November 2018 Meal Plan

November for us brings an end to the chaotic soccer season, and transitions us into a more peaceful schedule. Theater class for my older two takes up two nights a week, and dance class for Lady Bug is one night a week, for a total of three days a week. That’s much better on my brain than being out 6 days a week.

Aside from their extracurricular activity, we’ve also got some orthodontic appointments this month, parent-teacher conferences and over a week off from school for Thanksgiving.

And forget about not having any repetitive meal week to week because I’m wracking my brain to come up with meals to make. 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!

Beyond basing our meals off 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}.

Tuna Noodles
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Sloppy Joes & French Fries
Ham Dinner
Tacos
Chicken & Stars
French Toast
Ham, Peas & Gnocchi
Fish Sticks
Roast Chicken Dinner
Enchiladas & Quesadillas
Ham, Potato & Bean Soup
Salisbury Steaks & Mashed Potatoes
Cheeseburger Macaroni
Tuna Melts
Blueberry Baked French Toast
Meatloaf Muffins & Fries
Nachos
Chicken Noodle Soup
Pancakes
Thanksgiving Dinner
Turkey Corn Chowder
Meatball Subs / Hot Sausage Subs
Holiday Meatballs
Fajitas
Chicken Patties
Sausage & Potato Soup {DIY Zuppa}
Pierogies
Leftovers x2

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

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.