Saturday, April 6th, 2013
Finally got another menu plan posted for you all! We were gone for 6 weeks at the beginning of the year to a small Bible school where my husband taught and while we were there all our meals were provided so I didn’t have to do any cooking. Although I usually enjoy making food it was a nice break! And then there were a couple of weeks that were just too busy to keep track of everything that we ate and well…so it goes.
You’ll notice that we ate a lot of leftovers during these four weeks. Typically we enjoy leftovers and in fact I often make enough of a recipe to last us more than one meal. But somehow I went a little crazy this month and we had leftover so often we were all getting a bit tired of it! So I’m sorry. I know that it will make it harder for you to implement the menus but hopefully it will still give you some ideas and can still help inspire you!
A couple of things that will be helpful for you to know up front:
- Our family of four consists of two adults with fairly big appetites, a 4-year-old boy and a 15-month-old girl. Often times one or both of our children will eat as much or more than me. Obviously this fluctuates with growth spurts but typically they are big eaters.
- I buy lots of fruits and veggies in bulk from local farmers/orchards in the summer and then freeze or can them. This is not only much cheaper it is also healthier too. But that is why if you look at my Weekly Spending Summaries you won’t always see lots of fruits and veggies.
- The other factor is that I have a stockpile. My cupboards are full from previous shopping. Here’s why. When I can get pasta for free with coupons I buy as much as I have coupons for. When I can get flour for really cheap (last year I got about 6 bags for $0.50/bag and put it in the freezer) I buy as much as I think is reasonable. I do this as much as my budget allows, on as many items as I can and as a result save lots of money. So when I go to plan out what we eat, I just try to plan my meals around what I already have in the cupboards. Obviously I still might have to buy a few things at regular price here and there but by stocking up when the price is at rock bottom I save a lot. And that is why it might appear just by looking at a couple of week’s worth of my groceries that we don’t eat very well or very balanced.
- We rarely snack. By eating “heavy” food like granola at breakfast we don’t get hungry until lunch time. And the same goes for the afternoon…our lunches are big enough that we rarely need a snack before dinner time. When we do snack I try to keep it mostly healthy by offering fruit, nuts or maybe a homemade granola bar. I do have iced coffee or a homemade latte almost every day…I don’t really consider that a snack, but maybe you do.
- Our breakfasts consist of Homemade Granola or Homemade Grape-nuts, the occasional bought cereal that I was able to get for $0.50/box and sometimes some fruit too. I know that might seem awfully boring to some of you, but we actually all really enjoy it and prefer it over other breakfast food.
The lunches you see below for Monday-Friday are just for the children and me. My husband takes sandwiches, fruit, leftovers and the like in his packed lunches.
WEEK 1
Sunday
- Invited to a friend’s house spur of the moment
- Grilled Tuna Salad and Cheese Sandwiches with 100% Whole Wheat Homemade Bread; Corn Chips; Homemade Applesauce; Grapefruit
Monday
- Homemade Vegetable Soup; Cheese; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries (that I preserved)
- Homemade Taco Soup served with corn chips and sour cream; 100% Whole Wheat Homemade Bread; Homemade Applesauce; Grapefruit; Various Homemade Christmas Cookies (from freezer)
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
- Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Various Leftovers
Saturday
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WEEK 2
Sunday
- Lunch and Dinner at the in-laws
Monday
Tuesday
- Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Strawberries (I preserved)
- Store bought pizza; Lettuce/Spinach Salad (with cheese, almonds and croutons) with Homemade Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce
Wednesday
- 5 Lunch Guests (mom-in-law and sister-in-laws) — Leftover Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup; Creamy White Chili; Whole Wheat Muffins; Home Canned Pickles; Home Canned Peaches
- Breakfast Wraps (eggs/sausage/cheese in tortilla); Fruit Slush; Homemade Yogurt
Thursday
- Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Bagel Casserole (a recipe I tried but wasn’t crazy about- it was kind of an Italian type of dish with ground beef and tomato sauce and cheese); Green Beans (I preserved); Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Chocolate Cake with Caramel Icing
Friday
Saturday
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WEEK 3
Sunday
- Invited to a friend’s place
- Sandwiches; Potato Chips; Home Canned Pickles; Various Homemade Christmas Cookies (from freezer)
Monday
- Leftover Soups; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Leftover Bagel Casserole; Spinach/Lettuce Salad with almonds and cheese and Homemade Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce
Tuesday
Wednesday
- Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt topped with granola; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Strawberries (I preserved)
- Salsa Chicken Soup; Spinach/Lettuce Salad; Homemade Applesauce;
Thursday
- Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt topped with granola; Home Canned Peaches
- Chicken Casserole (chicken/bread/and a kind of white sauce and seasonings); Corn (I preserved); Home Canned Pickles; Homemade Applesauce
Friday
Saturday
- 3 lunch guests– Herb Roasted Chicken; Spinach/Lettuce Salad with almonds/cheese/eggs and Homemade Mexican Dressing; Homemade Coleslaw (my friend brought); Homemade Applesauce;
- Leftover Chicken Casserole; Corn; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Bars
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WEEK 3
Sunday
- Partially Homemade Ham Loaf; Potatoes and Carrots with Browned Butter and Bread Crumbs; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Bars
- Toasted Tuna/Egg/Cheese Salad Sandwiches; Easy Fruit Smoothies
Monday
- Leftover Tuna Salad in Tortillas; Leftover Tomato Soup; Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Various Leftovers
Tuesday
- Ate out while shopping
- Bean and Sour Cream Enchiladas (these are really good but I cut way back on the spices and even then it is very seasoned); Home Canned Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Saturday, December 8th, 2012
After reading my post on 4 Things I Do to Keep Our Grocery Budget at $200/mo. for a Family of Four, quite a few of you asked if I could please post what we eat. So I’ve attempted to record it for you.
A couple of things that will be helpful for you to know up front:
- Our family of four consists of two adults with fairly big appetites, a 4-year-old boy and a 11-month-old girl. The baby is eating mostly all table foods but is still partially breast fed. She usually eats whatever we are eating or things like bananas, peaches, yogurt and bread.
- I buy lots of fruits and veggies in bulk from local farmers/orchards in the summer and then freeze or can them. This is not only much cheaper it is also healthier too. But that is why if you look at my Weekly Spending Summaries you won’t always see lots of fruits and veggies.
- The other factor is that I have a stockpile. My cupboards are full from previous shopping. Here’s why. When I can get pasta for free with coupons I buy as much as I have coupons for. When I can get flour for really cheap (last year I got about 6 bags for $0.50/bag and put it in the freezer and am just now using the last of it) I buy as much as I think is reasonable. I do this as much as my budget allows, on as many items as I can and as a result save lots of money. So when I go to plan out what we eat, I just try to plan my meals around what I already have in the cupboards. Obviously I still might have to buy a few things at regular price here and there but by stocking up when the price is at rock bottom I save a lot. And that is why it might appear just by looking at a couple of week’s worth of my groceries that we don’t eat very well or very balanced.
- I cook almost totally from scratch. That means when I make a cake I rarely use a cake mix. I make my own bread totally from scratch. I rarely use pre-packaged sauces. I make my own cream soups and I even cook up some of my own pinto and great northern beans instead of buying the cans at the store. This is typically less expensive and healthier too.
- We rarely snack. By eating “heavy” food like granola at breakfast we don’t get hungry until lunch time. And the same goes for the afternoon…our lunches are big enough that we rarely need a snack before dinner time. When we do snack I try to keep it mostly healthy by offering fruit, nuts or maybe a homemade granola bar. I do have iced coffee or a homemade latte almost every day…I don’t really consider that a snack, but maybe you do.
- Our breakfasts consist of Homemade Granola or Homemade Grape-nuts, the occasional bought cereal that I was able to get for $0.50/box and sometimes some fruit too. I know that might seem awfully boring to some of you, but we actually all really enjoy it and prefer it over other breakfast food.
The lunches you see below for Monday-Friday are just for my son and I. My husband takes sandwiches, fruit, leftovers and the like in his packed lunches.
WEEK 1
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
- Leftover Turkey/Gravy/Potato Filling; Leftover Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Gingerbread Cake
Wednesday
- Had four dinner guests—Homemade from Scratch Lasagna; 100% Whole Wheat Homemade Bread; Homemade Apple Butter; Homemade Applesauce; Green Beans (I preserved); Home Canned Pickles; Pumpkin Trifle (used graham crackers instead of Biscoff cookies)
Thursday
- Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries (I preserved)
- Dinner with in-laws—took 3 qts. Frozen Fruit (peaches/strawberries/blueberries) that I preserved—I like to mix these three fruits together and serve them slushy…it’s so good and refreshing!
Friday
- Rehearsal Dinner (we coordinated a friend’s wedding)
Saturday
- Brunch of various leftovers
______________________________________
WEEK 2
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
- Eggs in a Nest (an egg fried in bread); a few leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Banana; Home Canned Peaches
- Soup Bucket Soup (as talked about here); Cheese/Crackers; Homemade Applesauce—This was the first time I tried the Soup Bucket thing and I was fairly impressed. It was easy to add some tomato juice, cooked hamburgers and some seasonings to the soup bucket contents to make a tasty soup.
Wednesday
- Surprised my husband and took lunch to him at work. We ate with him. It was a last-minute decision and I bought sandwiches and chips at a local deli. (If you want to make your husband’s day, try this!)
- Crock-pot Tamale Pie; Green Beans (I preserved); Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Cookies (from freezer)
Thursday
- Eggs in a Nest (an egg fried in bread); Cheese Sticks; Homemade Yogurt—didn’t have any fruit as I made too many Eggs in a Nest and we were full!
Friday
- Leftover Crockpot Tamale Pie; Homemade Yogurt with Homemade Granola; Frozen Strawberries and Peaches (I preserved)
- Cheddar Cheese Chowder (meatless); Lettuce Salad with Homemade Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Pumpkin Trifle (used graham crackers instead of Biscoff cookies). This chowder is supposed to have ham in it—for some reason I forgot to add it and discovered that it is really good meatless too! So we got a bonus meatless meal in for the week.
Saturday
- Leftover Soup; Homemade Yogurt—this was just for me and the baby as my husband and son were gone
- Eggs; Homemade-From-Scratch Pancakes with Homemade Gravy, Homemade Pancake Syrup and Peanut Butter; Fruit Slush; Homemade Applesauce
______________________________________
WEEK 3
Sunday
Monday
- Leftover Vegetable Soup; Lettuce Salad with Homemade Dressing; Cheese and Crackers; Homemade Applesauce
Tuesday
- Creamy White Chili; Lettuce Salad with Almonds, Cheese and Homemade Dressing; Leftover Pumpkin Bars; Homemade Applesauce
Wednesday
Thursday
- Leftover Cauliflower Cheese Soup; Homemade Yogurt; Peaches and Blueberries (I preserved); Cookies (bought)
Friday
Saturday
- Leftovers for the hubby and baby; Our 4-year-old and I went out on a date for lunch
______________________________________
WEEK 4
Sunday
- Both lunch and dinner at my in-laws
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
- Leftover Salmon Soup; Homemade Yogurt sprinkled with Granola; Home Canned Peaches and Blueberries (I preserved)
- Egg/Mushroom Burritos; Homemade Applesauce; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Candy
Thursday
Friday & Saturday
- Forgot to record what we ate…yup, I really am quite human!
Sunday
- Ham Loaf (partially homemade); From Scratch Mashed Potatoes; Cooked Carrots; Pumpkin Cake; Ice Cream
I’d like to periodically do these “What We Eat” posts. If you have any suggestions on how to make it more helpful or readable please do let me know!
Monday, October 15th, 2012
Update: You can read all my Menu Plans under the Menu tab and all the recipes that I’ve posted under the Tasty Tuesday tab.
I’ve had this post partially typed up, sitting in my “drafts” folder for several weeks now. I’ll be honest with you, part of me didn’t even feel like posting it. Not because I’m ashamed of what we eat. Not because I think we eat poorly or lack a balanced diet. But because people can be so harsh with their thoughts and comments on posts like this. I just want to say up front that I realize some of you may eat even more healthful than we do. And some of you may not like to eat the same thing for dinner and then lunch the next day. Some of you might only eat all organic. That is all great and wonderful, however this how we’ve chosen to eat. we like it and we think it is providing us a healthy, balanced diet. I really do love when you comment and share your thoughts- even when they don’t agree with mine- but please, do be polite. It’s nicer for everyone involved. Thanks!
After reading my post on 4 Things I Do to Keep Our Grocery Budget at $200/mo. for a Family of Four, quite a few of you asked if I could please post what we eat. I also got quite a few comments like this, “$200 a month w/ coupons, sounds like a lot of packaged foods and/or lots of meatless meals”, “I’m not going to starve my family to save a few bucks” and “I think I’d rather be an inmate than to live at your house…. ‘here kids, is your slice of toilet paper for the day’….’Save some of this pickle slice for tomorrow!!’” (Yup, someone actually left that in the comments!) And so I thought maybe it would be a good idea for me to give you an idea of what we eat on our $200/mo. budget.
A couple of things that will be helpful for you to know up front:
- Our family of four consists of 2 adults with fairly big appetites, a 4 yr. old boy and a 10 mo. old girl. The baby is partially breast fed but is also eating a lot of table food too. I don’t buy baby food but instead make my own or give her what we are eating, mashed up.
- I buy lots of fruits and veggies in bulk from local farmers/orchards in the summer and then freeze or can them. This is not only much cheaper it is also healthier too. But that is why if you look at my Weekly Spending Summaries you won’t always see lots of fruits and veggies.
- The other factor is that I have a stockpile. My cupboards are full from previous shopping. Here’s why. When I can get pasta for free with coupons I buy as much as I have coupons for. When I can get flour for really cheap (last year I got about 6 bags for $0.50/bag and put it in the freezer and am just now using the last of it) I buy as much as I think is reasonable. I do this as much as my budget allows, on as many items as I can and as a result save lots of money. So when I go to plan out what we eat, I just try to plan my meals around what I already have in the cupboards. Obviously I still might have to buy a few things at regular price here and there but by stocking up when the price is at rock bottom I save a lot. And that is why it might appear just by looking at a couple of week’s worth of my groceries that we don’t eat very well or very balanced.
- I cook almost totally from scratch. That means when I make a cake I rarely use a cake mix. I make my own bread totally from scratch. I rarely use pre-packaged sauces. I make my own cream soups and I even cook up some of my own pinto and great northern beans instead of buying the cans at the store. This is typically less expensive and healthier too.
- We rarely snack. By eating “heavy” food like granola at breakfast we don’t get hungry until lunch time. And the same goes for the afternoon…our lunches are big enough that we rarely need a snack before dinner time. When we do snack I try to keep it mostly healthy by offering fruit, nuts or maybe a homemade granola bar. I do have iced coffee or a homemade latte almost every day… I don’t really consider that a snack, but maybe you do.
This is the typical amount of fruit and yogurt that my son eats at lunch each day. Often he’ll even ask for seconds on top of this.
These menus were from August when I was crazy busy with canning and freezing. I tried to keep things really simple and we had some repeat meals too, which doesn’t typically happen. But I figured it was better than getting take-out. Our breakfasts consist of Homemade Granola or Homemade Grape-nuts, the occasional bought cereal that I was able to get for $0.50/box and sometimes some fruit too. I know that might seem awfully boring to some of you, but we actually all really enjoy it and prefer it over other breakfast food.
The lunches you see below for Monday-Friday are just for my son and I. My husband takes sandwiches, fruit, leftovers and the like in his packed lunches and the baby eats whatever is around that she is able to digest.
Alright…without further ado, here’s what we ate!
WEEK 1
Monday
- Creamy salsa chicken wraps with rice; homemade yogurt; home-canned peaches; frozen blueberries (I freeze my own); grapes
- Homemade Ham Loaf (made with ground turkey and ground pork); herbed cooked potatoes and carrots; homemade applesauce; fresh locally grown peaches
Tuesday
- Leftover creamy salsa chicken wraps; homemade yogurt; grapes; fresh peaches
- Hot Dogs (Oscar Mayer no preservative, no fillers variety) with Nature’s Own hot dog rolls; spinach, mandarin orange, almond and feta cheese salad with homemade dressing; homemade applesauce; fresh locally grown peaches; homemade triple mocha cheesecake
Wednesday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches and homemade 100% whole wheat bread; homemade yogurt; fresh locally grown peaches
- Ate dinner out
Thursday
- Leftover ham loaf; leftover potatoes and carrots; homemade 100% whole wheat bread; homemade yogurt; frozen crushed strawberries (I freeze my own); frozen blueberries (I freeze my own)
- Deep Dish Taco Squares (similar to this recipe); green beans (I freeze my own); fresh locally grown peaches; homemade applesauce; homemade from scratch brownies
Friday
- Hot tuna and cheese sandwiches; fresh locally grown peaches; homemade yogurt with homemade granola sprinkled on top
- Free Papa John’s pizza (from their rewards program); lettuce salad with homemade dressing
Saturday:
- Various leftovers including veggies
- Various leftovers; lettuce salad with homemade dressing; fresh locally grown peaches
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Week 2
Sunday:
- Carry-in meal at our church- I took 9×13 dish of peach dessert and enough cabbage salad to feed approx. 20 people
- Leftover pizza; leftover cabbage salad
Monday:
- Egg in a nest (basically an egg fried in a piece of bread); cheese and crackers; homemade yogurt; strawberries; blueberries; peaches
- Dinner at the in-laws
Tuesday:
- Breakfast wraps from freezer; cabbage salad; banana; homemade yogurt
- Zucchini Quiche; fresh locally grown sweet corn; homemade applesauce; locally grown cantaloupe
Wednesday:
- Leftover zucchini quiche; cheese sticks; homemade yogurt with granola sprinkled on top; homemade from scratch brownies
- Homemade turkey filling; spinach, almond, mandarin orange and feta cheese salad with homemade dressing; homemade applesauce; ice-cream
Thursday:
- Leftover zucchini quiche; homemade yogurt; banana; frozen peaches; frozen blueberries
- Fresh homemade cream of tomato soup; cheese and crackers; homemade 100% whole wheat bread with apple butter; locally grown cantaloupe; fresh locally grown peaches; homemade cake with homemade frosting
Friday:
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; homemade yogurt; banana/peaches/blueberries
- Leftover turkey filling; spinach, almond, mandarin orange, feta cheese salad with homemade dressing; homemade applesauce; homemade cake topped with crushed strawberries
Saturday:
- Lettuce salad; cheese stick; piece of lunch meat; homemade yogurt; frozen peaches
- Deep Dish Taco Squares (similar to this recipe); lettuce salad with almonds and cheese and homemade dressing; homemade applesauce
———————————-
Week 3:
This week I also made 2 cheesecakes for a bridal shower that I helped plan.
Sunday
Monday
- Breakfast wraps made with leftover sausage; homemade yogurt sprinkled with homemade granola; peaches/blueberries/strawberries
- (My sis-in-law and her 3 children ate with us) Leftover deep dish taco squares; baked potatoes with sour cream; green beans (I freeze my own); homemade applesauce
Tuesday:
- Leftovers; homemade yogurt; strawberries/blueberries
- Dinner out- Date night!!
Wednesday:
- Leftovers; homemade yogurt; banana
- Hot homemade tuna salad/egg salad sandwiches; lettuce salad with homemade dressing; homemade applesauce; fresh locally grown peaches; homemade chocolate chip cheesecake
Thursday:
- Leftovers; peanut butter and jelly sandwiches using homemade 100% whole wheat bread; hard boiled eggs; homemade yogurt; fresh locally grown peaches
- Bean and cheese enchiladas (meat free); green beans (I freeze my own); fruit slush
Friday:
- Egg in a nest ((basically an egg fried in a piece of bread); homemade yogurt sprinkled with homemade granola; banana; frozen crushed strawberries
- Homemade vegetable soup; cheese and crackers; fresh locally grown peaches
Saturday:
- Gone to my parent’s for the weekend and took: 1 gallon orange juice, 2 loaves of homemade French bread; 1 peck of locally grown peaches
So, what do you think? Could you eat like us? Or would you rather be an inmate? (See 2nd paragraph above.)
And one more thing. I’d like to periodically do these “What We Eat” posts. If you have any suggestions on how to make it more helpful or readable please do let me know!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
