Mini Blog - Weeknight Dinner Saviours (with Lunch-Friendly Leftovers)

When you’re juggling work, kids, and life, getting a healthy dinner on the table can feel like an Olympic sport. The trick? Keep dinners simple, child-friendly, and smart enough to double as tomorrow’s lunch for adults. Here are three easy, supermarket-friendly ideas that tick all the boxes.

1. Chicken and Veggie Tray Bake

Dinner: Chop up chicken thighs (juicy and forgiving), sweet potato, zucchini, and carrots. Toss with olive oil, garlic powder, and dried herbs. Roast everything on a lined tray until golden. Serve with steamed broccoli or peas and pasta for the kids.

Lunch Adaptation: Use leftover roast chicken and veg to make a wrap or grain bowl. If going for the bowl, just add rocket, a dollop of hummus, and a sprinkle of feta.

Shopping list basics: chicken thighs, sweet potato, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, wraps, hummus, feta.

2. Spaghetti with Hidden Veg Bolognese

Dinner: Brown beef mince, then add grated carrot, zucchini, and finely chopped mushrooms (they melt into the sauce). Stir in a jar of passata or tinned tomatoes, simmer with Italian herbs, and serve with spaghetti.

Lunch Adaptation: Use leftover sauce in a jaffle or wrap with cheese for a quick adult-friendly lunch. It also works on top of a baked potato, for the WFH peeps.

Shopping list basics: beef mince, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, passata, spaghetti, bread/wraps, cheese, potatoes.

3. Salmon and Sweetcorn Fried Rice

Dinner: Cook brown or white rice ahead of time. In a pan, fry spring onion, frozen peas, and corn. Stir through flaked cooked salmon (fresh or tinned) with a splash of soy sauce. Crack in an egg and scramble through for extra protein.

Lunch Adaptation: Pack leftovers cold for a salad-style rice bowl. Add avocado, cucumber, and a drizzle of sesame oil or a little sriracha mayo for a grown-up kick.

Shopping list basics: rice, spring onion, frozen peas/corn, salmon (fresh or tinned), eggs, soy sauce, avocado, sesame oil or sriracha mayo.