How we prepare our UK guides
A useful meal plan should explain what it covers, what to buy and what has actually been checked. These principles apply to our seven-dinner family example and retailer-specific UK guides.
Count meals and quantities separately
The seven-dinner family plan contains 28 dinner portions; the retailer guides state their own meal and portion counts. Breakfasts, lunches, snacks and drinks are separate unless a guide explicitly includes them. Ingredient weights state whether they are raw, dry, frozen, net or drained. We reconcile each recipe with its ingredient ledger; dinner portions are not counted again as guaranteed lunches.
Distinguish pack assumptions from observed products
Example packs illustrate how to shop for the required amounts. Unless a guide identifies an observed product with a dated source, they are not a verified supermarket basket, a price comparison or a claim that every shop stocks those packs. We separate whole-pack purchases, amounts used, usable remainders and discarded liquid. A price example needs a dated source, pack size, shop or delivery context and clear assumptions.
Use official sources within their scope
Food-handling guidance is checked against the Food Standards Agency for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland for Scotland. Each guide links to the guidance relevant to its cooking or storage advice. A source supports the handling advice cited; it does not endorse or approve our recipes. Follow the actual food label, use-by date and storage instructions.
Be clear about AI and physical testing
AI assisted the drafting and illustration of these guides. The recipes have not been kitchen-tested. Cooking times are guides, not a guarantee of doneness, and the hero images are AI-generated illustrations, not photographs of tested dishes. Each quantities diagram is based on its guide’s ingredient ledger. Always check ingredients and allergen labels yourself.
Record checks and corrections
Each guide records its own source checks. A check date is not a publication date or proof of professional review. Before publication, changes remain draft revisions. A material correction after publication should state what changed and when; a fact-check date must not be used to invent a publication history.