How the system works
Weeks one to four use the same ten base ingredients. Each week has its own printable shopping list, each day has a meal from the rotation. The nine fridge cards stay on the door so you do not need the book open at 6pm.
Build your own ten
Three carbs (pasta, rice, tortilla), three proteins (eggs, chicken thighs, lentils), two vegetables that survive (carrots, frozen peas), two flavours (cheese, tomato passata). Everything else is salt, oil and butter you already have. Build each week from the 4 main food groups the NHS names: fruit and vegetables; potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates; dairy or alternatives; beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins. Serve family food with no added salt in child portions. NHS: what to feed young children
A sample seven-day run
Mon butter pasta and peas. Tue egg fried rice. Wed cheese quesadilla. Thu lentil tomato pasta. Fri chicken rice soup. Sat pasta frittata. Sun rice, chicken and cheese wrap. Next week: the same ten, a different order.
Two dietitian rules worth folding into the rotation. The AAP advises vegetables and fruit across the week plus higher-protein foods such as meat or deboned fish at least twice a week. And keep added sugars out: the CDC advises against foods with added or low-calorie sweeteners for infants and young children. AAP: 10 tips · CDC: infant nutrition
The nine cards
One card per dinner formula, not per recipe. If they say no, offer it cold with dip: same food, no second cook.
The shopping-list rule
One trip per week, one list. If it is not on the ten, it does not come home that week.
Further reading
On this shelf
- 10 Ingredients, 30 Meals: the full book
- What to do when your child eats four foods
- Read this first: allergies and choking hazards
- The Twinkens shelf: all titles
From paediatricians
Sourceslib/catalog.ts: 10-ingredients-30-meals stats, toc 01, 02, 04, 05, authorBio, faqs. Online: NHS Fussy eaters (nhs.uk); AAP 10 Tips for Parents of Picky Eaters (healthychildren.org); CDC Infant and Toddler Nutrition (cdc.gov).