Menu Planning #172

Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down and maintaining your sanity throughout a work week. In addition to meal planning, I try to meal prep as much as possible over the weekend. This helps to lower my stress during the week. However, if we have a particularly busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.

Meal Prep Plan

Hard Boiled Eggs

Zucchini Chocolate Muffins

Cut Raw Vegetables

Vegetable Dip

NOTE- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog posting, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.

Breakfast Options:

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

Yogurt

Cereal

Hard Boiled Eggs

Zucchini Chocolate Muffins

Weak June 15-20

Monday

Bratwurst

Salad

Vegetable w/ dips

Tuesday

Street Tacos

Salad

Chips w/ Salsa

Wednesday

Sandwiches

Salad

Fruit

Thursday

Pasta

Salad

Bread

Friday

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

Pizza

Saturday

Chicken Stir Fry

Rice

Sunday

Grilled Steak

Monday/ Tuesday (6/21-6/22)

Steak Salad

Wednesday

Chicken Wings

Vegetable w/ Dip

Salad

Thursday

Pasta

Salad

Garlic Bread

Friday

Pizza

Mushrooms

Vegetable Sticks w/ dip

Saturday

Hamburgers

French Fries

Coleslaw

Vegetable Sticks w/ dip

Sunday

Cod

Rice

Broccoli

Salad

This week’s rough plan:

M- Cheesesteaks

T- Street Tacos

W- Shrimp Lemon Basil Pasta *

Th- Bratwurst

Fri- Pizza

Sat- Chicken Vegetable Kabobs

Sun- 4th of July Party- Bring dessert

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

What is your family having this week for dinner?

Comments

Menu Planning #132

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. The news is very scary at this time because of all the news of meat plants shutting down, grocery stories limiting the amount of meat a family can purchase and all of the talk about a depression on the horizon. We have decided to keep our grocery budget the same, but to economize any way we can. This week we tried to pick up some shrimp that was on sale, but the store was out of shrimp and not expecting to get any more in. We were grateful to find wild caught salmon for the same price, so we picked that up instead for our Mother’s Day Dinner. What did we spend? Week 1: $96.44 Kroger: $96.44 Rebates: $3.55 IBOTTA: $1.35 Kroger Cash: $0.45 Checkout 51: $1.75 ...

Menu Plan #322

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 these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location. Published September 2025: USDA Thrifty Food Plan According to this plan, our family has a weekly budget of $190.50. Since October has 5 weeks, our monthly budget is $952.50. We elevate our dining experiences by including fresh fruits, vegetables, and higher-quality meats. Since our family has specific dietary needs, we limit our consumption of highly processed food. Grocery Shopping Tip: Rethink lunchmeat. The deli will provide you with thin-sliced meat or presliced deli meat, but you will pay a premium per pound. ($6.49 to $15.00 per pound) However, if you buy a ½ boneless ham (unsliced or presliced), the price point will drop to between ...

Frugal Five: #133

With inflation rising and salaries staying the same, our ability to make ends meet is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, we must be more careful with our money. The Frugal Five is a series that celebrates the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life. This year, my focus is on Simple Abundance , so finding ways to live well while staying on budget will be challenging. Come along and enjoy my journey of elevating joy, enjoying what you have, and finding luxury in my local area. 1- Giving Back to the Community Supporting your community can take countless shapes. Some people choose to write a check, and that generosity absolutely matters. But many outreach efforts require more than funding—they need time, hands, and hearts willing to show up. I’m grateful that I’m able to participate in several programs that make a real difference for the people around me. One of the most meaningful ways I give b...

The Sweet Life On A Budget

Search This Blog