Weekly Shopping
Meal Plan 2: Around the World
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, salt and spices are probably already at home. Every recipe is for one portion except Monday's meatballs and Sunday's roast chicken, which make two. Each recipe page still has its own list.
Download
A plain-text copy of this whole list is here: Weekly shopping list (text file)
Meat and fish
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Lean beef mince (5% fat) | 1 pack, 500 g | Mon 300 g (meatballs, 2 portions), Sat 150 g (kofta). 50 g spare |
| Lean beef steak (sirloin or rump) | 150 g | Thu (bulgogi bowl) |
| Skinless chicken breast fillets | 3 fillets, about 450 g | Tue 1 (fajitas), Sun 2 (roast, 2 portions) |
| Cod fillet, skinless | 1 fillet, about 150 g | Fri (Basque-style cod) |
Fruit and vegetables
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Onions (brown) | 4 | Mon 2 (soup, meatballs), Wed 3/4, Fri 1, Sat 1/4 |
| Red onion | 1 small | Tue 3/4 (lunch, fajitas), Sat 1/4 (bulgur salad) |
| Spring onions | 1 bunch (3 needed) | Thu (fried rice 2, bulgogi bowl 1) |
| Garlic | 1 head (9 cloves) | Mon 3, Wed 1, Thu 2, Fri 1, Sat 1, Sun 1 |
| Fresh root ginger | 1 small piece (2 cm) | Wed 1 cm (dal), Thu 1 cm (bulgogi) |
| Tomatoes | 8 | Tue 1, Wed 3, Fri 1, Sat 2, Sun 1 |
| Red peppers | 3 | Tue 1 (fajitas), Fri 1 (cod), Sat 1/2 + 1/2 (menemen, bulgur salad) |
| Cucumber | 1 | Sat: 1/2 (salad), 1/4 (tzatziki), 1/4 (dinner salad) |
| Carrots | 2 | Mon (soup), Thu (bulgogi bowl) |
| Baby spinach | 1 bag, at least 130 g | Mon 40 g, Thu 50 g, Fri 40 g (or salad leaves) |
| Leek | 1 medium | Sun (soup) |
| Potatoes (waxy, such as baby or new) | 1 bag, about 750 g | Fri 300 g, Sun 350 g |
| Green beans | 100 g | Sun (roast chicken) |
| Avocado | 1 small | Fri (toast). Buy it a few days ahead so it is ripe |
| Apple | 1 | Thu (overnight oats) |
| Lemons | 2 | Sat 1 (half each in salad and dinner), Sun 1 |
| Lime | 1 | Tue (half in lunch, half in fajitas) |
| Fresh flat-leaf parsley | 1 bunch or pot | Sat (bulgur salad, kofta, salad) |
| Mixed berries | 1 small punnet, 80 g (or use frozen) | Mon (breakfast) |
Dairy and eggs
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | 1 box of 10 | 10 needed: Tue 2, Wed 2, Thu 2, Fri 2, Sat 2 |
| Plain Greek-style yoghurt | 1 pot, 500 g | Tue 40 g, Wed 150 g, Thu 50 g, Sat 80 g. About 180 g spare |
| Ricotta | 1 small tub, 250 g | Mon 60 g (breakfast). Most of the tub is spare |
| Semi-skimmed milk | 500 ml | Thu 100 ml, Sun 50 ml |
Bread and bakery
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal bread | 1 small loaf | 10 slices: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun, 2 each |
| Wholemeal tortilla wraps | 1 pack | Tue: 1 large (breakfast), 2 small (fajitas) |
| Wholemeal pitta bread | 1 pack | Sat (1 pitta). Freeze the rest |
Frozen
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Mango chunks | 1 small bag, 120 g or more | Wed (breakfast) |
| Sweetcorn | 1 small bag, 80 g or more | Tue (lunch) |
| Peas | 1 small bag, 60 g or more | Thu (fried rice) |
Tins, jars and bottles
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Chopped tomatoes (400 g tin) | 2 tins | Mon 1 (meatballs), Fri half and Sat half (one tin) |
| Cannellini beans (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Mon (soup) |
| Black beans (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Tue 100 g (breakfast) and 140 g (lunch) |
| Baked beans, reduced sugar and salt (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Sun 200 g (breakfast). The other half is spare |
| Reduced-salt soy sauce | 1 small bottle | Thu 2.5 tbsp |
| Honey | 1 small jar | Mon 1 tsp (optional), Thu 1 tsp |
Dry goods
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Wholewheat spaghetti | 1 pack | Mon 75 g |
| Brown basmati rice | 1 bag | 240 g: Tue 60 g, Wed 120 g (half for Thu lunch), Thu 60 g |
| Red split lentils | 1 small bag | Wed 60 g |
| Bulgur wheat | 1 small bag | Sat 60 g |
| Porridge oats | 1 bag | About 75 g: Mon 2 tbsp, Wed 1 tbsp, Thu 40 g |
| Walnut pieces | 1 small bag | Thu 15 g |
| Reduced-salt vegetable stock cubes | 1 small box | Mon half a cube, Sun half a cube |
Cupboard check
You probably have these already. Check the amounts, then add to the trolley whatever has run out.
- Olive oil: about 29 tsp (10 tbsp, 145 ml) over the week
- Salt and black pepper: used in most recipes
- Ground cumin: 3.5 tsp (Tue, Wed, Sat)
- Smoked paprika: 3.5 tsp (Tue, Fri, Sat)
- Ground turmeric: 3/4 tsp (Wed). May be new
- Garam masala: 1 tsp (Wed). May be new
- Dried oregano: 1 tsp (Mon)
- Dried thyme: 1.5 tsp (Mon, Sun)
- Ground cinnamon: 1/4 tsp (Thu)
- Dried mint: 1/2 tsp (Sat). Optional
Equipment
- A coarse grater (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)
- A microwave-safe bowl and a plate (Fri)
- A non-stick frying pan, about 18 cm, and a large frying pan with a lid (Tue, Fri, Sat)
- A baking tray and a grill (Fri, Sun)
- A jar or bowl with a lid for overnight oats (Wed night)
- A stick blender (Sun, optional, a masher works)
- 2 or 3 shallow containers with lids and a few freezer bags (batch portions and leftovers)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast (1 fillet) | Tue | Mon evening |
| Beef steak | Thu | Wed evening |
| Cod fillet | Fri | Thu evening |
| Beef mince (150 g, frozen on Monday) | Sat | Fri evening |
| Chicken breast (2 fillets) | Sun | Sat evening |
Splitting the mince
Buy one 500 g pack. Weigh out 150 g for Saturday's kofta and wrap and freeze it straight away. Use 300 g on Monday for the meatballs. That leaves about 50 g spare, which you can add to the meatballs or freeze. If you would rather not freeze it, buy 150 g of fresh mince on Saturday instead and buy only 300 g on your first trip.
Using up leftovers
- Second portion of meatballs and sauce (Monday): already in the freezer, use within 3 months and defrost overnight in the fridge.
- Ricotta (most of the tub): use by the date on the tub or within 3 days of opening. Good on toast or in scrambled eggs.
- Greek yoghurt (about 180 g): use by the date on the pot, on fruit or as a topping for soups and curries.
- Half a tin of baked beans (Sunday): keep in a covered container and eat within 2 days.
- Second roast chicken fillet (Sunday): eat cold within 2 days in a sandwich or salad.
- Spare bread, wraps and pitta: freeze in a bag and take out what you need.
That completes Meal Plan 2
Seven cuisines, three beef dinners (Monday, Thursday, Saturday), a fish dinner on Friday, a vegetarian dinner on Wednesday, and a shopping list to match. Swap any recipe that does not suit you, and note what you would change before the next plan.