Sample Weekly Menus
The following are some weekly menus that we have successfully integrated into our meal routines, which largely follows the following basic criteria:
Relatively easy to cook, usually between 30-60 mins from start to serving during the week, with more time-consuming dishes reserved for weekends (if you enjoy spending time cooking!)
Maximizes use of ingredients, with two or more dishes leveraging same ingredients
Use of leftovers as a second meal or as ingredients to making a second meal
Eat out, take out or purchase prepared foods to give you a break. Of these options, we generally tend to eat out to avoid food packaging waste
We start each week with Saturday, as weekends are when we tend to spend more time cooking, and we usually make extra of dishes that can easily be enjoyed again during the week. How you approach it depends on your schedule - leverage prepared foods or eat out on the days you know you will be busy (although it can take less time to prepare and eat a simple meal at home vs. eating out). You can also do a combination - buy prepared foods and pair it with a salad of fresh local greens so that you weave in more nutritious foods!
WEEK 1:
Saturday:
Lunch: Chili + corn bread
Dinner: Steak au poivre (peppercorn steak) + bread + salad
Sunday:
Lunch: Spinach & beans quesadillas
Dinner: Eggplant or other vegetable stir fry + rice
Monday:
Lunch: Leftovers (stir fry from Sunday)
Dinner: Chili mac (using leftover chili from Saturday)
Tuesday:
Lunch: Cheese quesadillas (using leftover tortillas + cheese from Sunday)
Dinner: Panini sandwiches (using leftover steak from Saturday) + salad
Wednesday:
Lunch: Eat out / Take-out
Dinner: Pasta (bottled sauce) + salad
Thursday:
Lunch: Fried egg + toast + salad
Dinner: Baked fish + boiled potatoes
Friday:
Lunch: Leftovers (pasta from Wednesday)
Dinner: Eat out / Take-out
Lunch: Ham or mushroom and cheese crepes + salad
Lunch: Tomato soup + grilled cheese or cheese puffs
Lunch: Kale + chorizo soup
Lunch: Meatball sub
Dinner: Baked eggplant & miso + rice
Dinner: Vegetarian Enchiladas