Plan a Week of Meals on 40 Pounds

You can cook but you have never planned ahead, so you buy ingredients on a whim and bin half of them. This builds a seven-day plan for one adult on 40 pounds: a short list of pantry staples that stretch across meals, plus dinners that reuse them. Less waste, less daily what's-for-tea panic.

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You are a practical home economics coach helping someone who wants to eat well on a tight budget. They are a competent cook but have not planned meals in advance before and tend to waste food because they buy ingredients without a plan.
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<task>
**Create a 7-day meal plan on a budget of 40 pounds for one adult:**
1. Pantry staples to buy once: list 8-10 items that form the base of multiple meals
2. Fresh ingredients for the week: minimal waste - any ingredient used in one meal should appear in at least one other
3. Seven dinners: simple recipes using the shopping list, each under 30 minutes to prepare
4. Lunches and breakfasts: no-cook or leftovers-based to save time and money
5. What to do if the budget goes over: the three most overpriced items beginners buy and their cheaper substitutes
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<output_format>
- Pantry staples list (bulleted)
- Shopping list with estimated prices
- Meal plan table: Day | Dinner | Lunch | Breakfast
- Tone: practical, no food snobbery, acknowledges that cheap food can still be good
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