January 2017 Meal Plan

Welcome to the second end-of-the-month-meal-plan-posting. Even though this is only the second time, I’m really liking posting our meal plans after we’ve gone through them for the month. It’s much more representative of what we’ve spent and eaten than what we’ve planned for meals at the beginning of the month and hoping we stick to the budget.

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 when I get to the store, what we have on hand, what we’ve recently eaten, and honestly, what everyone feels in the mood for. If everyone is in the mood for soup, meatloaf is going to have to wait!

There have been times this month where we’ve incorporated more leftover items into the next night’s meals, and it has really helped reduce our spending for our meals this month.

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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Pancakes, Eggs & Bacon
Salisbury Steak
Sloppy Joes
Chicken & Waffles
English Muffin Pizzas
Chinese Take Out
Leftover Chinese Take
Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Mixed Vegetables
Monkey Bread, Strawberries, Homemade Whipped Cream
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Chicken with Gemelli & Gruyere
Nachos
Chili, Leftover Nachos
Birthday Party: Leftover Pizza; Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Leftover Chili
Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans
Beef Stew
Leftover Chili, Leftover Beef Stew
Chicken Enchiladas
Cheese Steaks & Chips
Dinner Out: Birthday
Cast Iron Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Peas, Pan Gravy
Beef Stroganoff, Green Beans
Potato Soup
Chicken BBQ Sliders, Tater Tots
Tacos
Pizza
Chicken Parm Tenders with Spaghetti
Salmon Cakes, Rice & Peas
Strawberry Pancakes & Eggs
Cast Iron Chicken, Rice & Corn
Leftover Chicken Parm & Spaghetti

This month we spent $475.66 on groceries. That’s the lowest amount in quite a while, and I think there were a few different things that helped contribute to it.

For the first part of the month we were able to save money by using up a lot food we had left in our fridge and pantry from over the holidays. By the middle of the month, our weekly bill was pretty high because we needed to replenish a lot of basics, as well as a few snacks. I did stop at Weis a two or three times this month to check out their weekly deals, but for the most part keeping our bill low for the month was simply by planning around our freezer and pantry more than anything.

By the end of the month I had decided to make blueberry bread to have on hand for breakfasts. While my intentions were sincere, the bread didn’t last long at all. Nearly half of it was gone within a few hours of making it! The kids loved it as an after-dinner dessert just as much as they enjoyed it for breakfast.

Overall for January, I was able to keep our grocery budget to under $500 for the month. That’s remarkable for us! I try to budget around $600 each month for food and snacks. This may seem like a lot for some, but for our diet restrictions, it’s pretty low.