Menu Planning #160

Our meals need to be nutritious, clean, flexible, quick and cost effective. Between our work schedules and after school activities, we need to carefully plan our meals so that we do not end up ordering out. We try hard to keep our total food and household products to under $100.00 per week.

Goal: $400.00

What did we spend?

Week 1- $91.45

Kroger: $91.45

Rebates

IBOTTA: $0.35

Week 2- $108.74

Kroger:$108.74

Week 3:$133.66

Week 4-

Total: $333.85

77Rebate Total: $.35

Final Total: $333.50

NOTE: Rebate total DOESN’T include Kroger Cash or Refunds because they will come off of the Kroger Bill automatically the following week. In addition, I don’t count CVS as part of the grocery bill because I normally use gift cards and ECB to get my items for free, so in the end the money is usually to my benefit.

Grocery Shopping Tips: Plan for two weeks and try to get the majority of your shopping completed in the first week. Save as much money as you can and then apply the money to picking up sale items. This way you will grow your rock bottom pantry.

Let’s take a look at what we ate this week.

NOTE- If you want to see the recipes, just click on the link.

Breakfast Options:

https://sweetlifeonabudget.blogspot.com/2018/11/making-yogurt-101.html

Yogurt

Cereals

Boiled Eggs

Monday

Chicken and Rice

Green Beans

Tuesday

Tacos

Salad

Chips w/ Salsa

Wednesday

Pasta

Salad

Thursday

https://sweetlifeonabudget.blogspot.com/2019/05/pizza-277-per-pie.html

Pizza

Salad

Friday (Swim Meet)

Sandwiches

Vegetable Sticks

Salad

Saturday

Chili

Sunday

Coconut Shrimp

Broccoli and Cauliflower

Salad

This week’s rough plan:

M- Cajun Sausage and Rice Skillet

T- Pasta

W- Leftovers or Tacos

Th- Gumbo

Fri- Lasagna

Sat- Leftovers

Sun- Soup/Salad

* Indicate that the recipe is a new one for our family.

What is your family having this week for dinner?

Comments

Menu Planning: #245

NOTE- 1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe. 2- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog postings, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location. March USDA Thrifty Food Plan ccording to this plan our family would have a budget of $186.20 per week. Given our health concerns, we struggle to maintain this budget, but I am going to try to make this happen. Cost Saving Tip of the Week: Check your sale flyers for loss leaders. Each week grocery stores advertise specific products at a great price to get you in the store. Recently, I have noticed a very specific time frame for getting these deals. Good luck and happy hunting. Here is what we did this week to make our week easier: Refrigerator Clean Out Pre-cut all vegetables for the week Pulled older items to the front for easier consumption C...

Menu Planning: #250

NOTE- 1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe. 2- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog postings, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location. March USDA Thrifty Food Plan According to this plan our family would have a budget of $186.20 per week. Given our health concerns, we struggle to maintain this budget, but I am going to try to make this happen. Cost Saving Tip of the Week: When I purchase fruit for the week, it helps to calculate the cost per serving vs. the cost in general. For example, this week a whole watermelon was on sale for $3.99 each. When it is cut up, the watermelon will yield at least 20 servings which will place the cost per serving at $0.20. Here is what we did this week to make our week easier: Breakfast Options: Hard Boiled Eggs Yogurt Homemade Breakfast ba...

2025 Updated Breakfast Under $1.00

On the USDA Website, their thrifty grocery budgets range from $25.70 to $72.80 per week ($3.67 - $10.40 per day) per person. The two factors that determine the amount allocated are age and sex. With such a small amount of money allocated daily for food and my attempt to eat healthily, I need to plan each week carefully. With the Bird Flu hitting America hard recently, the egg is no longer a humble star but is turning into a luxury. A dozen eggs cost $5.49 or $0.46 each. At this price, I am looking at other options for breakfast. Breakfast is a great place to add value to your meal planning. It can be the cheapest or most expensive meal. The choice is up to you. NOTE: Prices are for the Northeast area for March 1, 2025 Let’s look at breakfasts that come in at or under $1.00. Beagle and Cream Cheese ($0.69 per serving) Kroger Prices Bagels (6ct)- $2...

The Sweet Life On A Budget

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