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We’ve been enjoying lots of fresh fruits and veggies! We don’t have a garden (just two tomato plants and a pepper plant), but we’ve been blessed with a few friends sharing some of their bounty with us. And we also live in Amish country and are able to get fresh produce rather inexpensively for the most part.
There’s something that just feels so good about eating fresh, locally grown things and we’ve been enjoying it immensely.
If you are new to these menu plans of mine, it’s probably helpful to know a couple of things first:
- Our family of five consists of two adults with fairly big appetites, a 7 year-old boy, a 3 ½ year-old girl and an 18 month-old girl.
- I buy lots of fruits and veggies in bulk from local farmers/orchards in the summer and then freeze or can them. This is not only much cheaper it is also healthier too.
- I have a stockpile. My cupboards are full from previous shopping and here’s why. When I can get pasta for free with coupons, I buy as much as I have coupons for. If I’m able to get flour for $0.50/bag like I did last fall, I’ll buy half a dozen and put them in the freezer to use as needed. I do this as much as my budget allows, on as many items as I can and as a result save lots of money. Then when I go to plan menus, I simply plan our meals around what I already have in my cupboards and freezer, as much as possible. Obviously, I still might have to buy a few things at regular price here and there, but by stocking up when the price is at rock bottom I save a lot.
- I cook almost totally from scratch. That means when I make a cake, I rarely use a cake mix. I make my own bread totally from scratch. I rarely use pre-packaged sauces. I make my own cream soups and pie crusts. Making your own food is typically less expensive and healthier too.
- We rarely snack. By eating “heavy” food like granola at breakfast we don’t get hungry until lunchtime. And the same goes for the afternoon. Our lunches are big enough that we usually are fine until dinner time. When we do need a snack, I try to keep it mostly healthy by offering fruit, nuts or maybe No Bake Energy Bites. We don’t always do it perfectly though, and sometimes end up having chips or cookies instead.
- Our breakfasts consist of Easy Homemade Granola or Baked Oatmeal, the occasional bought cereal that I was able to get for $0.50/box and sometimes some fruit too. I know that might seem boring to some of you, but we actually all really enjoy it and prefer it over other breakfast food. I also have a homemade iced latte, homemade frappe or some other fun beverage every morning. It’s just one of the little things I do to add a bit of sunshine to my days!
Below you will find our lunches and dinners. (If we ate something other than our usual breakfast, I’ll note that too.) Since it’s summer vacation, all three children are home for lunches right now and since my husband is currently only working 1 to 2 days a week, he joins us most of the time too. The days he goes to work, he takes a packed lunch with him that typically consists of sandwiches, fruit, homemade yogurt and sometimes random leftovers too.
Get my FREE $50 Aldi Meal Plan here! It has 7 easy dinners for a family of 5.
WEEK 1
Sunday
- Kidfresh Chicken Nuggets (got free with couponing a couple of weeks ago); Baked Sweet Potatoes & Potatoes (with butter, salt, pepper, sour cream); Fresh Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
- Joined some friends for the evening- took ingredients to make two flavors of 3 Minute Frozen Fruit Smoothie (peach and strawberry)
Monday
- Meat/Cheese/Lettuce Sandwiches (made with homemade bread); Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Fresh Blueberries; Grapes
- Bratwurst with Rolls and Toppings; Refrigerated Mashed Potatoes (this recipe is very similar to what I make); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Fresh Blueberries; Grapes; Home Canned Peaches
- Ate free at Chick-Fil-A as part of their Cow Appreciation Day promotion 🙂
Wednesday
- Meat/Cheese/Lettuce Sandwiches (made with homemade bread); Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Grapes; Home Canned Peaches
- Hamburger Zucchini Quiche; Fresh Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce
Thursday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Fresh Blueberries; Grapes
- Cheesy Ham, Potato & Green Bean Casserole; Homemade Applesauce; Turkey Hill All-Natural Ice Cream
Friday
- Meat/Cheese/Lettuce Sandwiches (made with homemade bread); Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Fresh Blueberries; Home Canned Peaches
- Salsa Ranch Chicken Wraps; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Glazed Blueberry Scones (a recipe I was working on that sort of flopped)
Saturday
- Helped my husband’s family move–lunch was provided
- Leftover Cheesy Ham, Potato & Green Bean Casserole; Homemade Applesauce; Ice Cream Bars (various ones that I’ve gotten free recently by using coupons)
WEEK 2
Sunday
- Ham Loaf (comes pre-made- I just make a glaze for it); Baked Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes (butter/sour cream); Green Beans; Homemade Whole Wheat Bread (butter and homemade strawberry jelly); Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream
– a friend joined us for lunch - 3 Minute Frozen Fruit Smoothie (blueberry/peach); Homemade Popcorn
– we were all still pretty full from our big lunch, so we didn’t each much for dinner
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Bananas; Grapes
- One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce
Tuesday
- Meat/Cheese/Lettuce Sandwiches (made with homemade bread); Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Grapes
- Ate out at Red Robin- my son and I got our free birthday meals through Red Robin’s rewards program!
Wednesday
- Meat/Cheese/Lettuce Sandwiches (made with homemade bread); Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries (I preserve)
- Bean and Cheese Smothered Enchiladas; Fresh Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Blueberry Buckle (similar to this recipe)
– The enchiladas were good but way too spicy- and I even reduced the amount of cumin. (I didn’t mind it that bad, but I like spicier food than my hubby and kiddos do.) Next time, I would probably only add ¼ tsp. total. I also reduced the amount of cheese significantly and we thought it was still nice and cheesy.
Thursday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Blueberries & Frozen Peaches (I preserve)
- Breakfast Sandwiches (English muffins/eggs/cheese/bacon); Lettuce Salad; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Blueberry Buckle
Friday
- Meat/Cheese/Lettuce Sandwiches (made with homemade bread); Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Grapes; Fresh Cherries
- The children and I were away- my husband ate leftovers
Saturday
- The children and I were away- my husband ate a variety of things that he prepared…not sure what all it was, but he said he was well filled. 🙂
Amanda
I LOVE THIS… My husband just recently lost his very good job and I’ve been budgeting like crazy… my sister pointed out that I spend way too much on our household… this post hones it what can be done. Thanks for putting it together for us 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
So sorry about your husband’s job loss…that’s always a difficult thing! Glad you were able to get some inspiration here for ideas on how to possibly trim your spending. That’s always fun to hear!
Melinda
Wow!! $200?? You are the queen of frugal!!
I used to coupon too, but don’t find many for fruits and vegs.
Love Chik-fil-a.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Well, not sure I deserve the queen of frugal label, but I do love saving money. It probably sounds weird, but it’s kind of like a hobby to me.
Yeah, there aren’t a lot of coupons for fruits and veggies, but apps like Checkout 51, Saving Star and Ibotta regularly have savings on produce though. No it’s not much, but it helps and it’s super easy to use too. The other way that I’ve found to save it to look for coupon on frozen fruits and veggies. By combining coupons with sales, I’ve actually been able to get both free or very inexpensively several times and they say that frozen produce has about the same nutritional value, sometimes better, than fresh.
Gail Akeman
I need to work on my stockpile again. I would love to make homemade bread consistently.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yes, it’s amazing how quickly my stockpile depletes if I take a break from serious couponing/stocking up. I get the consistency with bread making. I’ve finally gotten into kind of a routine with making it, but some weeks it’s awfully tempting to just buy it! 🙂
Ann
Very inspiring.
I noticed how you use up leftovers-we do this too and feel it is a huge money saver. Sometimes it can seem like too little to be worth saving but a couple of small items together make a meal. Tonight at our house we will each be eatting something a little different as we feast on leftovers. 😉
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yes, we are not scared of eating leftovers, Ann! 🙂 Love how you all enjoy them too. You are right, it is a huge money saver and I agree, all those “small” amounts go together nicely to make a wonderful, easy lunch for us a lot of days.
Happy leftover eating! 😉
Mary-Ann
I love all of these frugal meal ideas! Quick question: Did you invest in a pressure canner or do you use the hot water bath method? I’d love to start buying more fruits and veggies in bulk in the summer and canning them for the winter. (PS Found you at Mom2Mom.)
ThriftyFrugalMom
No, I don’t have a pressure cooker, although I occasionally borrow a friends to use to can chicken. I’ve found the hot water bath method to be easier and it works for what I do. If you are able to get fresh fruits and veggies for a good price, then it’s definitely worth canning them in my opinion. I know some areas it’s harder to find them for a good price. This year I’ve started trying to figure out the cost per lb. of the stuff that I’m canning and I’ve been a bit surprised at the cost of some of the things actually! (I typically buy my fruits and veggies by the half bushel, so it’s hard to know how much it cost per lb.) It’s making me reconsider a few things.
Oh, and you might find it helpful to check out food preservation posts. There are only two there now, but I hope to keep adding to it! 🙂
Mary-Ann
Thank you so much. I’ll definitely check out those posts! I’ve really been enjoying all of the recipes on your site.