Does the idea of planning out an entire week's worth of meals with precision seem unachievable in your household?
We spoke with three family cooks who find smaller ways to make the whole process of planning, shopping and cooking easier, from grating cheese ahead to stocking staples.
Here's how three different households manage the cooking at home.
The big shop strategy
Karima Hazim is the sole manager of the meals in her house.
On Gadigal land in Sydney, Karima says her two daughters — aged six and eight — mostly eat the same meals as her husband and her, except for the occasional side.
The cook and food educator works for herself, and says she likes to do a big shop once a week, usually on a Monday. She says this shop lasts the family anywhere from a week to 11 days and is supplemented by a trip to market on Saturday (which is a family activity).
Karima's big shop begins at a Lebanese grocer and the butcher nearby, where she gets things that "can freeze to get [her] through the week" such as sausages, mince and maybe a shoulder of lamb.
This is followed by a trip to a grocer for fruit, a discount supermarket for "milk, bread and lunch-box stuff" and then a final stop at a supermarket for things she can't find elsewhere.
To meal plan or not to meal plan?
Wiradjuri man Nathan Lyons lives in Emerald, Central Queensland, on Gayiri Country, and says he does the bulk of the shopping and cooking for his household.
The train driver and author of Kooking with a Koori says it can be tricky keeping expenses low for his family of eight. Nathan's children range from seven to 19 years old.
Meals are usually decided "on a whim" when he visits the supermarket most days.
"My first port of call [at the supermarket] is the meat section to see what's on special, to see what's in stock."
"If it's a really good deal" he might buy extra to freeze.
Nathan says he thrives "on the chaos" and planning meals rigidly isn't for him.
"It just gets old and boring quickly," he says.
"[The menu] sort of bounces all over the place depending on what the kids are feeling like and what's on special".
Creamy chicken with garlic and mushrooms and chicken tender wraps are on regular rotation at the moment.
Despite her extensive grocery shopping itinerary, Karima is not a devoted meal planner either.
She says for her, it is too much pressure, and she prefers to buy ingredients she knows her family will eat and builds meals around them.
Karima says she always has the ingredients on hand to "throw a stir-fry together" for a quick midweek dinner, but with more time, dinner might look like lamb with beans or a vegetable stew.
Variety is also a priority in the household, and Karima says she purposefully incorporates traditional Lebanese food into the menu, so her children are familiar with it.
A case for planning half the week
Jessica Beaton lives with her husband and their four sons — whose ages span from six to 13 — on Gadigal land in Sydney.
The accredited practising dietitian says the couple "typically plan the first half of the week quite well".
This is mostly determined by her sons' sporting schedules. She says every weeknight this term — except for Wednesday — is claimed by either soccer, basketball, touch football or swimming,
Determining factors include who is on pick up, whether anyone is home to put something prepped in the oven, and how hungry everyone is likely to be.
By planning the start of the week, Jessica says some of the busiest nights are organised and Thursday tends to be the "loosest", often relying on pantry or freezer staples.
The end of the week being more flexible also allows her to repurpose any leftovers.
Jessica says the family do a big restock on the weekend and usually at least one "top-up" shop during the week, particularly for things like fruit.
'Having staples in the pantry is a must'
Nathan says the household's food budget is "basically as little as possible" and "having staples in the pantry is a must".
He says having a supply of things such as canned food, noodles and curry powder helps, especially when unexpected bills come up.
For Karima, having a stocked fridge, freezer and pantry is key to her cooking method.
"There are always four jars of passata … always cheese, always olives, always this, always that. So, there's always something I can make.
"I always have stuff to play with, so I just decide on the day.
"I'm speaking from a place of a lot of experience, and I come from a family where food and cooking was something we did every single day."
'Intentional' prepping and finding shortcuts
Jessica says she rarely get hours of undisturbed time in the kitchen to prep but says she has learnt to double recipes for the freezer and find other shortcuts where she can.
"Last night I made chicken skewers, and I made the marinade and popped an extra serving in the freezer."
She also cooked extra chicken to go on salads or in wraps as part of her lunches throughout the week.
Jessica asks her butcher to chop the chicken into chunks for her, so it's ready straight from the fridge or freezer to go into a curry or onto a skewer.
She also makes the most of times when she can meal prep.
"I know the times where I feel more energised and can be more intentional with my meal prep so that towards the end of my cycle where I'm feeling a bit less motivated or can't be bothered, I know there's portions of food in the freezer."
Jessica says having "clever equipment" has also been worth it for her family, from a slow cooker to a high-end food processor/multi-cooker.
But simple changes can also make a big difference to midweek cooking.
"Once I started grating cheese and putting it in a big container and putting it in the fridge, that was such a time saver."
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