Meal planning for families: one dinner, everyone fed

Feeding a family means juggling different tastes, different appetites and very little time. It's easy to slide into cooking one meal for the kids and another for the adults. Planning helps you cook one dinner that works for everyone.

Use 'build your own' meals

Meals where everyone assembles their own plate are the secret weapon of family cooking. Cook one set of components, put them on the table, and let each person choose:

• Taco night: tortillas, beans or chicken, cheese, salsa, lettuce, avocado
• Grain bowls: rice, a protein, roasted vegetables, a couple of sauces
• Baked potato bar: potatoes with beans, cheese, tuna, broccoli and yoghurt
• Pasta with a plain base and toppings on the side

Plan around your busiest nights

Look at the week's activities before you choose recipes. Practice nights and late meetings call for slow-cooker meals, leftovers or a 15-minute dinner. Save the recipes that need more hands-on time for quieter evenings or the weekend.

Introduce new foods alongside familiar ones

Children often need to see a new food many times before they're willing to try it. Put a small amount of something new next to foods they already like, with no pressure to eat it. Over time, familiarity does most of the work.

Get everyone involved

• Let each family member pick one dinner for the week
• Give kids simple jobs: washing vegetables, stirring, setting the table
• Take older kids shopping with a section of the grocery list to find

People are more likely to eat a meal they helped choose or make, and it takes some of the load off whoever usually does the cooking.

Scale servings, not recipes

In Mealful, you can change the servings on any recipe in your plan, and the grocery list updates to match. Cook for four on Monday and make enough for lunches on Tuesday, then let the list work out exactly how much to buy.