If you spent the weekend enjoying the sunshine rather than meal planning – same.
But now it's raining, everyone's hungry and the fridge isn't exactly overflowing with inspiration.
That's where Ocado's meal deals come in. From quick work-from-home lunches to M&S dine-ins that feel a bit more special, these bundles take some of the mental load out of deciding what's for dinner.
To separate the genuinely good deals from the clever marketing, we've also done the meal deal maths to work out how much you'd save compared with buying the products individually.
Read on for this week's menu...
Best for work-from-home lunches: £5 Lunch Bundle
When the cupboards look bare, it’s easy to default to beans on toast (again), but you can do better than that.
This £5 bundle is an easy upgrade and includes a main and an extra, with everything from salads and sandwiches to smoothies and snacks included. Choose carefully and some products – such as pesto or multipack bread rolls – can even stretch beyond lunch and into packed lunches or midweek dinners.
Meal deal maths
- Pollen + Grace Pesto Chicken & Greens Salad Bowl, £4.95
- Innocent Cherry, Beetroot, Apple & Spinach Smoothie, £3.50
Bought separately: £8.45
Bundle price: £5
Saving: £3.45
Why we'd buy it: A quick, no-thinking-required lunch that feels significantly more exciting than whatever's lurking at the back of the bread bin.
Best budget dinner: £8 Stir Fry Meal Deal
Fast, flexible and ready in minutes, this is one of the easiest ways to get dinner on the table after a busy day. It's also one of the best value deals we checked. Healthy and a bargain, you’ll feel oh-so-virtuous as you dish it up.
Meal deal maths
- Blue Earth Foods Raw King Prawns, £5.30
- M&S Rainbow Mixed Vegetable Stir Fry, £2.90
- M&S Singapore Noodles, £1.75
- Borough Broth Organic Chicken Pho Broth, £5
Bought separately: £14.95
Bundle price: £8
Saving: £6.95
Why we'd buy it: The biggest percentage saving of the bunch and ideal for those evenings when cooking enthusiasm is running low.
Best crowd-pleaser: £12 Pasta Night
Pasta night is rarely met with complaints in my house, and this bundle makes it even easier. If you're looking for a low-effort dinner that everyone will actually eat, this is probably the safest bet of the bunch.
Meal deal maths
- Salsicciamo Calabrese Sausage Mince, £6.50
- Garofalo Gluten Free Potato Gnocchi, £3.40
- Mr Organic Olives & Capers Pasta Sauce, £3.25
- M&S Parmigiano Reggiano, £5
Bought separately: £17.60
Bundle price: £12
Saving: £5.60
Why we'd buy it: Affordable, easy and guaranteed to please almost everyone around the table, with good gluten-free and meat-free options included.
Best fakeaway: £15 M&S Indian Takeaway Dine In
Some evenings call for a takeaway. This M&S bundle scratches that itch, and is a good option when you want a Friday-night treat without the delivery fees. It includes two mains and two extras for everyone to share.
Meal deal maths
- M&S Lamb Rogan Josh, £6.25
- M&S King Prawn Bhuna, £6
- M&S Indian Starter Selection, £4
- M&S Bhaji Battered Fries, £3.50
Bought separately: £19.75
Bundle price: £15
Saving: £4.75
Why we'd buy it: It scratches the takeaway itch while keeping spending firmly under control.
Best overall value: £16 Family Burger Night
If you're only adding one deal to your basket this week, make it this one. This combination saves £12.70 compared with buying everything separately, and comfortably feeds a family of four WITH dessert.
Meal deal maths
- 2 x Gourmet Burger Kitchen 2 British Beef Burgers, £12.40
- Koffmann's Sweet Potato Fries, £3.60
- Tracklements Sweet Mustard Ketchup, £3.80
- St Pierre Sliced Seeded Brioche Burger Buns, £2.90
- Ben & Jerry's Cookie & Brownie Cool-lection Ice Cream Mini Cup Multipack, £6
Bought separately: £18.70
Bundle price: £16
Saving: £12.70
Why we'd buy it: It feels like a treat for the whole family, feeds four and offers by far the biggest cash saving of any deal we checked.
The verdict
The best meal plan is often the one you don't have to make yourself.
These bundles help to solve the weekly dinner dilemma, remove some of the mental load that comes with deciding what to cook night after night, and better still, every deal here costs less than buying the products individually, with savings ranging from £3.45 to £12.70.
For sheer value, the Family Burger Night is hard to beat. For busy weekdays, though, we'd happily keep the stir fry, pasta night and lunch bundle on standby.
Stacey looks after all food and drink reviews — from coffee pods and veg boxes, to natural wine and tequila. Stacey is also founder of Crummbs, where she’s written nearly 2,000 restaurant and hotel reviews since 2013. Prior to this, Stacey wrote hundreds of in-depth buying guides for the Independent, i newspaper and BBC Good Food, as well as reviewing restaurants and interviewing celebrities in her column at Balance Magazine. Stacey has also appeared in BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary Blood, Sweat & Takeaways, where she investigated South East Asia's food production industry, appearing on both Newsnight and BBC World Service to share her findings. Regularly checking out the latest restaurants, bars and product launches, Stacey also loves experimenting with recipes at home, and is a WSET-certified wine and spirits expert, with over 10 years of experience in the business. You can follow Stacey on Instagram @crummbs_uk
