Are you trying to stretch your food budget but having a hard time pulling together low-cost, easy to make recipes into a weekly menu? If you read our previous post on Stretching Your Food Budget you already know some strategies to cut food costs. However, just reading these tips can be a lot easier than actually doing them.
Don’t worry though! We’ve made it easy for you by creating a sample budget friendly meal plan, along with a shopping list. This meal plan is designed to feed a family of four (2 adults and 2 kids under 5) for a week for less than $130. The meal plan also aligns with all the MyPlate recommendations. Plus, the links to the recipes are included with each day.
Sunday’s Recipes: French Toast, Chicken Quesadilla, Black Bean & Corn Salsa, Chicken Broccoli Rice, Vegetables with Lemon Sauce, Fruit Chewy Cookies
Monday’s Recipes: Spinach Scramble, Peanut Butter Muffins, Tuna Noodle Casserole
Tuesday’s Recipes: Breakfast Egg Burrito, Chicken Noodle Soup, Peanut Butter Dip, Black Bean Stuffed Peppers
Wednesday’s Recipes: Yogurt Fruit Crunch, leftover Peanut Butter Muffins, Chicken Quesadillas, Black Bean and Corn Salsa, Chicken Broccoli Rice, leftover Fruit Chewy Cookies
Thursday’s Recipes: Spinach Scramble, leftover Peanut Butter Muffins, Tuna Noodle Casserole, leftover Peanut Butter Dip
Friday’s Recipes: Breakfast Egg Burrito, leftover Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Nuggets, Vegetables with Lemon Sauce, Sweet Potato Fries, leftover Fruit Chewy Cookies
Saturday’s Recipes: French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Chicken Quesadilla, Black Bean & Corn Salsa, Greek Green Beans & Tomatoes, leftover Fruit Chewy Cookies
Here is the printable meal plan for the week, as well as the grocery-shopping list:
Planning out your weekly menu is a great way to save money on groceries. Low-cost, nutrient-dense foods like peanut butter, beans, chicken, tuna, whole-grains, milk, fruits and vegetables are great key components for any of your meals. (Bonus: frozen fruits and vegetables have similar nutrients compared to fresh varieties and they can be cheaper too!) Whether or not you decide to follow this meal plan, it is a great starting point towards creating your own week meal plan that fits your family’s size and tastes.