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.
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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 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!
christina
Impressive! I’ve always found that if you try to stay organized and plan meals out you end up saving money. I wish my family could do better with our shopping, although I know compared with a lot of my friends we do pretty good.
Thank you for the tips, especially the freezing of flour, I didn’t know you could do that!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Sure thing, Christina! Another thing you might not know that you can freeze is butter. I love stocking up when it is on sale and then using it as needed.
Yes, meal planning is a great way to save money, but would you believe that I stink at it? I know, I know. I usually have sort of an idea of what I plan to have the night ahead, but that’s about the best I do. I’ve tried numerous times to do weekly menu plans, but somehow it just doesn’t work too well for me.
Adoring Family
This post has been so helpful as I as I am trying to whittle down our grocery budget! I hope to can more this spring. Have a wonderful week 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
So glad it gave you some inspiration! Yes, canning is a bit of work but can save money, that’s for sure!
Sheena
How do you freeze your fresh produce?? We are a family of six and with all our weekly shopping including soaps and toiletries we spend about $300 a week. Some weeks as much at $500. Last week I was really frugal and only spent $200. That is something I really need to work on. But my stockpile has gotten eaten up and I have not done much couponing in forever. It takes so much time and with four kids (three of which I homeschool) plus I work from home and blog. Couponing was the extra that had to go. Oh yeah and I hate to cook so its rare I make something from scratch.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Sheena, I’m hoping to do some tutorials this year as I do my canning and freezing. But basically, you have to prep your veggies and then cook them just until they boil. As soon as they start to boil, you drain the boiling water and put them in cold water. This is called blanching and using a blancher like this makes it easy. Then you strain them really well, try to get them relatively dry and then put them in whatever container you want to freeze them in.
And I hear you about the couponing! Honestly, I have no idea what we’d spend if I didn’t coupon because it truly does save us so much. But I don’t blame you at all for letting it go. There are seasons for everything and we all have to know what is the important thing. You sound like you have your hands full without couponing!
Gail Akeman
I bake from scratch whenever I can. I also use coupons too.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Gail, baking from scratch is such a great way to save. And it is so much healthier too so I believe in the long run it is saving you even more. And I love couponing too. I’ve been amazed at all the different things I’ve gotten for very inexpensively thanks to those little slips of paper!
Stephanie
Wow! I am going to have to do some studying. I am amazed at your spending and your provision of healthy meals for your family. We had a small garden last year, but want to go bigger this year and take advantage of the local farms. Do you have any recommendations on canning and freezing for beginners? (I’m going to search around your site too!)
ThriftyFrugalMom
Stephanie, sometimes I wish I had room for a garden and then other times when I think of all the work, well, not so much! I’m more of an indoor girl, so I’m not sure how a garden and I would get along in all reality. This is a great post to read if you are interested in starting to can. And my tutorial on how to can diced tomatoes is perfect for beginners too. They’re such an easy thing to start with. Hope that helps!
Sarah J
This is so inspiring! My husband and I used to get by on $225 a month but now we’re struggling to stay at $250-$275. He’s a tall guy with a HUGE appetite so even if I make a hearty meal he gets hungry and needs snacks. I need to work on stockpiling- I think that would help us a lot! Thanks for the ideas!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yeah, it’s so true that every family has different appetites, needs and wants. And that is perfectly okay! Sounds like your guy probably wouldn’t be crazy about a menu like ours that is heavy on soups. 🙂
I’d definitely encourage the stockpiling. It really does end up saving substantially in the long run. In fact one of my long time readers wrote a post for me about her experience with stockpiling. I think you might enjoy it! 🙂