Need frugal meal ideas for your family? Here’s the menu that our family of 5 have been enjoying! Lots of great, inexpensive easy recipes.
I was a sick a lot of the first week of this menu- nasty head cold that brought fever, chills and just an awful stuffy head. I almost caved and got take out the one night, but ultimately decided not to since we had gone out to eat a couple of times recently and we didn’t really have room in our “eating out” budget.
I was awfully glad for quick, easy meals though! I kind of have some easy recipes that I fall back on a lot when I need something that doesn’t take a lot of prep time. It also helps that I keep fried ground beef and cooked, chopped chicken in the freezer too. Such a time saver!
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 21 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 coffee, 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.
Get my FREE $50 Aldi Meal Plan here! It has 7 easy dinners for a family of 5.
Frugal Meal Ideas
WEEK 1
Sunday
- Ham Loaf (comes pre-made- I just make a glaze for it); Baked Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Blonde Brownies; Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream
- Easy Fruit Smoothie; Homemade Popcorn
– We had 2 of our friends staying with us this weekend and so they shared our meals with us too!
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Frozen Peaches (I preserve)
- Cheeseburger Casserole; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Blonde Brownies
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- KidFresh Chicken Nuggets; McCain Smiles Shaped Potatoes; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Blonde Brownies
– I was able to get the KidFresh nuggets free with coupons recently….instead of using them as kid-only food, we all enjoy them! The McCain Smiles were also free after coupons.
Wednesday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Bananas
- Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies
– The Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is amazing! I tweaked the recipe a bit to work with what I had on hand. I used milk instead of cream, shredded cheddar for the cheese and corn chips instead of the corn tortillas.
– Our veggie when we have soup is usually salad, but we were totally out of lettuce and I was feeling sick most of the week with an awful cold, so I just made do with what we had and made green beans instead. Still got our veggies and that’s really what mattered!
Thursday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
- Shakshuka; French Bread; Homemade Applesauce; Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies
– My husband is studying Hebrew and as a result is into all things related to Jewish culture, so when I saw this recipe for Shakshuka, I knew I had to try it. It was quite tasty and while different than the food we normally eat, we all liked it! I did cut way back on the cumin though because my family isn’t into super spicy food.
– Because I was feeling sick, I asked my husband to stop by the grocery store to pick up a loaf of French Bread. Normally I prefer making my own Classic French Bread.
Friday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Frozen Blueberries
- Vegetable Beef Soup; Leftover French Bread; Lettuce Salad; Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Saturday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Salsa Chicken Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies (from the freezer)
WEEK 2
Sunday
- We were invited to my in-law’s
- Homemade Chicken Salad on Crackers; Easy Fruit Smoothie
Monday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Salmon Soup (sort of like oyster soup, but uses canned salmon instead); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
- Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken (over rice); Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Root Beer Floats
Wednesday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Bananas; Grapes
- BBQ Chicken Salad; Homemade Applesauce; Pumpkin Crunch Cake
– We love this hearty chicken salad! Definitely a favorite here.
Thursday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Grapes; Bananas
- Leftover Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken (in wraps); Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Pumpkin Crunch Cake
Friday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Grapes
- Country Potato Soup; Classic French Bread (from the freezer); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Leftover Pumpkin Crunch Cake
Saturday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Fruit
– I was away for the day, so I’m not sure what fruit they ate! - Homemade Vegetable Soup (I canned); Classic French Bread (from the freezer); Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies (from the freezer)
Leave a Reply