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 eat rice and beans with the occasional side of chicken? Or can we actually eat rather normally?
So if you are one of those people who 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. (Why should I when this yummy chocolate cake takes all of 5 minutes to mix up?) 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 foods. I also have a homemade iced latte, a 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 me, 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.
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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 Cheesesteak; 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 Cheesesteak 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
- 15 Minute Cream of Tomato Soup; 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 mind!
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 who 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!
Jes
Loved your blog. Would love to see a future blog about canning and freezing tips! I’ve never tried that but it seems like a great idea:)
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks Jes! I’m hoping to do a few tutorials this summer, so stay tuned. 🙂
Kim
This is inspiring! I definitely need to learn to can. When you stock up on produce in the summer and can it, how much do you spend? Or, how much of your canned items do you use every week–how much did it cost to buy and can those items?
Oh and the snacking is horrible around here… I have found myself stocking up on chocolate covered raisins, nuts, pretzels, etc and all of these snack foods don’t even satisfy! A meal planning makeover is overdue for me, lol.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Kim, yes, canning can save a lot of money if you are able to get your produce for a good price. And it is really much easier than many people think. I grew up helping my grandma and mom do it, so that experience has definitely helped me! I’m hoping to do a few tutorials this summer on how to preserve several things like tomatoes, green beans, applesauce etc.
As for how much I spend? Without going back and doing exact calculations, I’d estimate roughly $300. I preserve a ton of stuff though- last year I did 52 qts. green beans, 42 qts. blueberries, 29 qts. crushed strawberries, 19 qt. tomato juice, 43 qt. peaches, 80 qt. applesauce (yes we eat a lot of it!), 16 qt. vegetable soup (had a bunch left from before), 6 qt. diced tomatoes, 7 qt. corn plus a few other random things. What I do and how much I do varies from year to year depending on prices, my time and how much we used the previous year, how much I have left etc.
On a typical week I’ll use 1 to 2 qt. green beans, we eat applesauce nearly every day, peaches and blueberries several times a week, vegetable soup about twice a month, and the other things whenever it works. 🙂
I try to keep my grocery spending well under $200/mo. the first several months of the year so that I can save the extra to put towards fruits and veggies to preserve.
Yeah, snacking can quickly get expensive. I know because I used to love my snack foods! But my waistline and budget didn’t appreciate them. 😉 But the switch to not snacking was a gradual process. Baby steps are often the best way to make a change like that.
Kim
Wow, that is a lot of quarts! So you were able to spend only $300 for almost 300 quarts? That is amazing! I’m going to make it my mission to learn to can this spring so come summer I’ll be ready. Can’t wait to see your tutorials! 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
Hmmm, yeah, it probably was roughly $1.00 per quart. Some things cost more and some less so it evens out to that, I suppose. And the vegetable soup would have had extra stuff like potatoes, carrots, noodles and beef in it that weren’t included in the cost.
And if you have space to freeze stuff, that is even easier and healthier too because it’s closer to it’s original fresh state if that makes sense. 🙂
Christine
Wow! Great plans. I’m impressed on how you make the budget stretch. Nicely done!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks, Christine! Most of the time I enjoy the challenge of making it work. Note that I said “most of the time”! 🙂
Kim
Thanks for the tips! We need to less snacking.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yeah, snacking can definitely be a detriment! We actually snack more now than we ever have. My oldest child just didn’t need snacks, but my middle one? Around 4 pm. she often gets really, really irritable and I finally figured out that she just needs a little something to eat (little being key here!) and then she is fine until dinner. About half the week she is fine and the other half she has to have a snack. But trying to keep healthy, inexpensive options available definitely helps!
Angie Nelson
Way to go! That cream cheese ham soup looks delightful.
ThriftyFrugalMom
It is, Angie! It’s kind of an unexpected combination of flavors, but is absolutely delicious.
Meaghan | Cook. Craft. Love.
I wish leftovers lasted long enough in our house to eat 3 times lol! My family will usually take any leftovers for lunch the next day and I’m left cooking again the following night!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Meaghan, I’m guessing you have older kids than I do, right? Because it happens less and less here, even when I intentionally make extra! But that Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken makes a HUGE amount. In fact, most times I just freeze part of it right away for another meal another week.