Tips and tricks for monthly meal planning
Meal planning can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. Here are my tips to make the process go smoothly and quickly.
When making your menu for the month there are lots of different resources you can use. Whether I'm planning meals based on calorie counts and nutrition or planning meals based on budget friendliness, Pinterest is my number 1 resource to recipe searching. There is an abundance of different cookbooks that cater to different types of meals as well. If you can't afford purchasing cookbooks, borrowing them from your local library and copying the recipes works too! A couple of my favorite cooks books are "400 Calorie Fix Cookbook" and "$7 Dinners". Better World Books is a great place to purchase cheaper, used cookbooks.
Download and print this helpful PDF for menu planning and stick it in your Home Management Binder
This month I am using www.5dollardinners.com Cosco Meal Plan, to make the majority of our dinners and I am rotating through several quick and easy breakfast and lunch meals throughout the week. I make a grocery list based on the items I need for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner sides separate from my dinner grocery list. I've duplicated several of the Cosco meals to spread them out throughout the month as well as purchasing a frozen pizza and spaghetti ingredients to whip up for dinner here and there. We dine out for dinner as a family each Sunday so the only in-home meals made that day are for breakfast and lunch. We are a family of 3, 2 adults and 1 toddler, with a baby on the way, so we have leftovers on most of the dinners that we use for lunch the next day. I spent $150 at Safeway purchasing breakfast, lunch and snack items. I spent $170 at Cosco purchasing diner and a few side items. $320 total to feed my family for an entire month. I also keep a well stocked pantry so I add to and modify the Cosco dinners as I make them. A tossed salad or a homemade loaf of bread make simple and delicious sides to most of the dinner menu. (We have enough food on this plan and in our pantry to skip dining out on Sunday's if we need to as well.) Here is my menu plan for the entire month:
BREAKFASTS:
Eggos
Eggs
Cereal and milk
Fruit
Oatmeal
Yogurt
Toast and jam
LUNCHES:
Salads
Sandwiches
Leftovers
SNACKS:
Crackers and cheese
Fruit
Vegetables
SIDES:
Vegetables
Salad
Chips and salsa
Garlic bread
Rolls
DINNERS:
Week 1 (July 1-7)
Corn Chicken Chili
Chicken Melts
Dine Out
Potato Sauté with Eggs
Tacos
BBQ Meatballs & Potatoes
Chicken Enchiladas
Week 2 (July 8-14)
Corn Chicken Chili
Cheesy Chicken Pasta
Dine Out
Grilled Sauasage & Potatoes
Chicken & Sausage Stew
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Tacos
Week 3 (July 15-21)
Frozen Pizza
Chicken Quesadillas
Dine Out
Slow Cooker Sausage with Peppers and Onions
Tacos
Frozen Pizza
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Week 4 (July 22-28)
Quesadillas
Spicy Chicken Melt Pie
Dine Out
Italian Chicken and Potatoes
Corn and Chicken Chili
BBQ Meatball Sliders
Chicken Enchiladas
Week 5 (July 29-31)
Chicken and Sausage Stew
Chicken Sandwiches
Dine Out
When making your menu for the month there are lots of different resources you can use. Whether I'm planning meals based on calorie counts and nutrition or planning meals based on budget friendliness, Pinterest is my number 1 resource to recipe searching. There is an abundance of different cookbooks that cater to different types of meals as well. If you can't afford purchasing cookbooks, borrowing them from your local library and copying the recipes works too! A couple of my favorite cooks books are "400 Calorie Fix Cookbook" and "$7 Dinners". Better World Books is a great place to purchase cheaper, used cookbooks.
Download and print this helpful PDF for menu planning and stick it in your Home Management Binder
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| Update: This blog was formerly known as purelyhomeblog.blogspot.com |
This month I am using www.5dollardinners.com Cosco Meal Plan, to make the majority of our dinners and I am rotating through several quick and easy breakfast and lunch meals throughout the week. I make a grocery list based on the items I need for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner sides separate from my dinner grocery list. I've duplicated several of the Cosco meals to spread them out throughout the month as well as purchasing a frozen pizza and spaghetti ingredients to whip up for dinner here and there. We dine out for dinner as a family each Sunday so the only in-home meals made that day are for breakfast and lunch. We are a family of 3, 2 adults and 1 toddler, with a baby on the way, so we have leftovers on most of the dinners that we use for lunch the next day. I spent $150 at Safeway purchasing breakfast, lunch and snack items. I spent $170 at Cosco purchasing diner and a few side items. $320 total to feed my family for an entire month. I also keep a well stocked pantry so I add to and modify the Cosco dinners as I make them. A tossed salad or a homemade loaf of bread make simple and delicious sides to most of the dinner menu. (We have enough food on this plan and in our pantry to skip dining out on Sunday's if we need to as well.) Here is my menu plan for the entire month:
BREAKFASTS:
Eggos
Eggs
Cereal and milk
Fruit
Oatmeal
Yogurt
Toast and jam
LUNCHES:
Salads
Sandwiches
Leftovers
SNACKS:
Crackers and cheese
Fruit
Vegetables
SIDES:
Vegetables
Salad
Chips and salsa
Garlic bread
Rolls
DINNERS:
Week 1 (July 1-7)
Corn Chicken Chili
Chicken Melts
Dine Out
Potato Sauté with Eggs
Tacos
BBQ Meatballs & Potatoes
Chicken Enchiladas
Week 2 (July 8-14)
Corn Chicken Chili
Cheesy Chicken Pasta
Dine Out
Grilled Sauasage & Potatoes
Chicken & Sausage Stew
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Tacos
Week 3 (July 15-21)
Frozen Pizza
Chicken Quesadillas
Dine Out
Slow Cooker Sausage with Peppers and Onions
Tacos
Frozen Pizza
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Week 4 (July 22-28)
Quesadillas
Spicy Chicken Melt Pie
Dine Out
Italian Chicken and Potatoes
Corn and Chicken Chili
BBQ Meatball Sliders
Chicken Enchiladas
Week 5 (July 29-31)
Chicken and Sausage Stew
Chicken Sandwiches
Dine Out
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