Weekly Shopping
Meal Plan 3: Budget 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, salt and spices are probably already at home. Every recipe is for one portion except Monday's cottage pie, Wednesday's pasta bake, Saturday's bolognese 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 250 g (cottage pie), Thu 100 g (hash), Sat 150 g (bolognese). Nothing spare |
| Boneless, skinless chicken thighs | 2 thighs, about 200 g | Tue (one-pot chicken and rice) |
| Chicken drumsticks | 4, about 500 g | Sun (roast, 2 portions) |
Fruit and vegetables
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Onions | 9 (1 bag) | Mon 2, Tue 1, Wed 1, Thu 1, Fri 1 1/4, Sat 1, Sun 1 1/2 |
| Garlic | 1 head (6 cloves) | Tue 1, Wed 2, Sat 2, Sun 1 |
| Carrots | 11, about 1.1 kg | Mon 4, Thu 1, Sat 2, Sun 4 |
| Potatoes | 1 bag, 2 kg (1.5 kg needed) | Mon 500 g, Thu 250 g, Fri 350 g, Sun 400 g |
| Large baking potato | 1, about 250 g | Tue (jacket potato). Can come from the bag |
| Tomatoes | 2 | Wed (pasta salad), Fri (scrambled egg) |
| Bananas | 2 | Mon (porridge), Tue (toast) |
| Eating apples | 2 | Thu (porridge), Sat (French toast) |
Dairy and eggs
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | 1 box of 10 | 7 needed: Wed 2, Thu 1, Fri 2, Sat 1, Sun 1. Three spare |
| Semi-skimmed milk | 1 litre (about 615 ml needed) | Mon 240 ml, Thu 200 ml, Fri 115 ml, Sat 60 ml |
| Mature Cheddar cheese | 1 block, 200 g (90 g needed) | Tue 20 g, Wed 40 g, Sat 30 g. About 110 g spare |
| Plain Greek-style yoghurt | 1 small pot, 150 g | Wed 30 g (pasta salad), Thu 40 g (wrap). About 80 g spare |
Bread and bakery
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal bread | 1 small loaf | 10 slices: Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun, 2 each. Sat's French toast likes stale bread |
| Wholemeal tortilla wraps | 1 pack | Thu 1, Sat 1. Freeze the rest |
Frozen
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Peas | 1 bag, at least 420 g | Mon 100 g, Tue 60 g, Wed 100 g, Thu 60 g, Fri 100 g |
| Sweetcorn | 1 small bag, at least 140 g | Wed 60 g, Fri 80 g |
Tins, jars and bottles
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Chopped tomatoes (400 g tin) | 5 tins | Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat and Sun, 1 each |
| Baked beans, reduced sugar and salt (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Tue 200 g, Sat 200 g (keep or freeze the half tin) |
| Chickpeas (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Thu 120 g, Fri 120 g |
| Butter beans (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Wed (pasta bake) |
| Tuna in spring water (about 145 g tin) | 1 small tin | Wed (pasta salad) |
| Mackerel fillets in spring water (about 125 g drained) | 1 tin | Fri (fishcakes) |
| Peanut butter, 100% peanuts | 1 small jar | Tue 1 tbsp |
Dry goods
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Porridge oats | 1 bag | About 105 g: Mon 40 g, Thu 40 g, Fri 25 g (fishcake coating) |
| Red split lentils | 1 bag, 500 g | 220 g: Mon 60 g (soup) and 80 g (pie), Sat 80 g (bolognese) |
| Long-grain rice | 1 small bag | Tue 60 g |
| Dried pasta shapes (penne or fusilli) | 1 pack, 500 g | Wed 180 g (60 g salad, 120 g bake) |
| Spaghetti | 1 pack | Sat 75 g |
| Reduced-salt vegetable stock cubes | 1 small box (2 cubes needed) | Mon 1/2 + 1/2, Fri 1/2, Sun 1/2 |
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
- Salt and black pepper: used in most recipes
- Smoked paprika: 4.5 tsp (Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun)
- Dried oregano: 4.5 tsp (Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun)
- Ground cumin: 1.5 tsp (Mon, Thu, Sat)
- Ground cinnamon: 3/4 tsp (Mon, Thu, Sat)
Equipment
- A small ovenproof dish (Mon, Wed)
- 3 freezer-safe containers with lids (Mon, Wed, Sat)
- A baking tray and baking paper (Fri, Sun)
- A coarse grater (Thu, Sat, Sun)
- A microwave-safe bowl and a plate (Thu, Sun)
- A non-stick frying pan and a large saucepan
- A stick blender (Mon, Sun, optional, a masher works)
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 thighs | Tue | Mon evening |
| Beef mince, 100 g portion (freeze on buying) | Thu | Wed evening |
| Beef mince, 150 g portion (freeze on buying) | Sat | Fri evening |
| Chicken drumsticks | Sun | Sat evening |
Splitting the mince
Buy one 500 g pack. Weigh out 100 g for Thursday's hash and 150 g for Saturday's bolognese, wrap each separately and freeze them straight away. Use the remaining 250 g on Monday for the cottage pie. If you would rather not freeze mince, buy a 250 g pack for Monday and fresh mince for Thursday and Saturday.
Saving money on the shop
- Choose the supermarket's own brand for tins, pasta, oats, lentils, rice and frozen veg. The contents are the same.
- Compare the price per kilo or per 100 g on the shelf label, not the price of the pack.
- Buy loose carrots, onions and apples if you can, so you only pay for what you use.
- Look in the reduced section for bread, fruit and chicken, and freeze what you will not cook within a day.
- Cook from the freezer: the three frozen portions are next week's easy nights, so you can plan a lighter shop.
- Check the cupboard section first. Spices and oil are used again from week to week.
Using up leftovers
- Half a tin of baked beans (Tuesday): keep covered in the fridge for 2 days, or freeze flat in a small bag for Saturday's quesadilla.
- Half a tin of chickpeas (Thursday): goes straight into Friday's chowder.
- Cottage pie, pasta bake and bolognese (Mon, Wed, Sat): one portion of each is in the freezer for next week. Use within 3 months and defrost overnight in the fridge.
- Two cold drumsticks (Sunday): eat within 2 days in a sandwich or salad.
- Cheddar (about 110 g), yoghurt (about 80 g) and three eggs: use within their dates, or grate the cheese and freeze it.
- Spare bread and wraps: freeze in a bag and take out what you need.
That completes Meal Plan 3
Three beef dinners (Monday, Thursday, Saturday), a fish dinner on Friday, a vegetarian dinner on Wednesday, three batch meals for the freezer, and a shopping list to match. Swap any recipe that does not suit you, and note what you would change before the next plan.