Thinking about what to cook for dinners every week can be exhausting.
After getting married about 10 years ago, Tara Sing decided to take control of that weekly frustration.
The journalist and mum-of-two from south-west Sydney started simple, by jotting down a list of her favourite easy meals on the back of an envelope.
"I had a big folder of recipes I went through, and wrote down any recipe that was easy to make that we enjoyed eating," the 34-year-old says.
"I had about 15 recipes on the back of an envelope and that was our first meal rotation."
Tara's meal planning has since grown into a spreadsheet she can access anywhere, but her strategy has remained uncomplicated.
We asked Tara to share how she saves time and money with meal planning — so we can too — plus how her method has evolved.
Planning three meals – and cooking larger serves
Tara plans three meals a week: a budget meal, a vegetarian meal, and a family favourite.
She chooses from her recipe archive — and makes extra serves.
"I always cook for more serves than we need in general," she says, adding friends or family will often pop over, and the extra food allows her to invite them to stay for dinner.
It also leaves room for two "leftover nights". One is a throw-together meal with remaining fresh ingredients, or what she has stocked in the freezer.
And one evening each week the family usually eats out with extended family or friends.
Her spreadsheet has evolved over time, and today includes the ingredients for every recipe, so it's easy to write her shopping list.
"And I keep tweaking it. Now it has the cost of each ingredient so I can easily work out total cost of the recipe, and cost per serve."
Adding veggies for bulk and swapping out ingredients
Tara knows eating healthy can feel like a challenge, especially with the increasing cost of living, but she says adding veggies to meals is a good hack.
Through her Instagram page, @deskfruitandveg, she demonstrates bulking up meals with sides of affordable veggies.
"I wanted to show myself and my followers, actually adding a tin of corn as a side is a really cheap and healthy way to boost veggies and feel better physically.
"If I make pasta, there is always a side of steamed veggies to go with it.
"It bulks up the plate without bulking up the grocery bill."
She says swapping out certain vegetables in recipes will also save you money.
"Some recipes say snow peas, which at one point were $40 per kilogram. I'm just going to use frozen peas."
Tara says to look for what's on special and can work as a substitute.
Trying one new recipe each month
Tara says she's "reads recipe books like picture books", and really enjoys trying new foods.
A few years ago she set herself a challenge to cook one new recipe every month.
"Every time I try a new recipe that I enjoy, I will add it to the meal rotation."
Tara ends up adding at least one in five new meals to her list.
What's on the menu this week?
This week Tara's family are having chicken enchiladas (budget meal at $14 for four to five serves), slow-cooked butter chicken ($23 for eight serves) and a veggie-loaded satay stir-fry (vegetarian meal).
Tara says when it comes to meal planning, it's important to take the pressure off.
It's OK to stray from the list if you don't feel like making something during the week.
"Sometimes I want a break from the washing up, so if I can do a throw-together meal with some rice, veggies and tinned tuna, sometimes that's my daughter's favourite meal.
"You should be proud to serve that one or two nights a week — because that's a really healthy meal."
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