Need menu plan ideas? Here’s what our family of 5 has been eating on our $200/mo. grocery budget! Lots of frugal, family friendly meals.
I recently came across some people discussing one of my menu plans online. People were saying they could never eat this way because of all the leftovers. I had to smile, because it’s true- we do eat a lot of leftovers, especially some weeks.
One of the reasons that we tend to eat a lot of leftovers is simply because it saves a lot of time. I sometimes purposely make extra food just so we can have it the next day for lunch or for dinner a second time later in the week. It cuts the time that I spend on food prep way down and I love that!
But if you are one of those people who hates leftovers, I respect that. I get that we are all different! However, I think this menu plan can still benefit you, because the goal of these plans is not for you to totally recreate them, but rather to give you meal planning inspiration and recipe ideas.
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 with coupons 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 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.
Menu Plan Ideas
WEEK 1
Sunday
- One Pan Chicken & Rice; Peas; Homemade Applesauce; Ice Cream Bars (got free with couponing several weeks ago!)
- 5 Minute Refried Bean Dip with corn chips; Easy Fruit Smoothie
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Bagels; Sausage; Eggs; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Fresh Apple Coffee Cake
– The coffee cake was so yummy! And I love that it’s easy to make and can be frozen too.
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Bought Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Apples
- Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup; White Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches; Leftover Fresh Apple Coffee Cake
– We usually eat homemade yogurt, but I didn’t get any made and found some super cheap at a local discount grocery store, so we just ate it for several days instead.
Wednesday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Apples
- Easy Chicken Pot Pie; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Fresh Apple Coffee Cake
Thursday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
- Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza (used homemade Alfredo sauce and homemade pizza crust and topped with chicken, tomatoes and caramelized onions); Lettuce Salad; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Apple Coffee Cake
– This homemade crust recipe is awesome! Not only does it need no time to rise, you can have it ready to go in the oven in 30 minutes! And it’s really tasty too. The only thing I do differently is pre-bake the crust a bit before putting on the toppings.
Friday
- Leftover Homemade Pizza; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Clementines; Apples
- Taco Soup (similar to this recipe); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Apple Goodie (similar to this recipe); Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream
Saturday
- Leftover Easy Chicken Pot Pie; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Clementines; Home Canned Peaches
- Date Night!- the kids were at their grandparents and we ate out
WEEK 2
Sunday
- We had a fellowship lunch at church- we were supposed to each bring a hot dish and cold dish. I forgot all about it until late the night before. Oops! I ended up taking homemade applesauce and Herb Roasted Chicken and Potatoes.
- Homemade Chicken Salad made with Homemade Bread; Easy Fruit Smoothies
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Clementines; Home Canned Peaches
- Leftover Taco Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Leftover Homemade Apple Goodie; Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Clementines; Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- One Pan Spanish Chicken and Rice; Lettuce Salad; No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Wednesday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Clementines; Home Canned Peaches
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies; Homemade Applesauce; No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecakes
– Not sure if it was me or the recipe, but the Slow Cooker chicken recipe just didn’t turn out that great. The veggies didn’t get done in the amount of time given and we weren’t super crazy about the flavor of the dish. I loved how easy it was to throw together though!
Thursday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches made with Homemade Bread; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Clementines
- KidFresh Chicken Nuggets; McCain Smiles Shaped Potatoes; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Ice Cream Bars (I got them free with coupons)
– 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.
Friday
- Various Leftovers; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Clementines; Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Creamy White Chili; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; 100% Whole Wheat Homemade Bread; Homemade Apple Butter; Easy Apple Dumpling Dessert; Turkey Hill Ice Cream
– We had 4 dinner guests and I also made extra and shared it with our neighbors who both are having some health issues.
Saturday
- White Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches; Super Easy Homemade Yogurt; Apples; Clementines
- Homemade Vegetable Soup (I canned); Lettuce Salad; Homemade Applesauce
Sarah
Where do you get your coupons from? I try looking on the internet only to find out I can’t print them or my computer becomes blogged down 🙁
ThriftyFrugalMom
Sarah, I get my coupons mostly online or from coupon apps, although I do use a few from the coupon inserts that are in the Sunday newspaper too. (I have a neighbor that gives them to me since he doesn’t use them….it’s awfully nice for me because then I don’t need to pay for the paper!) My four favorite sources are Coupons.com, Checkout 51 and Ibotta.
As for printing the coupons, you will need to download a tool that allows you to print the coupons from each coupon site. When you go to print your first coupon from each site, it will prompt you to download the tool. Once you have that downloaded and installed, you shouldn’t have any problems printing your coupons. (The reason they make you download the tool is so that they can track how many coupons you printed and limit coupon fraud.) Hope that helps!
Melanie Redd
Thanks for sharing so many great suggestions about spending less on food! You are doing an amazing job! We need to cut down our grocery spending.
Appreciate your suggestions.
I came over today n Motivational Mondays, and I’m glad to find your site.
I liked it so much that I followed you!
Hope you have a blessed day~
Melanie
ThriftyFrugalMom
Aw, thanks, Melanie! I definitely realize that everyone’s needs are different, but I always enjoy knowing that people are being inspired by these posts.
Brenda
What do you eat to keep enzymes in your system. We need these for proper digestion. By canning fruit you kill the enzymes, freezing also does damage to live enzymes.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Well, Brenda, I’m definitely no dietitian, so I suppose it’s entirely possible that we aren’t getting enough enzymes. We typically drink raw milk, we eat lots of salad and we consume olive oil and coconut oil some as well. And of course, not all of our fruits and veggies are canned or frozen- we do eat some fresh as well! My understanding though is that frozen fruit is nearly as good for you as fresh fruit, which is one of the reasons I try to use freezing to preserve our produce instead of canning as much as possible.
Monica
I’m surprised people wouldn’t want any leftovers. I actually build them into my meal plans because like you said, it’s a time saver and often a money saver. Yesterday I mad a big pan of baked spaghetti so I wouldn’t have to make a main dish again today. Now I have time to read your blog. 🙂
Do you have a link or can you give me an idea for making the easy herb roasted chicken?
ThriftyFrugalMom
Monica, that’s how I feel too, but I’ve been surprised how many people actually really dislike leftovers. In fact, I have a brother-in-law and sister-in-law that both hate leftovers. When I first heard one of them talk about it, I was rather baffled because I thought leftovers were a normal part of life that people liked. 🙂 Clearly I was wrong.
I’ll email you the chicken recipe. It was on my old blog at Parents.com but since they took down all their old blogs, you can’t access it there anymore. It’s on my list of recipes to get posted to my blog here, but…..somehow there is just never enough time to get all the stuff done that I want to do.
Emily
Those white cheese pizza sandwiches look delicious! I was wondering, is there a special way that you preserve the peaches, blueberries and any other fruit for the freezer? I would like to start saving money on produce by freezing it when it goes on sale. Thanks!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Emily, for berries, I simply wash them, let them drain well and then put them into whatever container I’m going to freeze them in. Some people prefer to lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and then freeze them that way before putting them into any containers. Doing that keeps the berries from clumping together as much. But with blueberries, I haven’t found it to be a huge issue. If you have a berry that is more fragile though, like raspberries, it might be a good idea though. If you store the berries in freezer bags, obviously try to get as much air out of the bag as possible.
For peaches, it’s a bit trickier just because they tend to darken unless you add something to them. I like to slice them and then freeze them with a mixture of orange juice concentrate and a little sugar. We then eat them partially thawed and it’s such a delightfully slushy snack. They also work well in smoothies. If you want more details, let me know and I can email it to you. You can also freeze them with just a bit of sugar, although many varieties will darken and not look as nice. The other option is to buy something called Fruit Fresh and add some of that to the peaches along with sugar. I’ve never used it, but I have lots of friends that do and it will keep the peaches from darkening.
I keep wanting to try freezing apples too. I’ve seen a number of pins on Pinterest that show how you can freeze them with sugar etc. to have a ready to go apple pie filling.
Hope that helps!