Ultimate Budget-Friendly Meal Plan

WEEK 1
Monday

B- English muffins* with honey and butter (swap for smoothie if GF)
L- Baked potato soup w/cheese and bacon (use coconut milk and arrowroot powder to
thicken if GF/DF)
D- Spaghetti with meat sauce*, tossed salad (use GF pasta if needed)
Snack/treat - Fruit juice popsicles*
Notes: Use any fruit juice to make popsicles (freeze in ice trays with toothpicks for sticks
if you don't have molds). Make a double batch of English muffins -- do it ahead of time
and freeze.

Tuesday

B- Yogurt with soaked granola

L- Hummus* and fresh veggies
D- Chicken and wild rice soup*
Snack/treat- Strawberry lemonade*
Notes: To save more money, use only brown rice in the soup instead of wild rice. Make
extra hummus to have for snacks. Keep some garbanzo beans whole for another snack
later in the week.

Wednesday

B- Apples with nut butter

L- Spaghetti with tomato-basil sauce* (brown rice pasta if GF)
D- Marinated chicken*, scalloped potatoes, Caesar salad (serve roasted potatoes if DF)
Snack/treat: Chocolate avocado pudding
Notes: Make extra Caesar dressing and store in the fridge overnight. Start the chicken
marinating in the morning (in the fridge); this can also be frozen ahead of time and
taken out to marinate as it thaws. Save some chicken for the next day's lunch.

Thursday

B- English muffins* with scrambled eggs and cheese (sandwich) (just eggs with fruit if
GF/DF)
L- Chicken Caesar wraps
D- Baked beans with veggies and added sausage
Snack/treat- Fresh fruit with whipped cream (nut butter if DF)
Notes: Use the leftover chicken and Caesar dressing for the wraps. Make the tortillas
ahead of time and keep them frozen (you'll use more next week). Try cooking the
scrambled eggs inside of metal cookie cutter to be perfectly sandwich-sized. Add 1 lb.
of sausage to the baked bean recipe (cut it down to 1/2 to save money). Make your
own whipped cream from heavy cream (you'll use it again next week).

Friday

B- Pumpkin muffins* (or baked pumpkin pudding if GF/DF)

L- Leftovers
D- Mexican chicken soup*
Snack/treat- Crispy beans
Notes: Make extra pumpkin muffins for snacks or freeze them. Add 1 c. dry pinto beans
(soaked overnight) to the soup to stretch it further.

Saturday

B- Soaked pancakes* (or banana pancakes* if GF/DF)

L- Chicken and potatoes
D- Mexican rice and beans*
Snack/treat- Fresh orange slices
Notes: Start the pancakes soaking on Friday night. Cook them all Sat. morning and set
aside some for Sun. morning. Soak black beans starting Friday night or early Saturday
morning (at least 8 hours ahead).

Sunday

B- Leftover pancakes, smoothie

L- Broccoli cheddar soup* (swap for garden vegetable* if dairy-free)
D- Taco salad

Snack/treat- Banana slices with nut butter

Notes: Use leftover rice and beans from Sat. in the taco salad -- meat too, if available.
Make smoothies with water and your favorite mixed frozen fruit -- add pineapple,
mango, or raw honey to sweeten if needed.

WEEK 2
Monday

B- Berry banana oatmeal

L- Grilled cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks (swap for garden vegetable soup if GF/DF)
D- Beef tips with mushrooms and mashed potatoes, peas
Snack/treat- Spring herbal tea with honey
Notes: Soak the oatmeal starting on Sunday night to cut down on cook time. Bake
bread over the weekend to use for grilled cheese (try this multi-grain bread). Use less
meat and more stock, onions and mushrooms for the beef tips to save money. Cook a
whole chicken in a crock pot; remove and shred the meat for meals later in the week,
and return the bones to the crock pot to make stock.

Tuesday

B- Green smoothie
L- Chicken alphabet soup (add alphabet pasta to chicken veggie soup*)
D- Pizza* (soaked crust + favorite toppings; use grain-free tortillas and Daiya or no
cheese if GF/DF)
Snack/treat- Apple slices and whipped cream (or nut butter for dairy-free)
Notes: Start the pizza dough in the morning; add yeast around 4 PM for a 6 PM dinner
time. Use chicken stock and some of the shredded chicken (about 1/3) for the soup.

Wednesday

B- Scrambled eggs with cheese

L- Pizza bread sticks* (or leftover pizza)

D- Vegetable beef soup* (use stew beef)
Snack/treat- Lemonade popsicles*

Notes: Make lemonade with lemon juice, water, and honey and freeze in ice cube trays
if you don't have popsicle molds. Add white navy beans to the vegetable beef soup to
stretch it further if desired.

Thursday

B- Maple cinnamon granola bars

L- Leftover soup + tossed salad
D- Garlic-butter salmon*, cheesy potatoes, broccoli (swap roasted potatoes if dairy-free;
use avocado oil for salmon)
Snack/treat- Fresh strawberries
Notes: Make extra granola bars for snacks (one batch makes about a dozen).

Friday

B- Toast with nut butter

L- Cheesy potatoes (leftover)
D- Mexican pork roast*, tortillas*, salsa, rice + favorite toppings (salsa, cheese, onions,
etc.) (swap for grain-free tortillas*)
Snack/treat- Strawberry yum-yum* (use coconut whipped cream for dairy-free)
Notes: Make strawberry yum-yum ahead of time. Keep frozen for extra treats (one tray
makes about 12 servings). Make the pork roast in the crock pot, starting in the morning.

Saturday

B- Soaked coffee cake* (or this for GF)

L- Leftover pork roast, tortillas, rice, etc.
D- Chicken and gravy* with mashed potatoes (use arrowroot for the gravy for GF)
Snack/treat- Fresh veggies or chips and guacamole
Notes: Start the coffee cake on Friday night. Use the remaining chicken from the whole
chicken + stock to make gravy, add carrots and peas if desired.

Sunday

B- Eggs and sausage fry, fruit salad

L- Leftover chicken and gravy, biscuits (or use almond flour for GF option)
D- Taco potatoes

Snack/treat- Fresh fruit with chocolate fudge sauce

Notes: Cook 1 lb. of sausage and mix in a dozen eggs (plus veggies if desired). Mix
apples, strawberries, orange sections, and banana slices for fruit salad -- top with a little
honey if desired.

*Freezer-friendly recipe

Grocery List and Shopping Tips

Meat/Dairy

3 lbs. ground beef ($15)

1 whole chicken ($9)
1 2 - 3 lb. pork roast ($8)
2 lbs. salmon ($9)
2 lbs. stew beef ($8)
5 lbs. chicken leg quarters ($5)
2 lbs. chicken breast ($10)
2 lbs. sausage ($8)
1 lb. bacon ($5)
2 gal. milk ($10)
2 lbs. butter ($8)
1 quart yogurt (unless you make your own) ($3)
3 doz. eggs ($9)
1 lb. cheddar ($4)
1 lb. pepper jack cheese ($5)
1 lb. mozzarella ($4)
1 pint heavy cream ($3)
TOTAL: $123

Look for sales on leg quarters and other not commonly used parts of the chicken, youll get a
great deal. You could swap out the chicken breast for other bone-in parts, although you may
need a bit more to account for the weight of the bones. In soups and casseroles, you could use
less meat than it says most meals plan on 1 lb. You could skip the bacon entirely since its only
to top the soup; or you could buy only lb. at a deli counter to have it and cut down on costs.
If you are dairy-free, skip all the cheeses and substitute coconut oil and coconut milk instead of
butter and milk. Pick up coconut milk yogurt instead of regular, and coconut cream instead of
heavy cream. Almost all recipes have been tested using these substitutes.
Produce

1 bunch bananas ($2)

1 bag apples ($2)

2 - 3 oranges ($2)
2 lbs. strawberries ($4)
10 lbs. potatoes ($5)
2 lbs. peas ($2)
3 lbs. broccoli ($3)
2 avocados ($2)
2 lbs. onions ($1)
1 bulb garlic ($1)
5 lbs. carrots ($5)
2 lbs. lettuce ($4)

8 oz. cremini mushrooms ($1)

2 green peppers ($1)

1 bunch spinach or kale ($1)
1 bag lemons ($3)
TOTAL: $39

If you want, spend an extra $5 - $10 to buy other fruits and vegetables your family likes.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, fresh berries whatevers on sale. Toss them into meals or have
as snacks. Feel free to buy broccoli and peas frozen instead of fresh.
Frozen

1 lb. strawberries ($2)

1 lb. green beans ($1)
2 lbs. mixed fruit ($6)
Total: $9

The mixed fruit is for smoothies. I like to choose tropical mixes that include mango or pineapple,
which help to naturally sweeten the smoothies without added refined sugar.
Pantry

1/2 lb. black beans ($1)

1/2 lb. pinto beans ($1)
1 lb. garbanzo beans ($2)
1 jar tahini ($4)
1 jar peanut or almond butter ($4)

4 lbs. brown rice ($4)

5 lbs. white whole wheat flour ($3)
2 lbs. raw honey ($10)
1 pint maple syrup ($4)
1 can pumpkin ($1)
3 lbs. oats ($3)
1 lb. spaghetti ($1)
2 cans crushed tomatoes ($2)
TOTAL: $40

Some of this you may have on hand. Look for local raw honey at your store, or purchase at
Costco instead. Buying large packages of brown rice, almond butter, maple syrup, canned
tomatoes, etc. at Costco will be your best bet they offer most of these items organic. You
wont use it all for this plan, and youll pay a bit more, but it works out to a better price per lb. in
the end. If you prefer not to make your own hummus, then skip the tahini and buy hummus at
Costco. Its a little more expensive, but very easy.
Staples

Salt

Baking soda
Cinnamon
Cumin
Chili powder
Oregano
Basil

Olive oil
Vinegar (preferably balsamic or red wine)

You may need another $10 or so to replenish any staples you are running low on. I like to keep
olive oil, avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, baking soda, and a number of spices on hand.
TOTAL: $211 - $250 (for two weeks of meals, to feed 4 - 6 people)
The cost range accounts for some of the suggestions I offer if you want to buy extra produce for snacks,
or need to fill in missing pantry staples. It also accounts for extra costs on meat. In some areas meat or
dairy are more expensive. Of course, since prices do vary, you may spend significantly more. Feel free to
swap vegetable soup, tomato basil pasta, baked potato soup, and other less expensive meals for any of

the meat-based meals to lower costs further. Or, stretch the meat more by using the tortillas (regular or
grain-free) to create veggie-heavy wraps for some of the meals. I like to make extra salads, steamed
veggies, or fruit + whipped cream to go with meals so we use less of the main expensive stuff.
I suggest bulk shopping trips to pick up staples like spices, flour, oats, etc. I do this 2 3 times a year and
find it saves me quite a bit. I also freeze a lot of breads, marinated meats, and key ingredients to save
money. I recently found a local source of chicken that is certified humanely raised and non-GMO, which
offered 20-lb. boxes of pieces for just $1.69/lb. (Retail on their chicken breast is over $4/lb.) When
they said pieces they werent kidding! Its obvious these are the chunks, many with some veins or fat
on them, that are left over after they cut the nice pieces for retail. Who cares? It took some time to
cut the veins off and it wont work for presenting beautiful cutlets, but it was worth it to save a lot of $$$
on quality chicken.