Plan 2026-W37 · Monday 7 – Sunday 13 September 2026
A week of food for Nikki and Ian
Against the targets
Weekly average
kcal
Protein
Fibre
Sodium
Potassium
Sat fat
Nikki
16311550–1760
104 g≥ 100 g
35 g30–40 g
767 mg≤ 1,500 mg
4260 mg≥ 3,000 mg
9 g—
Ian, core meals
24312300–2600
166 g≥ 140 g
45 g30–50 g
1181 mg—
6102 mg—
17 g—
Ian, with top-ups
2809
184 g
48 gceiling 50 g
1466 mg
6828 mg
23 g
On fibre. Nikki averages 35 g a day and Ian 48 g once the top-ups are counted, against a floor of 30 g. The soft ceilings are 40 g for Nikki and 50 g for Ian.
On potassium. Nikki averages 4,260 mg against a 3,000 mg target.
Sunday prep · 6 September · the only batch session of the week
Running order
Get the oven to 200C fan and put two trays in: the courgette and peppers for Monday and Wednesday's lunch boxes, and the sweet potatoes pricked and straight on the shelf. Veg 25 minutes, potatoes about 45.
While they roast, rinse and boil the quinoa for the lunch boxes, drain it and spread it on a tray so it cools fast. Cooked grain in the fridge inside the hour is what keeps a boxed salad honest to Wednesday.
Start the curry: onion, garlic, ginger and spices in a pan, then everything into the slow cooker on low. It is Monday's and Wednesday's dinner and it does not need you again.
Make the black bean chilli for the jacket potatoes. It keeps five days and it is better on day two than day one.
Box the lunches. Monday and Wednesday's quinoa boxes go in the fridge with their dressing in separate pots. Tuesday's jacket goes in the fridge; Thursday's and Friday's go straight into the freezer, and come down to the fridge on Wednesday night.
Boil the edamame for Wednesday's snack, cool it under the tap and pot it up. Weigh Thursday's almonds into a pot while the scales are out.
Five breakfast jars: oats and chia weighed into each. Do not add the skyr, the milk or the fruit — that is a two-minute job the night before, and it is why Friday's breakfast is as good as Monday's.
That is the batch session done. Nothing else this week needs a second one: the dinners are cooked on the night, apart from Wednesday's curry, which is already in the pot, and Friday's tofu, which gets roasted alongside Tuesday's.
Overnight oats with fresh strawberries and pistachios
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
32 g rolled porridge oats
170 g skyr
58 ml semi-skimmed milk60 g
1 tsp chia seeds4 g
12 g unsalted pistachios
¼ punnet of raspberries50 g
Method
The dry half of this is done on Sunday: five jars, each with the oats and chia weighed in. That is the whole of the batch job for breakfast.
The night before, tip the skyr and the milk onto the jar and stir until no dry oats remain. It should look wetter than you want it — the oats drink the rest overnight. Seal and refrigerate.
In the morning, hull and halve the strawberries over the top and scatter the pistachios. Berries go on at the last moment or they bleed into the oats.
Assembled the night before rather than on Sunday, so the fruit is not sitting in oats for five days.
Quinoa, roast courgette and pepper box with lemon tahini
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
34 g quinoa (dry weight)
½ courgette80 g
½ red pepper70 g
½ tomato60 g
¼ bag of baby spinach30 g
¼ cucumber50 g
150 g skyr
2¾ tsp tahini14 g
½ lemon, juiced12 g
2½ tsp olive oil11 g
½ handful of flat-leaf parsley5 g
2 tsp sunflower seeds6 g
½ tsp smoked paprika1.1 g
1¾ tsp hemp seeds6 g
Method
Rinse the quinoa well, then cook 12–15 minutes in plenty of unsalted water until the germ ring shows. Drain and spread it on a tray to cool fast — cooked grain wants to be in the fridge inside the hour, and that is what stops a box going sour by Wednesday.
Heat the oven to 200C fan. Toss the courgette and pepper in the oil with half a teaspoon of smoked paprika and black pepper, and roast 25 minutes until the edges catch.
Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice and 2–3 tsp cold water into a pourable dressing. It keeps in its own pot all week.
Layer the box: quinoa first, then the roast veg, then the tomato, cucumber and spinach raw on top. Skyr and dressing in separate pots.
At the desk: skyr over, dressing over that, then the sunflower and hemp seeds and torn parsley last. Dressed the night before, this is a wet box by lunchtime.
Two of these are made on Sunday, for Monday and Wednesday. Nothing here is asked to survive past day three.
Chickpea and cauliflower curry with spinach and brown rice
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
½ tin of chickpeas, drained55 g
½ cauliflower95 g
¼ bag of baby spinach60 g
½ tin of chopped tomatoes100 g
½ onion60 g
2 cloves garlic6 g
1 cm piece of fresh ginger6 g
2 tsp mild curry powder4 g
½ tsp ground turmeric1.5 g
1 tsp ground cumin2.1 g
2¾ tsp olive oil12 g
95 g cooked brown rice
1 handful of coriander6 g
120 g skyr
Method
This is the Sunday pot, and it is the only thing that actually needs the slow cooker. Soften the diced onion in the oil for 8 minutes, then add two cloves of garlic, the grated ginger, 2 tsp of curry powder, half a teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of cumin. Fry 1 minute until the kitchen smells of it.
Tip that into the slow cooker with the drained chickpeas, the cauliflower broken into small florets and the tinned tomatoes, plus a mug of water. Low for 5 hours, or 25 minutes in a covered pan on the hob if Sunday is running late.
Stir the spinach through at the very end and let the residual heat collapse it.
Cook the brown rice fresh on the night, not on Sunday — reheated rice is the one thing in this plan worth being fussy about. Skyr swirled over each bowl and the coriander torn on top.
Half the pot is Monday's dinner, half is Wednesday's. Three days in the fridge is within its limits; it is better on the second night than the first.
Blend the milk, a scoop of whey, the peanut butter, the honey and the hemp seeds. Thirty seconds.
This one is not optional — it is part of Ian's plan every day, and it is doing a specific job. His three shared meals cannot be scaled up far enough to reach his calories without carrying his fibre past the ceiling with them, because nearly everything in them is a plant. This shake brings roughly 35 grams of protein and almost no fibre, which is exactly the gap.
It is also what keeps the skyr bill sane: built on yogurt instead, this plan wanted seventeen pots of the stuff.
One bottle a day for Nikki, with or just after a meal — sterols work by competing with cholesterol for absorption, so they do very little taken on an empty stomach.
2 g of plant sterols a day is the dose the LDL evidence is built on, and one mini drink is that dose. A second bottle adds very little.
Overnight oats with fresh raspberries and flaxseed
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
32 g rolled porridge oats
170 g skyr
58 ml semi-skimmed milk60 g
1 tsp chia seeds4 g
8 strawberries100 g
5 tsp pumpkin seeds15 g
Method
The dry half of this is done on Sunday: five jars, each with the oats and chia weighed in. That is the whole of the batch job for breakfast.
The night before, tip the skyr and the milk onto the jar and stir until no dry oats remain. It should look wetter than you want it — the oats drink the rest overnight. Seal and refrigerate.
Stir the milled flaxseed through the jar the night before — it thickens like the chia does — and put the raspberries on in the morning.
Assembled the night before rather than on Sunday, so the fruit is not sitting in oats for five days.
Prick the sweet potatoes and bake at 200C fan for about 45 minutes, until they give completely when squeezed. Cool before they go in the fridge.
Soften the diced onion and pepper in the oil for 8 minutes. Add one clove of garlic, a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of smoked paprika and fry 1 minute more.
Add the drained black beans and the tinned tomatoes with a splash of water. Simmer 20 minutes until thick enough to sit on a spoon. Finish with the lemon juice — that acid is doing the job salt would.
Portion the chilli and the potatoes into boxes. Tuesday's goes in the fridge; Thursday's and Friday's go straight in the freezer on Sunday and move down to the fridge on Wednesday night.
At the desk: split the potato, chilli in, 3 minutes in the microwave, then the skyr and the coriander over the top.
Sticky ginger tofu traybake with peppers, broccoli and brown rice
Each
½ block of Tofoo140 g
½ red pepper80 g
½ head of broccoli90 g
½ courgette80 g
105 g cooked brown rice
1½ tsp reduced-salt tamari8 g
1 cm piece of fresh ginger6 g
2 cloves garlic6 g
1¼ tsp runny honey8 g
2¾ tsp sesame seeds8 g
1 spring onion20 g
1¾ tsp olive oil8 g
Method
Half a block of Tofoo each, cut into thumb-sized cubes. It is already pressed, so it goes straight on the tray.
Mix the tamari, honey, grated ginger and two cloves of crushed garlic into a glaze. Toss the tofu in half of it and roast at 220C fan for 20 minutes, turning once.
Toss the pepper, courgette and broccoli in the oil on a second tray and roast alongside for 15 minutes, so the broccoli chars at the tips rather than steams.
Combine, pour over the rest of the glaze, back in the oven for 5 minutes. Sesame seeds and sliced spring onion over the top, rice underneath.
Cook the full amount on Tuesday and keep Friday's share back — the roasted tofu is better for the wait. On Friday, reheat it hot in the oven or the air fryer, not the microwave, and cook the greens and rice fresh.
Blend the milk, a scoop of whey, the peanut butter, the honey and the hemp seeds. Thirty seconds.
This one is not optional — it is part of Ian's plan every day, and it is doing a specific job. His three shared meals cannot be scaled up far enough to reach his calories without carrying his fibre past the ceiling with them, because nearly everything in them is a plant. This shake brings roughly 35 grams of protein and almost no fibre, which is exactly the gap.
It is also what keeps the skyr bill sane: built on yogurt instead, this plan wanted seventeen pots of the stuff.
Tofoo comes as a single block and half a block is a portion, so the traybake feeds the two of you exactly — it cannot be scaled up for Ian without leaving a quarter of a block in the fridge. This side does that job instead.
Boil the edamame 4 minutes, drain, and toss with the extra rice, the tamari loosened with a spoon of hot water and the peanut butter, then the sesame and spring onion over.
Tuesday and Friday only, and it is part of Ian's plan rather than one of the optional top-ups.
One bottle a day for Nikki, with or just after a meal — sterols work by competing with cholesterol for absorption, so they do very little taken on an empty stomach.
2 g of plant sterols a day is the dose the LDL evidence is built on, and one mini drink is that dose. A second bottle adds very little.
Overnight oats with fresh blueberries and pumpkin seeds
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
32 g rolled porridge oats
170 g skyr
58 ml semi-skimmed milk60 g
1 tsp chia seeds4 g
½ punnet of blueberries75 g
4¾ tsp pumpkin seeds14 g
Method
The dry half of this is done on Sunday: five jars, each with the oats and chia weighed in. That is the whole of the batch job for breakfast.
The night before, tip the skyr and the milk onto the jar and stir until no dry oats remain. It should look wetter than you want it — the oats drink the rest overnight. Seal and refrigerate.
Blueberries and pumpkin seeds over the top in the morning. This is the last of the fresh berries — Sunday's punnets have three days in them, not five.
Assembled the night before rather than on Sunday, so the fruit is not sitting in oats for five days.
Quinoa, roast courgette and pepper box with lemon tahini
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
34 g quinoa (dry weight)
½ courgette80 g
½ red pepper70 g
½ tomato60 g
¼ bag of baby spinach30 g
¼ cucumber50 g
150 g skyr
2¾ tsp tahini14 g
½ lemon, juiced12 g
2½ tsp olive oil11 g
½ handful of flat-leaf parsley5 g
2 tsp sunflower seeds6 g
½ tsp smoked paprika1.1 g
1¾ tsp hemp seeds6 g
Method
Rinse the quinoa well, then cook 12–15 minutes in plenty of unsalted water until the germ ring shows. Drain and spread it on a tray to cool fast — cooked grain wants to be in the fridge inside the hour, and that is what stops a box going sour by Wednesday.
Heat the oven to 200C fan. Toss the courgette and pepper in the oil with half a teaspoon of smoked paprika and black pepper, and roast 25 minutes until the edges catch.
Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice and 2–3 tsp cold water into a pourable dressing. It keeps in its own pot all week.
Layer the box: quinoa first, then the roast veg, then the tomato, cucumber and spinach raw on top. Skyr and dressing in separate pots.
At the desk: skyr over, dressing over that, then the sunflower and hemp seeds and torn parsley last. Dressed the night before, this is a wet box by lunchtime.
Two of these are made on Sunday, for Monday and Wednesday. Nothing here is asked to survive past day three.
Chickpea and cauliflower curry with spinach and brown rice
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
½ tin of chickpeas, drained55 g
½ cauliflower95 g
¼ bag of baby spinach60 g
½ tin of chopped tomatoes100 g
½ onion60 g
2 cloves garlic6 g
1 cm piece of fresh ginger6 g
2 tsp mild curry powder4 g
½ tsp ground turmeric1.5 g
1 tsp ground cumin2.1 g
2¾ tsp olive oil12 g
95 g cooked brown rice
1 handful of coriander6 g
120 g skyr
Method
This is the Sunday pot, and it is the only thing that actually needs the slow cooker. Soften the diced onion in the oil for 8 minutes, then add two cloves of garlic, the grated ginger, 2 tsp of curry powder, half a teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of cumin. Fry 1 minute until the kitchen smells of it.
Tip that into the slow cooker with the drained chickpeas, the cauliflower broken into small florets and the tinned tomatoes, plus a mug of water. Low for 5 hours, or 25 minutes in a covered pan on the hob if Sunday is running late.
Stir the spinach through at the very end and let the residual heat collapse it.
Cook the brown rice fresh on the night, not on Sunday — reheated rice is the one thing in this plan worth being fussy about. Skyr swirled over each bowl and the coriander torn on top.
Half the pot is Monday's dinner, half is Wednesday's. Three days in the fridge is within its limits; it is better on the second night than the first.
Blend the milk, a scoop of whey, the peanut butter, the honey and the hemp seeds. Thirty seconds.
This one is not optional — it is part of Ian's plan every day, and it is doing a specific job. His three shared meals cannot be scaled up far enough to reach his calories without carrying his fibre past the ceiling with them, because nearly everything in them is a plant. This shake brings roughly 35 grams of protein and almost no fibre, which is exactly the gap.
It is also what keeps the skyr bill sane: built on yogurt instead, this plan wanted seventeen pots of the stuff.
One bottle a day for Nikki, with or just after a meal — sterols work by competing with cholesterol for absorption, so they do very little taken on an empty stomach.
2 g of plant sterols a day is the dose the LDL evidence is built on, and one mini drink is that dose. A second bottle adds very little.
The dry half of this is done on Sunday: five jars, each with the oats and chia weighed in. That is the whole of the batch job for breakfast.
The night before, tip the skyr and the milk onto the jar and stir until no dry oats remain. It should look wetter than you want it — the oats drink the rest overnight. Seal and refrigerate.
Take the mango out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw on top of the jar in the fridge; the juice runs into the oats, which is the point. Hemp seeds in the morning.
Assembled the night before rather than on Sunday, so the fruit is not sitting in oats for five days.
Prick the sweet potatoes and bake at 200C fan for about 45 minutes, until they give completely when squeezed. Cool before they go in the fridge.
Soften the diced onion and pepper in the oil for 8 minutes. Add one clove of garlic, a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of smoked paprika and fry 1 minute more.
Add the drained black beans and the tinned tomatoes with a splash of water. Simmer 20 minutes until thick enough to sit on a spoon. Finish with the lemon juice — that acid is doing the job salt would.
Portion the chilli and the potatoes into boxes. Tuesday's goes in the fridge; Thursday's and Friday's go straight in the freezer on Sunday and move down to the fridge on Wednesday night.
At the desk: split the potato, chilli in, 3 minutes in the microwave, then the skyr and the coriander over the top.
One pear and a small handful of almonds. Weigh the almonds into a pot on Sunday while the scales are out — a handful poured by eye is usually twice what the plan says.
Baked salmon with crushed new potatoes, green beans and peas
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
1 salmon fillet150 g
200 g potatoes, skin on
½ pack of fine green beans90 g
50 g frozen peas
1¾ tsp olive oil8 g
½ lemon, juiced12 g
½ handful of flat-leaf parsley5 g
1 clove garlic3 g
Method
Boil the new potatoes 15–18 minutes until a knife slides in. Green beans in for the last 4 minutes, peas for the last 2.
Salmon skin-side down on a lined tray, a little of the oil, black pepper and half the lemon juice. 200C fan for 12–14 minutes — it is done when the thickest part flakes but still looks slightly translucent at the centre.
Crush the potatoes roughly with the rest of the oil, one clove of garlic grated in raw, the remaining lemon juice and the parsley.
Blend the milk, a scoop of whey, the peanut butter, the honey and the hemp seeds. Thirty seconds.
This one is not optional — it is part of Ian's plan every day, and it is doing a specific job. His three shared meals cannot be scaled up far enough to reach his calories without carrying his fibre past the ceiling with them, because nearly everything in them is a plant. This shake brings roughly 35 grams of protein and almost no fibre, which is exactly the gap.
It is also what keeps the skyr bill sane: built on yogurt instead, this plan wanted seventeen pots of the stuff.
One bottle a day for Nikki, with or just after a meal — sterols work by competing with cholesterol for absorption, so they do very little taken on an empty stomach.
2 g of plant sterols a day is the dose the LDL evidence is built on, and one mini drink is that dose. A second bottle adds very little.
The dry half of this is done on Sunday: five jars, each with the oats and chia weighed in. That is the whole of the batch job for breakfast.
The night before, tip the skyr and the milk onto the jar and stir until no dry oats remain. It should look wetter than you want it — the oats drink the rest overnight. Seal and refrigerate.
Raisins, walnuts and half a teaspoon of cinnamon, all of it out of the cupboard. Nothing fresh is left by Friday and nothing here needs to be.
Assembled the night before rather than on Sunday, so the fruit is not sitting in oats for five days.
Prick the sweet potatoes and bake at 200C fan for about 45 minutes, until they give completely when squeezed. Cool before they go in the fridge.
Soften the diced onion and pepper in the oil for 8 minutes. Add one clove of garlic, a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of smoked paprika and fry 1 minute more.
Add the drained black beans and the tinned tomatoes with a splash of water. Simmer 20 minutes until thick enough to sit on a spoon. Finish with the lemon juice — that acid is doing the job salt would.
Portion the chilli and the potatoes into boxes. Tuesday's goes in the fridge; Thursday's and Friday's go straight in the freezer on Sunday and move down to the fridge on Wednesday night.
At the desk: split the potato, chilli in, 3 minutes in the microwave, then the skyr and the coriander over the top.
Sticky ginger tofu traybake with peppers, broccoli and brown rice
Each
½ block of Tofoo140 g
½ red pepper80 g
½ head of broccoli90 g
½ courgette80 g
105 g cooked brown rice
1½ tsp reduced-salt tamari8 g
1 cm piece of fresh ginger6 g
2 cloves garlic6 g
1¼ tsp runny honey8 g
2¾ tsp sesame seeds8 g
1 spring onion20 g
1¾ tsp olive oil8 g
Method
Half a block of Tofoo each, cut into thumb-sized cubes. It is already pressed, so it goes straight on the tray.
Mix the tamari, honey, grated ginger and two cloves of crushed garlic into a glaze. Toss the tofu in half of it and roast at 220C fan for 20 minutes, turning once.
Toss the pepper, courgette and broccoli in the oil on a second tray and roast alongside for 15 minutes, so the broccoli chars at the tips rather than steams.
Combine, pour over the rest of the glaze, back in the oven for 5 minutes. Sesame seeds and sliced spring onion over the top, rice underneath.
Cook the full amount on Tuesday and keep Friday's share back — the roasted tofu is better for the wait. On Friday, reheat it hot in the oven or the air fryer, not the microwave, and cook the greens and rice fresh.
Blend the milk, a scoop of whey, the peanut butter, the honey and the hemp seeds. Thirty seconds.
This one is not optional — it is part of Ian's plan every day, and it is doing a specific job. His three shared meals cannot be scaled up far enough to reach his calories without carrying his fibre past the ceiling with them, because nearly everything in them is a plant. This shake brings roughly 35 grams of protein and almost no fibre, which is exactly the gap.
It is also what keeps the skyr bill sane: built on yogurt instead, this plan wanted seventeen pots of the stuff.
Tofoo comes as a single block and half a block is a portion, so the traybake feeds the two of you exactly — it cannot be scaled up for Ian without leaving a quarter of a block in the fridge. This side does that job instead.
Boil the edamame 4 minutes, drain, and toss with the extra rice, the tamari loosened with a spoon of hot water and the peanut butter, then the sesame and spring onion over.
Tuesday and Friday only, and it is part of Ian's plan rather than one of the optional top-ups.
One bottle a day for Nikki, with or just after a meal — sterols work by competing with cholesterol for absorption, so they do very little taken on an empty stomach.
2 g of plant sterols a day is the dose the LDL evidence is built on, and one mini drink is that dose. A second bottle adds very little.
Blitz the oats to a rough flour, then blend in one banana, the milk and half a teaspoon of baking powder until smooth. Rest the batter 5 minutes.
Cook in a dry non-stick pan over a medium heat, a ladle at a time, turning when the surface bubbles and the edges set — about 2 minutes a side.
Stack with the yogurt, the strawberries and the maple syrup, and the peanut butter warmed through so it pours.
This is the ride breakfast: it is deliberately the lowest-fibre morning of the week, because 3 hours on a bike is not the day to be testing anyone's gut.
Boil the new potatoes whole in unsalted water, 15–18 minutes. Throw the green beans in for the last 4 minutes. Drain, and crush the potatoes lightly with a fork so they take the dressing.
Fry the prawns hard in half the oil with one clove of garlic, 2 minutes a side, until they turn opaque and curl. No longer — they go rubbery in seconds.
Dress everything warm with the rest of the oil, the lemon juice, the halved tomatoes, plenty of black pepper and the parsley.
Straight off a long ride this wants to be ready to eat, so it is the one lunch of the week worth cooking rather than unpacking. It is also the lowest-fibre plate of the day, on purpose.
Heat the oven to 200C fan. Toss the tomatoes, pepper and courgette with the oil, two cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of smoked paprika, and roast 20 minutes until the tomatoes burst.
Stir the drained butter beans and the spinach through the hot tray, then sit the cod on top, squeeze over the lemon and return it for 12–14 minutes until the fish flakes.
Parsley and black pepper to finish. The burst tomatoes and the lemon are the seasoning; there is no salt in this and it does not want any.
Blend the milk, a scoop of whey, the peanut butter, the honey and the hemp seeds. Thirty seconds.
This one is not optional — it is part of Ian's plan every day, and it is doing a specific job. His three shared meals cannot be scaled up far enough to reach his calories without carrying his fibre past the ceiling with them, because nearly everything in them is a plant. This shake brings roughly 35 grams of protein and almost no fibre, which is exactly the gap.
It is also what keeps the skyr bill sane: built on yogurt instead, this plan wanted seventeen pots of the stuff.
One bottle a day for Nikki, with or just after a meal — sterols work by competing with cholesterol for absorption, so they do very little taken on an empty stomach.
2 g of plant sterols a day is the dose the LDL evidence is built on, and one mini drink is that dose. A second bottle adds very little.
Warm butter bean, beetroot and quinoa salad with walnuts
Nikki1 portion
Ian1.4 portions
Each
½ tin of butter beans, drained72 g
25 g quinoa (dry weight)
½ raw beetroot80 g
¼ cucumber60 g
½ tomato60 g
¼ bag of baby spinach25 g
12 g walnuts
½ lemon, juiced12 g
1¾ tsp olive oil8 g
½ handful of flat-leaf parsley6 g
130 g skyr
Method
Cook the quinoa as before, 12–15 minutes, and drain it well.
Warm the drained butter beans through in the oil with black pepper — a couple of minutes, just enough to take the fridge off them.
Grate the raw beetroot. Toss everything together while the beans and quinoa are still warm so they take the lemon juice, then fold the spinach through at the end and let it wilt in the residual heat.
Cook the pearl barley in plenty of unsalted water, 25–30 minutes until tender, and drain.
Brown the mince hard in the oil in a wide pan, leaving it alone in 3-minute bursts so it colours rather than stews. Break it up and set it aside.
In the same pan soften the diced onion, carrot and sliced mushroom for 8–10 minutes, then add three cloves of garlic and fry 1 minute.
Return the mince with the tinned tomatoes and a splash of water. Simmer uncovered 25–30 minutes until glossy and thick.
Massage the kale with a few drops of oil and steam or stir-fry it 3 minutes. Serve the ragu over the barley with the kale alongside and parsley over the top.
The one red-meat dinner of the week, and lean 5% mince at that.
Blend the milk, a scoop of whey, the peanut butter, the honey and the hemp seeds. Thirty seconds.
This one is not optional — it is part of Ian's plan every day, and it is doing a specific job. His three shared meals cannot be scaled up far enough to reach his calories without carrying his fibre past the ceiling with them, because nearly everything in them is a plant. This shake brings roughly 35 grams of protein and almost no fibre, which is exactly the gap.
It is also what keeps the skyr bill sane: built on yogurt instead, this plan wanted seventeen pots of the stuff.
One bottle a day for Nikki, with or just after a meal — sterols work by competing with cholesterol for absorption, so they do very little taken on an empty stomach.
2 g of plant sterols a day is the dose the LDL evidence is built on, and one mini drink is that dose. A second bottle adds very little.
A double shot with steamed whole milk. At this size it fits without pushing the saturated fat anywhere awkward.
One portion107kcal6 gprotein0 gfibre75 mgsodium231 mgpotassium
Top-upIan only
Evening milk shake
suggested 3 × a week
Per portion
388 ml semi-skimmed milk400 g
1 banana120 g
3¾ tsp peanut butter20 g
1¾ tsp runny honey12 g
Method
Blend the milk, one whole banana, the peanut butter and the honey with a handful of ice.
A whole banana rather than half of one: this is an optional drink, and half a banana left on the side is exactly what the plan is now trying to avoid.
If the day has run short on protein, 20 g of whey puts about 16 g back. A Plenny shake swaps in here too — use the pouch's own figures, which are not in the database behind this plan.
One portion431kcal19 gprotein4 gfibre181 mgsodium1147 mgpotassium
Top-upIan only
Scrambled eggs on sourdough with cheddar
suggested 2 × a week
Per portion
2 medium eggs100 g
20 g mature cheddar
2 slices of sourdough60 g
1 tsp olive oil4 g
1 spring onion10 g
Method
Two eggs beaten with black pepper, no milk. Cook them low and slow in the oil and pull the pan off the heat while they still look underdone — they set on the way to the plate.
Grate the cheddar in at the very end so it melts rather than cooks. On a toasted slice of sourdough, spring onion over.
Ian's meal only. Nikki's egg allergy means the pan, spatula and board want washing before they touch her food, and the same goes for the knife if it has been near the eggs.
One portion413kcal23 gprotein2 gfibre538 mgsodium241 mgpotassium
Taken at those rates the menu averages 379 kcal and 19 g of protein a day on top of the plan, taking Ian's 2,300–2,600 kcal core up to about 2,809 kcal on the days it is all eaten. Skipping the lot is fine; the core clears the targets on its own.
53 different plants
The target is 30 a week between you. Counting distinct species — herbs, spices, seeds and wholegrains all count, and each one appears in something actually eaten this week.
Quantities are what the week actually uses, summed from every portion of every meal, then converted into what you would put in a trolley. Tick as you go — the ticks are remembered on this device until you clear them.
Fruit and veg
the week uses 7½ red peppers
the week uses 4½ courgettes
the week uses 10 tomatoes
the week uses 5 onions
the week uses 2½ bags of baby spinach
the week uses 42 strawberries
the week uses 4 bananas
the week uses 1 cauliflower
the week uses 2 packs of fine green beans
the week uses 1¼ cucumbers
the week uses 1 punnet of chestnut mushrooms
juiced — about 45 ml a lemon · the week uses 5 lemons, juiced
the week uses 1½ raw beetroot
the week uses 1¼ punnets of blueberries
the week uses 1 apple
the week uses 1 pear
the week uses 2 carrots
the week uses 1 orange
the week uses 41½ cloves
the week uses ¾ punnet of raspberries
the week uses 7 spring onions
the week uses ½ bag of kale
the week uses 9 handfuls of flat-leaf parsley
the week uses 8 handfuls of coriander
the week uses 10½ cm piece
Chilled
the week uses 5.5 kg
about 2 pints per litre
the week uses 2 blocks of Tofoo
the week uses 7 Benecol drinks
the week uses 360 g
the week uses ½ pot of cottage cheese
Fish and meat
the week uses 3 cod loins
the week uses ½ pack of 5% beef mince
the week uses 1 bag of frozen raw king prawns
Freezer
Cupboard
no added salt · the week uses 1.5 kg
dry weight — it roughly triples when cooked
no added salt; 240 g drained per tin · the week uses 430 g
no added salt; 240 g drained per tin · the week uses 360 g
no added salt; 240 g drained per tin · the week uses 260 g
the week uses about 14½ tbsp
the week uses about 6 tbsp
the week uses about 4½ tbsp
the week uses about 3½ tbsp
the week uses 2 medjool dates
the week uses about 2½ tbsp
the week uses about 4 tbsp
the week uses about 4 tbsp
the week uses about 3 tbsp
the week uses 2½ tsp
the week uses 1½ tsp
the week uses 1¾ tsp
The top-up shelf · optional
The optional extras, quantified at the rate suggested on the menu and listed apart from the main shop because skipping them should not waste food. Everything here keeps. Where an item is already on the list above, this is the amount to add to it.
about 2 pints per litre
lattes only, 175 ml each
the week uses 3 bananas
Ian only · the week uses 4 medium eggs
the week uses 3 slices of sourdough
the week uses about 4 tbsp
Ian only — a small block is plenty
the week uses about 1½ tbsp
the week uses 1 spring onion
Store cupboard items — oil, spices, pastes and nut butters — are listed as one jar or bottle each. Check what you already have before the shop rather than buying seven of them.
Where the numbers come from
Generic ingredients resolve to a pinned USDA FoodData Central id (SR Legacy and Foundation Foods, downloaded in full rather than queried, so the figures are reproducible offline). Pulses use the no-added-salt or cooked-without-salt entries, which is what a rinsed UK tin actually gives you. A handful of items are not in FoodData Central and carry label-sourced figures instead — worth checking against your own packs:
Baking powder — FDC 172805 equivalent — high sodium, used in grams
Arla skyr natural 0% fat — product label, Arla Skyr Natural (verify against your pot)
White sourdough loaf — typical UK bakery sourdough label — the single biggest sodium item in the plan
Benecol yoghurt drink (67.5 ml bottle) — Open Food Facts, Benecol yoghurt drink — potassium and calcium are not published, so both are counted as zero here (a small under-count)
Tofoo Naked tofu — The Tofoo Co. Naked Tofu pack label (280 g block) for the macros — it is pressed, so nearly twice as dense as the FDC entry. Sodium from the label's 0.06 g salt. The label carries no micronutrients: potassium and iron are FDC 172448 (firm tofu) scaled by the protein ratio 16.5/9.04, and calcium is left at that entry's figure unscaled because Tofoo is nigari-set rather than calcium-set.
Unflavoured/vanilla whey concentrate — typical whey concentrate label (verify against your tub)
Sodium figures assume no salt is added at the table or in cooking.
Across the week, Nikki's biggest sources are skyr (1,129 mg), reduced-salt tamari (894 mg), butter beans, no-added-salt tin, drained (517 mg) and cottage cheese (462 mg) — the rest is spread thinly across everything else.