I’ve said it a gajillion times – the easiest way to save money on real food is to make a plan.
Now, part of that includes planning where you shop and making a list before you leave the house.
But a big part of it involves planning meals ahead of time so you don’t succumb to the temptation to eat out when you don’t know what to make for dinner. (Read my top tips for saving money on real food here.)
When it comes to meal planning, though, I have to confess that I really just don’t like it. Yes, I like the savings it brings. And I really love knowing what we’re eating ahead of time so I don’t get crazy hangry (and because my awesome husband usually starts meals if he knows what’s planned).
But. I hate the process of creating my menu plan.
I’m taking a wild guess that maybe some of you hate it, too. So I thought, maybe, it would be helpful for you to see one of my weekly meal plans. (Ok, ok, I also want to put the meal plan somewhere I won’t lose it.)
Here’s what we’re having this week:
Monday
- Breakfast: Soaked oats with nuts and dried fruit
- Lunch: Leftovers
- Dinner: Roast whole chicken, spinach, oven fries
- Prep: Make tortillas, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and granola bars for Tuesday’s picnic lunch after our homeschool co-op. Make chicken stock in crockpot.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: Eggs and toast
- Co-op snack: Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
- Lunch: Quesadillas, apples, granola bars
- Dinner: Chicken and dumplings
- Prep: Make lunch after breakfast cleanup to take to co-op. Soak beans and cornbread for Wednesday’s dinner. Thaw ground beef.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: Yogurt and granola
- Lunch: Leftovers
- Dinner: Chili and cornbread
- Prep: Make cornbread, cook beans, thaw ground beef.
Thursday
- Breakfast: Eggs, cornbread
- Lunch: Leftovers
- Dinner: Shepherd’s pie
- Prep: Make extra mashed potatoes, thaw steak.
Friday
- Breakfast: Pancakes, eggs
- Lunch: Leftovers
- Dinner: Steak stir fry, rice
- Prep: Thaw chicken.
Saturday
- Breakfast: Eggs and mashed potatoes
- Lunch: Flatbread pizza, salad
- Dinner: Chicken alfredo, salad
- Prep: Make muffins, salad dressing.
Sunday
- Breakfast: Muffins, smoothies, apples and peanut butter or cheese
- Lunch: Grilled cheese and tomato soup
- Dinner: Penne alfredo, salad, focaccia bread
- Prep: Bake par-baked sourdough bread after muffins are done.
A few notes …
I’m on more of a primal diet, but the family isn’t, so I try to make the majority of our food grain-free. If I make something that isn’t, I have something else. (This usually just happens at breakfast, and I have eggs or yogurt instead.)
Making notes on my menu plan for stuff that needs to be done the following day is SUPER helpful. I highly recommend it.
I like to keep my meal plan where my husband and I can easily see it – like on the ceiling in the kitchen. This is why it’s so awesome to live in a home with short, magnetized ceilings. ๐
I make foods that my kids like, for the most part. This reduces whining and food waste. However, if I make something they don’t like, they’re obliged to have at least five bites.
I normally plan on a monthly basis, however, our raw milk is in Bend, which is 45 minutes away (at least for another month or so). I’m experimenting with grocery shopping on the days I pick it up to see if it’s easier for us, especially with limited food storage space in the bus. I meal plan Sunday nights since our milk pickup is on Monday.
The cost of our groceries this week was: $125 (I usually budget $100). That includes extra food for Sunday’s family dinner. It’s our turn to cook this week and we’ll be feeding 14 people.
Want some more meal planning inspiration?
Here’s some from a few of my friends:
- Don’t Waste the Crumbs (be sure to sign up for her newsletter to get her grocery budget planners)
- We Got Real
- Live Simply
- Real Food Outlaws
Your meal plan looks good, Nina. Jotted on a piece of paper and stuck on the fridge is about the extent of my menu planning, too, but I find we are still spending an inordinate amount on groceries for a family of five. We’re in a small town in Saskatchewan, Canada, and regular milk is $6.50 a jug. And a head of cauliflower was $9.72 at one of our stores (needless to say, I refused to buy it. It’s cheaper at another place in town that charges per head, not per lb.). I’d love to see a cost comparison of grocery prices across North America… I may just have to Google that. And I will be planting a bigger garden this year. My parents live about 6.5 hrs away from us, and it was cheaper for them to mail us produce from their huge garden than for us to buy it in town (and it was organic, too)! Happy Easter!
this is great! i love when mamas lay out what they’re eating, to find that we eat similarly. so encouraging!! (sometimes i find it hard to find “real” people that eat on the same vein we do. kudos to you, & thanks for the inspiration!!
Nina, you’re so sweet to share my foccacia recipe! I haven’t used it for a flatbread pizza yet, but that sounds delicious! You’re right – that small note of prep work ahead time is worth millions. Have a blessed day!! ~Tiffany
Great idea to include the “prep” part right there in the meal plan. I don’t love meal planning either, but I LOVE having a meal plan in place. Life is so much less stressful, and my kids really like to know what’s coming up on the menu.
I agree with the other commenters as well, I like seeing a menu plan that mirrors my own food choices, I do many of these same tactics with our family of 6, it really does help keep the budget on track to plan out each meal. I will be adding the next day prep to my lists now too (brilliant!)… you had me at “my husband will sometimes start it if he knows what to start” ๐ <— that's pure genius ๐
Great post!
Thanks so much for the shout-out sweet friend. I hope you all had a super blessed Easter! xo
I always hated deciding what to make too. Then one of my brilliant friends told me that she sits down with her kids and her calendar and they take turns telling what they want to eat this month. She fills in their choices on the calendar. She said it cut back on the whining and complaining because they all get equal turns and she no longer has to plan it all herself!
Your meal plan looks great! But I must say I’m shocked that you can do it on only $125. I believe you, I just wonder what I’m do ingredients wrong. Or maybe our cost of living here is crazy high? That meal plan would run me at least $150 if not more. I would love to see your menu plans each week, and maybe sometimes a price breakdown to give us some guidance? Thanks!
Prepping is a huge part of effective meal planning! I love that you’ve added that in. I’ve been working on a project that tries to understand the obstacles families face with meal planning and I haven’t seen a lot of people actually schedule prep time into their weekly plan ๐ Great tip.