Focus: Mexican week! Four dinners built around rice, beans, and bold spices. Uses up fridge staples (white cabbage, spring onions, eggs, pickled jalapeños) and dips into the pantry’s dried black beans, jasmine rice, and tinned tomatoes.

Fresh cilantro and limes tie the whole week together. Soak black beans tonight (Sunday) for Monday’s rice bowl. Seasonal fish on Tuesday keeps things light mid-week.

Meal Plan Summary

• Uses from fridge: white cabbage (slaw), spring onions (×2 meals), eggs (chilaquiles), pickled jalapeños (×2 meals)
• Uses from freezer: corn (rice bowl)
• Uses from pantry: dried black beans, jasmine rice (×2 meals), tinned tomatoes (×2 meals), cumin, smoked paprika, chili flakes, cholula, olive oil

Ingredients used across multiple meals: limes (all 4), fresh cilantro (all 4), onions & garlic (all 4), cumin (3 meals), sour cream/crème fraîche (3 meals), smoked paprika (all 4), tinned tomatoes (2 meals), jasmine rice (2 meals)

Meals

Day 1 — Monday 16 March

• Dinner: Mexican Black Bean & Rice Bowl
  • Prep: 15 min | Cook: 30 min | 520 kcal/serving
  • Smoky beans over rice with charred corn, avocado, and pickled jalapeños
  • ⚠️ Soak black beans Sunday night!

Day 2 — Tuesday 17 March

• Dinner: Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw
  • Prep: 20 min | Cook: 10 min | 480 kcal/serving
  • Spiced pan-fried pollock or haddock (in season) with crunchy cabbage slaw and chipotle crema
  • Uses up the white cabbage from the fridge

Day 3 — Wednesday 18 March

• Dinner: Arroz con Pollo
  • Prep: 15 min | Cook: 35 min | 580 kcal/serving
  • One-pot chicken and rice with tomatoes, peppers, and cumin. Maximum rice satisfaction.

Day 4 — Thursday 19 March

• Dinner: Chilaquiles Rojos with Eggs
  • Prep: 10 min | Cook: 15 min | 490 kcal/serving
  • Crispy tortilla chips in smoky tomato salsa topped with fried eggs. Quick and comforting end to the week. Black beans on the side.

Ingredients

Proteins

• white fish fillets (pollock or haddock) — 300g
• chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on) — 4 pieces (~500g)
• eggs — 4 (from fridge)
• dried black beans — 150g (from pantry, soak Sunday night) + extra for Thursday side
• canned black beans — 1 can (for Thursday’s side, if not using extra dried)

Produce

• onions — 4 medium (from pantry)
• garlic — 1 head (from pantry)
• white cabbage — 200g (from fridge — slaw)
• spring onions — 1 bunch (from fridge — Days 1 + 4)
• red bell pepper — 1 (arroz con pollo)
• carrot — 1 small (slaw)
• avocado — 1 (rice bowl)
• limes — 4–5 (all meals)
• fresh cilantro — 2 bunches (all meals)
• frozen corn — 100g (from freezer — rice bowl)

Dairy

• sour cream or crème fraîche — ~150ml (tacos, rice bowl, chilaquiles)

Pantry

• jasmine rice — 3 dl (Days 1 + 3)
• tinned tomatoes — 2 cans 400g (arroz con pollo + chilaquiles)
• tomato paste — 1 tbsp (rice bowl)
• chicken stock cubes — 1 (arroz con pollo)
• tortilla chips — 150g (chilaquiles)
• corn tortillas — 6 small (tacos — wheat tortillas work too)
• white flour — 2 tbsp (fish dredge, from pantry)
• olive oil
• grapeseed oil
• cumin
• smoked paprika
• chili flakes
• cholula hot sauce
• pickled jalapeños (from fridge)
• salt and pepper
• sugar — pinch (slaw)

Optional

• chipotle paste — for taco crema (or sub smoked paprika + cholula)
• feta or queso fresco — for chilaquiles