Menu Planning: #269

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.

October USDA Low Food Plan

According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $193.70 per week. Given our health concerns, we struggle to maintain this budget, but I will try to make this happen.

Cost-Saving Tip of the Week: November is a stock-up month for canned goods and basic pantry items. This week, Kroger has a great sale on canned vegetables, pasta, and other pantry items. On top of that they also send me a $30 off coupon on a $225 order. Then, as a bonus, IBOTTA has its Thanksgiving bonus in effect this week, so I will be working on picking up enough rebates to qualify for the Thanksgiving sides as the turkey bonus is a significantly higher number of rebates.

Here is what we did this week to make our week easier:

Banana Chip Muffins
Make Lunch Soup
Pre-cut vegetables
Pre-cook rice
Make a dessert

Breakfast Options:

Banana Chip Muffins

Yogurt

Cereal

Monday

Baked Pork Chop

Mac and Cheese

Broccoli

Tuesday

Chili

Salad

Garlic Bread

Wednesday

Tacos

Salad

Chips w/ Salsa

Thursday

Crack Chicken

Salad

Bread

Friday

Kitchen Closed

Saturday

Stuffed Peppers

Mixed Vegetables

Salad

Sunday

Salmon

Rice

Broccoli

Salad

M- Baked Pork Chop

T- Macaroni and Cheese

W- Jambalaya

Th- CP→Chicken Pot Pie*

Fri- Sandwiches

Sat- Minestrone Soup

Sun- Baked Chicken and Rice

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

The link is below if you are interested in last week’s Menu Plan.

What is your meal plan for this week?

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 ...

Fruit by the serving: Pineapple ($.06-$.19)

Fruit by the serving: Pineapple ($.06-$.19) Fruit by the serving is a concept that I first read about on Pennies & Pancakes several years ago. The concept is basically how much does each serving of fruit cost you. Apples or bananas may be ch eaper that a larger fruit such as cantaloupe or pineapples, but if you pick one up when it is on sale and cut it yourself, it may actually be cheaper per serving that the apple or banana. In addition, it will give you a wider variety of food. Furthermore, if you have children who would not eat an entire banana or apple, it may be beneficial to purchase the smaller sized fruit. Pineapple Selection: A lot of pineapples we see in the states are mainly green. When you find a pineapple with a golden color to the majority of it, there is a good sign that the pineapple will be sweet and delicious. As with all fruit, check for busing. If a piece of fruit is bruised in the transportation process then ...

The Sweet Life On A Budget

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