Food: Family meal plan for week of 5th October

With the weather starting to turn, I've been looking for hearty, easy, warming dishes to keep the whole family happy. Much like many families out there, it's not quite as simple as serving one dish, with me being vegetarian, my littlest being egg and dairy free, my husband being a big meat eater (hence being called the Carnivore and my toddler being as toddlers are with food. 

Before kids we found ways to make dishes friendly for both veggies and  meat eaters using slight tweaks and some dishes the Carnivore went fully vegetarian to make things easier. But its definitely more a of a struggle now to feed four with different requirements.

The dishes below are either just for us adults, with the kids having something else depending on how fast it is, if they like it or are able to eat it, and other dishes we turn into a family meal. Most days of the week we try to eat the same.

So as we head into the first week of October, here is what we will be eating:

Monday - Jamie's Sausage and Mash pie - I'm going to replace the milk with oat milk instead and use vegetable sausages but otherwise its the same dish. I think this will be a winner with everybody.

Tuesday - Gyros - this is a favourite for us in this house as we can adapt it easily for everyone. The adults love halloumi, but the littles not so much, so they will have either just the flat bread, salad, pomegranate seeds and chips, or we may add some Qourn chicken for protein.

Wednesday - Miso mushroom stew - this is one from Deliciously Ella which is a new cook book for me. It is her take on batch and 15 minute cooking, so will last for two meals. The toddler hates mushrooms so we will probably take them out of hers and just give her the sauce with whichever grain we use. Maybe rice or quinoa. It's all dairy free and vegan, so no worries for the little man. The Carnivore will likely want some meat or chunky bread with his, which can be cooking separately and added.

Thursday - Chickpea and butternut squash curry - curry is a staple in this house being cooked at least once a week in some form or another. We grew a fair few squash on our allotment so this is a good way to use it and the kids love it. It's hearty, can be batch cooked to have a portion next week and chickpeas are great protein. I do mash them a bit for younger babies, though. To make life easier, we sometimes use a Pataks paste (not sauce) to start off our curry. 

Friday - Pesto chicken pastry - bearing in mind only the Carnivore eats meat, when I say this it means Quorn chicken for me and the kids and normal for him. I use a Free From pesto for the little man and a ready roll pastry to save time. The pastry is great to have in for all sorts of quick meals and I often use leftover to make pinwheels for the kids. 

Saturday - Takeaway - it's likely we will get a takeaway once in the week. Either pizza, fish and chips or middle eastern for the kids, but occasionally they have a quick easy tea, like the Strong Roots nuggets and sweet potato mash and we have Chinese or Indian takwaway.

Sunday - Lentil cottage pie - It's always nice to have something warming and hearty on a sunday but we rarely cook a full roast for us four. Instead we might do something like a Lentil cottage pie which has all the same qualities but is quick and easy to put in the oven. I make it just like a mince cottage pie but replace with two tins of green lentils instead. I add peas and carrots to the mix, gravy and top with sweet potato mash.

What's on your menu this week?