Wonder what in the world we eat on a $200 grocery budget? Here’s our frugal menu plan for the last two weeks. It shows exactly what our family of 5 ate!
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I’ve found that a lot of people are really curious to know just what exactly we eat on our $200/mo. grocery budget. I mean, do we mainly consume rice and beans with the occasional side of chicken? Or can we actually eat rather normally?
So if you are one of those people that has been skeptical or if you simply want ideas for frugal meals, hopefully, this frugal menu plan showing what we ate the last 2 weeks will be helpful! Maybe you won’t consider our menu plan normal, but I think we eat pretty well and we are happy with our meals. So that’s good enough for us! 🙂
If you are interested in learning more about how we eat and grocery shop on a $200/mo. grocery budget here are a couple of other posts you might enjoy reading too:
- All of my $200/mo. Menu Plans.
- All about how I plan my $200/mo. grocery shopping trips and do my shopping.
- The easiest way to save money on groceries.
Also, before you actually read our budget-friendly menu plan, here are a couple of things that are helpful to know:
- Our family of five consists of two adults with fairly big appetites, a 6-year-old boy, a 3-year-old girl and a 13-month-old girl.
- I buy lots of fruits and veggies in bulk from local farmers/orchards in the summer and then preserve them by canning or freezing. (Check out my step by step photo canning tutorials here!)
- 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 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.
Our Frugal Menu Plan for Our Family of Five
WEEK 1
Sunday
- At my in-laws all day
Monday
- Homemade Breakfast Burritos (from the freezer); Oranges
- Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken served with rice; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches and Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup; Sheetz Philly Cheese Steak; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Chocolate Brownies (my recipe is similar to this one)
– A new Sheetz gas station opened up nearby and we got a bunch of coupons for free food items. One of them was this Philly Cheese Steak that I was planning to send with my husband as part of his lunch. But he insisted that we all enjoy it, so we did! (We don’t often get this kind of thing due to our tight budget, so it was kind of a treat.)
Wednesday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches and Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Macaroni Beef Skillet; Cooked Carrots (with a sweet and sour sauce on them); Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Chocolate Brownies
Thursday
- Leftover Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup; Cheese; Home Canned Peaches and Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Leftover Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken; Leftover Cooked Veggies; Homemade Applesauce; Blonde Brownies (an easy chocolate chip brownie)
Friday
- Various Leftovers; Oranges; Easy 3 Ingredient Healthy Fudge
- Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza (used homemade Healthier Alfredo Sauce and homemade pizza crust and topped with chicken, caramelized onions and of course cheese); Peas; Homemade Applesauce; Ice Cream Bars
– This homemade pizza crust recipe is awesome! Not only does it need no time to rise, but you can also 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.
Saturday
- Leftover Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken; Leftover Beef Macaroni Skillet; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Easy 3 Ingredient Healthy Fudge
- Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup (my recipe is similar to this); Sweet Potato Rolls (bought at a local discount store); Cheese; Homemade Shortcake with Frozen Crushed Strawberries (I preserved)
WEEK 2
Sunday
- Had a shared lunch at our church—didn’t take anything!
– I was to help my mother-in-law make a big roaster full of scalloped potatoes and ham, but she insisted on doing it all and letting me have a break. So sweet of her! - Spent the evening with my husband’s family- took enough hot dogs for everyone and 2 qts. of ice cream
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Apples
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole; Green Beans; Homemade Shortcake with Frozen Crushed Strawberries (I preserved)
– I really loved this chicken and rice dish! So many of these types of casseroles take cream soup, but this was just a great from-scratch recipe. The Parmesan cheese and Ritz cracker topping really make it yummy!
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches and Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Leftover Homemade Pizza; Salad with Homemade Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Oreos and Milk 🙂
Wednesday
- Kids: Eggs in a Nest (eggs made in toast); Me: Leftover Cream of Tomato Soup; Cheese; Apples
- Cream Cheese Potato Soup with Ham; Salad with Homemade Mexican Dressing; Bread Pudding (skipped the sauce and sprinkled with brown sugar instead)
Thursday
- Kids: Eggs in a Nest (eggs made in toast); Me: Homemade Breakfast Burrito (from the freezer); All: Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges
- Leftover Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Cheese; Best Ever Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream
– This was actually a small birthday party for our 1 yr. old and my parents and a good neighbor/friend ate with us. And yes, I totally served them leftover casserole! I added fresh Ritz crackers to the top and no one was any wiser. Not that they would have cared anyway. That’s the beauty of family and good friends- they don’t care!
Friday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches and Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Scrambled Eggs; Sausage; Toast with Homemade Apple Butter; Frozen Fruit Slush; Decadent Frosted Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
– We had guests that joined us for the cheesecake dessert.
Saturday
- Home Canned Vegetable Soup (this is a similar recipe); Cheese; Home Canned Peaches and Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Ate out
– Ended up getting a free meal because the restaurant we went to was understaffed and was out of a bunch of things, so they offered to refund us our bill!
Danielle
I love that this is laid out so simply, but I am confused about why there aren’t more links to recipes. I am trying to actually plan this out to follow it for the month, but I’m having to spend a lot of time looking up recipes and building the grocery list. I guess I’m wondering if I missed something or if maybe links aren’t showing up?
Lydia Beiler
Hey Danielle, thanks for the feedback. I originally published this post several years ago and as it was meant to just simply be inspiration for frugal menu ideas and I hadn’t really expected anyone to copy it, I didn’t link to every single recipe. Also, some of the recipes are ones that I got from a cookbook or my mom etc. and can’t really be linked to. However, I started to realize that some readers use these to duplicate as their own meal plans, so in my more recent meal plan posts I have started finding similar recipes online and link to those instead. Your comment made me realize that I should go back through some of these older menu plans and update them. So you will see that I added links for the chocolate brownies, macaroni beef skillet, tomato soup and vegetable soup. I hope that helps! If you are looking for a fully done for you meal plan that includes a grocery list, I do have this one week meal plan that I based off Aldi ingredients that might be useful. I hope that helps you out a bit!
Danielle
Thank you so much! I also realized, oh my gosh, food prices have gone up soooo much – even cutting this plan down some. We are on track to be way over for the month. Definitely, going to have to study all your tips & tricks!
Lydia Beiler
I know. They really have! I’m sorry that you are going to be way over the month. It can be really tricky to figure out how to stay within budget, especially with the costs rising so much! I hope you can figure out some things to do that work well for you to get it to where you can feel good about it.
Cinthia
I love this!! I need this motivation and all of your ideas. Its just our 10 yo son, husband and myself. But I homeschool my son, we have two young dogs and all the household work as well as my two outside of the home jobs. We want to live well below our means as we are trying to mass save which we are doing well in all areas except for food. Your site has really helped me simplify my thinking and I am totally going to consistently incorporate cooking into our homeschool curriculum!
Lydia Beiler
Cinthia, your comment totally made my day. I am so delighted that what I am sharing is helping you. Thank for taking the time to let me know! And I love too that you are thinking about ways to incorporate cooking into your homeschooling. So smart! For what it’s worth, a lot of my recipes are easy enough that my almost 11 year old is able to make them without much help. She really got interested in cooking and baking the last several months so I slowly worked with her here and there and it’s been amazing to have her be able to take care of a good bit of the dinner prep some days!
Jack
This is great if you don’t work for a living! LOL
ThriftyFrugalMom
Well, I do actually work for a living. 🙂 I run this website which is a fulltime job, I homeschool 4 kids and of course do all the usual household chores too. It definitely is easier to cook at home when you are there most of the time because of your work, but I know lots of people that work full time away from home and still eat similarly to this. A lot of it comes down to mindset. If we decide something is doable, we are more willing to figure out how to make it work and willing to make the sacrifices to do it. If eating frugal homemade meals at home isn’t a priority for you right now, that’s fine! No judgment! Just know that it can be done even if you are working full time. (Crockpots and prepping food ahead are two things that help a lot!)
Stephanie
Lydia, I am so thankful to have found your page. I feed 4 teenagers, a 9 year old, hubby, and myself. I appreciate the work that you have put into your site! Thank you!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Sorry for the slow reply, Stephanie! We just went through a bit move and I got a bit behind with things.
Thank you so much for your kind words. You are so welcome! I’m grateful that it can be a blessing to you!