February 2017 Meal Plan

When February started, I hadn’t made our monthly meal plan. I started the month with a quick weekly plan so we had meals for the week and something to base our shopping off of. It turned out to be a very boring month of meals to be honest since some of our dinners were repetitive. As we got further into the month, and the kids kept coming down with more and more illnesses, there was no turning back from weekly meal plans.

To top it all off, our low spending and freezer eating in January had completely slipped my mind too, and that meant we needed to buy a few staples. I’m talking flour, olive oil, and so on. By mid month I started throwing in a pantry meal to try to help keep some of our costs down.

I mean, while I have the best intentions when I create our monthly meal plan, what we spend and eat for the month all comes down to what everyone is in the mood for, what our schedule for that day allows, and importantly, what we have on hand.

Now before we get to what we ate throughout the month, here’s what I take into consideration when I plan our meals.

We’re a family of 5. Hubs and I eat smaller adult portions. Our kids are 11, 7 and 5. Sometimes they eat more than we do, other times they barely pick at what we serve.

I don’t stock pile shop, but we do try to plan our meals from what we have on hand. I also like to combine meals with like ingredients to help stretch our budget and reduce food waste.

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.

We 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.

Breakfasts are usually oatmeal, cereal, toast and peanut butter with fruit, cottage cheese and a fruit, or yogurt with granola. It may seem limited and boring, but keeping breakfast choices simple makes it much easier on our hectic morning routine since Hubs is out the door at 6:30 and the boys are on the bus at 6:50. I am trying to get better at baking a quick bread for the mornings as well.

Lunches are packed each day for Hubs and the boys, while Lady Bug and I 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 and Nilla cookies, are also divided out at home and sent in to school in snack containers.

During the summer and fall, I freeze and can what I am able to grow and get cheap from local you-pick farms and farmer’s markets. It enables me to keep what we eat fresh and local, but also limit our preservative and additive intake.

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Nachos x2
Leftover Chicken Parm
Carrot Squash Soup & Grilled Cheese
Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Green Beans x2
Dinner Out With In-Laws
Chicken Sammies
French Toast, Eggs, Bacon x2
Chicken & Rice
Potato Soup
Mini Pizzas
Salisbury Steaks
Coconut Chicken Stirfry
Spaghetti & Meatballs x2
Italian Sausage Sandwiches x2
Grilled Chicken & Side Salad
Chicken Quesadilla
Blueberry Pancakes
Chicken Noodle Soup
Leftovers – Quesadillas, Breakfast
Sloppy Joes & French Fries
Chili & Grillled Cheese x2
Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

This month we spent $656.69 on groceries. But when you combine what we spent last month and this month, it comes out to $566 average, which is still under our $600 per month grocery budget. Proof that you can win some, and lose some, and still be on track overall.