A Month of Meals for Less

Most articles I read on budgeting your food bill had a common theme – plan your meals for an entire week and only go to the grocery store once per week. Okay, I thought, I’ll give it a shot.
Luckily, I had the week off from work for the holidays, so I had the time to research menus, recipes and write a meal plan. Where I could, I tried to take advantage of items in my pantry (which I had realized was more bountiful than I thought). I had tons of beans, pasta, tuna fish; lettuce & salad mixes; frozen veggies….the list went on.
As I began thinking about this project, my mind could not help but consider where I might get the best deals. So, my husband and I set to work doing a little comparison shopping online. More on this in my next blog.
By the day of New Year’s Eve, I had my menu and recipe list for the month of January. I figured if I wanted to stick to a budget of $550 per month, I would need to stay to a weekly grocery budget of $137.
Note: I did not include breakfast and lunches in my initial written plan. From my trial period during the previous ten days, I knew that my family could always find something in the pantry (mac and cheese or tuna fish sandwiches, for instance) and/or eat leftovers. One of the benefits of cooking was the realization of so many #leftovers that were prepared and ready to go, thereby making lunches super #easy!
My final plan looked like this:
JANUARY 2018
MEAL PLAN AND GROCERY LIST
SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WED | THUR | FRIDAY | SAT |
12/31
NEW YEARS EVE Salad for lunch
leftover pork loin |
1/1
Butternut Squash Soup
|
Jan 2
Chicken Satay and salad
|
1/3
Maple brined Pork in freezer with frozen veggies from the freezer
|
¼
Spaghetti & Meat Sauce
|
1/5
MY BIRTHDAY – Night out!!! |
1/6
Summer Veggie Pizza |
Black bean quesadillas |
1/8
Chicken Stir fry |
1/9
Thai Turkey Wraps
|
1/10
Chicken & Rice w Mushrooms Frozen Veggies from the freezer |
1/11
Pasta and Shrimp meal (stock pile from the freezer)
|
1/12
spaghetti and vodka sauce |
1/13
leftovers
|
1.14
Sausage and Caramelized Onion Bread Pudding |
New Orleans Red Beans and Rice | Tuna Casserole | Bean Burritos with yellow rice | Chicken from freezer (with Panko breading) | Leftovers | 1.20
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup |
1/21
Chickpea Alfredo with spring vegetables |
1/22
Broiled Chicken with Herbs de Provence and frozen veggies
|
1/23
TBD |
1/24
Sausage peppers & onions with pasta |
1/25
Leftovers |
1/26\
Meatloaf and fries |
1/27
Jamaican Pork Stir-fry |
In future posts, I will highlight a weekly menu plan, recipes, and even a convenient grocery shopping list. My goal is to help other families, like mine, manage their food bill. I am excited for a new year and the #opportunity to for all of us to save some money!
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