It’s FAQ time! Every month I answer a question that as a fellow busy mum, I know you’re looking to find the answer to. How do I know it’s something you’re looking for help with? Because you, the A Simple and Contented Life community have told me! This month’s FAQ is all about finding inspiration for new meal ideas. Are you ready? Let’s dive in!
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Where Can I Find Inspiration for New Meal Ideas?
It’s 5pm. You’ve not stopped all day and you’re exhausted. The kids are hungry and you just want to get dinner on the table. Out of ideas of what to make, you serve your favourite pasta dish. As you put it in front of your kids they let out a sigh; “not spaghetti AGAIN Mum!”. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there!
We want to provide our kids with a diet that’s balanced and varied, but constantly coming up with new dishes can be hard work. Just where do you find new meals to make? If you’re fed up with cooking the same dinners week-in-week-out, fret no more…here are ten places to find inspiration for new meal ideas. Be sure to grab your FREE cheatsheet that lists all ten places too. You’ll find it in my FREE Resource Library. You can get the password for the library at the bottom of this post.
1. Pinterest
Pinterest is my number one go-to place whenever I need a little inspiration – especially when it comes to meal planning. The great thing about Pinterest is that there are literally thousands of recipes to choose from and you can save your favourites in a matter of seconds. Save them by recipe type, meal type, main ingredient or by course. Separate them according to whether they’re a midweek or weekend recipe. You could even create a board labelled ‘This Week’ and repin whatever you intend to make. Come Sunday, simply delete the pins and start again!
Related: Pinterest Boards for Mums – The Ultimate List of which Ones to Create
2. Cookbooks
Cookbooks are a great place for sparking inspiration for new meal ideas. We all have at least one cookbook laying around the house, but when was the last time you looked at yours? Spend an evening going through your cookbooks and mark any recipe you like the look of with a post-it note. Already made everything? Borrow some new ones from the library! Try out those that appeal and make a note of any that are a hit.
3. Cooking programmes and their websites
Both me and my youngest love watching cooking shows. Pioneer Woman, Barefoot Contessa and Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals are regular features in our household. It’s not often that I watch a show and don’t find something new to try. There’s always at least one recipe per episode that be I’ll watching whilst finding it on their website and pinning it for later!
- Want the cheatsheet with all ten places on it? Find it in my FREE Resource Library – request the password at the bottom of this post.
4. Supermarket magazines
Packed with lots of recipes to try, supermarket magazines are a great source of inspiration for new meal ideas. Best of all, most are free and just sitting at the till waiting for you to take them home! Next time you’re in store, grab the latest copy. Tear out any recipes you like the look of and file them in a ring binder for later. Don’t like the idea of a ring binder? Surf your favourite supermarket’s website and bookmark or pin any recipes that take your fancy instead.
5. Your favourite restaurants
What’s on the menu at your favourite place to eat out? Nando’s is a big favourite for our boys but we often make our own version at home too. We roast Piri-Piri chicken thighs in the oven with potato wedges and serve them with homemade nacho peas and corn. Not only is it really good, it’s cheap to make and healthy too. Next time you’re eating out, take a look at the menu and ask yourself what dishes you could recreate at home.
6. The menu of your favourite takeaway
Could you make your favourite takeaway dish instead of ordering in? Google the recipe for that Chinese dish you order every time and serve it with noodles or homemade egg-fried rice. Or buy a pizza base and top it with the toppings from your favourite pizza order. Better still, get the whole family involved and have a build-your-own pizza or burger evening. Great for Friday nights, your kids will love having the opportunity to choose and ‘build’ what they want to eat!
7. Ready meals
Often a complete meal in one, ready meals can be a great source of inspiration for new meal ideas. Think of the ‘Dine in for Two for £10’ offers that M&S and other stores do. A complete three-course dinner, they’re brilliant for ideas for food pairing and what side dishes to serve with your main meal. Next time you’re at the supermarket take a look and see what ideas they spark.
- Want the cheatsheet with all ten places on it? Find it in my FREE Resource Library – request the password at the bottom of this post.
8. Give each day a theme
A great way to make meal planning easier is to assign a theme to each day of the week. Make a list of all the dishes you can think of associated with that theme. The advantage of doing this? Your meals automatically become balanced as well as varied. It’s a win-win! Try:
- Meatless Mondays.
- Tex-Mex Tuesdays/Taco Tuesdays.
- Slow-cook Wednesdays.
- Thursday Night, Pasta Night.
- Fish Friday.
Related: Five Small Changes to Make Evening Meal Planning a Breeze
9. Childhood memories
What were your favourite meals as a child? What dishes did your mum or grandmother cook that were warm and comforting? Chances are your kids will love them too. Growing up I loved my mum’s vegetable curry and her chicken and vegetable soup with pasta. Now I make them for my boys. They don’t taste as good as my mum used to make, but they’re a hit all the same!
10. Ask your friends!
Finally, think about dinners you’ve had with friends. If there was something you liked, ask for the recipe and try it for yourself. Alternatively, ask them what they like to cook for their family or where they get their meal inspiration from. Guaranteed they’ll know of a resource you’ve not tried before!
Finding inspiration for new meal ideas…
There you have it, ten great places to find inspiration for new meal ideas. Next time you’re feeling a little stumped, give one of them a go and you’ll come away armed with a list of ideas that’ll last you weeks! Here they are again:
- Pinterest.
- Cookbooks.
- Cooking programmes and their websites.
- Supermarket magazines.
- Your favourite restaurants.
- Your favourite takeaway menu.
- Ready meals.
- Give each day a theme.
- Childhood memories.
- Ask your friends!
Don’t forget to download the FREE cheatsheet!
Want to be sure you never run out of inspiration for meal ideas ever again? Grab the FREE checklist that accompanies this post! You’ll find it in my FREE Resource Library. You can get the password by filling out the form below:
That’s it for this post!
Have your own FAQ you’d like me to answer? Drop me a line here or let me know in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer it over the coming months.
What’s your go-to place for inspiration for new meal ideas? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time…
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Ohhh I loved this post! :):) You could totally add a snack board or I think its chartreuse (sp?) board – random things from your refrigerator and cabinet on a board cut up. It’s essentially finger foods! You know you could put cubed up cheese(s), lunchmeat, olives, pretzels, cut up peppers… really the sky is the limit!
YES!! I LOVE charcuterie boards!!! They’re one of the things my Hubby and I like to do the most when we have a date night at home! There are SO many combinations and they’re so much fun, aren’t they?! We have them as a floor picnic with a glass of wine whilst watching a movie. I’m liking the idea of lunchmeat and pretzels – I’ve not tried those! Thanks for sharing Amanda…you’ve got me thinking about what to have on my next one now!! 😉 x
Love your list. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome Elisha, I’m glad you liked it! 🙂 x
I love trying new recipes! Back in the day, I found all my new recipes from Taste of Home magazine. That was so much fun! These days, I love Pinterest for new recipes. Most of the time when I’m planning my meals for the week, I just check out my boards (it sure helps having them organized well! ) Loved your suggestions!
Trying new recipes is SO much fun! You definitely can’t beat Pinterest for suggestions. I have so many saved too…they’re organised pretty well but I don’t use them as often as I should! Thanks for sharing Jen! 🙂 x
Great ideas…I never thought of looking at takeout menus for inspiration!
We have great fun with it Allison – especially when I let my youngest pick the dishes! 😉 x
I’m subscribed to some vegan’s youtube channels so I always find inspiration that way, also, Pinterest is always a good idea 🙂
That sounds great Ivana. I watch reruns of some of my favourite cooking programmes on YouTube but have never thought to look for new channels…I shall have to give that a go! Thanks for sharing! 🙂 x
All great ideas! I am most inspired by restaurant meals!
Me too Edith! Some of our favourite dishes have come from the menus of our favourite restaurants! 🙂 x
Sometimes I have a few odd ingredients and don’t always know what to do with them. I usually type them into Google and add recipes. We’ve come up with some of our favorite meals that way!
That’s a great way to come up with ideas! I bet just putting the ingredients into Google you come up with all kinds of recipes you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise…I’m going to have to give that a go! Thanks for sharing JLynn! 🙂 x