Skip to content

School holiday family meal plan: Week 6

It can be hard to keep mealtimes interesting during the summer holidays, but fear not: our fab meal plan has everything you need. From simple snack and lunch ideas for the kids, to great dinner ideas for the whole family, there’s no excuse not to have a tasty summer. To make things even easier we’ve made a budget-friendly weekly shopping list – so you can spend less time planning and more time enjoying the sunshine.

  1. Monday

    Snack

    Veggie pot with salsa dip
    Swirl a little mild salsa into pots of plain Greek yogurt. Serve with cut carrots, celery and radishes for dipping.

    Lunch

    Pasta salad
    Put cooked fusilli pasta into a bowl with diced cucumber, thinly sliced radish, finely chopped celery and some cooked frozen peas. Drizzle with a little oil and a splash of vinegar and season. Mix well and chill until needed.

    Dinner

    Nacho-topped chilli con carne bake
    Chilli con carne gets a family friendly glow up with a cheesy nacho topping. Serve alongside rice and some salad for a fun take on a classic. Find the recipe here.

    Monday
  2. Tuesday

    Snack

    Citrus jelly pots
    Make up a pack of sugar-free lemon and lime jelly to pack instructions but substitute some of the cold water for the juice of 2 squeezed oranges. Chill the jelly for 1 hr. Peel and chop 3 oranges and divide between serving dishes along with a tin of mandarin oranges. Pour the chilled jelly into the dishes and chill until set. These will make enough for three days’ worth of snacks.

    Lunch

    Leftovers burrito salad with tortilla chips
    Heat up some leftover chilli con carne mixture in a small saucepan until bubbling. Divide between bowls and top with shredded iceberg lettuce, chopped cucumber, a small handful grated cheese and a few tortilla chips for scooping. Serve with a spoonful of mild salsa.

    Dinner

    Caramelised ‘French onion soup’ one-pot pasta
    Have dinner on the table in 30 mins and with minimum washing up with this one pot pasta. Onions are cooked until lightly golden before mixed herbs and dried pasta are added, along with veg stock. Bubble away until the pasta is tender then top with grated cheese and grill until cheesy and bubbling. Serve with peas for a delicious dinner! Find the recipe here.

    Tuesday
  3. Wednesday

    Snack

    Citrus jelly pots
    Tuck into a wibbly wobbly jelly pot.

    Lunch

    Pasta salad
    Put cooked fusilli pasta into a bowl with diced cucumber, thinly sliced radish, finely chopped celery and some cooked frozen peas. Drizzle with a little oil and a splash of vinegar and season. Mix well and chill until needed.

    Dinner

    Herby soft cheese baked chicken with leeks
    Chicken breasts are baked in a creamy garlic and herb sauce with leeks. Serve with rice and salad for a simple but very tasty chicken dinner! Find the recipe here.

    Wednesday
  4. Thursday

    Snack

    Veggie pot with salsa dip
    Swirl a little mild salsa into pots of plain Greek yogurt. Serve with cut carrots, celery and radishes for dipping.

    Lunch

    Jacket potato with soft cheesy leeks
    Cook a couple of jacket potatoes in the microwave for 8-10 mins and set aside to cool slightly. Put a couple of handfuls of frozen leeks into a microwave-safe bowl and cook until heated through. Season with black pepper and stir through a splash of milk, a little butter and a handful grated cheese. Split open the jacket potatoes and fill with the cheesy leek mixture.

    Dinner

    Green lentil cottage pie
    The family favourite, cottage pie, gets a veggie makeover. Mince is swapped for green lentils and there’s plenty of other veg in there too. Topped with cheesy mash and served alongside carrots, this makes a wonderfully hearty dinner. Find the recipe here.

    Thursday
  5. Friday

    Snack

    Citrus jelly pots
    Finish off the last of the jelly pots for today’s snack.

    Lunch

    Pasta salad
    Put cooked fusilli pasta into a bowl with diced cucumber, thinly sliced radish, finely chopped celery and some cooked frozen peas. Drizzle with a little oil and a splash of vinegar and season. Mix well and chill until needed.

    Dinner

    Creamy leek smoked fish with potato waffle topping
    On Fridays we eat fish! This fun take on a fish pie sees the traditional mashed potato topping swapped for potato waffles. Find the recipe here.

    Friday
  6. Shopping list

    800g pack carrots
    1kg pack Redmere Farms brown onions
    375g pack Nightingale Farms Peppers
    1 x iceberg lettuce
    2.5kg pack baking potatoes
    240g pack radishes
    1 x pack celery
    1 x cucumber
    90g pack baby leaf salad
    5-pack Suntrail Farms oranges
    500g pot Creamfields Greek style natural yogurt
    250g pack Creamfields grated mature Cheddar
    200g pack 50% less fat garlic & herb soft cheese
    250g pack unsalted butter
    1 pint semi-skimmed milk
    250g pack 5% fat lean beef steak mince
    650g pack chicken breast fillets
    240g pack 2 skinless & boneless smoked basa fillets
    1kg pack fusilli pasta
    1kg pack Grower's Harvest long grain rice
    200g squeezy tube Grower's Harvest tomato purée
    300g pot mild salsa
    200g pack Stockwell & Co. lightly salted tortilla chips
    23g pack Hartleys sugar free jelly
    298g tin mandarins
    400g tin Grower's Harvest red kidney beans
    390g tin green lentils
    12-pack frozen potato waffles
    700g pack frozen sliced leeks
    900g pack Grower's Harvest frozen peas

    + From your storecupboard

    Cornflour, vegetable stock, plain flour, garlic granules, smoked paprika, ground cumin, crushed chilli flakes