As autumn closes into winter the sense of having less time in the ever-shortening days makes us feel even more pressured, and the thought of preparing a meal at the end of the day can be overwhelming.
Often the hardest thing about cooking is deciding what to eat each night. So to help streamline your winter eating I’ve created an eight-week meal planner to take the stress out of your evenings. All the recipes you need are in my new winter annual Annabel Langbein A Free Range Life: Winter Goodness.
Most main dishes serve four, but some serve six or more, leaving leftovers for lunch the next day or another meal another night. We assume you'll go out or eat takeaways or leftovers a couple of nights a week, so each weekly planner suggests five meals that you can use whatever night works for you.
Feel free to mix up the weeks to suit your plans or suit the appetites you're feeding – you might prefer to choose your favourite four weeks and repeat them!
To make life even easier I’ve created a shopping list for each week’s menu plan. Click the links below to download printable pdfs (about 710KB each).
Please note the quantities given are sometimes rounded to allow for easy shopping – for example when 2½ lemons are required in one week the shopping list will call for 3 lemons.
We assume you'll have a few salad greens and vegetables on hand to round out your meals, and that you'll have a few Storecupboard Basics, such as oils and vinegars, sauces, herbs and spices. Scroll down to see a checklist of Storecupboard Basics or click here to download a printable pdf (934KB).
I'd love to hear your feedback about how you use the meal planners, what you enjoy the most about them – and anything you don't like too! Please let me know on my Facebook page.
