomato mascarpone pasta sauce
set honey
dorset cereal
salt
veg oil
red pesto
choc chip cookies
crisps multipack

chicken bacon parcel (with blue cheese in it)
4 butcher sausages
milk
butter
jacket potatoes
home made lasagna (ready meal)
salad leaves
balsamic dressing
bit of cheese
orange juice

frozen ready meals
frozen peas
frozen bread, muffins, ciabatta

as you can see i seriously need help with planning breakfasts, lunches and dinners!! I used to be so good at this but I'm struggling to see past ready meals at the moment - please help

breakfast should be easy...cereal lol

lunches sandwches..buy in one packet of cold meat for some days, cheese (n tomato/pickle/salad) for other days then there is tuna mayo egg mayo. keep bread in the freezer so maybe two a week then take out the required amount that you need in the morning or the night before.

meals...use up what you have got there first. whats your food budget for the week? give us a figure that you can put aside then we could hopefully start your way in building up store cupboard essentials. the trick is not to buy the whole lot at the start. write down a whole list of meals you would like to make , have a look here or the web for the recipe and look for the ones that would have ingredients that you could use again and agian. no point in getting in one particular item for a specific recipe and you find you wont use it again.

you might find it better to do a fortnights shopping since stuff like pasta could also be used for the next week and hopefully a third week.

oh before i forget presuming your are a girl?(Or woman lol) just mens appetities are huge

another thing is for stuff like sausages /chicken breast, bacon. portion it up once you are home from shopping and stick it in the freezer.

debtmuncher

12 eggs
sm block cheese
two packets cold meat
two tins tuna
two tins baked beans
a couple jars spices for a new recipe ie chilli
tomato puree
tomato passata or tinned chopped tomatoes. i prefer passata not so runny.
pasta
rice
250g mince
2 chicken breasts
packet sausages
packet bacon
s r flour
margarine
caster sugar
stock cubes
lentils

week one pasta bolgnese (keep half for the next weeks meal)
week two pasta bake

sausage hotpot (take out 2/3 sausages from the freezer)
toad in the hole (keep half the batter back for the next nights meal, sauasages will already be in the freezer)

roast chicken (one chicken breast) with potatoes veggies and the rest of hte yorkshire batter mix. if the chicken is too much keep half back for the next nights omelette
chicken curry

chicken omellete
veggie omelette/tortilla

thats four days done for you week one then week two. that will hopefully give you an idea. need to pop out so couldnt finish off the rest of the meal planner.

start up an online shopping account with asdas/tescos or whatever else. do your shopping then then save it and tweak it to what you want to get your prices down or whatever. you might just want to continue and order it online or you could copy the list over to notepad or whatever and use it to do it instore.

Fire_Fox

pokerface123 wrote: »

Hi
I've recently become single after living with my partner, and I'm struggle to get back into cooking for one - tbh I've been living off ready meals since we split! I don't have much in my cupboards at the moment (I'll make a list for you) and can't get motivated to do a 'big shop' although I know I need to. I need to draw up a master basic shopping list but it's all still a bit painful at the moment I suppose
Anyway, here are the contents of my kitchen cupboards, please give me your much needed inspiration:

as you can see i seriously need help with planning breakfasts, lunches and dinners!! I used to be so good at this but I'm struggling to see past ready meals at the moment - please help

What about an online grocery shop - there are free delivery codes for Asda on one of the shopping boards? I'd be inclined to buy some more frozen veg (corn, brocolli, cauliflower, carrots) as these are reasonably priced, need no preparation and can be nuked to have with the ready meals you have in stock on worknights or chucked into soups and stews. :T

I would then start to batch cook one meal once a week on your day off - perhaps a bolognese the first week which can be transformed in minutes to all sorts of lovely dishes. The second week you could do a whole roast chicken or even two (freeze the carcasses), again the leftovers are very versatile. The third week you might make stock and soup with the frozen chicken carcasses. Fourth week something with fish ...

I cook for two but Mr. Fire Fox often doesn't want to eat when he gets in from a late shift, so I generally have leftovers for my lunch rather than prepare something new. If I bake a jacket potato I always make a spare as it's easily reheated with beans, cheese, tuna or leftovers chucked over.

newlywed

Omelette or fritata is nice and easy and you can bung in whatever you have? Any left over you can take cold for lunch.

Fish fillets are good and really easy, either steam and have with steamed veg or wrap in foil and bung in the oven with roasted veg.

To be honest, when I went through a difficult time recently, it was chicken breast wrapped in bacon bunged on a tray and shoved in the oven with oven chips and frozen peas. Or else sausage and mash with frozen peas. It's still food!

Try working out what food you really fancy eating - that will be half the battle.

My all time favourite breakfast is potato farls, smoked salmon and poached or fried egg

Soups are easy (when the weather gets cold) and then just get some tubs and freeze in portions for an easy lunch/tea. Or bake a load of jacket potatos, cool, wrap in foil and freeze. Then just take out the night before to defrost and zap for 2 minutes in the microwave - then add topping of tuna, cheese, beans (but heat them obviously).

Burp_2

A friend of mine who is single buys the silver foil trays with lids from Tescos and when she makes something like lasagne she cooks enough for a large lasagne and makes 4 small ones each in its own foil dish, has one for tea that night and freezes the others

You could do the same with shephards pie, bolognaise, chilli, macaroni cheese, pasta bakes... put them in the individual portion tin foil dishes, freeze and take out at night to defrost for the following day

... other meals which are easy to cook for one are omlette, pizza toast, jacket potatoes (again cook a load in one go, wrap the rest in foil and pop in freezer)

When you buy things that come in multiples like sausages etc take out what you need for that week, so if it were a pack of 12 - take 3 out and wrap the other 9 in portions of 3 and pop in the freezer

Burp x