Weekly Shopping
Meal Plan 6: Quick and Cheap
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 Thursday's burrito filling, Saturday's soup and stew, and Sunday's whole chicken, which make extra portions. Monday to Friday dinners are designed to be prepared a few hours ahead, and the prep schedule below shows when. 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 (325 g needed) | Mon 125 g (rice), Thu 200 g (burrito filling). About 175 g spare: freeze it on buying |
| Braising or stewing beef (such as shin or chuck) | 300 g | Sat (stew, 2 portions) |
| Boneless, skinless chicken thighs | 2 thighs, about 200 g | Tue (stew) |
| Whole chicken | 1, about 1.5 kg | Sun (roast, 4 portions of chicken plus stock) |
| White fish fillet (coley, pollock or cod), skinless | 1 fillet, about 150 g, fresh or frozen | Fri (oat-crusted bake) |
Fruit and vegetables
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Onions | 5 | Mon 1, Tue 1, Thu 1, Sat 1, Sun 1 |
| Garlic | 1 head (8 cloves) | Mon 1, Tue 1, Wed 1, Thu 1, Sat 2, Sun 2 |
| Carrots | 7 | Mon 1, Tue 1, Thu 1, Sat 2, Sun 2 |
| Potatoes | 1 bag, 1.5 kg (950 g needed) | Wed 150 g, Fri 250 g, Sat 300 g, Sun 250 g |
| Cauliflower | 1 medium | Wed half (tray bake), Sat half (soup) |
| Leeks | 2 medium | Sat (soup, 2 portions) |
| Tomatoes | 3 | Mon 1 small, Wed 2 (1 small, 1 medium) |
| Cucumber | 1 small (you need 5 cm) | Wed (pitta) |
| Baby spinach | 1 bag, at least 105 g | Mon 15 g, Tue 20 g, Wed 20 g, Fri 20 g, Sat 30 g |
| Eating apples | 2 | Mon (overnight oats), Fri (toast) |
| Bananas | 2 | Thu (sandwich), Sun (pancakes) |
Dairy and eggs
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | 1 box of 6 (or 10) | 6 needed: Mon 2, Wed 1, Sat 2, Sun 1 |
| Plain Greek-style yoghurt | 1 tub, 500 g (360 g needed) | Mon 70 g, Tue 30 g, Wed 60 g, Thu 150 g, Fri 50 g. About 140 g spare |
| Semi-skimmed milk | 1 pint (568 ml, 300 ml needed) | Mon 100 ml, Tue 200 ml |
| Mature Cheddar cheese | 1 small block, about 200 g (70 g needed) | Wed 30 g, Fri 20 g, Sat 20 g. About 130 g spare |
Bread and bakery
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal bread | 1 small loaf | 10 slices: Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun, 2 each |
| Wholemeal pitta bread | 1 pack | Tue 1, Wed 1. Freeze the rest |
| Wholemeal tortilla wraps | 1 pack | Mon 1, Fri 1. Freeze the rest |
Frozen
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Peas | 1 bag, at least 160 g | Mon 60 g, Fri 100 g |
| Sweetcorn | 1 bag, at least 180 g | Tue 60 g (pitta), Thu 120 g (filling) |
| Mixed berries | 1 small bag, at least 80 g | Thu (breakfast) |
Tins, jars and bottles
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Chopped tomatoes (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Tue half (stew), Thu half (filling) |
| Chickpeas (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Tue half (stew), Wed half (tray bake) |
| Kidney beans (400 g tin) | 1 tin | Thu (filling, 2 portions) |
| Tuna in spring water (about 145 g tin) | 1 small tin | Tue (pitta) |
| Peanut butter, 100% peanuts | 1 small jar | Thu 1 tbsp, Fri 1 tbsp |
Dry goods
| Item | Buy | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Porridge oats | 1 bag | About 170 g: Mon 40 g, Tue 40 g, Thu 30 g, Fri 20 g (fish crust), Sun 40 g |
| Long-grain white rice | 1 small bag | 120 g: Mon 60 g, Thu 60 g |
| Couscous | 1 small pack | Tue 60 g |
| Pearl barley | 1 small bag | Sat 60 g |
| Raisins | 1 small bag | Mon 15 g, Tue 15 g |
| Reduced-salt vegetable stock cubes | 1 small box (3 cubes needed) | Mon 1/2, Tue 1/2, Sat 1 (soup) + 1 (stew) |
Cupboard check
You probably have these already. Check the amounts, then add to the trolley whatever has run out.
- Olive oil: about 16 tsp (5 tbsp, 80 ml) over the week
- Salt and black pepper: used in most recipes
- Smoked paprika: 5 tsp (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun)
- Ground cumin: 3 1/2 tsp (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu)
- Dried thyme: 2 tsp (Sat, Sun)
- Ground cinnamon: 3/4 tsp (Mon, Tue, Sun)
Equipment
- Foil, a roll (Wed, Sun) and baking paper (Wed, Fri)
- A large baking tray (Wed, Fri) and a roasting tin (Sun)
- A flameproof casserole dish with a lid, or a large pan and a lidded baking dish (Sat)
- A wide saucepan with a lid (Mon, Tue, Thu)
- A microwave-safe bowl and a plate (Wed, Fri)
- A stick blender (Sat, optional, a masher works)
- Covered containers for prepping ahead, a freezer-safe container with a lid (Sat), and containers for the cold chicken and stock (Sun)
Prep-ahead schedule
Every weekday dinner is prepared a few hours ahead, in about 10 minutes, and then needs only about 5 minutes of work at dinner time. Saturday and Sunday are unhurried.
| Day | Prep ahead (any time that day) | At dinner time |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Chop the onion, grate the carrot, chop the garlic (10 minutes) | Brown the mince, add rice and stock, simmer 15 minutes |
| Tue | Season the chicken, chop the onion and carrot, measure the half tins (10 minutes) | Brown, add tomatoes and chickpeas, simmer 12 minutes, soak the couscous |
| Wed | Soften the cauliflower and potatoes, toss with chickpeas and spices on the tray (10 minutes) | Oven on 220 C, roast 15 minutes, stir the dip |
| Thu | Chop the onion and garlic, drain the beans (10 minutes) | Rice on, brown the mince, add everything, simmer 12 minutes |
| Fri | Microwave and season the wedges, mix the oat crust, cover the fish (10 minutes) | Oven on 220 C, wedges 5 minutes, add the coated fish for 15 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 thighs | Tue | Mon evening |
| Beef mince, Thursday's 200 g (freeze on buying) | Thu | Wed evening |
| White fish fillet | Fri | Thu evening |
| Braising beef | Sat | Fri evening |
| Whole chicken (24 hours or more) | Sun | Fri evening or Sat morning |
Prepping raw meat and fish ahead
Marinated beef, sliced chicken and the fish dish 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. Keep any marinade that touched raw meat in the pan and boil it, and never serve it as a sauce unless it has cooked with the meat.
Saving money on the shop
- Choose the supermarket's own brand for tins, oats, rice, pasta, barley 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.
- A whole chicken, braising beef and frozen white fish cost much less per portion than breasts, steak and fresh fish.
- Look in the reduced section for bread, bananas, apples and chicken, and freeze what you will not cook within a day.
- Cook double when you can: Thursday's filling, Saturday's soup and stew, and Sunday's chicken each give a second meal.
- Check the cupboard section first. Spices and oil are used again from week to week.
Using up leftovers
- Beef and barley stew (Saturday): one portion is in the freezer for your next busy week. Use within 3 months, defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat with a splash of water until steaming hot.
- Three portions of cooked roast chicken (Sunday): eat within 2 days in wraps or salads, or freeze them in separate bags. The stock keeps for 2 days in the fridge, or freeze it.
- About 175 g of beef mince (if you bought a 500 g pack): freeze it on the day you buy it.
- Yoghurt (about 140 g) and Cheddar (about 130 g): use by the dates on the packs. Grated cheese freezes well.
- Spare eggs (if you bought a box of 10), pitta, wraps and bread: freeze the bread, pitta and wraps in a bag and take out what you need.
That completes Meal Plan 6
Five weekday dinners that you prepare ahead and then leave to cook, all on a tight budget, with three beef dinners (Monday, Thursday, Saturday), a fish dinner on Friday, a vegetarian dinner on Wednesday, a stew in the freezer and cold chicken for the start of next week. Swap any recipe that does not suit you, and note what you would change before the next plan.