Weekly Menu Ideas: 18-08

For the love of comfort food

My husband often reminds me that hot chocolate makes the pain go away. Now those who know me, know that I really do not like anything chocolate related, but isn’t it strange how a spoonful of mac and cheese can melt away just a sliver of heartache. Comfort food isn’t just about taste — it’s emotional, nostalgic, and deeply personal. In the hardest moments, it’s often the simplest meals that bring us back to ourselves.

I often wonder, what is comfort food and what makes comfort food comforting. Turns out that comfort food can be anything, it is not defined by the ingredients you use or how fancy it sounds, it has more to with emotional connection. Turns out comfort food differs from person to person, for me comfort food is toasted cheese. It is one of my favorite childhood memories. I often remember my grandmother’s kitchen filled with 7 kids, all eating triangle shaped toasted sandwiches for lunch.

They give us something to hold onto when things feel out of control. Choosing comfort food in these moments is an act of self-kindness. It’s a way of saying, "You’re going through something hard, and you still deserve care."

Cooking or sharing a favorite dish can even be meditative. The rhythm of chopping vegetables, the scent of garlic sizzling in butter, the process of watching something transform — it brings a moment of calm and purpose when the world feels chaotic. So the next time life knocks you off balance, don’t underestimate the power of comfort food. Put the kettle on. Stir the pot. Eat something that makes you feel like home — even if only for a little while.

This week, my menu consists of all my favorite comfort foods. I hope you enjoy it!

Weekly Menu - 18 August

Monday

School Lunch: Chicken Nuggets / Chicken tenders

Dinner: Mac & Cheese

Tips for this idea:

For a great mac & cheese recipe with no box ingredients, I have saved my recipe. This meal needs minimal ingredients and also takes such a short amount of time to make. An ideal meal for a comfort Monday.

Tuesday:

School Lunch: Pizza Rolls

Dinner: Big Mac Tacos

Tips for this idea:

Big Mac Tacos, are a great idea. There are tons of online recipes for this including some Lentil Based vegan options. Everyone loves a Big Mac and its so easy to make. To create the big mac flavored meat - it is really simple; salt, pepper and onion and garlic powder.

Big Mac Copycat Sauce

• 3 Tablespoons Ketchup

• 3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

• 1 Tablespoon Mustard

• 1 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar

• 1/2 Teaspoon of Sugar

• 1/2 Teaspoon of garlic powder

• 1/2 Teaspoon of onion powder

Wednesday:

School Lunch: Croissants filled with cheese

Dinner: Pumpkin Soup with bread rolls

Tips for this idea:

I have added a recipe for pumpkin soup. The recipe can be made exactly the same with the exception of swapping out the pumpkin for butternut if you prefer. This can be a super quick meal if you already purchase the butternut precut.

Thursday:

School Lunch: Honey Chicken Mayo Pancakes

Dinner: Cottage Pie

Tips for this idea:

Cottage pie and Shepard's pie to me are the same dish. It was only today I learned that there is a subtle difference, the one is made with lamb mince while the other is made with beef mince. The principle remains similar though - you make a delicious mince stew topped with mash potato bakes to perfection. It is one of my favorite childhood memories.

Friday:

School Lunch: Chicken Wings

Dinner: Loaded Fries

Tips for this idea:

Loaded fries is an absolute favorite of mine. I love mine to be a creamy cheese sauce filled with macon and chicken pieces. The great thing about loaded fries is everyone can choose their flavor, if you love a more heavy cheese sauce then you can go for that, if you want to load it with sweet chili and steak , that is also an option.

Saturday:

Lunch: Chip Rolls

Dinner: Nachos

Tips for this idea:

Nachos are a fantastic meal and family friendly because it is a meal where each person can have their own choices. These meals usually work out best for my family. For those of us who do not love doritos as a base, there are so many options available these days, I have even seen tik toks about people using Taki's as a based. I however do not recommend this.

Sunday:

Lunch/Supper: Akhni

Tips for this idea:

I asked chatgpt to define an akhni - it literally called it a one pot briyani. This is a very accurate description for me. I love this meal because it tastes similar to briyani but does not take a significant amount of time to prepare. You can make it vegan, vegetarian, with chicken or meat to suit the needs of your family. For me it is essentially cooking a curry, then cooking a pot of rice and then steaming them together.

I hope this makes this week easier for you. If you feel like you this is something you need for the weeks ahead, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas for next week. ♥️