I was just talking with my friend who wants to start meal planning for her family. She said she needed my help with the coupons and meal planning. She wants to feed her family healthier food and stay in a budget.
It inspired me to come up with this post. What if I could show you that this week you could feed your family for under $45 and give you the meal plan?
Now obviously this won’t float the boat for everyone. You may hate fish. Maybe if this becomes popular like my weekly grocery trip then Ill continue each week! We will see how well I can manage time!
But hopefully this will inspire you to start meal planning and believing that you CAN serve your family on a budget.
But you do have to change your mind set. Give up the attitude of ” I’m in the mood for this.I could just run to the store.”
We have to STOP thinking we can just grab what we want when we want it and hope we will save money or somehow more money will come to us.
You have to BE SMART with your money and PLAN. Groceries is the ONE area you can MOST CERTAINLY cut back costs.
So here is something you can make this week ( Well it’s Tuesday so this would last you until next Tuesday!) Seven dinner meals shopping the sales this week at Tops Markets.
Now keep in mind you may have some of these things at home already. And you should definatly have these 10 pantry items in your home. Because on a week you have less money for groceries you can hit the pantry!
Here’s the Menu:
Tuna Melts ( I just mix mayo lemon juice and tuna up. Than I top with cheese. Turn the Broiler on and melt for about 5-8 mins!)
Garlic Butter Shrimp
Seasoned Salmon
Grilled Chicken Thighs with EVOO salt and pepper with french fries
Ears of Fresh Corn with Pasta salad and roasted veggies( Hopefully you have some pasta if not use something in your pantry!)
Chicken Salad with homemade rolls( don’t want to make rolls use your $0.50 bread!)
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches ( can make a salad again or I would just use some frozen veggies that I already have)
What will this cost you to make?
$33.73- Which I included fresh fruit, milk and eggs!
Here’s the Breakdown:
2 Bags of Shredded Tops Cheese $3.98 ( $1.99 ea.)
4 Loaves of Monk’s Bread $2 ( $0.50 each cheaper if you have Ibotta app than $1.75 total)
Use four $.75/1 Monks Bread printable coupon here ( pdf so one computer will do ya!)
Use the $0.25/1 IBOTTa offer here
2 cans of Valu Time Tuna $1.18 ( $0.59 each)
2 Bumble Bee Fresh Dinners Choose from Shrimp, Salmon, Tilapia $3.99 for two
Use the $3/1 Bumblebee Super Fresh printable coupon here
12 pieces of Fresh Sweet Corn $4
Romaine Hearts $2.50
Simply Dressed Salad Dressing $2.50
Use the $1/1 coupon from 3/22 SS
Chicken Thighs $0.99 buy a 4.5 lb. one ( thats the size I figured in total price)
Alexia All natural GMO free Fries $3.33
Use the $1/1 printable coupon here
Bananas $0.39/lb
Part of 3 day sale. Thurs. Fri. & Sat. ONLY!
Use $0.25/1 Bananas Checkout 51 offer here
Use $0.25/1 Bananas Ibotta Offer here
Final Price: CHEAP OR FREE BANANAS!
3 lb. bag of New York State Apples $2.99
Use the $1/1 Tops Click to Card coupon here
Grab a box of Good bar Ice Cream bars for dessert for $1.99
Total at Tops: $30.66
You would earn 100 gas points just in the coupons you used which is $0.10/gallon of gas and than on top of the amount you spent.
If you filled up 30 gallons of gas with $0.10 off you saved $6 bringing your total down to $24.66
Grab your milk and eggs from Aldis or Save a lot. Aldi’s milk is $2.08 a gallon and their eggs are $0.99 this week. I figured these prices into the total.( Ok so it’s not all from Tops but majority I know! I’m about getting the best price!)
Use what you have in your pantry for sides. Rice, Beans, Frozen Veggies. Get creative. I’m sure there is something in there you can use to pair with a side without spending more money!
Total Spent : $33.73-
Now you would adjust this to your family’s needs. For example if you go through 2 gallons of milk a week.
What do you think? I would love to know your thoughts! Was this helpful or inspiring?
Would this be something you would like to see here more often?!
Tell me tell me tell me 😉
KC
I have been a meal planner for a long time. I think my meals are a little more elaborate than yours though, which may be part of my problem in saving money on groceries lol. I like what you have going on here though, I think it will be really helpful to those who aren’t meal planners.
Tasia
Thanks KC! I love your recipes on your blogs!
Chris Carter
I love how you break this down, Tasia! My biggest problem is stocking up while things are on sale and I have coupons!! Then I have TOO much food… and some of it sits… and I don’t plan well enough to use it all effectively. Gah!
I need to be much more intentional with my meal planning… working on it! I absolutely HATE wasting anything… including food!
Tasia
That happened to me when I first started couponing which is why I make it my first step in meal planning to look around my house first! Than shop for fruits and veggies the snacks we will eat!
Gina B
I love how you do this – what a great section! My biggest issue though is we don’t like seafood in my family, so the first 3 dishes were off my list. (Ok, hubby and I do sorta like shrimp but we’re super finicky.) Other than that, great stuff – keep at it! I especially love that you add the app discounts.
Tasia
Thanks Gina!
Jessica M
What will you be making with all of this ? We are a family of six : ( Id be happy if i can keep my grocery bill under 100 a week
Tasia
I do a weekly grocery shopping trip of items that I buy for our family and our meal menu. In this post I just suggest the menu based off the items that are on sale! You may have missed the meal menu because I didn’t spend any time formatting this! But it has become popular so next week I will have it better organized!
Melissa
I love this breakdown! My family and I are always trying to save on groceries and eat healthier, though we’re four adults so it’s a little harder. Thanks for the tips!
The White Corner Creative
Tasia
I’m so glad you liked it! Yes four adults would be more expensive. I hope as the series continues I can adjust serving size to be 4-6!
Katie Vance
I love this!! So helpful for us right now as it is “crunch” time (aka the week between paychecks)
Tasia
Katie, I’m so glad to hear this! I know how that is between paychecks! The perfect time to hit the pantry!
Jennifer Dawn
I’m going to give this a try! Great suggestions!
Tasia
Great to hear Jennifer! Come back and let me know how it went!
Rosie
Betsy, You are the Best…Love the ideas!!! Keep Up the Excellent Work 🙂
Betsy
Excellent — keep it up please! 🙂
Tasia
Thanks Betsy! Next week will be another one for sure!
Jeanne
I think this is a great idea. I really do not like meal planning especially when its time to make my grocery list and i have no meal ideas. Even if i only use a couple of yours and not the whole week its a huge help. Thank You
Tasia
Jeanne, I will try to do the work for ya! You still have to prep it all though 🙂
Tasia
Your Welcome Jeanne! Great to hear!
Nancy
I do think this is a wonderful idea and you do a good job not just suggesting 7 processed meals 🙂 I’d love to maybe see an even more organized layout per day with the coupons, etc., although it was still easy to follow. Maybe some actual recipes in the future, too 🙂 Also, and I may have missed this, how many servings are we getting per meal? I’ll definitely tune in each week!
Tasia
Thank you so much for your feedback Nancy! I am going to incorporate all of those things as my time allows! Next week will be an improvement and then the next and the next.. I hope! Keep giving me the feedback! 🙂
Tasia
I am trying to eat the least amount of processed food. So I will continue to provide meals that are a bit “Healthier” while still staying in a tighter budget! I love your suggestions Nancy and will be incorporating them into my next post!
Kara
Love this! Also, you can get your cheese cheaper at Aldi as well!
Tasia
Oh Great Tip! Love Aldi’s too!
Tasia
Kara! Thanks for the tip about cheese at Aldi’s! I love Aldi’s too!
Dawn
love this! I’m gonna try this!
Tasia
Dawn, so excited to hear you are going to give it a try! I’m really excited about everyone liking this! Sometimes I guess going on a whim is totally worth it!
Dawn Marie
I like to see what you are buying and making for meals each week! Especially since you tend to buy “healthier” items.
Tasia
I try to buy healthier! As much as I want to buy all Organic I go back and forth with the budget and what we can afford. Sometimes when I get overwhelmed with feeling like I’m not buying everything Organic or as much as I should I think about people living in other countries where 1 banana is so exciting for them and I remember all that I have to be thankful for. Organic or not!