Meal Planning

Peter and I often get asked how we feed a family of 8 on such a tight/low budget. I think half of it is being creative in meal planning. We have some health concerns with Grandma's gall stones so we eat a very low fat diet but I have found that this is easily done by buying low fat versions of cheeses and sour creams and eating less red meat in our meals. Cooking with plain yogurt instead of sour cream or using fat free sour cream and cream cheese tastes just the same (actually better with the yogurt!) as using the higher fat versions. We also find that even if I am not going to cook for an entire month, it is easier and less expensive to buy for the whole month's worth of meals in one day. My least favorite part is planning all of the meals but I'm getting better at it. We don't like to repeat too many things throughout the month and certainly not within the same week. I like the kids to try different things (or at least have the chance too) and I try to have their favorites every month. Thankfully their favorites are cheap and great for them too! This past Saturday I cooked all the meals that could be cooked ahead of time and planned for the ones that I would rather do on the day of. Peter went and bought all of the groceries we needed for the month and some that we just like to keep stocked up on as well as the fresh things we would need for that week and spent less than $250. We will still need to buy milk, fresh produce, and most likely a few other things that I didn't plan for or that comes up but those are also budgeted for. That cost also includes paper products we use- diapers for 2, paper towels and a package of paper plates for those nights when I feel dishes just aren't going to happen, lol! So would you like to know what we are eating? Here is my list of meals for the month. I only needed 27 as of that day.

Homemade pizza- twice
Stroganoff
Spaghetti- twice
Salsa meatloaf- 2 lber
Tostadas
Potato Soup with bacon and cream cheese
Chicken Dumplings
Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Fajitas
Roast Sticky Chicken
Roast Herb Chicken
Chicken and Gravy on Biscuits- twice, a favorite!
Homemade Slider Burgers (the kids call them crabby patties)
Tacos
Penne Bolognese Casserole
Goulash or Poverty Meal
Tortilla Soup
Chicken Wraps
Chili
Taco Salad
Pancakes-twice
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Meatball subs
Hot dogs and Macaroni and Cheese (grandma iis gone this week, lol)

These main dishes are usually accompanied by bread and a fruit and vegetable or other side if it is not included in the main dish. Yes, I did lose 10 lbs while eating these types of foods. I am a strong believer in changing to a diet that you will be willing to keep forver and I refuse to live without carbs! ;)

By the way- this is also a huge time saver for me. I just need to look on the fridge to see what I can choose from and know I have everything I need for it and a few ready to be cooked or warmed up!

So, does this look like a menu plan that is suffering to you? Just because you are on a budget does not mean you have to eat beans and rice every night (although we do like red beans and rice with sausage!). You can eat healthy and tasty food and still stick within your budget.

Please- feel free to share your budgeting, money saving tips!