A sample seven-day menu
This is an ordinary home-cooking example. Adjust portions, ingredients and the number of meals to your plans. Reusing ingredients can simplify shopping without requiring you to cook all the food at once.
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Porridge with apple | Lentil soup | Rice with vegetables and egg |
| Tuesday | Cottage cheese and fruit | Buckwheat with mushrooms | Pasta with tomato sauce |
| Wednesday | Omelette and bread | Vegetable and bean soup | Potatoes and salad |
| Thursday | Porridge with banana | Rice and beans | Buckwheat with vegetables |
| Friday | Yoghurt and toast | Vegetable pasta | Tomato omelette |
| Saturday | Cottage cheese and apple | Potatoes with mushrooms | Lentils and vegetables |
| Sunday | Eggs and toast | Soup using available ingredients | A free evening or a favourite meal |
Build your own plan
Agree on two or three dinners first, then fill out the week. This makes it easier to notice a plan that needs too much work or too many different ingredients.
- Decide how many people and which meals need a plan. Mark the days you will eat elsewhere.
- List the food you already have and ingredients you dislike or do not want to buy.
- Separate busy evenings from those with more cooking time. Name your available appliances and cookware.
- Choose the meals, combine their ingredient lists, check quantities and subtract what you already have.
When the week changes
You can continue the plan in chat: “We will be out on Wednesday, but I have already bought the tomatoes. What should I move?” Bonnie can help work through a substitution and update the list.
- Less cooking time: choose a familiar, simpler meal using the same ingredients.
- Food left over: list it and rebuild the next two dinners around it.
- A different number of people: adjust portions before updating the shopping list.
- A smaller budget: give your limit and your actual prices; costs vary by shop and region.