We often go to a boxed meal plan when we feel like we are in a rut. During covid we did full themed nights – one night we did a virtual tour of a museum paired with Italian! Another we watched the Disney Coco movie with nachos from scratch. It gave me lots of inspiration with no pre thought and cracked the rut plus the specials in the first few weeks are awesome. Once I found I wanted to remake soem recipes I would go back to shopping and making my own.

I hear you mum member, I struggle with this myself. I have tried the meal plans and they can be good but they can also be costly. Woolworth and Coles offer meal options on their website and some of these are really good. Maybe you could start a weekly habit where you have to try a new recipe each week, pick a weekend day to do this and see if you can find a few more options to add to your weekly meal selection. It can be hard when you work full time.

I find that it is very helpful to sign up to a recipe website that will email you ideas every so often. I have a couple that I have used in the past, one of which is Healthy Food Guide. They have 30 minute panic dinner ideas, which is great for something quick and easy. You can print and save any recipes you like and recirculate them.

My ex used to do the cooking. He wouldn’t let me cook. Since he left, I’ve rediscovered my love for cooking.
TikTok has been a godsend. I have found to make tasty, simple and affordable recipes that everyone in my house enjoys. And i have multiple fussy eaters. If you have the time, draft up a menu and spend a weekend cooking together. freeze the meals in portions and then just reheat what you want when you want it.
It’s cheaper than meal kits and you get to spend quality time together.

It’s a struggle for us too, we tend to stick to the same boring menu. I do think that with the current cost of living it’s difficult to change things up too much without impacting your budget. If you are home cooking for your family you are doing a great job and saving hundreds of dollars rather than eating out

Maybe try a meal kit like dinnerly of Marley spoon. They provide rhe recipes and all the ingredients. You just get to choose what sounds appealing to you from the options they offer. If you find meals you like you can keep the recipe and then either keep using the service or buy your own ingredients.

Try one of those apps or websites where you type in two or three ingredients that you have on hand, and it suggests a recipe to make with them. I bet you’d find some of them are new to you!

I know exactly what you are saying.. we are also in that food rut. I appreciate you asking and the wonderful solutions.

I love cooking food in one pot like casseroles or Risotto’s, rice dishes from the Philippines with pineapple and fruits. Thai food is fresh and tasty with the convivence of sauce mixes from the supermarket you can have a great plate of food in no time,

I enjoy going out for dinner occasionally and trying new things and then I get the motivation to cook something different at home. Trying different nationality dishes is another way to get inspired and cook more at home. Making sure to buy everything you need when you go shopping so you have the ingredients on hand.

One thing I think people overlook is having a well organised stocked cupboard, if you have the right collection of seasonings, sauces and dry ingredients you can pretty much make anything without having to run to the grocery store.
TikTok has some great easy meal idea recipes, pending how old your kids are maybe have them choose a recipe they’d like to try each week to help increase your carousel of recipes. Could be a fun bonding experience to learn such recipes together and help with the motivation

We’ve been sharing instagram reels of new dinner ideas with each other. Over the weekends we resort to those reels to create something new and exciting. This is in return giving us the want to branch out a little more during the week. Still sticking to our stables but adding in some new side dishes

Yes cooking shows can inspire you indeed. Another idea is just to grab the free recipe magazines Coles and Woorlworths come out with on a monthly basis and sit down with your family members to look if any of the recipes would be something they and you feel for trying. Also cooking together can make it more fun

Another idea when it come to planning and cooking interesting meals is to invest in finding and watching interesting cooking shows. These cooking shows can inspire inspiration to cook different foods and meals. These shows are good and the simple step by step how to cook recipes are easy to follow.

Make time once a week to go out to eat /date night that would put a bit of a spark in the relationship hopefully. Maybe also try looking up new recipes online or buy a cookbook and each take turn choosing a new recipe and then work together to buy the ingredients and cooking it.

Here are some tips for getting out of a food rut:
-Eat something different: Try eating a new food or meal.
-Use real food ingredients: Use whole foods, single ingredient foods, or real foods from the grocery store.
-Plan a weekly menu: Planning can help you avoid getting stuck in a rut.
-Riff on what you already know: Try swapping in a different protein or vegetable, or using a new spice or seasoning.
-Figure out your base palate: Consider what flavors you like best and how you can adapt recipes to suit your tastes.
-Sit around the table with your family and brainstorm ideas
Being stuck in a food rut can lead to boredom, frustration, and a lack of variety in your diet. It can also impact your mood and make it harder to feel full and satisfied after eating.

If you can afford a trial week with hello fresh (if you’ve never used it before they have great welcome deals cheap) give them a go for a week. You pick what you’d like to cook from theyre menu selection for the period you trial and they send you all the ingredients separated into brown bags with the easy to follow recepies. Gives you some more ideas and if you can’t afford to do that just type in hello fresh recepies and you can get some ideas. If your with Woolworths “bunch” there’s a lot of free recepies on there also posted from everyday people. Good luck

Investing in some quick and easy cookbooks is always a good idea and these books can inspire creativity in the kitchen when cooking. We also plan themed nights for cooking; for example, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Turkish and the list goes on. It can be such fun to create a themed night and cook themed food from other countries.

Try a “Recipe Night” once a week with quick, fun meals or batch-cook something new on weekends. Small, easy changes can bring the excitement back!

Just sit down one afternoon a week, meal plan and shop for it. Maybe try to aim for two new ones a week. I love cooking in big batches so we can have leftovers of the meal the night after, or freeze it and have it on the ready.