Week of Mon 26 Oct – Sun 1 Nov 2026 — 7 dinners for 4, one shop (25 Oct 2026)

Household: 2 adults + Erish (6) + Aira (5). Built to be one shop, no mid-week run, and to use one pot or one tray on the nights that matter.

The 7 dinners

1. Mon — Rajma + jeera rice + cucumber raita. Soak 2 cups kidney beans Sunday night (or use 3 tins). Makes enough for Tuesday's lunch boxes.
2. Tue — Paneer bhurji + rotli + kachumber. 400 g paneer, 2 onions, 3 tomatoes. 15 minutes. Kids eat this with rotli and no complaint, which is the point.
3. Wed — Chicken curry (bone-in, 8 pieces) + rice. Bone-in thighs/drumsticks, not breast — cheaper and it does not dry out on reheat. Make double rice for Thursday.
4. Thu — Dal tadka + aloo gobi + rotli. The cheap night. 1 cup toor dal, 1 cauliflower, 3 potatoes.
5. Fri — Masala khichdi + kadhi. One pot, one saucepan, minimal washing. Good Friday night after the work week.
6. Sat — Pav bhaji. 6 potatoes, 1 cauliflower, 2 capsicum, 3 tomatoes, 1 cup peas; 8 pav. Feeds four with leftovers, and the kids assemble their own.
7. Sun — Turkey bolognese with pasta + garlic bread. 500 g ground turkey, 2 tins tomatoes. Freezes half.

Breakfasts/lunches covered by the same shop: eggs (18), bread, oats, milk (4 L), fruit (bananas, apples, mandarins), yogurt (2 tubs), and the kids' school snacks.

Grocery list, by aisle

Produce - Onions 4 kg · potatoes 4 kg · tomatoes 3 kg · cauliflower 2 · capsicum 3 · cucumber 4 · ginger 250 g · garlic 2 bulbs · green chillies · coriander 2 bunches · lemons 4 · bananas · apples · mandarins

Protein / dairy - Paneer 400 g · chicken bone-in 1.2 kg · ground turkey 500 g · milk 4 L · yogurt 2 × 750 g · butter 1 block · eggs 18 · (check freezer: no need to buy more)

Dry goods - Kidney beans 1 kg · toor dal 1 kg · basmati rice 5 kg · atta 5 kg · pasta 2 boxes · pav 8 · tinned tomatoes 2 · tinned chickpeas 2 (backup night) · oats

Spices to check, not assume — rajma masala, pav bhaji masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander powder, garam masala, mustard seed, curry leaves, kasuri methi. Buy only what is actually empty.

Estimated total: $155-$195 at No Frills or FreshCo (produce and dry goods carry it; the meat is only ~$18 of it). This assumes the pantry spices above are already in the house and excludes the picnic-table hardware.

Sunday prep (40 minutes, not 3 hours)

• Soak the rajma.
• Boil and mash the potatoes for Saturday's pav bhaji; refrigerate.
• Chop onion/tomato base for Monday and Tuesday into two containers.
• Marinate Wednesday's chicken.
• Portion and freeze half the bolognese sauce when it is made Sunday.
• Hard-boil 6 eggs for lunches.

Why this plan and not a "healthy eating" plan

Every dinner is under 40 minutes on a weeknight except Saturday, uses no more than two pots, and none of them needs an ingredient from a specialty store. Two nights (Mon, Wed) deliberately make enough for the next day's lunch. The only "prep day" task is soaking beans, which is 10 seconds of work.

Prices are estimates for the GTA, Oct 2026; the quantities are the part that matters and they are sized for 4 people with lunches.