Meal planning on a budget? Here’s what our family has been enjoying lately on our $225/mo. menu plan. Lots of great frugal recipe ideas!
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It can be tough to do meal planning on a budget. I mean, if you are like me, meal planning alone isn’t your favorite thing to do. Add in a budget restriction and it makes it even less fun!
That’s one of the reasons I share these menu plans with you. I know I find it helpful when I see what other people are eating and it often gives me ideas and inspiration when I’m stuck in a meal planning rut.
If you are new to these menu plans of mine, it’s probably helpful to know a couple of things first:
- Our family of six consists of two adults with fairly big appetites, an 8 ½ year-old boy, a 5 year-old girl, a 2 ½ year-old girl and an exclusively breastfed baby boy.
- 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. (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 almost never use pre-packaged sauces. I make my own cream soups and pie crusts and lots and lots of other things. Making your own food is almost always 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 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 make my morning routine a bit easier and more fun!
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, the lunches are just for the three children and I. My husband takes a packed lunch with him to work and it typically consists of sandwiches, fruit, homemade yogurt and sometimes random leftovers too.
Meal Planning on a Budget
WEEK 1
Sunday
- Creamy Ham N Macaroni; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce
– The macaroni dish is basically a glorified baked macaroni and cheese recipe that also includes ham for a bit of extra protein. - Homemade Tuna Salad on 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Easy Fruit Smoothie
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Clementines; Apples
- Chicken Curry & Rice Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Peanut Butter Cream Pie
– My sweet mom sent the homemade peanut butter cream pie home with us when we were at their place. Such a treat!
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers + Peanut Butter & Honey Sandwiches on 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Home Canned Peaches
- Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce served over rice; Cooked Carrots; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Peanut Butter Cream Pie
– I doubled the sauce part of the chicken recipe so that it would work nicely to eat over rice. I made the rice using my new Instant Pot and it was so easy and turned out perfectly. The best rice I’ve ever made for sure!
Wednesday
- Refried Bean & Cheese Quesadillas (used homemade refried beans); Easy Homemade Yogurt; Clementines; Home Canned Peaches
- Leftover Chicken Curry & Rice Soup; Cheese; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing
– This meal was just the girls and I since my husband took my son out on a date.
Thursday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Breakfast Sandwiches (Bacon and Eggs on Bagels); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Leftover Homemade Icing spread on Graham Crackers
– Don’t you love our fancy dessert? 😉 I had decorated a princess castle birthday cake for our daughter and had a bunch of leftover icing and this is the easiest way to use it up!
Friday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches on 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Sun Chips; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
– I recently got the Sun Chips free thanks to coupons. - Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup; 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Lettuce Salad; Gingerbead Cake with Caramel Icing served with crushed strawberries (I preserved)
– The cake was in the freezer, so I just had to pull it out and thaw what we wanted for dessert!
Saturday
- Ate on the run- the kids were at their grandparents while we visited Floor & Decor to pick out some supplies for our kitchen reno. You’ll hear more about that soon!
- Screamin’ Sicilian Pizza; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream
– I got the pizza for about $2 recently thanks to sales and coupons. It was perfect for a night like this when we got back home right at dinner time! It’s really good pizza too and one that I’d recommend trying!
WEEK 2
Sunday
- Ham Loaf (comes pre-made- I just make a glaze for it); Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes/Carrots (topped with brown butter and seasoned bread crumbs); Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies (had in the freezer)
- Homemade Tuna Salad on 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Easy Fruit Smoothie
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Frozen Blueberries
- Salsa Chicken Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Best Ever Chocolate Cake with Homemade Chocolate Frosting
Tuesday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches on 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Bananas
- Quick Ham & Bean Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Leftover Best Ever Chocolate Cake
– I used part ham broth for the Ham & Bean Soup- it’s a great way to use up leftover broth! I froze it last time I baked a ham and then threw it in the pan for the soup totally frozen and it thawed really quickly.
Wednesday
- Refried Bean Quesadillas (used homemade refried beans); Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Frozen Blueberries
- Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup; Sister Schubert’s Rolls; Cheese; Leftover Best Ever Chocolate Cake
– I got the rolls free thanks to coupons recently. I usually make my own breads, but for free? Well, I couldn’t pass them up!
Thursday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Home Canned Peaches
- Cheeseburger Casserole; Peas; Homemade Applesauce; Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream
Friday
- Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches on 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Sun Chips; Apples
– We went to the Harrisburg Farm Show for the evening, so we just ate a light dinner and then grabbed a little bit more food there.
Saturday
- Leftover Quick Ham & Bean Soup; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Eggs; Toast; Bacon; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies
– I bought the brownies as part of a fundraiser for a local drug rehabilitation program.
YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
Phyliss Polanowski
Does your grocery budget include meats, household items and the things we dont eat like trash bags toliet paper. The reason I ask is because when my 4 boys were growing up . there were 6 of us and my grocery budget was $300 a month and it had to include everything. And my husband required a monthly plan and budget before I got the money to shop. That took alot of time and preperation Good Luck to you.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Phyliss, I’m so sorry for the slow reply. We just came through a big move and I got rather behind on things for a while as a result!
Yes, my grocery budget does include meats, household items and even toiletries. I just find it easier to calculate it all together because it’s typically all things that I buy at the grocery store. And yes, it does take a decent amount of planning, that’s for sure! Although the more I’ve done it, the easier it has become. Still, occasionally I think it would be nice to just go to the store and grab whatever I feel like buying! 🙂
Betty
That’s good that you save so much money, but you do not have enough fresh and healthy vegetables. I could not live on that diet. You need more variety in fruits and Veggies.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks for your input, Betty! I’m sure we could use more fruits and veggies…most of us can, right? But I’m actually pretty happy with how many fruits and veggies my kids eat. More than that, we are healthy too. In fact, just this past week my oldest was getting a physical done and he had to explain what a typical day’s worth of meals looked like. Our pediatrician actually commented about how healthy and balanced we eat. 🙂
Jaime
I always like looking at your grocery posts. =) They inspire me to keep looking for great deals! We actually upped our grocery budget late last year to accommodate for more fresh produce/protein (I strength train and find myself eating more, plus my 3 year-old suddenly has an appetite!), although I still combine food and household items in the same budget. My goal this year, with my new budget, is to bulk purchase produce when it’s at its lowest price and freeze it to use for most of the year!