WEEKLY SHOPPING LIST: Meal Plan 7, Quick, from the Freezer All 22 recipes, one portion each (the Saturday and Sunday batch recipes make 4 portions each). Tick off what you already have at home. MEAT AND FISH [ ] Lean beef mince (5% fat): 2 packs of 500 g (1 kg) (Sat 500 g (keema), Sun 500 g (ragu)) [ ] Boneless, skinless chicken thighs: 600 g (Sat (casserole)) [ ] White fish fillets, skinless (cod, haddock or pollock): 500 g, fresh or frozen (Sun (chowder)) [ ] Tuna in spring water (about 145 g tin): 1 small tin (Thu (pitta)) FRUIT AND VEGETABLES [ ] Onions: 9 (Sat 6 (minestrone 2, casserole 2, keema 2), Sun 3 (chowder 1, ragu 2)) [ ] Garlic: 2 small heads (11 cloves needed) (Sat 8, Sun 3) [ ] Carrots: 11 (Mon 1, Sat 8, Sun 2) [ ] Courgettes: 2 (Sat (minestrone)) [ ] Leeks: 2 medium (Sun (chowder)) [ ] Mushrooms (button or chestnut): 1 punnet, 250 g (Sun (ragu)) [ ] Tomatoes: 2 small (Tue (wrap), Sat (omelette)) [ ] Cucumber: 1 small (5 cm needed) (Wed (sandwich)) [ ] Baby spinach: 1 bag, at least 100 g (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu and Sat, 20 g each) [ ] Bananas: 2 (Mon (overnight oats), Wed (toast)) [ ] Eating apple: 1 (Thu (porridge)) DAIRY AND EGGS [ ] Eggs: 1 box of 6 (6 needed: Tue 2, Fri 2, Sat 2) [ ] Plain Greek-style yoghurt: 1 pot, 500 g (about 245 g needed) (Mon 50 g, Wed 1 tbsp, Thu 30 g, Sun 150 g) [ ] Semi-skimmed milk: 1 litre (about 635 ml needed) (Mon 120 ml, Tue 200 ml, Thu 200 ml, Fri and Sun 65 ml) [ ] Mature Cheddar cheese: 1 small block, about 200 g (80 g needed) (Wed 30 g, Fri 30 g, Sat 20 g) [ ] Hummus: 1 small tub, 90 g needed (Mon 60 g, Tue 30 g) BREAD AND BAKERY [ ] Wholemeal bread: 1 small loaf (About 13 slices: Wed 6, Fri 4, Sat 1, Sun 2) [ ] Wholemeal pitta bread: 1 pack (Mon 1, Thu 1. Freeze the rest) [ ] Wholemeal tortilla wraps: 1 pack (Tue 1, Fri 1. Freeze the rest) FROZEN [ ] Sweetcorn: 1 bag, at least 360 g (Thu 60 g (pitta), Sun 300 g (chowder)) [ ] Peas: 1 small bag, at least 60 g (Thu (keema)) [ ] Mixed berries: 1 small bag, at least 80 g (Sun (breakfast)) TINS, JARS AND BOTTLES [ ] Chopped tomatoes (400 g tin): 5 tins (Sat 3 (minestrone, casserole, keema), Sun 2 (ragu)) [ ] Butter beans (400 g tin): 2 tins (Sat 1 (minestrone), 1 (casserole)) [ ] Cannellini beans (400 g tin): 1 tin (Sun (chowder)) [ ] Baked beans, reduced sugar and salt: 1 small tin (200 g), or half of a 400 g tin (Fri (quesadilla)) [ ] Peanut butter, 100% peanuts: 1 small jar (Mon 1 tbsp) [ ] Wholegrain or Dijon mustard: 1 small jar (optional) (Wed 1 tsp) DRY GOODS [ ] Porridge oats: 1 bag (About 150 g: Mon 40 g, Tue 40 g, Thu 40 g, Sun 30 g) [ ] Raisins: 1 small bag (Tue 15 g) [ ] Dried pasta shapes or spaghetti: 1 pack (Mon 75 g, Sun 75 g) [ ] Small dried pasta (macaroni or small shells): 1 small pack (Wed 30 g, Sat 30 g) [ ] Couscous: 1 small pack (Tue 60 g, Sat 60 g) [ ] Long-grain white rice (basmati): 1 small bag (Thu 60 g) [ ] Reduced-salt vegetable stock cubes: 1 small box (5 cubes needed) (Sat 3, Sun 2) CUPBOARD CHECK (probably at home) [ ] Olive oil: about 12 tsp (4 tbsp, 60 ml) over the week [ ] Salt and black pepper: used in most recipes [ ] Smoked paprika: 2 tsp (Sat) [ ] Ground cumin: 2 1/2 tsp (Fri, Sat) [ ] Ground coriander: 2 tsp (Sat). May be new [ ] Ground turmeric: 1 tsp (Sat). May be new [ ] Dried oregano: 2 tsp (Sat, Sun) [ ] Dried thyme: 1 tsp (Sat) [ ] Ground cinnamon: 3/4 tsp (Tue, Wed, Thu) EQUIPMENT [ ] 16 freezer bags (about 1 litre) or shallow freezer-safe containers with lids, and a permanent marker for labels [ ] A very large pan (Sat, Sun) and a second large pan or a flameproof casserole dish with a lid (Sat) [ ] A stick blender (Sun, optional, a masher works) [ ] A baking tray or the sink, for cooling pots quickly (Sat, Sun) [ ] A microwave-safe bowl for reheating (Mon to Fri) [ ] A frying pan (Tue, Fri, Sat) and a toaster [ ] A sharp knife, a chopping board and a coarse grater START HERE: THE WEEKLY CYCLE (cook the weekend first) Mon: night before or morning: Take a ragu portion out of the freezer into the fridge. Make the overnight oats the evening before. At dinner: Cook pasta, reheat the ragu 6 to 8 minutes Tue: night before or morning: Take a casserole portion out of the freezer into the fridge. At dinner: Reheat 8 to 10 minutes, soak the couscous Wed: night before or morning: Take a minestrone portion out of the freezer into the fridge. At dinner: Simmer with 30 g of small pasta and 100 ml water for 8 to 10 minutes Thu: night before or morning: Take a keema portion out of the freezer into the fridge. At dinner: Rice on, reheat the keema 6 to 8 minutes, add peas for 3 minutes Fri: night before or morning: Take a chowder portion out of the freezer into the fridge. At dinner: Warm gently with 50 ml milk for 8 to 10 minutes Sat: night before or morning: Defrost the mince and chicken in the fridge if frozen. At dinner: Batch day 1: cook minestrone, casserole and keema (about 2 hours 30 minutes) Sun: night before or morning: Defrost the fish in the fridge if frozen. At dinner: Batch day 2: cook chowder and ragu (about 1 hour 45 minutes) IF YOU SHOP ONCE: freeze raw meat and fish on the day you buy it, and defrost it in the fridge overnight. Beef mince, 2 packs (if frozen): needed Sat and Sun, take out of the freezer on Fri evening Chicken thighs (if frozen): needed Sat, take out of the freezer on Fri evening White fish (if frozen): needed Sun, take out of the freezer on Sat evening Beef ragu portion: needed Mon, take out of the freezer on Sun evening or Mon morning Chicken casserole portion: needed Tue, take out of the freezer on Mon evening or Tue morning Minestrone portion: needed Wed, take out of the freezer on Tue evening or Wed morning Beef keema portion: needed Thu, take out of the freezer on Wed evening or Thu morning Fish chowder portion: needed Fri, take out of the freezer on Thu evening or Fri morning Never refreeze raw meat, fish or a cooked portion that has defrosted. FREEZER TIPS - Label every bag with the dish, the date and 'reheat once', so nothing sits in the freezer unrecognised for months. - Lay bags flat to freeze, then stack them like files. They take up the least space and defrost the fastest. - Keep the oldest portions at the front of the freezer and use them first. - Cool food quickly: divide it into shallow bags, or stand the pot in a sink of cold water. Freeze within 2 hours of cooking. - Freeze the pasta, rice and couscous separately, or not at all. Cook them fresh on the day, which takes 5 to 10 minutes. - Use the freezer portions from Plans 3, 4 and 6 too. A pie, a pasta bake or a stew fits straight into the same weekday routine. LEFTOVERS TO USE UP - After one weekend you have 16 labelled portions in the freezer: 3 minestrone, 3 casserole, 4 keema, 3 chowder and 3 ragu. The next busy week uses 5 of them, one of each dish, so 11 portions are left for later busy weeks. - Eggs: none spare if you buy a box of 6. Hummus, yoghurt and Cheddar: use by the dates on the packs. Grated cheese freezes well. - Half a tin of baked beans (if you opened a large tin): keep in a covered container in the fridge and use within 2 days. - Spare pitta, wraps and bread: freeze in a bag and take out what you need. - Defrosted portions: use within 2 days of defrosting and never refreeze them. If a plan changes, cook the portion the same day.