Daily Dinner Themes
Deciding on dinner every night driving you crazy? Limit your options to avoid overwhelm by creating some “rules” for yourself - with the added benefit of encouraging a varied diet!
Never ending decisions
Even for someone who loves cooking like myself, sometimes the idea of thinking of another dinner recipe can just be that one thing which just makes my brain feel like it’s going to explode. Sound familiar? You’ve got so much on your to do list, you’re tired, I get it. Although it’s a small decision in itself, it really can be exactly what you don’t need to spend energy and brainpower on!
I was partly inspired by Kendra Adachi, better known as The Lazy Genius (check out her podcast if you haven’t already!), who talked about simplifying meals in her home on one of her podcast episodes. She said that her family pretty much only does 30 different meals on rotation in her house, and that this works well for her. She also has another rule: Pasta Mondays. Whatever they have on Mondays for dinner, it will be a pasta dish. This is very much along the lines of her “lazy genius” thinking, where you create a framework in your life to simplify things and take away some of the never-ending decision making that we have to do in our lives.
Seeing as I run a food blog, podcast and YouTube channel, I don’t think having 30 meals on rotation is going to work for us (however, many meals do make regular appearances and that is of course okay, even helpful!), but as I was sat trying to meal plan and make a shopping list for said meal plan for the week and feeling entirely overwhelmed with all the choice, I decided that I had to limit it a bit to be able to make some quicker and easier decisions. The first one that came to mind was Meat Free Monday. A campaign initially started by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney to encourage cutting down on meat consumption, has stuck with me (and I’m sure, many others!) as a term.
As soon as I decided to make Meat Free Monday a “rule”, I thought “fantastic - that actually makes me feel excited and creative, instead of bogged down with an insane amount of ideas”. Of course, the amount of choice you have when making a meat free dinner is still huge, but taking into account what my husband and son may like to eat, as well as what I’d be interested in cooking, will limit things even further. It can also be motivating, reminding me to try that veggie recipe I found and saved ages ago. Now, I was suddenly excited about meal planning!
It struck me that I didn’t have to stop at Mondays. Why not make a rule for each day of the week? Alliterations make the rules more catchy and easy to remember, so I’ve run with that. But that obviously doesn’t have to be something that you do if you decide to give this a go (Kendra Adachi’s “Pasta Mondays” can be a good example of how it’s still really simple and straightforward even if it doesn’t sound like a British tabloid headline!).
If you feel like limiting choice can help cut down on overwhelm, and at the same time inspire some creativity in your daily cooking (and weekly meal planning), here are my suggestions to get you started. You don’t have to use any of these (of course), feel free to come up with completely different ones that work best for you. This is just a starting point to get you thinking about potentially using this technique!
Weekly Dinner Rules - Ideas
Monday
Meat Free Monday: Vegetarian or vegan meals. Think stir-fried vegetables, lentil soup, a salad, veggie lasagna, chickpea curry, mushroom pasta.
Mega Monday: Batch cook! Save the rest for later in the week or freeze it for busier times. Think lasagne, chilli, curry sauce.
Tuesday
Chicken Tuesday (Chicken Choosday - yeah, this one only really works in an English accent!): Chicken-based dishes. Think grilled chicken, chicken stir-fry, or chicken tacos.
Taco Tuesday: If you love tacos, there are tons of different variants you can do. Try a slightly different one every time!
Wednesday
One Pot Wednesday: Easy, minimal cleanup meals. Think risotto, chili, or a one-pot pasta dish.
What’s Left Wednesday: You have to try to make something from leftovers and ingredients you have in the kitchen that need using, even if the idea seems a bit nuts!
World Wednesday: Try the cuisine of a country you’re not that used to. This of course depends on where you are in the world, spin a globe!
Thursday
Throwback Thursday: Nostalgic or comfort food, favourites from your childhood or a place you once visited. Think Mac and cheese, IKEA style meatballs, shepherd’s pie or a classic casserole.
Throw It All In Thursday: If you’re not doing What’s Left Wednesday, this could be a version of that - make a slightly odd, but maybe surprisingly tasty, leftover dish, throw it all in!
Friday
Fish Friday: Seafood dishes. Think baked salmon, fish tacos, or a prawn stir-fry.
Fried Friday: Fry it up, deep fried or just sizzling something in the pan. Think fried chicken, fish & chips or fried rice with vegetables.
Saturday
Slow Cooker Saturday: Meals that can be prepared in advance, in a slow cooker, dutch oven or simmering in a saucepan. Think beef stew, pulled pork, or vegetable curry.
Sizzling Saturday: Grilled, stir-fried, or roasted dishes that bring some heat and excitement to the table. Think BBQ, fajitas, or a spicy curry.
Salad Saturday: There are endless salad options, and especially in the summer this might be a good one to go for (salads can be sooo far from boring!). Try peach and goat’s cheese salad, Caesar salad or any of the other salads I’ve got on here already to get you started!
Select Saturday: Someone else in the house gets to (=has to!) choose what’s for dinner!
Sunday
Snacky Sunday: Light, fun meals or tapas-style dishes. Think charcuterie board, assorted dips with veggies, or sliders.
Seafood Sunday: Anything from the sea, not limited to fish. Think seafood linguine, prawn with fried rice, or crab cakes.
Soup Sunday: I can’t get enough of soups and there’s no limit to how many different ones you can make (and what you can have on the side). This might be a good one for the colder months! Think French onion soup, using leftover vegetables from the week in a lovely creamy soup, or tomato soup with a grilled toastie on the side.
What I love about this structure is that it not only limits your options, but also adds variety throughout the week. Each day has a theme that can inspire you to try new recipes while keeping your home cooking simple and enjoyable.
Let me know what you think, which ones you would go for and what you would add to the list in a comment below!
