Five Night Kitchen

Family prep workbooks

Carry a package remainder into the next shop once

Use a five-dinner rice week to distinguish a planned package surplus from counted cupboard stock. Follow the sample balance, then decide what can actually reduce the next shopping list.

This worked example starts 2026-10-26 and makes 2 cooking servings at each dinner. Its stock and package sizes are examples. Enter your own quantities, dates, labels and equipment before using the plan.

Carry out the task

  1. Inspect the sample: five 160g dry-rice dinners require 800g; replace the hypothetical 250g starting stock with your own confirmed amount before personal use.
  2. Check the actual bag size, apply changes and download the complete shopping list; the sample 550g gap rounds to two 500g bags.
  3. Allocate 160g dry rice to each full dinner and leave package surplus dry; follow each recipe’s separate cooking method and water check.
  4. At the next shop, weigh usable dry rice and record changes since the first plan rather than copying a forecast as a confirmed count.
  5. Enter the new total once, or enter distinct lots once each; leave the earlier purchase and starting quantity out of the new stock credit.
  6. Rebuild the next full menu and compare its rice row with the worked 450g-stock example: 350g net, one 500g bag and 150g planned remainder.

Understand the sample before changing your own stock

This workbook’s sample begins with 250g of usable dry rice and no prepared batches. That is a hypothetical starting quantity, not a reading from your cupboard. The complete menu needs 800g: 160g each for lemon chickpea rice, bean rice bowls, lemon pea rice pot, broccoli and black bean rice, and carrot and white bean rice. The displayed shopping list deducts the sample 250g once, leaving 550g to buy.

With the example 500g rice package size, one bag is insufficient for that 550g gap. Two bags supply 1,000g, so the planned balance is 250 + 1,000 − 800 = 450g dry rice remaining. The same result is 1,000 − 550. Do not add the original 250g to that 450g again: the first week has already allocated the starting stock to its dinners.

Make five dinners without cooking the whole purchase

Weigh five separate 160g dry allowances as each dinner is made, or reserve clearly labelled dry portions without pretending they are already cooked. Monday cooks its rice separately from the zucchini, carrot and chickpeas. Tuesday keeps the rice and pepper-and-black-bean topping distinct until serving. Wednesday cooks the rice with onion and adds peas at the recipe’s later stage. Each dinner has its own recipe water allowance and packet-ratio check.

Thursday steams broccoli above nearly tender rice and then folds in black beans. Friday begins with carrot and onion before adding rice, then finishes with white beans. Keep those different methods; a single large cooked-rice batch would introduce different preparation and storage decisions. The extra 450g is intended to stay dry. Finish all the other ingredient lines as written, including the drained beans, vegetables, oil, lemon and seasonings.

Turn a forecast into a new stock count

At the end of the first plan, count or weigh the actual dry remainder before making another list. Someone may have used rice for lunch, a bag may have contained a different amount, or a dinner may have changed. Record any such difference as an actual stock change. Keep the first week’s exported result as a dated planning record; its remaining column does not update itself when food is used elsewhere.

For the next decision, use one current total for usable dry rice. If the full forecast 450g is still present, enter 450g once. If some is in the original jar and some in a new bag, either weigh their combined total once or enter distinct non-overlapping lots whose sum is 450g. Entering a 450g total and its component bag amounts would credit the same food twice. A cooked portion cannot replace these dry grams.

Work the next shopping decision explicitly

The optional following-week sample starts on November 2 with the same five dinners and only that hypothetical 450g dry remainder. Its 800g need minus 450g usable stock leaves 350g net. One example 500g bag covers the gap, leaving 150g: 450 + 500 − 800. The previous week’s 1,000g purchase is history, not an additional pantry credit. This arithmetic demonstrates a second decision; it does not establish that either week was purchased or cooked.

A different counted remainder changes the result. For instance, if only 300g dry rice remains usable, the next 800g need leaves a 500g gap and one 500g bag leaves zero. Rebuild from the actual count rather than subtracting an unexplained 150g from several old fields. Check the new complete shopping list as well: a rice balance says nothing about whether next week’s vegetables, beans or opened lemon juice remain usable.

Keep state and dates attached to the balance

Store unused dry rice as its actual label directs. Keep product identity, dry state, measurement date and relevant label information with the count. If a quantity has become cooked rice, it belongs in an appropriate prepared-food record with its own preparation and storage history. Its absorbed water cannot be converted back to dry stock by weighing the cooked portion.

Use the blank record rows to distinguish a planned closing quantity, an actual count and the quantity entered into the next plan. A stock entry is ready only when its state and usability are confirmed. The finish point is a next shopping decision that traces to one current stock count, with the first plan preserved as a reference. No assumed storage extension or automatic consumption history is needed to make that decision.

Check the worked quantity

First-week sample only: 800g required − 250g hypothetical dry stock = 550g net; two example 500g packages supply 1000g; 250 + 1000 − 800 = 450g planned dry remainder. Recount before carrying any of it forward.

Example ingredient balance
IngredientNeededExample stock usedNet to find or buyExample purchaseUnassigned balance
Rice800g250g550g1000g450g

Need and stock must use the same food state: dry. A cooked weight, can’s gross weight or finished sauce is not a second raw-stock credit. Purchase sizes are editable examples and do not show shop availability or price.

Keep a task record

The supplied rows are examples or fields to complete. They do not confirm an actual label check, food temperature, preparation time or household handoff.

View the record included in the CSV
Task-specific example record
StageStatusDry stock credited (g)Menu need (g)Net purchase need (g)Example purchase (g)Closing dry balance (g)Actual count or decision
Week beginning October 26Hypothetical first plan2508005501000450Two example 500g bags; no purchase or cooking confirmed
Before next shopActual dry-rice countEnter date, usable amount and any other use
New stock entryActual total entered onceRecord lot IDs if using more than one distinct lot
Week beginning November 2Hypothetical follow-up if all 450g remains450800350500150One example 500g bag; no actual-use claim
Alternative next countArithmetic sensitivity example3008005005000Use only if 300g is the actual confirmed usable amount
After next planActual reconciliationKeep dry stock separate from any prepared rice

Combined shopping for all five dinners

Net subtracts only the example stock or recorded preparation allowed by the plan. Remaining is a calculated balance, not proof that food was bought, eaten or remains safe. Check the full recipes for processing water and actual product instructions.

Five-dinner grocery quantities
IngredientNeedStock usedNetPack examplePurchaseRemainingState
Rice800g250g550gExample package: 500g usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.1000g450gdry
Chickpeas240g0g240gExample: 400g gross can, 240g drained. Confirm your label.240g0gdrained
Zucchini300g0g300gBuy exact edible weight; record any trimming losses.300g0graw
Carrots450g0g450gExample package: 1000g usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.1000g550graw
Onions400g0g400gExample package: 500g usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.500g100graw
Olive oil80ml0ml80mlExample package: 500ml usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.500ml420mlraw
Lemon juice60ml0ml60mlExample package: 250ml usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.250ml190mlraw
Salt15g0g15gExample package: 250g usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.250g235gdry
Black pepper5g0g5gExample package: 50g usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.50g45gdry
Black beans480g0g480gExample: 400g gross can, 240g drained. Confirm your label.480g0gdrained
Bell pepper300g0g300gBuy exact edible weight; record any trimming losses.300g0graw
Fresh tomatoes200g0g200gBuy exact edible weight; record any trimming losses.200g0graw
Peas200g0g200gExample package: 500g usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.500g300gfrozen
Broccoli300g0g300gExample package: 400g usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.400g100graw
White beans240g0g240gExample package: 240g usable quantity. Confirm label/edible weight.240g0gdrained
Checks for this example
  • Reference packaged-food ingredients may differ by brand. Check actual labels and cross-contact information. Exclusions filter recipe ingredients and cannot certify allergy safety.

Check the actual products

Reference ingredient tags in this menu: tomato. This list is not a complete check of every possible allergen. Read every actual ingredient label and relevant cross-contact information, including sauces, wraps, bread, grains and seasoning mixes. A reference exclusion does not certify a product or kitchen as allergy-safe.

Take the plan with you

Open the complete week planner

To use this exact example, download its full-plan JSON, open the linked week and choose Import full plan JSON. Review the dates, example inventory, servings and product limits, then apply your changes before exporting again. The linked week otherwise opens with its own saved settings.

This example has no advance-preparation components selected. Record actual completion, chilling, storage and thawing when they happen. Neither a planned date nor an imported file extends a product limit. You can print this workbook with your browser.

Sources and handling notes

Refrigerator Thermometers - Cold Facts about Food Safety | FDA
Read 2026-10-25.

Tips to Chill Food (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be) | FDA
Read 2026-10-25.

Use the storage guide and each recipe’s shorter handling limits. Keep cold finishing ingredients separate from components being reheated. Later-week food must be made fresh or frozen promptly when the recipe and actual food history allow it.

The workbook and example calculations are original guidance. The recipes have not undergone real kitchen trials. A saved record cannot verify actual cooling, cold-chain conditions, temperatures or product labels. Cooking servings are quantities, not individual nutritional advice.