Your 7-day family of four meal planner
Before starting any healthy eating programme, please read how to choose your meal plan to make sure you follow the plan that's right for you.
This nutritionally balanced meal plan is suitable for families who are preparing and cooking meals and snacks for all family members on a regular basis. It's both calorie and carb counted for your convenience, and contains at least five portions of fruit and veg per day. (There is currently no PDF to download this planner).
Further information on following this meal planner
The weekly overview
Monday
Breakfast: Weetabix and raisins
Lunch: Beef and barley soup
Dinner: Chicken and lentil curry
Pudding: Apple, blackberry oat and seed crumble
Choose from snacks including fruit, chocolate brownie and hot chocolate.
Tuesday
Breakfast: Banana porridge
Lunch: Ham, leek and Parmesan fritatta
Dinner: Macaroni cheese, green beans and grilled tomato
Pudding: Satsumas
Choose from snacks including fruit, fruity oatbake and yogurt.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Sugar-free muesli and apricots
Lunch: Tuna, sweetcorn and red pepper toastie
Dinner: Speedy salmon pasta
Pudding: Mini summer puddingsand 0% fat yogurt
Choose from snacks including fruit and yogurt.
Thursday
Breakfast: Microwave mug: apple and cinnamon fruity porridge
Lunch: Stuffed pitta
Dinner: Cod goujons with sweet potato wedges and peas
Pudding: Blackcurrant and raspberry ice cream
Choose from snacks including fruit and nut bars, low-fat yogurt and hot chocolate.
Friday
Breakfast: Sugar-free muesli and raspberries
Lunch: Reduced-sugar beans on wholemeal toast
Dinner: Roasted vegetable pizza with mixed salad
Pudding: Cherry and chocolate dessert pot
Choose from snacks including fruit and apple and sultana rock cakes.
Saturday
Breakfast: Kedgeree
Lunch: Parsnip and apple soup
Dinner: Bean and mushroom enchiladas
Pudding: Summer berry crush
Choose from snacks including fruit, smoothies and hot chocolate.
Sunday
Breakfast: Mushroom and spring onion omelette with potato pancakes
Lunch: Chickpea and tuna salad
Dinner: Roast chicken, sage, onion and sweet potato stuffing, mashed potato and vegetables
Pudding: Sweet potato pudding cake and low-fat ice cream
Choose from snacks including low-fat yogurt, apple and cinnamon cake and savoury popcorn.
Family of four plan information
Unless stated otherwise, each meal included in this plan is given per person. We have purposefully selected meals and snacks which are easy to scale up to four people.
General healthy eating information
To help us manage our weight and choose a healthier diet, reference intakes (RIs) have been devised and give a useful indication of how much energy the average person needs and how a particular nutrient fits into your daily diet.
RIs are not intended as targets, as energy and nutrient requirements are different for all people depending on your age, sex and activity levels. The term ‘reference intakes’ has replaced ‘guideline daily amounts’ (GDAs), which used to appear on food labels. But, the basic principle behind these two terms is the same.
RI values are based on an average-sized woman doing an average amount of physical activity. This is to reduce the risk of people with lower energy requirements eating too much, as well as to provide clear and consistent information on labels.
As part of a healthy balanced diet, an adult's reference intakes for energy and carbohydrate in a day is 2000 kcal and 260g, respectively.
The ‘family of four' meal plan should be adjusted according to your needs. Remember, we don't all need to eat the same amount of calories. Men, who are generally heavier and have more muscle compared to women, require more calories. Young children also need fewer calories than adults. In contrast, older boys from 11 years and girls from 15 years and above, are likely to need more calories. So, adjust portion sizes accordingly to meet your needs.