We know how difficult it is keeping on top of managing the family meal plan. So, we have created a free six week family meal plan to help you out. There are, of course, some quick and easy recipes in here. There are also some that aren’t top of the five-a-day list as well. BUT, we KNOW that sometimes it isn’t possible to sit down and create a gourmet meal for the kids every night. After all, you have to get one to gymnastics and the other to football! And then somewhere in between all that you have to eat!
This is a realistic, easy six week family meal plan. If you are after a plan that includes making sure your kids are getting five-a-day, or they are vegan. We’ll link to some ideas at the bottom of the post, and you can mix our plan up with those. There is a lot of meat. There is Pizza, and pasta. But it works for us.
We are not dieticians, but an ordinary family with chaotic challenges to overcome. This meal plan is how we have done it. 😂 Warts and all. It works for us, and we sincerely hope that it will work for you too.
Week 1
Spaghetti Bolognese: An old classic that the kids love, and don’t seem to get bored of, so we had to include it right at the start.
Hot dog and fries: There are PLENTY of recipes to choose from here – one of them is BOUND to work for you as well. We tend to go with the standard sausage rather than an actually hot dog, but you can mix it up each 6-week cycle to keep things interesting.
Paella: A few years ago, when I wasn’t so well, we used Hello Fresh for a good few months to help out. It was excellent, and this recipe was one of our favourites. the boy doesn’t like it, so we have it when he is at football!
Beef Burgers: Have it with wedges rather than chips to make it healthier. Sometimes we also swap this out of this week too; just because we have hot dogs there as well. But the first week of the cycle is always the hardest to get in to – so we ease in gently every time!
Chicken Schnitzel: We LOVE Nigella, and use her Nigella Express (UK affiliate link) cookbook a few times within this meal plan because it is fast, simple and yummy. We recommend it for loads of other great ideas for the kids too.
Tomato and Pork Risotto: We didn’t really think to use sausagemeat in recipes until we starting using Hello Fresh, but this meal is so easy, my daughter likes to make it too.
Chicken and Leek bake: Everybody loves a pasta bake – but this one is a little different as it has leek in it. Always worth getting a few sneaky veg in there if you can.
Week 2
Lime and Coriander Prawn Noodle Stir Fry: We love a little bit of shellfish as brain food, so this is a perfect dinner for the family. Add green beans for a little more crunch in this recipe if you want too.
Chicken Cordon Bleu: Tasty is an excellent source of recipes, and this is actually a recipe I picked up from an ex; perfect for the family and so quick and easy to do.
Creamy Linguine: Our first recipe with a little bit of a creamy sauce – this is delicious and so fast it will take less than 30 minutes on a good day.
Teriyaki Salmon Noodles: A little bit of Chilli for the kids? If you aren’t sure, tone it down. We do.
Nasi Goreng: This is an Indonesian dish – and it is definitely one of the kids favourites. Simple, colourful, and oh so convenient, and if you want to go mad with the veg, you can pretty much chuck everything and anything into it! We ofetn add peas or Mange Tout to get more of those greens into the kids.
Shepherd’s Pie: The old ones are often the best.
Toad in the Hole: Toad in the Hole is one of the MOST wonderful comfort foods for our family. We love it at the weekend; why not give is a go yourself too?
Week 3
Fajitas: The world is your oyster (!) with a Fajitas. We’ve got our favourite fajitas recipe, but really there are so many to choose from; different kinds of meat, vegan ones, whatever takes your fancy really for this middle of the weeks moment.
Mushroom Risotto: We LOVE a risotto; they are so easy, and it is simple to just throw one together with whatever you have left as long as there is some Arborio rice in the cupboard. My son says he doesn’t like mushrooms that much. But he easts this!
Chorizo Crusted Chicken with New Potatoes and Green Beans: A wonderful variation on the meat and two veg option. This is delicious and another one that’s a firm mid week favourite with the family.
Spiralli Pasta Salad: A great way to get kids to have more fish. We have served this hot or cold, kind of up to you. Variation on this is to have smoked salmon, creme fraiche (2 tbsp) and mayonnaise (1 tbsp) and a dash of lemon juice and dill with the heated pasta and some frozen peas; mix it all together and voila: another simple mid week recipe.
Ultimate Spaghetti Carbonara: What’s not to like about this one – another fabulous Italian meal that is convenient to make after school.
Country Roast Gammon: Obviously we have this at the weekend – but Gammon, cooked in Apple Juice with roast tatties and greens: what more can we say?
Chicken and Mushroom pie: Clearly we cheat with the pastry and buy pre-made; but you could be awesome and make it yourself. *Obviously*
Week 4
Speedy Steak Stir Fry: This week we have two steak recipes, this is the simplest one that we usually leave for a week night when we need to be fast, but hearty. A good “before the sports classes” meal for the kids, and a bit of comfort food for you. Mainly because it is comforting to know it’ll take less than 30 mins to make!
Spaghetti with Meatballs: Need we say more?
Cheddar Cheese Risotto: This is the second recipe from Nigella Express (UK affiliate link). It’s one that the kids can make. It is so so simple, but really satisfying as well.
Sausage Mac and Cheese: A variation on an old favourite. We have tweaked this to include Boursin cheese, a dash of milk, red and green pepper, frozen peas and Spanish Chorizo too for a bit of a change.
Steak Tagliata: The second steak recipe of the week. Swap it with something else if you want throughout the plan to vary things a little. But we like a steak week 😂
Sausage stuffed chicken: This is a great one to get the kids involved with as they’ll love putting the stuffing into the chicken and then rolling it all up. A great one for the weekend when they can get more hands on perhaps.
Pollo Alla Cacciatora: The second recipe from Nigella (UK affiliate link), and the last of the week. A lovely hearty casserole – perhaps best for the weekend.
Week 5
Crispy Breaded Pork: Serve with potatoes and veg – a really simple way to serve Pork Chops, but a fun one too.
Mushroom Tagliatelle: Can you tell we love a bit of mushroom instead of meat? This is lovely with the tenderstem broccoli; but you can substitute this if your kids aren’t keen…
Crispy Duck: We HAVE cooked this from scratch from Nigella (UK affiliate link), and it was her book that first introduced the family to duck BUT we also have been known to cheat and get the duck from the Supermarket. It is totally up to you. A weekend meal if you make it, and a midweek one if you don’t! If you don’t fancy Nigella, Who’s the Mummy has a great homemade Crispy Duck recipe too.
Pizza: Do whatever you fancy – make your own – buy a pizza, or even have a night off and go to the nearest restaurant. Pizza is all about the fun. You can even get the kids to make the topping!
Pork and Apple Burger: We love this burger. And the Rosemary wedges are a fabulous alternative to fries as well.
Pea and Bacon Pasta: This is simply the quickest and best meal from Jamie Oliver EVER. And that is really saying something… We love his Ministry of Food (UK Amazon affiliate link) book, and this is by far and away the favourite for the kids. They can make it easily too. Perfect in every way.
Chicken and Bacon Casserole: Great one for the kids and at the weekend again. A fabulously fun casserole for all the family.
Week 6
Beef Bulgogi: We had never heard of this one until we stumbled across it at Hello Fresh and now the kids love it.
Chicken with Parma Ham: Chicken wrapped in Parma Ham. What COULD be simpler?!
Prawn Risotto: Our final risotto of the three we have. You can mix them all around of course, and do your own variations. There are so many Risotto recipes out there. So you will definitely find one that works for you.
Tagliatelle with Prawn and Herbs: We swap the Spaghetti with Tagliatelle to change things about a little bit in this one.
Easy Roast Chicken: Perhaps one for the weekend, but the final of the two roasts in the 6 week meal plan.
Omelette and Fries: This is a Ham and Cheese omelette, but do whatever you fancy! We usually have it with fries. But that doesn’t mean you have to. It’d be perfect with new potatoes too.
Special Fried Rice: The kids LOVE the chinese food that we regularly have – and another way to get the veg in of course.
So that’s it – simple right? a family meal plan with some old favourites and some new tastes for the kids too.
In order to download – just CLICK ON THE IMAGE below.
Clearly, you can substitute whatever you like within the week. And if you want a print out of this, then do download this pdf below. There are live links to the relevant recipes included within this to help you out as well as the above information.
Don’t forget, we also have some amazing recipes for the family on our own site within our wonderful cooking for kids section. Do take a look there for more inspiration as well.
Other recipe ideas for lunch and families
Some more thought on great recipes for lunch for you and the family.
Cake, dessert and biscuit recipes for kids and the family
If you are suck for what to do for dessert - we can help!
Hearty family meal: Spanish Chorizo and Roast Cod with Capers and Tomato
The marriage of fish with Spanish chorizo brings a flavorful dish to your table with every meal. Enjoy this delightful Spanish Chorizo and roast cod with capers and tomato tonight.
If you do have a few challenges with the kids and their eating habits, we recommend taking a look at Emily Leary’s book as well. We have found to be really helpful in getting fussy eaters to explore more tastes and textures.
If you are still craving more family meal plan inspiration, then do take a look at these other options too.
Other meal planning ideas
Here are some more meal plans you might like to dip into as well.
Ten budget family meals for the week before payday.... | The Diary of a Frugal Family
Some budget ideas for your meal planning.
Family Meal Planning Made Easy
How to go about it if you want to meal plan yourself.
How to create a year long meal plan
Create a year long one - and when you have - let me know?!?!
Get Organised - How to meal plan.... | The Diary of a Frugal Family
Finally, another bit of advice on how to get started meal planning if it isn't something that you have done before as a family.
Why not subscribe to us for more printables, advice and general fun and frolics as well!
We hope to see you again on the blog soon.
Helen
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Helen
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine!Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time.KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10.It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania.Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on.Get in touch TODAY!