Skip to main content

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 $3.99 and $5.00 per pound.    This week, turkey breasts are on sale for $0.99 per pound.    I will be picking up the maximum number allowed.   

  • Pro-Tip: If you have a meat slicer, you can slice the ham or turkey deli thin.   


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

  • Wash and cut fruit and vegetables. 

  • Set Up Protein Bin  

  • Set up Pantry Bin 

  • Prepare 3 days of lunches 

  • Make Yogurt

  • Rotate your perishables


Breakfast Options: 

Yogurt with Granola

Creal

Avocado Toast


Lunch Options:

Pasta Salad

Sandwiches

Fruit


Monday

Keilbasa

Peppers and Onions

Green Beans


Tuesday

Fajita

Salad

Chips

Salsa


Wednesday

Sheet Pan Dinner

Salad


Thursday

Sandwich Night


Friday

Pizza

Salad 


Saturday

Sandwiches


Sunday

Chicken Parmesan

Broccoli

Pasta

Salad

Bread


M-  Sausage

T-  Fajitas 

W- Pasta and Sausage

TH- Sandwich Night

Fri-  Chili 

Sat- Roasted Pork and Vegetables

Sun- Stir Fry 

* Indicate that this recipe is new to our family.    


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


Menu Plan #321


What is your meal plan for this week? 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...

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 ...