April 2018 Meal Plan

With a new month around the corner, it’s time for me to start thinking about what we’re going to be eating throughout the next month.  I switched to monthly meal planning a few years ago, and it’s been simply ah-maz-ing!  I sit down once a month, look at the month ahead, and plan our meals around our schedule.  No more repetitive meal plans week to week, and I’m not wracking my brain to come up with meals to eat.  If you’re looking to start making your own monthly meal plans, it’s super simple.  Just follow these 5 simple steps to creating your own monthly meal plan!

At the beginning of March, we had gone without power for a few days, and our schedule leading up to opening night of the local high school musical left us not going through a ton of our planned meals for March.  As a result, some of these have rolled over.  Why come up with even more meals when there’s already a few I thought of before!  Simplicity… it’s wonderful folks!

We’ve got a week before soccer starts up, and then it’s practice four nights a week and games on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  I tried to keep meals on our practice nights to things that can be cooked up fast when we get home at 730p, can be thrown in the crock pot in the morning, or something that I can cook in the afternoon and keep warm in the crockpot until we get home.

As far as appointments that I need to plan meals around, the kids and I also have a dentist appointment, which usually takes up most of the day for the 4 of us.  We also have a baby shower to go to, and Bookworm has some jazz band performances this month.

Beyond our schedule for the month, here are some other things to consider while reviewing our monthly meal plan:

I plan only our dinners.  Unless it’s noted, sides consist of a fruit or veggie, possibly a grain, and is based on what I have in my fridge and pantry.  You can check out my 30+ frugal pantry staples to see what I always have on hand without going over budget.

We try to have one big meal each week, and it’s usually a roast.  Throughout the rest of the week I use the leftovers as ingredients for the week’s remaining meals.  For instance, a roast beef then becomes ingredients for beef stroganoff, beef quesadillas, vegetable beef soup and so on.

Breakfasts are usually oatmeal, cereal, toast or bagel with peanut butter and fruit, cottage cheese and fruit, or yogurt with granola.   It may seem limited and boring, but keeping breakfast choices as simple as possible makes it much easier during our hectic morning routine.  Hubs is out the door at 6:30 and kids are on the bus at 7.

Lunches are packed each day for Hubs and the kids, while I currently eat at home.  Lunches are either sandwiches, salads, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, or leftovers as the main course.  It’s served with a fruit/veg, yogurt or cheese, a drink and a “treat” {gummies, chips, etc}.  Snacks, such as crackers, pretzels and Nilla cookies, are also divided out at home and sent to school in smaller snack containers.  While packing lunches every day does raise our grocery bill a little bit, it saves us well over $250 every month, making it well worth it.  To see what supplies I rely on for our packed lunches, you can check out my 7 must haves for packed lunches.

I don’t stock pile shop –we just don’t have the pantry space– but I do shop for weekly sales, mostly for snack items like crackers, pretzels, and so on.  While this may not be the best of healthiest option for snacks, and I far prefer fruit for their snacks, I have found that dry snacks are by far the easiest when divvying out snacks.  And they’re also is the least messy/sticky in the classrooms and backpacks.

During the summer and fall, I preserve what I am able to grow and get cheap from local you-pick farms and farmer’s markets.  It helps me keep what we eat fresh and local, but also limits our preservative and additive intake {I have allergies to multiple things, including preservatives, and my middle gets migraines with certain food additives like MSG}.

Easter Dinner – this is usually with the in-laws, but things do change year to year
Baked Blueberry French Toast
Patty Melts
Lasagna Stuffed Shells
Tuna Noodles
Cheese Steaks & Tater Tots
Roast Chicken x2 – sides vary between Homemade Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Green Beans, etc
Shepherd’s Pie
Chicken Noodle Soup
Spaghetti & Meatballs, Tossed Salad
Chicken Sammies
Pancakes, Eggs & Bacon
Fish Fillets & Oven Fries
Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Peas
Pizza x2
Beef Fajitas
Beef Stroganoff & Green Beans
Sloppy Joes & French Fries
Tuna Burgers
Cast Iron Skillet Chicken & Rice
Chicken Parm
Salisbury Steak
Tacos
Hamburger Helper
Monteray Chicken
French Toast, Eggs & Bacon
Salmon Cakes & Oven Fries
Chicken & Biscuits

Need some more inspiration for your meal plans?  You can check out our past meal plans below!

• March 2018 Meal Plan
• February 2018 Meal Plan
• January 2018 Meal Plan
• December 2017 Meal Plan
• November 2017 Meal Plan
• October 2017 Meal Plan

Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, where I have a whole board dedicated to meal planning, as well as boards for soups, chicken recipes, and so on.

What’s on your April 2018 meal plan?  Let me know in the comments below!  I’m always looking for new meal ideas.