Meal planning
A Practical Seven Dinner Plan
Start with the nights when time is tight, then assign the easiest meals to those evenings. Leave a flexible slot for changing plans.
What you need
- Two quick meals
- One tray dinner
- One soup
- One leftovers night
Put it into practice
Choose overlapping ingredients with different flavors: cabbage can top tacos and go into fried rice, while beans can fill bowls and soup.
The detail that makes a difference
Plan portions around actual appetites. A plan that produces unwanted leftovers every night needs smaller batches, not more storage containers.
Make it work in your kitchen
Start with a small batch and taste as you go. Keep a note of the ingredients and proportions you prefer so you can repeat the result. For substitutions, consider texture and cooking time as well as flavor; a softer ingredient often needs less time than a firm one.
These are practical cooking guides, not laboratory-tested recipes. Cooking times vary with ingredients, equipment and portion size. Follow package instructions where applicable.