We hosted a live video Q&A on our Instagram account with author, food writer and busy mum of three Caitríona Redmond of Wholesome Ireland. Caitríona shared some of her most popular meal planning tips for feeding families on a budget, and we know you’ll find them just as useful today.
Caitríona has spent years writing on Wholesome Ireland about feeding her family well on a budget, and her cookbook Wholesome – Feed Your Family Well for Less is a handy reference for anyone starting out. She’s a member of the Guild of Irish Food Writers and has written and consulted on family food for various retailers and media outlets, all while juggling parenting with working from home full-time.
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Caitríona’s Meal Planning Tips
Caitríona is on a mission to help parents manage their time in the kitchen while still providing their families with wholesome, home-cooked meals. Her philosophy:
“I want to be able to cook wholesome, delicious meals for my family. But I also don’t want to be tied to the kitchen. I need the meals I make and time I spend in the kitchen to match with our family’s activity-packed lifestyle, so I can spend more time with the kids and doing my paid work.”
Through meal planning, Caitríona has worked out a strategy that helps her achieve this goal, built around three simple principles:
1. Making savvy decisions based on your budget, your time and what ingredients you already have.
2. Planning meals around family activities.
3. Having back-ups for the nights when you’re not prepared.
1. Make savvy, budget-friendly, time-saving decisions
There’s a big misconception around meal planning that it’s about cooking every meal from scratch in huge batches, or that scratch cooking is always the best way to feed your family. Caitríona disagrees with this idea and says “the best way for you to feed your family is a way that keeps you healthy and happy.”
Meal planning is about building a forward-thinking strategy that saves you time.
“It can feel really boring trying to plan out what you’re going to eat for the week ahead. But when you’ve got an awful lot of activities going on in the household, that’s when meal planning can really make your life so much easier, particularly if you’re careful about what you make.”
When sitting down to make a meal plan, the first thing to do is take stock and consider your budget.
“When I am meal planning, I take a look at what I’ve got in my freezer. I take a look at what I’ve got in my cupboards. And then I also take a look at my budget.”
Once you’ve assessed what you’ve got to work with, you have a much better idea of what ingredients you need to buy and how to stretch them further.
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2. Plan meals to fit your family’s schedule
Next, Caitríona recommends considering what each day of the week looks like for your family. Are there any evening activities planned that mean you won’t have time to cook, or that you’ll need something ready to fill hungry bellies in a flash?
Plan your meals around these pre-planned events so you don’t have to compromise on a good home-cooked meal (see the example week below for how she does this).
3. Prepare your contingency plan
There will inevitably be evenings where you don’t have anything prepared for dinner, something pops up that gets in the way of your plans, or you simply don’t feel up to cooking. That’s totally fine and normal.
Caitríona recommends keeping something on hand in the freezer or cupboard for times like these — frozen leftover portions of meals you’ve made before, a frozen pizza, or a tin of beans with some oven chips every once in a while isn’t going to hurt anyone when you need and deserve a break.
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Caitríona’s Week in Family Meals
Here’s an example of a typical working week of meals planned to match Caitríona’s busy family schedule.
Monday
“Mondays are generally hectic in my house as all of us have activities and will be in and out at different times of the day. So we need to be prepared and have the meal ready and able to serve up with very short notice.
“The kids finish school at different times as well, so I’ll tend to have something in the slow cooker so I can feed them all as they come in the house. It will generally be something like a pasta ragu that I can pop in the slow cooker in the morning. Then, as the kids come in throughout the day, we can all eat a hot meal, no matter what time it is, before we head out to training.
“Thinking ahead, when preparing the ragu, I’ll make double the quantity I need and freeze half of it for use later in the week.”
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Tuesday
“After the low-stress cooking of Monday, I’ll make something that takes a bit more effort — something like lamb chops. I’ll make a marinade during my lunch break (or the night before if you’re not working from home). I’ll chop some potatoes into wedges and pop them into the air fryer. Once I’ve spritzed them with a little oil, I’ll put the lamb chops under the grill, then use whatever fresh vegetables we have in the house to go with the dish.”
Wednesday
“I’ve a very basic cheat meal on Wednesday because I really don’t fancy cooking, and I’m a huge fan of homemade fast food!
“Now I’ll introduce you to the absolute delicacy that is a crispy fried egg with rice noodles. Take a packet of rice noodles and rehydrate them in a jug of boiling water. Then add in some frozen peas and sweetcorn from the freezer. Next, heat a frying pan and crack in some eggs. Cook them on high for a couple of minutes, then put a lid over the pan and reduce the heat a bit — this way you’ll get a crispy bottom while the yolks stay soft.
“Meanwhile, drain the noodles and veg and put them in a big bowl. Add a tablespoon of sesame oil, a tablespoon of soy sauce and squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Portion out the noodles and top with your crispy fried eggs. Drizzle with hot sauce if you’re a fan, and there you have it — a delicious meal that took all of ten minutes to prepare.”
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Thursday
“Remember the ragu I made in double quantities and froze on Monday? I’ll take it out on Thursday morning. Once it’s defrosted in the afternoon, I’ll pour it into an ovenproof dish, then pile on grated Parmesan and a bit of grated mozzarella.
“I’ll add some garlic powder or garlic salt, sea salt, pepper and fresh oregano, then bake it in the oven at 160ºC. Remember, you’re only reheating it — everything is already cooked — but I want that mozzarella and Parmesan combination really stringy and gooey on top. I’ll bake it for 30–35 minutes, then serve it up.”
Friday
“Friday, well, I need a break. So honestly, I’ll probably get a takeaway if it’s in the budget. If it’s not, then we might make pancakes, or we’ll have a frozen pizza.”
Extra Time and Money-Saving Meal Planning Tips
Use Frozen Vegetables
“One way of cutting the drudgery out of meal prep is buying in some frozen ingredients. I’m a huge believer in frozen sweetcorn and frozen peas, which actually tend to be fresher and more nutritious because of how they’re prepared. Frozen peas and sweetcorn, for example, are processed within about an hour to an hour and a half of being picked, so they hold onto the maximum amount of nutrients. They’re so easy to add into meals too — you just take them out of the freezer, defrost them in a little hot water or stir them straight into sauces, and serve. They save you so much time!”
Make Extra and Freeze
“As I did with the ragu above, having extra in the freezer can make weeknight meals so much easier. Another example — if I’m making a roast chicken dinner, I’ll make double the quantity of potatoes. After serving up potatoes, I’ll mash the second half. Once the mash is cool, I’ll pop it in the freezer. Mash reheats brilliantly from frozen for another day.”
Buy Seasonal and Local to Save Money
“Seasonal food that comes from Ireland, that’s local to you, is going to be cheaper, and it’s also going to have fewer food miles. So if you’re concerned about things like your carbon footprint or the distance your food has travelled, and you also want to save money, take a look at what’s in season in Ireland at the moment. Foods will be labelled with their country of origin.”
You can find more tips and recipes from Caitríona in the full video on our Instagram channel or on her website Wholesome Ireland, where you’ll find meal planning printables and other resources for subscribers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start meal planning if I’ve never done it before?
Start small. Before you write anything down, take stock of what’s already in your freezer and cupboards, and set a rough budget. Then plan just a few days at a time around your family’s actual schedule — busy evenings get the simplest meals, and quieter ones can take a bit more effort.
What’s the easiest way to save time on busy weeknights?
Cook once, eat twice. Making double quantities of a meal like a pasta ragu or extra mashed potato and freezing half means you already have a backup dinner ready to go on your busiest night.
Is it cheaper to cook from scratch every night?
Not necessarily, and it doesn’t need to be the goal. A mix of simple scratch-cooked meals, smart freezer staples and the occasional shortcut (a frozen pizza, a tin of beans) is a realistic and budget-friendly way to feed a family without burning yourself out.
Are frozen vegetables a good substitute for fresh?
Yes — frozen peas, sweetcorn and similar vegetables are typically frozen very soon after picking, so they retain plenty of nutrients, and they’re quick to add straight into meals with no prep.
Related Articles
- Quick and Easy Family Meal Ideas for Busy Parents
- Cheaper, Easier and Tastier: 14 Days of Slow Cooker Family Meals
- 21 Proven Tips and Tricks to Cut Your Food Bill in Half
- 10 Go-To Family Dinner Ideas Every Parent Should Know
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