When I first met Pete I was obsessed with the fact that his parents have had the same weekly menu all their lives. What madness! It tickled me, and I loved it. I still love it in fact, because it means when we visit I know I am having roast chicken for dinner on a Saturday night with potatoes, peas and cauliflower cheese. And that there is vanilla Vienetta for pudding. This hasn’t changed in 37 years. For the longest time I just couldn’t get my head around the idea of a set weekly menu. Now that I am juggling work and baby and house maintenance I TOTALLY GET IT. And while I’m never going to have the same week menu on rotation (my job/ I need to experiment etc), I fully appreciate the ease and calmness it must have provided my mother in law. She had 3 boys to raise, a full time job once they were at school and a husband to cook for. Of course the woman had dinners set in stone for goodness sake.
When I am shooting and developing recipes for work, it’s just days of leftovers. But on quiet weeks like this a menu plan is a God send. So here I am sharing this weeks plan with you. It’s not that I think it is the best thing ever, or I’m saying go copy it word for word, it’s more for a bit of inspiration and to show how we do things. I’ll be sharing some of the recipes along the way too (over on @peaandthepod).
Also bear in mind that we have a kid in childcare 3 days a week so that means lunches + tea are taken care of Monday – Wednesday. She still comes home and will eat a little of whatever I am making for dinner, so I still need to make sure there is something Persephone can eat on the table but it is definitely less manic. We are also both at work those days so the meals are less fussy. They are quicker, simpler, freezer reliant and leftover friendly. On the days where I am at home I tend to cook a little more, and weekends are naturally a little more indulgent.
Anyway, I hope this helps a little and keep an eye on IG for any recipes that might tickle your fancy. Oh and Happy New Year! x
WEEKLY MENU – JAN 2019
THURSDAY
- B: Pete’s sourdough toast
- Snack: Carrot rounds
- L: red lentil + squash soup (take to the park in thermos)
- Snack: yoghurt + pear
- D: Sweet potato + black bean quesadillas, mashed avocado
- (Make overnight oats)
FRIDAY
- B: Overnight oats + yoghurt
- Snacks: red pepper + a little feta
- L: Eating out
- Snack: Yoghurt + clementine
- D: Coconut beef curry with rice noodles (batch cook curry for freezer) Recipe to come on Pea + the Pod
SATURDAY
- B: Overnight oats + yoghurt
- Snack + L: Eating out
- Snack: banana bread
- D: Semolina gnocchi with greens on the side. Recipe to come on Pea + the Pod
SUNDAY
- B: Chocolate porridge + blueberries
- L: Herby pea + cheese omelette (use whatever is in fridge)
- Snack: Carrot rounds
- D: Indian Shepherd’s Pie with peas + spinach (Pete to cook)
- Pud: Yoghurt
MONDAY (P NURSERY)
- B: Cereal
- L: Leftover Shepherd’s pie (Pete + Georgie)
- D: Khichdi: slow cooked split peas, rice and kale – batch cook Recipe to come on Pea + the Pod
TUESDAY (P NURSERY)
- B: Golden porridge + banana
- L: Leftover khichdi (Pete and Georgie)
- D: Defrosted coconut beef curry with rice + broccoli
WEDNESDAY (P NURSERY)
- B: Granola, yoghurt + pear
- L: Out out
- D: Jacket potatoes, miso tuna + avocado Recipe in Stirring Slowly
