This page is generated from data/weekly-system.toml.
Default Week
| Day |
Breakfast |
Work Lunch |
Dinner |
Snack |
| Mon |
Oats/yoghurt |
Batch leftovers |
Pulse batch meal |
Fruit + seeded biscuits |
| Tue |
Eggs/toast |
Grain box |
Butcher meal |
Yoghurt/nuts |
| Wed |
Oats/yoghurt |
Leftovers |
Fish meal |
Fruit/oatcakes |
| Thu |
Eggs/toast |
Grain box |
Leftover bowl |
Seeded biscuits |
| Fri |
Yoghurt/fruit |
Bought lunch |
Bread + soup/eggs/cheese |
Sweet snack |
| Sat |
Bakery/home breakfast |
Flexible |
Bigger cook or social |
Fruit/popcorn |
| Sun |
Eggs/oats |
Flexible |
Batch cook |
Snack prep |
Weekly Decision Rule
- What is my batch meal?
- What is my fish meal?
- What is my butcher/meat meal?
- What bread/simple meal am I doing?
Budget Bands
| Band |
Use |
| Base staples |
ALDI, oats, yoghurt, eggs, tins, rice, veg |
| Quality upgrades |
butcher, fishmonger, bakery, cheese shop |
| Social/flexible |
bought lunch, coffee, pastry, pub/restaurant |
| Bulk/emergency |
Arjuna, Al-Amin, Asian supermarkets, freezer restock |
Rule:
Spend freely on vegetables, pulses, eggs, yoghurt, and good bread. Be deliberate with cheese, pastries, cured meats, and restaurant meals.
Minimum Viable Week
| Meal |
Minimal Version |
| Breakfast |
oats/yoghurt/fruit |
| Lunch |
leftovers or bread + hummus/eggs |
| Dinner 1 |
dal/chilli/curry batch |
| Dinner 2 |
fish or eggs + potatoes + greens |
| Dinner 3 |
soup + bread |
| Backup |
tinned beans/tomatoes + pasta/rice |
High-Effort Week Upgrade
Choose at most one project when the week is calm:
- make proper stock
- bake bread or focaccia
- make granola
- make a big soup
- try a new fish from Fin Boys
- make a butcher-based stew
- batch-cook freezer lunches
- make a nicer dessert
Always Buy
- Fruit: bananas, apples, berries/citrus
- Breakfast: oats, yoghurt/milk, eggs
- Vegetables: leafy greens, salad veg, roast veg
- Lunch: bread/wraps/grains, hummus/cheese/tinned fish
- Snacks: nuts, oatcakes, snack-bake ingredients
- Fresh flavour: lemons, herbs, garlic, onions
Choose One
- Batch meal: dal, chilli, chickpea curry, lentil ragu
- Fish: white fish, salmon, mackerel, mussels
- Butcher: chicken thighs, mince, sausages, stew meat
- Bread: sourdough, rye, seeded loaf, baguette
- Sweet: pastry, dark chocolate, flapjack, yoghurt dessert
Check Before Buying
- rice / pasta / couscous
- tinned tomatoes
- beans / lentils / chickpeas
- frozen peas / spinach
- olive oil
- peanut butter / tahini
- spices / curry paste / harissa
- gym drink supplies
- emergency shelf
Stock Control
Rule: when the backup is opened, add it to the shopping list.
| Item |
Keep |
Rebuy When |
| Tinned tomatoes |
4 cans |
you open can 3 |
| Chickpeas/beans/lentils |
6 cans |
fewer than 3 remain |
| Tinned fish |
3 cans |
fewer than 2 remain |
| Pasta/rice |
1 backup pack |
backup opened |
| Frozen spinach/peas |
1 bag each |
half-empty |
| Oats |
1 bag |
backup opened |
| Eggs |
6-12 |
fewer than 4 remain |
Kitchen Setup Checklist
| Item |
Why |
| Good chef’s knife |
makes vegetables easier |
| Chopping board |
ideally one large |
| Large saucepan |
dal, soup, pasta |
| Frying pan |
eggs, fish, reheating |
| Roasting tray |
traybakes, veg, chickpeas |
| Baking tray |
seeded biscuits, snacks |
| Mixing bowl |
snacks, salads |
| Lunch containers |
work lunches |
| Soup container |
winter lunches |
| Freezer bags/labels |
emergency system |
| Water bottle |
gym/work |
| Small blender, optional |
smoothies, sauces, soups |
Condiment Backbone
| Cuisine Direction |
Keep |
| Mediterranean |
olive oil, vinegar, mustard, capers, olives |
| Middle Eastern |
tahini, cumin, harissa, za’atar |
| Indian-ish |
curry powder/paste, garam masala, turmeric |
| East Asian |
soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli oil, miso |
| General |
lemons, garlic, black pepper, stock cubes |
Freezer Map
| Zone |
Contents |
| Vegetables |
peas, spinach, mixed veg |
| Proteins |
fish fillets, dumplings, cooked chicken, tofu |
| Bread |
sliced loaf, rolls, pitta |
| Meals |
dal, chilli, stew, soup portions |
Label portions with: Meal name + date + portions.
Use-Up Meal
grain/potato/bread + leftover protein + tired vegetables + sauce
Good use-up sauces:
- yoghurt + lemon + garlic
- tahini + lemon + water
- soy + sesame + chilli
- pesto + yoghurt
- harissa + olive oil
- curry yoghurt
- mustard vinaigrette
Sauce Rotation
| Sauce |
Works With |
| Tahini lemon |
chickpeas, roast veg, grain bowls |
| Yoghurt garlic |
fish, potatoes, eggs, lamb/chicken |
| Soy sesame chilli |
noodles, rice bowls, tofu, greens |
| Pesto yoghurt |
pasta, chicken, sandwiches |
| Harissa yoghurt |
chickpeas, eggs, roast veg |
| Mustard vinaigrette |
lentils, potatoes, salad, mackerel |
| Tomato chilli |
beans, pasta, eggs |
Lunchbox Kit
- 2-3 leakproof lunch containers
- 1 soup container
- small dressing pots
- cutlery at work
- napkins
- small salt/pepper/chilli flakes at work
- reusable water bottle
- gym bottle
- freezer labels or masking tape
No-Cook Dinners
| Meal |
Ingredients |
| Bread + hummus + salad + boiled eggs |
bread, hummus, eggs, leaves |
| Mackerel toast |
bread, smoked/tinned mackerel, lemon, cucumber |
| Cheese plate dinner |
bread, cheese, apple, salad, nuts |
| Greek-ish bowl |
yoghurt, chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, herbs |
| Tuna bean salad |
tuna, beans, olive oil, lemon, capers |
| Peanut-butter banana toast |
bread, peanut butter, banana |
| Yoghurt bowl |
yoghurt, oats/granola, fruit, nuts |
Social and Flexible Budget
| Item |
Frequency |
| Bought lunch |
1x weekly |
| Bakery/pastry |
1x weekly |
| Pub/restaurant/social dinner |
0-1x weekly |
| Coffee out |
1-3x weekly depending budget |
Training Day Rule
- Before: banana / toast / oat bar
- During: water, or lemon-salt drink if sweaty
- After: protein + carb within the next meal
Good post-gym meals:
- dal + rice + yoghurt
- eggs + toast + fruit
- fish + potatoes + salad
- chicken grain bowl
- yoghurt + oats + berries
- tuna toast + salad
Seasonal Rotation
| Season |
Defaults |
| Winter |
soups, stews, dal, roast veg, porridge |
| Spring |
eggs, greens, herbs, new potatoes, lighter fish |
| Summer |
salads, tomatoes, cucumbers, fruit, cold grain bowls |
| Autumn |
squash, mushrooms, lentils, apples, traybakes |
Guest and Hosting Fallbacks
| Meal |
Shopping |
| Bread + cheese + salad + soup |
bakery + cheese shop + Arjuna |
| Pasta + good sauce + salad |
Culinaris/Arjuna + greens |
| Roast chicken + potatoes + salad |
butcher + veg |
| Fish + potatoes + greens |
Fin Boys + market/Arjuna |
| Mezze board |
Al-Amin + bread + hummus + olives |
First Week After Moving
Do not try to optimise the whole routine during move-in week.
First Shop
- oats
- yoghurt/milk
- eggs
- bananas/apples
- bread
- butter/olive oil
- rice/pasta
- tinned tomatoes
- chickpeas/beans/lentils
- frozen peas/spinach
- onions/garlic
- curry paste or harissa
- tea/coffee
- salt/pepper
- lemons
- nuts/oatcakes
- washing-up basics
First Cook
- Batch meal: chickpea tomato curry or lentil dal
- Snack: seeded biscuits
- Backup: freeze 1-2 portions
Personal Defaults
- Default breakfast:
- Default packed lunch:
- Default batch meal:
- Default fish dinner:
- Default butcher dinner:
- Default bread meal:
- Default snack:
- Default gym drink:
- Default emergency meal:
- Default Friday treat:
What Not To Add
- calorie tracking unless there is a specific goal
- a different recipe every night
- too many specialist shops per week
- complicated packed lunches
- gym supplements unless needed
- strict rules around treats
- a huge spice collection immediately
One-Page Weekly Template
- answer the four weekly decision questions
- choose the minimum viable week or a fuller default week
- check budget bands
- check stock-control triggers
- choose one high-effort upgrade only if the week is calm
- pick Sunday batch cook and Wednesday reset
- write the shopping list
- run the weekly review
Weekly Review
- What did I actually eat?
- What spoiled?
- What did I enjoy?
- What was too much effort?
- What do I need to restock?
- What is next week’s batch meal?