Weeknight meals made easy

Five homemade weeknight meals? You got this!

There’s nothing more satisfying than pulling off a delicious home-made meal – but cooking can be a challenge, especially on busy weeknights. As tempting as takeaways or ‘instant’ meals can be, being organised with your cooking is a great way to save money and stay healthy… and have a good time in the process!

Read on for some easy tips to make weeknight cooking a breeze.

1. Get planning

• A simple meal plan is a great way to guide you through the week. Think about the ingredients you’ll be using in each meal and match them up. For example, if you’re buying lettuce to use in burgers, plan a salad for the next night too.
  
  
• Find a place to store your family’s favourite recipes, whether that’s bookmarking them on your computer, creating a list on your phone or writing them down in a notebook. That way you’ll never be stuck for inspiration.
  
  
• Prep what you can on Sunday or over the weekend. Make a big pasta salad or quiche that can be used for lunches throughout the week, or some homemade muesli for breakfast on the go! Mason jars are great for meal prepping and are microwave safe (plus they’re a great aesthetic addition to your home!)
  
  
• Sundays are a great day to get your Yogurt prepped for the week ahead too. Make your EasiYo on Sunday morning and pop it in the fridge before you go to bed so you have freshly-made, chilled yogurt ready on Monday.
  
  
• We've made an easy printable Meal Planner so you can keep track of what's on the menu for the week.  Find it here.

2. Stock up on the staples

Having your go-to staples in the cupboard for your favourite family meals will make cooking less stressful and save those last-minute trips to the supermarket.

Our top staples include:

• Pasta, rice and couscous
• Beans, lentils and chickpeas
• Canned tomatoes
• Baking ingredients such as flour, baking powder and sugar
• Greek style EasiYo sachets (check out 17 Greek Style Yogurt hacks here)
• Cooking oil
• Eggs, cheese and butter
• Onion and garlic (great for adding flavour to almost everything)
• Frozen veggies

3. Spice it up

You can transform even the simplest meals by adding a hit of flavour! Salt and pepper are great, but why not experiment with spices like ground ginger and garlic, smoked paprika, cumin and garam masala! Have a go and see what you like. A new spice might be just the thing to inject some fresh imagination into your go-to recipes. If you’re not sure where to start, try this delicious Lentil Dahl recipe.

4. Start with a clean slate

Clean your kitchen before you begin and stay on top of the mess by tidying up as you go. Trust us when we say it will make the experience a whole lot more enjoyable!

5. Get the family involved.

If you find yourself dreading time in the kitchen, try switching up the process. Cooking can double as an easy way to spend quality time with the ones you love. Plus, when you get the kids involved, they are more inclined to try new recipes!

It’s worth the effort when you look back on a week of wholesome meals you and your family cooked together!

Ready to get started? Check out some of our top EasiYo dinner recipes right here:

• Creamy Mushroom Fettuccini
• Caesar Salad
• Easy Lentil Dahl
• Cheesy Beef Empanadas
• Curried Sausages with Lemon Thyme Yogurt Dressing