This week I'm doing a 2 week menu plan, and I'm TRYING to do it for under $90 for my family of 5.
That means I'll be doing A LOT of baking (which I really REALLY don't enjoy).
And a LOT of cooking from scratch.
And squeezing in some meatless meals.
AND reminding myself that if I'm busy making ends meet here,
PLUG THE HOLES elsewhere,
or it's all really an exercise in futility!
And I don't want this hard budgeting and baking to be futile!
So...
Here's the plan.
1- pre prep as much as possible, to avoid the "I really don't feel like cooking tonight" or the even more popular "ACK! I ran out of time to cook dinner!"
2- write my meals out (including breakfast and lunch) and follow the list--with flexibility of switching around if I feel like it.
3- eat all lunches at home. Man, I REALLY struggle with lunches. I don't want to cook, but I cannot continue to eat garbage or run out to grab something from the $1. menu. Those add up to one huge hole very quickly. Does anyone else struggle with the lunch problem?
WEEK ONE:
Breakfasts
-Homemade McGriddles
-homemade lazy granola and yogurt
-muffins and eggs
-waffles, eggs, fruit
-breakfast burritos
-monkey toes, eggs
-cereal or granola
Lunches
-salad
-sandwiches (regular or grilled)
-chicken (pre prep chicken by grilling with BBQ sauce) with rice or on salad
-pasta with sauce (precook pasta and store in fridge) serve with cheese sauce or marinara
Dinners
-alphabet soup and bread (meatless)
-tacos (or taco salad)
-home made pepperoni pizza with veggie tray
-Simple crockpot beef stroganoff (pre prep by slicing meat and mixing with sauce)
-nacho bake (pre-prep: assemble and refrigerate or freeze)
WEEK TWO:
Breakfasts:
-McMom's sandwiches
-eggs and bacon with fruit
-breakfast quesadilla with yogurt or smoothie
-granola and yogurt
-pancakes and eggs
-French toast
-cereal
Lunches:
-salad
-sandwiches
-homemade pizza
-soup
-homemade mac and cheese
-egg rolls and rice
Dinners:
-spaghetti (meatless)
-baked chicken and rice
-tater tot casserole or tuna casserole --depending on my mood
-Homemade pizza
-tacos or bean burritos
-crockpot sloppy joes, home fries
So far I have all the ingredients I need (plus the items I had on hand) and spent $77.04 today. I will need to buy more milk next week ($10) and probably a few more things.
BUT I have most of it for now, and am feeling pretty good! I'm going to go preprep and make some freezer PBJ's and sandwiches for grab n go lunches.
I'm linking my plan up to Menu Plan Monday at
OrgJunkie.
Ready..... BREAK!