These frugal meal plans have gone over very well the past couple of months. Actually that’s an understatement! I have been blown away and completely humbled by your response. Lots of feedback through comments, emails, and private messages on facebook from families who are using these meal plans in their own homes successfully and making this real food challenge work even on a tight budget. Many times I have been brought to tears by your stories, your struggles, and your triumphs. Thank you for opening your heart to me and inviting me to walk with you on your life journey. Even if I was unable to respond to all of you, know that you were heard. Know that you encouraged me, broke my heart, and taught me many lessons. I have learned way more in the past few months about life than what I ever expected when I wrote my first frugal meal plan. Because of your response, I have decided to make this a regular monthly series. How could I not? If even one family benefits from these, it’s all worth it. This is the reason I blog. To help people. To give mamas and daddies the tools to help feed their families well. All glory to God!
Because I get many of the same questions over and over, this time I have included a FAQ at the bottom of this post. Please read. Your questions or concerns may be addressed in that section.
I also love hearing ideas from you! If you have a frugal meal idea, tip, technique, or anything that you think would be helpful for others, please leave a comment or email me. I’d love to implement your ideas in future posts. If you are a blogger, I would love to link to any frugal real food recipes or meal plans that you have. We go further and help more people if we work together. In case you missed the others:
Now, on to what you came for!
The Plan
Breakfast options:
- Banana Pancakes (sub butter for vegetable oil) topped with peanut butter
- Oatmeal
- Leftover oatmeal pancakes (Don’t let the name fool you. It’s good.)
- Breakfast burritos- scrambled eggs, cheese, and leftover beans and tortillas
- Eggs
- Toast from this homemade bread
- Egg sandwiches
- Bacon
- fruit
Lunch Options:
- Leftovers when available
- Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
- any fruit available
- any vegetable sticks available
Dinners:
- Baked chicken legs or bone-in thighs, 1/2 cabbage chopped and sauteed, butternut squash fries
Reserve bones from legs or thighs to make chicken stock for tomato soup and cabbage soup. You will need 9 cups total.
- Tomato soup (omit basil if you don’t have it), grilled cheese
- Bean burritos, carrot sticks, apple slices
Instructions: Prepare pinto beans in slow cooker. Drain off a little liquid. Mash and mix with desired amount of cheese, adding back more bean liquid if needed. Fill homemade tortilla shells. Use butter or olive oil instead of shortening.
- Spaghetti carbonara topped with peas, steamed broccoli
- Cheese Pizza, raw veggie sticks
- Shepherd’s pie, steamed green beans
Snacks
- oranges
- apple slices
- carrot sticks
- celery
Gluten free options:
Corn tortillas for the bean burritos. Roll and bake in oven.
Omit sandwiches or use gluten free bread.
Use gluten free oats.
Use rice pasta or spaghetti squash for the carbonara.
For pizza crust, try a cauliflower crust.
*Note: These options will make your total higher than the reflected amount, but will still be frugal.
The Shopping List
flour 3.00
yeast 2.00
mozz cheese block 3.00
parm cheese wedge 3.00
butter 4.00
cheddar cheese block 4.00
tomato puree 2.50
diced tomatoes 1.50
bananas(7) 1.40
apples 3.00
oranges 3.00
broccoli .80
carrots 1.00
celery 2.50
onion 1.70
garlic .80
cabbage .60
potatoes 3.00
frozen peas 1.00
green beans 1.00
butternut squash 1.00
chicken legs/thighs 5.00
ground beef 3.50
spaghetti 1.00
pinto beans 1.00
white beans 1.00
eggs (2) 6.00
bacon 4.00
milk 1 gallon 4.00
oats 4.00
natural peanut butter 4.00
olive oil 5.99
The Cost: $83.29
*Note: You likely have some of these items in your pantry already, since they are multiple use items, like olive oil, yeast, flour, dry beans, and oats. If you already have these items, it will lower your cost to under $80. This total does not include salt, pepper, and baking powder. Most people already have those items in their pantry.
FAQ:
Q: Where do you shop? These aren’t the prices in my area.
A: I live in the midwest and prices may be cheaper or more expensive than your area. These are average prices of stores in my area: Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Schnucks, Walmart, Costco, as well as online retailers like Vitacost and Amazon. Please do not get discouraged if you don’t have an Aldi or Trader Joe’s in your area. As far as the beef price, I can only get that price when I buy in bulk from a local farmer. Grass fed beef in stores will run $6-10/lb. If the prices are more expensive in your area, take into consideration that the entire cost of living may be higher as well, meaning wages may be higher in your area also. See next question if you have more concerns over the prices listed.
Q: Can you price shop my local store?
A: No. I only have access to my local stores. If you would like to send me a master list of prices in your area, I can take those into consideration for future posts.
Q: Is that enough food for lunch and snacks?
A: Most of these dinner options will yield enough for leftovers. I have included sandwich options and fruit and vegetable options only if leftovers are not enough. They can supplement leftovers or stand alone. I am not implying a growing child eat only an apple and carrot sticks for lunch, but those alongside some soup for example, would be plenty. These meals are filling enough that snacks should not be needed, but for those that get a little hungry, I have provided small snack options as well. Children will eat better for actual meal times if they haven’t grazed all day long on snacks. This lunch and snack plan is very typical of what my family of four eats on a weekly basis, and it is plenty for us.
Q: I’m allergic to eggs, wheat, dairy, nuts, tomatoes, peanuts, yeast, and peas. Can I use your plan?
A: I understand that many people have allergies in today’s world. That’s unfortunately reality. I have tried to include as many gluten free options as possible to accommodate the masses, however, it is impossible for me to tailor these plans to fit everyone’s individual needs. Please feel free to take what you can use from this meal plan and leave the rest. Not everything will suit everyone’s dietary needs and taste.
Q: I hate beans. Can you do more plans without using beans/legumes?
A: I am an advocate for healthy pasture raised animal products, which can be more expensive than conventional. I find it nearly impossible to eat well on this limited of a budget without including some type of beans or lentils. Again, not everything will suit everyone’s dietary needs and tastes. Take what you can use, and leave the rest.
Q: I have more than/less than four people in my family. Can I still use your plans?
A: Yes, many people have used these with double the amount of people and many have used these plans for a family of one or two. Simply double the recipes if you need more. If you are cooking for only one or two people, this may be enough food for two weeks. One possible option is freezing half of the portions for later meals.
Q: I don’t even have $80 a week to spend for groceries. What advice do you have?
A: I firmly believe in grace when it comes to nourishing ourselves. We can only do what we can do. Buy the best quality of food you can afford. If you can’t afford the highest quality of everything, you just can’t. Bellies still need to be fed regardless. Consider frozen vegetables if they are less expensive than fresh. Once you have trimmed down all of those options and if you still can’t afford that amount, try checking out local food pantries and food banks. Churches/religious organizations and through your city are good places to look for those options. Dry goods like oats, beans, flour, pasta, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter are items they might typically carry. Some even offer meat and produce. Also check out discount grocers, local food co-ops, CSAs, or food ministry programs for possible cheaper options than your local grocery store. I would also encourage everyone to grow something of your own. Whether it’s in pots, a windowsill, or a backyard, anything you can grow yourself will be money saved off of your grocery bill, even if you’re just growing salad greens and herbs.
I’d love to teach you how to make your own frugal meal plans so that you can start chopping away at your food budget while still feeding your family healthy food. I wrote a resource for you, Eat Well Spend Less to do just that. Filled with tons of strategies to lower your grocery bill, as well as how to evaluate your current spending and creating a workable budget, I will walk you through how to put it all together and create frugal meal plans on your own every single week. Learn more or purchase by clicking on the image below.
My husband and I eat a low glycemic/diabetic diet and are in our seventies…I agree with you grass fed beef..we network by forming a group of 4 couples..we then buy grass fed beef on the hoof as that group and divide it so it is agreeable to all of us..I do not mind the longer ccoking requirements of what is called “the lesser cuts”, while one young couple appreciate the steaks more..all that is agreed upon at the time our group was formed so there are no hard feelings..in buying on the hoof, if you ask for the organ meat and tallow, they toss that in without weighing so it is free..after figuring in the waste and cost of cutting and wrapping, it figures to be the same price per pound as the going rate of 85/15 hamburger retail in our Tri-Cities, Washington area..
I love that Karen! It’s truly the best way to buy meat. Not only is the quality better, you get the best price, plus the other goodies. Thanks for the comment.
I just want to say thank you for these recipes and menus you have put so much work into making. At the end of a looooong winter when we are scraping together money for everything due to heating bills cutting severely into our budget, you have allowed me to feed my family great meals for less than you have even suggested. I have only purchased absolute necessities and have only spent about $75 for the last 2 weeks worth of food shopping. We are a family of 3, but often (several times a week), feed one or both sets of our parents, friends and their families, etc. I am excited about living more frugally and more healthy to boot! Thank you so very much!
That is incredibly awesome, Jamie! I wish I could hug you! Here come the tears I was talking about. You are doing a great job, mama. Keep on keepin on. I know it can be oh so tiresome.
Are these ingredients organic? The only reason I ask is if a person is okay with using standard 8 oz cheese blocks, Aldi’s sells them for ~$1.50/8 oz.
Aldi’s also carries the lowest price per gallon of standard milk that I’ve found.
Some are. Some aren’t. I upped the price of cheese, because many were saying that the cheese in their area was higher than previously quoted prices, and they didn’t have an Aldi in their area. People were getting hung up on the Aldi thing and thinking these plans would only work if they had access to an Aldi.
I like to think in good, better, best terms. Really I would love to see people get away from the processed cheese like American singles or Velveeta blocks. So, good would be a block of real cheese. Better would be organic cheese block. Best would be organic cheese from grassfed cows or something you make yourself. Anything on that continuum would be great in my book. I agree with you that Aldi does carry the cheapest price milk and cheese without artificial growth hormones. If you have trained consumer eyes, you can find a lot of great items there that fit nicely in the budget.
I have to work with a gluten free diet. Trying to keep it as cost effective as possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I included a section under the meal plan for gluten free swaps. Is that sufficient or do you need more help?
This is an old question but I wanted to comment for anyone else who comes along. I mix my own gluten free flour from flours that are available in ethnic food shops (not health food shops) and it comes in at about 1/4 the price of pre-mixed flour. My recipe which is available from Asian grocers: equal weight of rice, besan and tapioca flour. add an extra egg to the recipe if you can afford it.
Also focus on all quisine that is naturally gf, rice and beans over gf spaghetti for example. I find converting recipes costs money as ingrediants are always dearer gf wheras naturally gf is often cheap and nutritious.
Thanks Tara for ideas and putting it on a budget we can work with. The hardest part I have found with real food eating is planning out your meals and keeping it reasonable. When people find out I pay about 8 bucks for my raw grass fed milk they kinda freak out. lol
But you know what i have found?! We’re actually going to write a post about this soon which I’m excited about. Anyway since we have been making the switch to eating real food we actually spend about the same amount as we did before. We figured out the reason is that we don’t ever buy junk food so no cookies, chips, cereal, and stuff like that. We don’t eat out as often as we used to and THAT is a big money saver and to be honest we don’t really have a desire to eat fast food anymore. And one last thing we found is that because the food we buy is a little more expensive we hardly ever waste it! Before we would always be throwing away old leftovers and fruit and veggies that have gone bad. Those 3 things we really add up!
I whole-heartedly agree on all of your points. We pay $7/gallon for our raw milk, but it’s worth it for us. My husband is sensitive to conventional dairy and gets lots of phlegm when he drinks it, but he has no problems whatsoever with raw milk.
just found you. loving your work. Even living in regional Australia and having to eat gf many of your meals are featuring on this months meal plan. If your readers have not already found out, you can sprout mung beans and other small beans for an extra vegetable bulk and tasty treat. Don’t forget that things like radish leaves and other root vegetable leaves are edible.Lastly dont forget to look at ethnic shops for bargins on legumes spices and other pantry items.
Great tips, Di! Thanks for the comment.
Is this $80 the weekly cost for 21 meals or is this supposed to be a monthly cost? Just curious as it wasn’t specific. Going to try these out. Thank you so much!!
An average for the week. Depending on where you shop and your location, some have reported lower costs, and some have reported higher costs. Many who shop at Aldi have said that they bought everything for even less than $80/week. Let me know if you have any more questions.
I want to say first of all, that this is very very awesome!!! We have finally gotten our income up above the foodstamp guide lines.. We were so proud of ourselves until we realized how much groceries really were once you had to stop going to food pantries, etc… (They all confirm income in my area)… I was wondering, is there any place where you would have a month’s worth of meal plan on a calendar? I am also wondering if these are the meal plans that you use for your family as well? I am a new meal planner, and budgeter and am attempting to master it all before the 1st of March!! So…. I guess, I’m asking.. Can you help me? LOL Thanks!
Hi Willow! If you want a month long meal plan, head over to my new website. Here is the link to my month long plans. http://eatwellspendsmart.com/category/meal-plans/ If you need more help, please let me know. Do you have an Aldi or another discount grocery store in your area?
Also no, I am not using these plans right now because I am always recipe developing. I follow similar methods though in my own home.
The term is “sneak PEEK”, not “peak”.
LOL. Thanks for catching my typo, Tami. I just erased it to avoid confusion. I no longer write on this blog and have moved over all new content to eatwellspendsmart.com
TARA!!!
Tell Ken that Nikolai Misses him and he still has big ears!
LOL I will be sure to tell him. I hope you are doing well! Much love to you!