[ budget ] :: one week of meals on the cheap! week 2

Over the past year The Hubs and I have had two main goals: be healthier and watch our spending. But it's hard to eat healthy on a budget. Especially when you have a Hubs that eats like a bear, and some nights you'd rather just not cook at all.

The first meal plan I posted last week was quite popular (thank you for reading!) so here is the second week of meals. This is what we actually ate last week, and I will be honest and tell you that it is most cost effective to cook the Week 2 Menu Plan meals after the Week 1 Menu Plan. Why? Because y'all know I buy in bulk and I have a lot of ingredients leftover!

This plan is for two adults that like to eat and covers all of our food - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks - every day. I included pictures from each day so you can get an idea of how much we are eating and what these meals look like! Links for each recipe are included, and a shopping list, too.

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We were really big on soups and chili this week. Why? We were just in the mood for it, I guess! Ground turkey was (is?) on sale at Aldi for $1.69/lb in the frozen section, and I enjoyed coming up with new recipes to use it all. It is shocking that we don't get tired of eating turkey.

Over the weekend, the meal plan usually falls apart and we eat whatever is leftover. On Saturday I cooked a big pot of Slow Cooker White Chili and it lasted until lunch on Monday. It isn't listed in the meal plan, but we put away two bottles of Merlot, some Cadbury eggs, and a bag of microwave popcorn on Friday night. Fun times. Here is what our typical meals look like! 

Breakfasts:

Eggs and steamed kale/spinach sprinkled with Parmesan (kind of like a "deconstructed omelet") with juice and coffee.
The greens and cheese were leftover from other recipes.

 Lunches:

Most of our lunches this week were leftovers - yummy!

 

Turkey sandwiches with either baby kale or spinach, spread with whole-grain mustard. We like a serving of fruit or veggies on the side and Greek yogurt. 
 

Snacks:

 Our favorite cheap snacks - chips and salsa are always on hand at our house. I was big on clementines (my favorite!) and Greek yogurt as a snack - it's a great source of protein.

 We like to have 2 snacks per day - one is usually a serving (or two) of fruit in the mid-morning. If we're still hungry later in the day, we'll have another apple or a banana. Don't be afraid to eat leftovers as a snack - this Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salad is savory and healthy.

 Dinners:

Tortellini Soup and Chicken Taco Chili 

Left: Tortellini Soup - this is our favorite vegetarian dinner and it is so easy to make. It's a great Monday night dinner because it takes less than 30 minutes to put together. Chicken Taco Chili is full of veggies and is a "set it and forget it" kind of dish.

Broccoli Pesto Tortellini and Mini Italian Turkey Meatloaves

Left: Broccoli Pesto Tortellini - if you can buy your cheese tortellini in bulk this week, then do! This dish is a flavorful alternative to traditional pesto - without using a ton of oil. Right: Mini Italian Turkey Meatloaves - The Hubs inhaled this dinner, and is asking for it again! Try sneaking veggies into the meatloaf if you have picky eaters, or just want extra nutrition.

Turkey Tacos and Slow Cooker White Turkey Chili

  Left: Turkey Tacos with Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salad - we love tacos and will eat them whenever we can. I cook the turkey meat with a can of diced tomatoes to make it more filling - read how to cook the tacos here. Right: Slow Cooker White Turkey Chili - yes, another chili dish over rice. Like tacos, we will happily eat chili any day of the week!

 Check out the shopping list:

Click to enlarge.

So how much did this week of meals cost me? Well, I had a lot of the ingredients in my pantry and freezer already, and got some of the other items on sale or with coupons. It is so important to buy produce and meat when they are on sale and freeze or save them for later. I spent a Grand Total of $43.53 on groceries for this menu. I went to Aldi and got the majority of my items for less than I could get at other grocery stores. I already had most of the pantry items and had meat in my freezer.

Just in case you don't have everything you need, I priced out the ingredients for you. If you shop the lowest prices available to you (without buying anything gross looking), you would spend approximately $85.00 at the store, assuming you had the pantry items on hand. Still not bad, right?

Although it costs more up front, my Stupid Easy Taco Seasoning saves money in the long-run. Consider making it if you have the ingredients on hand, or if you forget to buy your taco or chili seasoning!

So, here's some math: 7 days of meals X 5 meals/snacks per day X 2 adults = 70 meals. Using my amazing powers of frugality, that works out to be an average of $0.62 per meal/snack. If you were to go and buy all of these items, it comes to an average of $1.21 per meal/snack. Of course, some meals are more expensive and some snacks are super cheap. This week of meals was more expensive, but I enjoyed cooking with more fresh ingredients and vegetables.

If you try out the meal plan, let me know how it goes! Change things up a bit to suit your lifestyle and diet and to suit your tastes. Happy cooking! :)

- Maggie White