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 6-year-old boy, a 3 year-old girl and a 14 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. But that is why if you look at my Weekly Spending Summaries you won’t always see lots of produce.
- 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 lunch time. 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 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.
WEEK 1
Sunday
- Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken in wraps; Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Vanilla Pudding with Graham Cracker Crumb Topping
– we had 2 dinner guests that shared our lunch with us - Toasted Tuna Salad and Cheese Sandwiches (used homemade bread); Easy Fruit Smoothies (made a peach/blueberry combo)
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Deep Dish Taco Squares; Peas; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Vanilla Pudding
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Chicken Fried Rice; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Vanilla Pudding
Wednesday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Baked Chicken Fingers (breaded with Parmesan Cheese/Seasoned Bread Crumbs); Baked Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes; Green Beans; Homemade Bread with Homemade Strawberry Jelly; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Hot Chocolate
– I had milk that needed to be used up and I knew the children would love the treat of homemade hot chocolate!
Thursday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup (my recipe is similar to this one); White Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookes (from the freezer)
– My Dad and Mom called early afternoon and wondered if they could come for dinner since they had a change of plans. So I ditched my original plan of having leftovers and threw this quick but filling meal together! We loved having them join us!
Friday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Leftover Cream of Tomato Soup; Salad; Homemade Applesauce; Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
– I was sick and this was the meal that my husband put together
Saturday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Crockpot Tamale Pie; Salad with Mexican Dressing & Ranch; Homemade Applesauce; Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
– We enjoyed having my husband’s brother, wife and 5 children here to eat dinner with us.
– The Crockpot Tamale Pie is a mixture of ground beef/corn/tomatoes and beans topped with corn bread. It’s another recipe I want to get up on the blog soon!
WEEK 2
Sunday
- We were with my husband’s family all day- I took a big jelly roll pan of brownies
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Oranges
- Homemade Breakfast Sandwiches (English Muffins/egg/cheese/sausage); Salad; Homemade Applesauce
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Cheese; Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Easy Chicken Pot Pie (my version of this recipe); Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Wednesday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Salmon Soup (kind of like oyster soup, but uses canned salmon); Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Shortcake with Crushed Strawberries (The strawberries were one that I had preserved. They were frozen, but I simply thawed them to pour over the shortcake.)
– I wasn’t feeling very well and ditched my original meal plan and made this soup instead because it is so easy!
Thursday
- Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (used homemade bread); Corn Chips; Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
– My sister-in-law offered to come and help me for the day, so she was here for lunch. 🙂 - Bean and Sour Cream Enchiladas (I use this recipe as the basis, but actually change it a good bit); Green Beans (I preserved); Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Vanilla Pudding with Graham Cracker Crumb Topping
Friday
- Leftover Salmon Soup; Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches & Blueberries (I preserved)
- Pancakes (from scratch); Homemade Syrup; Homemade Chicken Gravy; Homemade Applesauce; Frozen Peaches (I preserved)
– Our 6 yr. old was not feeling good and he begged me to make pancakes! It was an easy dinner, so I was happy to honor the request.
Saturday
- Vegetable Soup (I preserved); Cheese; Homemade Yogurt; Peaches (I preserved)
- Leftover Bean and Sour Cream Enchiladas; Salad; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Shortcake with Strawberries
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Jaime
Okay, that deep dish taco square recipe looks awesome! It’s going on my list. =) I also agree that you may not need to meal plan as long as you have that great stockpile! I think you’re doing great as you are.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks Jaime! I still wish I could get “real” meal planning down because I think if I could get it to work for me, it would make my life a little easier. But what I do works for now and maybe sometime I’ll figure out a method of meal planning that I can actually stick with! 🙂
Monica
I’m curious about how you might change the bean and sour cream enchiladas?
Honestly, with your stockpile you probably don’t need to menu plan much. All I do is come up with about 7 meals for the following week a couple of days before I go shopping. I base the meals on what I already have, and then make sure I put any missing ingredients on my shopping list. My “plan” always includes a slow cooker recipe for a busy days, at least one casserole, one pasta dish, etc. and a fast emergency meal in case we need to switch gears. You’re probably already doing this on some level, but I have a bad memory and have to write down a list of meals to check off during the week as I make them.
I can’t wait for the white pizza grilled cheese. That sounds delicious!
Have a good weekend and thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
Well, Monica, one of these days I hope to post my version here too, but at the rate I’m going it might be a couple of years! I have way too many inspirations and ideas for this blog and not nearly enough time! 🙂 But basically I cut back on some of the spicy spices because we (esp. the rest of my family) thought it was way too much. (Sorry, can’t give you measurements because I just kind of do it to taste.) I also add some Ranch dressing to it which gives it a delightful hint of extra flavor too. I like the recipe overall though, we just preferred it with those modifications.
Yes, you are right, the way I stockpile makes the way I do my meals so much easier. If I didn’t do that, I’d definitely have to menu plan for real! And honestly, I’m not even as structured as you are. I kind of have a mental list of ideas of things that I can make with the things I have on hand and then go from there. Often as I’m making one dinner I kind of mull over what else I could make over the next couple of days, but it is by no means anything organized. I wish I could say it was because it would make me look so much cooler! Ha! And I really need to do more slow cooker recipes. I love them, but don’t use them nearly enough!