A Menu Method for Families on a Tight Budget How to Eat Well but Spend Less!

Here is your Menu Method for Families on a Budget – everything you need to know to eat well but spend less!

The basis for this whole method is to get the maximum nutrition while spending the least amount possible.  For our family, I try everything I can to make sure that we have organic, fresh food to fill and nourish ourselves.  The only way I can rationalize/justify this is to spend less than the average American spend on “regular” food.  This can be frustrating and challenging, but I have found that it can also be exciting and fun!

The key is planning, prepping, and well, um, planning some more.  The most surefire way I have found to spend too much on groceries, is to shop last minute, without a budget, while hungry.  So, we need to plan, plan, plan and then go ahead with confidence!

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Breakfast

We have a few breakfast options every day and anyone is free to make one of those options.    Yes, it is a limited list of items, but many children grow up only having processed cereal for breakfast.  I feel pretty great when I have any fresh options available.

“Always Pantry” breakfast items –

Quick oats, eggs, sprouted bread, yogurt, maple syrup

This is such a great breakfast pantry list because it gives you quite a few healthy and quick options.

 

No fail go-to list of things to make from our Always Pantry –

Oatmeal, scrambled eggs, sunny side up eggs ‘n toast, yogurt and maple syrup, toast, French toast.

Then, if we have anything else in the house we can get really creative!  We start with a staple from our Always Pantry and then add whatever extra we have.

Here’s some fun spin-off ideas that we love:

Fruit and nuts oatmeal, baked oatmeal, omelet, scrambled eggs with cheese and/or veggies, granola, fruit and yogurt parfait, smoothies!

Lunch

This is our simplest meal of the day…  Leftovers!  Wahoo!  We do leftovers unless we experience amazing savings and have extra $ to get something special (then we buy deli meat and make sandwiches – so easy and they are a big hit when you don’t eat them everyday).

Yes, this makes things repetitive, but the up side is there is much less time spent prepping meals and we are all less likely to overeat!

 

Supper

This is really where we spend our money and it is different every night.  I plan 7 different meals (one for every night).  I shop sales weekly and make my menu accordingly.  This allows our meals to be very nourishing and fresh since produce sales generally follow the seasons.  I try to make sure there is plenty so there will be leftovers for lunch.

What if something comes up?

If we get a dinner invite or something else comes up, I “bank” the meal we would have eaten.

If I already purchase the items for that meal we save the non-perishable and frozen items which allows us to stock-up on items.  If it is perishable, I make it anyway and freeze it (yeah, back-up meal!).

If I haven’t already purchased the food, we can save the money for when we want to have company over, or add the money to next week’s budget.

Snacks

Snack items are usually fruit and/or veggies and always what is in season/on sale.  Food tastes better this way and costs less: win, win.  Sometimes we will have some nut and/or seeds on hand too – yummy!

 

Desserts

Desserts?!  Ah, well, no…!  I have really tried to cut back on sugar in my family’s diet, so we don’t make any!  This is healthier for us and saves money.

 

If we really want something sweet, we will have a little fruit.  That is, unless someone gives the kiddos a treat or something, then they indulge wholeheartedly – but it’s free-and it’s great!

Need more budget friendly meal inspiration? Check out these articles –

Why I Don’t Plan a Menu Based on What’s on Sale

Free Orthodox Menu Plan – Lenten Meal Planning Made Simple

Vegan and Gluten Free Budget Menu