This frugal menu plan is full of lots of great family meal ideas! It’s what our family of 5 has been enjoying lately. Get inspiration for your own menu!
You’ll notice this week that a number of times I mention eating something that we “had in the freezer”. My freezer is one of my best friends when it comes to helping me be able to cook most of our meals from scratch. I often double a recipe and then put half of it in the freezer, that way later when I’m having a busy day or just need something like French Bread to go with a meal, I can simply pull it out of the freezer, instead of needing to make it again.
If you are wanting to cook more of your meals at home or simply be more efficient with your time, I highly encourage you to implement this one simple tip, if you aren’t already. It can make such a huge difference!
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 19-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 awfully 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 that 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.) Monday through Friday, 3 days a week the lunches are just for the two youngest and I, the other 2 days my husband joins us.
Our son gets lunch at school and 3 days a week my husband takes a packed lunch with him to school/work. His lunch typically consists of sandwiches, fruit, homemade yogurt and sometimes random leftovers too.
Frugal Menu Plan
WEEK 1
Sunday
- At my parents for the weekend….my mom generously fed us! 🙂 Aren’t moms awesome?
Monday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges
- At my in-law’s for a family get together….took salad dressing
Tuesday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Bananas; Frozen Peaches (I preserved)
- Big Lettuce Salad (Lettuce, Chicken, Black Beans, Corn, Cucumbers, Shredded Cheese, Tortilla Chips with various dressings); Homemade Applesauce; Turkey Hill All-Natural Ice Cream
Wednesday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Bananas; Oranges
- Skillet Beef and Macaroni; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Icing (had this in the freezer- super handy!)
Thursday
- Homemade Pancakes (had them in the freezer); Easy Homemade Yogurt; Banana; Frozen Peaches (I preserved)
- Zucchini Bacon and Rice Casserole; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
– The zucchini casserole is super simple but very tasty. Even the kiddos enjoyed it! I did add some thinly sliced tomatoes to the top, which did give it a bit more flavor.
– The bars were good, although the crust part was really dry and crumbly. I’m pretty sure I made it correctly and didn’t overbake it, so I’m not sure why it was like that. If I make these again, I’d either cut back on the amount of flour or just bake the crust until it was barely done. Overall, we liked them though! The peanut butter layer was so yummy!
Friday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Bananas; Oranges
- Breakfast Sandwiches (Sausage/Eggs/Cheese/Tomatoes on Bagels); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Leftover Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Saturday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Frozen Blueberries
- Hebrew National Hot Dogs; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream
– I love that these hot dogs are made with 100% beef and contain no artificial preservatives or nitrates.
WEEK 2
Sunday
- KidFresh Chicken Nuggets; Baked Sweet Potatoes and Potatoes; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Fruit/Yogurt Popsicles
– I was able to get the KidFresh nuggets free with coupons recently….instead of using them as kid-only food, we all enjoy them! - Homemade Chicken Salad Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Homemade Popcorn; Easy Frozen Fruit Smoothie
Monday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
- Creamy White Chili; Classic French Bread (had this in the freezer!); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Ice Cream Bars
Tuesday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
- Broiled Tilapia; Homemade Carrot Fries; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
– The carrot fries are a fun way to get your kids to eat veggies. 🙂
Wednesday
- Leftover Creamy White Chili; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Bananas
- Country Potato Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Blonde Brownies (had in the freezer)
Thursday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserve); Frozen Blueberries
- Chicken Stratta Casserole (eggs/bread/chicken/milk/seasonings– good comfort food!); Lettuce Salad; Homemade Applesauce; Crumbly Pumpkin Bread
– The pumpkin bread has a streusel topping and is amazingly delicious! One of my favorite pumpkin recipes!
Friday
- Free Starbucks Breakfast Sandwich (for me); Various Leftovers (for everyone else); Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
– I’m signed up for Starbucks Rewards and got the free breakfast sandwich offer because of that. You also get a free drink on your birthday too! (Just make sure you have a gift card loaded to your account. I buy one just for the free offers that I get as part of the rewards program!) - Porcupines in a Skillet; Peas; Homemade Applesauce; Ice Cream and Homemade Chocolate Syrup
– The Porcupines in a Skillet recipe was super easy to make and while it’s a very simple, basic recipe, it is actually surprisingly tasty. The children all liked it too, which was a big plus. Definitely a quick, easy dinner!
– We went to my in-law’s for the evening and took along Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream and homemade chocolate syrup for dessert for all of us.
Saturday
- Easy Vegetable Beef Soup; Cheese; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
- Breakfast Sandwiches (eggs, bacon, cheese, tomatoes on bagels); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Crumbly Pumpkin Bread
Alison
Thanks for sharing what you eat each week 🙂 I’ve been getting burnt out on our meal plans and I’m definitely finding some great ideas here, like that Porcupines in a Skillet! That sounds and looks super tasty!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Glad it could help! I kind of feel like I’m in a rut right now too and have been trying to find some new recipes to help me out. I love how easy that Porcupines in a Skillet recipe is. The first time I made it, I kind of assumed that the family, especially the children, wouldn’t be crazy about it because it was such a basic dish. But they all loved and asked for seconds, which of course made me rather happy!