Monday
2/2- lunch
Chicken souvlaki Cretan salad box
Slice cold souvlaki over Greek salad. Tzatziki on the side.
- dinner
Beef youvetsi with Greek salad
Reheat until steaming. Crumble feta on top, squeeze of lemon.
Week 3: Cretan Souvlaki, Youvetsi & Greek Salad
Holiday food made practical. Two Sunday batches — lemon-herb souvlaki chicken and a rich beef youvetsi — power the work week. A live Cretan salad keeps every box fresh and different. Friday stays fish-only.
5 lunches4 dinnersmeal prephigh proteinbudgetgreekmediterraneanmicrowave friendlyair fryerfish fridaywork lunch
GoalBring the flavours of Crete into the work week without complexity. High protein, affordable, minimal washing up, and nothing that tastes like a sad desk lunch.
Plan to your week
1
Toggle days and individual meals in the schedule below. Shopping quantities scale with people × active meals.
Weekly schedule
Mon lunch → Fri lunch. Breakfast, Fri dinner and weekends not included. Optional slots are off by default — toggle in to count.
Days I’ll eat from the plan
Tuesday
2/2- lunch
Souvlaki pita with tzatziki and salad
Warm pitta, load with sliced souvlaki, tzatziki, cucumber, tomato and red onion.
- dinner
Beef youvetsi leftovers
Reheat with a splash of water — orzo firms up in the fridge. Top with feta and parsley.
Wednesday
1/2- lunch
Dakos-style Greek salad with souvlaki
Spoon grated tomato + olive oil over rusk. Top with feta, olives, capers and sliced souvlaki.
- dinner
Souvlaki with lemon potatoes and salad
Mid-week treat. Reheat souvlaki + lemon potatoes. Big Greek salad on the side.
Optional · off
Thursday
2/2- lunch
Chicken souvlaki Greek salad box
Final souvlaki portion. Slice over salad, lemon-oregano dressing.
- dinner
Beef youvetsi with extra salad
Final youvetsi portion. Reheat with water, big Greek salad alongside.
Friday
1/2- lunch
Greek tuna salad with egg
Assembly only — eggs boiled on Sunday. Keep dressing separate if taking to work.
- dinner
Not included
Out of plan. Cook fish plaki fresh tonight if you like — recipe card below.
Not included
Recipes & components
Two main batches and one fresh-cook dinner. Quantities reflect how many portions you actually need this week.
Chicken souvlaki
Sunday batch · 4 servings
Lemon, garlic and herb marinated chicken cooked in the oven or air fryer. Slice cold for salad boxes, tuck into warm pitta with tzatziki, or reheat with lemon potatoes.
30M3 portions this week40–50 g protein
Beef youvetsi with orzo
Sunday batch · 3 servings
Rich baked pasta from Crete — lean beef mince in a cinnamon-spiked tomato sauce with orzo. The orzo thickens overnight in the fridge, so always reheat with a splash of water. Crumble cold feta on top.
1H3 portions this week35–45 g protein
Cretan Greek salad and dakos system
Daily fresh system · chop as you go
A live salad system for the whole week. Chop extra on Sunday for the first 2–3 days. For the dakos version on Wednesday: briefly dampen a barley rusk, spoon grated tomato and olive oil over it, then top with feta, olives and capers.
10M1 portion this week
Greek lemon potatoes
Sunday batch · pairs with souvlaki on Wednesday
Oven-roasted potatoes in lemon, garlic, olive oil and stock. The potatoes absorb the stock as they roast and go sticky and golden. Reheat in the air fryer for the best texture on Wednesday night.
1HNot used this week
Greek tuna salad with egg
Friday fish-only lunch · no-heat assembly
Tinned tuna, hard-boiled eggs (from Sunday), cucumber, tomato, feta, olives and a lemon-oregano dressing. Friday is just assembly — the hardest part is opening a tin.
5M1 portion this week40–50 g protein
Fish plaki with Greek salad
Friday fresh cook · 25–30 min
White fish baked in a simple tomato, onion and olive sauce. A Cretan classic — simple, fragrant and ready in under 30 minutes. Cook this fresh on Friday, not on Sunday.
35MNot used this week35–45 g protein
Cost · per week
Tap a card to switch the shopping list below. Estimates assume the plan’s base servings (8 meals, 1 person).
Shopping list
Grouped by category. Quantities scale with people × active meals.
Shop at
Protein
Veg & Salad
Carbs
Dairy
Tins & Jars
Herbs & Spices
Sauces & Condiments
Sunday prep workflow
Run top to bottom. Steps overlap — rice and chilli can simmer while you marinate and roast.
Before you start · Equipment & containers
- Oven preheated to 200°C fan (souvlaki if not using air fryer, plus lemon potatoes)
- Air fryer (optional but faster for souvlaki — cook at 200°C alongside oven potatoes)
- Large deep pan or casserole — for the youvetsi
- Large roasting tray — lemon potatoes
- Small oven-proof pan or second roasting tray — fish plaki base on Friday
- Sharp knife + chopping board
- Mixing bowl (souvlaki marinade)
- Microplane or fine grater (garlic)
- Box grater (cucumber for tzatziki)
- Measuring spoons
- Meat thermometer — souvlaki should hit 75°C internal
- Small saucepan — boiling eggs
- 4 souvlaki tubs · 3 youvetsi tubs · 1 potato tub · tzatziki pot · salad tub · egg tub
- Small jar for salad dressing
- Sharpie + labels — every tub gets a day on it
Progress · 0/15~130 min total
Storage
- Fridge 0–5°C. Souvlaki and youvetsi keep up to 4 days.
- Youvetsi must be reheated with a splash of water — orzo firms up overnight.
- Undressed salad veg keeps 2–3 days. Dress each portion fresh; add rusk or pitta at the moment of eating.
- Tzatziki keeps 3–4 days in the fridge. Give it a stir before using.
- Hard-boiled eggs keep 4 days in the fridge, peeled and sealed.
- Fish plaki: cook fresh on Friday only. Do not batch-cook the fish.
- Label every tub with the day it's for.
Reheating
- Souvlaki: microwave 1–2 min with a splash of water, or air fryer 3–4 min at 180°C.
- Youvetsi: microwave 2–3 min with a generous splash of water, stirring halfway. Orzo thickens in the fridge — it needs loosening.
- Lemon potatoes: air fryer 5–6 min at 190°C is best. Microwave works but they lose crispness.
- Tzatziki and feta: always add cold, after reheating — never heat dairy toppings.
- Salad: never reheat. Add fresh to each box on the day.
Sauces & toppings
Rotate these across the week so repeated meals feel different.
Tzatziki (or garlic yoghurt)Extra dried oreganoLemon wedgeCapers or extra olivesCrumbled fetaChilli flakesFresh flat-leaf parsleyRed wine vinegar drizzle