Skip to main content

Menu Planning: #227

 

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


Our grocery bill has been reaching or surpassing $200 a week for a while and this month, I am going to try to bring that price tag down.  In addition to spending so much money on groceries, we have also been eating out more often.    It is time to change our ways.  Our goal is $150 per week and only eating out 1 time in the month of November.     


Week 1 = 193.10

  • $169.10- 10.35 (IBOTTA) = $158.75 

  • $24.00


Week 2 = $277.84

  • $219.72- $4.85 = $214.87

  • $62.97 (Stock Up Haul + fruit and vegetable for the week ) 

Stock Up Items includes: 

  • 6 Creamette Pastas ($0.29/1)

  • 4 Vlasic Pickles ($2.49/1)

  • 15 Tuna Pouches ($1.00/1) 

  • 7 Chicken Pouches  ($1.00/1) 

  • 4 Beef Stock (32 oz) ($1.00/1)  

  • Onion (3lb) ($1.00/1) 

  • 3 Gala Apples (3lb)  ($1.00/1) 

  • Carrots (2lb) ($1.99/1) 

  • 5 Nut bags (individual) ($1.00/1) 

  • 1 Pickle (individual)  ($1.00/1) 


** NOTE- I picked up a 22lb turkey for Thanksgiving/lunch meat, multiple berries for the week and freezer, and Dt. Coke for the month.   I also earned enough points for a free Butterball Turkey next week.   It will be significantly smaller, so it will go into the freezer.    


Eating Out Solution:   

  • Pre-Cooking of meats

  • Using the Crockpot this week. 

  • Sandwich Night

 

Monthly Total: $470.94


Meal Preparation Plan

  • Hard Boiled 18 eggs

  • Hummus

  • Chli

  • Egg McMuffin Sandwiches 


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.     


Breakfast Options: 


Hard Boiled Eggs

Egg McMuffin Sandwich

Cereal


Monday

Beef Stew


Tuesday


Sheet Pan Dinner *

Salad


Wednesday

 Hamburgers

Rice

Cauliflower


Thursday


Sandwich

Chips


Friday

Pizza

Salad


Saturday

Roast Chicken *

Broccoli

Rice

Salad


Sunday



Chili

LO Cornbread


M- Taco Night

T- Beef and Blue Cheese Salad

W- Sheet Pan Dinner (New Flavor)

Th- Sandwich Night

Fri- Jambalaya 

Sat- Chicken Noodle Soup

Sun- Cajun Shrimp Pasta


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


If you are interested in last week’s Menu Plan, the link is below. 

What is your meal plan for this week?


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meal Planning: #287

  Menu Plan #287 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 location.      August  USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $185.60 per week.  We elevate our dining experiences by including fresh fruits, vegetables, and higher-quality meats.  Since we have health concerns and are active individuals, we limit our processed food choices.          Here is what we did this week to make our week easier:   Breakfast Options:  Yogurt Muffins Egg Sandwiches Lunch Options: Grilled Chicken  Salads Chicken Salad Monday Hamburgers Roasted Potatoes Corn  Tuesday Street Tacos Salad Wednesday Enchilada Salad Chips w/ Salsa Thursday Leftovers Friday Chicken Parmesan Pasta Sal...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Frugal Five: #88

  The Frugal Five: #88 With inflation on the rise and salaries not increasing, our ability to make ends meet keeps going down.    Therefore, we must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     This week I am exploring how to keep costs down during busy weeks.    Keeping dinner on the table instead of eating out is one of my strategies to get the job done.    Here are some of my tips and trips.    1- Free-Bee Pick Up  Over the last month, we have been blessed with several Free-Bees.  First, a friend gave us a dozen eggs from his chickens.  In addition, we picked up several photos with discount codes from Walgreens and CVS.   Next, we used our local grocery store coupons for several free food items such as seltzer water, ice cream, etc.   Then, we picked up toothpaste and eyeliners from ...
Post a Comment
Read more