Tasty and inexpensive meals are possible. Grocers want to extract as much money out of you as possible. They have the tendency to push high-dollar items and food that make them the most money. It’s understandable. However, we should focus on maximizing our grocery haul while minimizing that expense.
Here’s a sample menu. All of these meals are designed for a family of four. Not every meal is super healthy but all are cost conscious.
I skipped the lunch menu ideas. My recommendation is to make a huge salad that can be used throughout the week for lunch.
Another recommendation is to eat leftovers from a previous meal. Leftovers aren’t as sexy as going to lunch every day with your friends. It could bring some budgetary relief for a season though.
I recommend shopping for most of these items at Aldi.
Tasty and inexpensive meals are possible! Family meals don’t have to break the bank. Thousands of dollars per year can be saved with a thoughtful approach to meal planning and grocery shopping.
It’s possible to trim expenses without causing a family mutiny. If you’re just starting on the expense trimming journey you might want to read that linked article next.
Monday
Steel Cut Oats (Irish Porridge) — 1 cup steel cut oats, 2 cups water, 2 cups milk, 2 mashed bananas, and a dash of maple syrup. Bring milk and water to a boil. Blend in the oats. Simmer for about twenty-five minutes (uncovered).
Add the mashed bananas and cook for another minute or two. Top each bowl with syrup.
Enjoy.
Red Beans & Rice — 1 bag of dried kidney beans, water, 1 cup of rice, a quart of vegetable broth, 1 onion diced, 1 green pepper diced, 3 ribs of celery diced, 2 garlic cloves minced, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and thyme.
Soak the beans in water for at least 8 hours. Rinse and drain the beans. Saute the peppers, onions, celery, and garlic until soft. Add the beans, broth, and enough water to cover the beans by an inch and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for about an hour or until beans are tender. While beans are simmering cook the rice. Season beans to taste with herbs and spices.
Tuesday
Pancakes — A five-pound box of complete pancake mix costs less than $5.00 at Walmart. Simply follow the box directions. All you will need is water, a nonstick pan, a little bit of butter or margarine, and syrup.
Rigatoni & Salad — A jar of store-brand pasta sauce and a box of rigatoni costs $1.49 and $1.00 respectively.
We typically make a huge salad on Sunday that will last the entire week. Skip the premade salads as they will taste like preservatives.
Purchase a three-pack of romaine lettuce ($2.99). Rinse and chop. Keep what you would eat and toss or compost the core. Add a box of spring mix ($3.49), a small bag of carrot matchsticks, and a small chopped head of purple cabbage.
Keep the salad in two, larger air-tight bowls. You should many side salads and some lunches out of this massive batch.
Wednesday
Peanut Butter Toast — Simple and easy. Do you really need directions for this? Maybe you do? May I suggest adding butter before the peanut butter for a bonus flavor?
Veggie Fajitas — Core and slice (lengthwise) two green bell peppers. Remove the skins from two large sweet onions and slice lengthwise.
Feel free to substitute one red bell pepper for one of the green if you can find a red one on sale.
These taste best when cooked in a cast iron skillet. Use whatever pan that you have, though.
Heat the pan and add about a tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the onions after the oil is hot. The onions should sizzle when added.
Allow the onions to cook for about 2-3 minutes and then add the peppers. Sprinkle the veggies with salt and dried oregano. Cook for an additional 2 minutes and then begin to stir often (like a stirfry). Pull veggies from heat when they are cooked to your liking.
Leave them in the pan and warm the flour tortillas. These can be warmed on the stove or in a microwave.
Black beans make a good side dish. Simply purchase a can from your local grocery store for less than $1.00 and enjoy.
Thursday
Overnight Oats — Each person gets their own pre-made serving and it’s often fun for the kids (if you have them).
The basic recipe is one part oats to one part milk or other liquid. More or less of each to find the consistency that you prefer.
Make these at the end of the night before going to bed.
Peanut butter & Jelly overnight oats — 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup oats, and a spoonful of peanut butter and jelly. Blend well, put on a cover, place in the fridge, and eat the next day.
Apple Pie Overnight Oats — 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of milk, chopped apples, a handful of chopped walnuts (optional), and a sprinkle of sugar & cinnamon. Blend well and place in the fridge.
Gumbo
Zatarain’s makes a very respectable boxed gumbo mix. A box costs less than $2.00 at Walmart. We loosely follow the box directions, however. I believe that it calls for six cups of water but we use only four cups.
We keep it meat-free as well and include a cup of chopped celery, a cup of chopped green pepper, a cup of chopped sweet onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic.
Serve a small side salad if you would like. We typically eat a bowl with bread and butter and plenty of food for dinner.
Friday
Scrambled Eggs & Toast
The price of eggs (in 2022) has skyrocketed! Less than a year ago a dozen of eggs could be purchased for less than $1.00 at Aldi. That same doze costs right around $3.00!
One way to make your scrambled eggs stretch is to add a little bit of water to the blend. Not too much though.
If you’re really looking to stretch the breakfast throw in some additional items such as sauteed onions or fried potatoes.
Homemade Pizza
Homemade pizza is fun for kids and adults alike. We buy a jar of sauce from our regional grocery store (Meijer), use tortillas for the crust, and sprinkle some onions & peppers. Most of you will add mozzarella. It’s still reasonably priced.
If making pizza seems like too much work then Jack’s makes a decent frozen pizza! We add oregano and red pepper flakes and eat a salad on the side.
For less than $10 a family can buy three frozen pizzas.
Saturday
French Toast
You should still have at least four eggs remaining, right?
Remove eight slices of bread from the package and leave them on the counter overnight. If you have Texas Toast instead of thin slices that’s even better.
French toast requires bread, eggs, milk, and cinnamon. Blend the eggs, add a little bit of milk (don’t you love my precise measurements?), and a sprinkle or two of cinnamon, and mix again.
Dip the dried bread slices into the egg mixture and flip. The slices should be coated completely. Fry the slices in butter. Turn when browned.
Serve with syrup or jelly.
Burrito Bowls
These can be as simple or as complex as you like. The base for a burrito bowl is rice and beans (black or pinto). Both are inexpensive and tasty. Fajita veggies (do you have some leftovers?), corn, lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, or beef are other possible additions.
Avocadoes (or guacamole) are great too. We buy them when they’re on sale.
Beef and chicken are both super expensive right now though. If you really need the mean cut down and use it more as a flavor enhancer and condiment.
Here’s a link to a good burrito bowl recipe.
Sunday
Biscuits and Gravy
Comfort food is the best and saving time is awesome.
Gravy is an expensive way to bring flavor to mundane meals. It also screams comfort!
Biscuits and gravy are a classic Sunday breakfast. If you have leftover eggs feel free to use them during this meal as well.
We’re taking a shortcut for the biscuits and buying a can or two if you need more. Just follow the directions on the package.
Gravy requires milk, butter, flour, salt, and pepper.
Measure equal parts of butter and flour. Melt the butter and slowly add the flour and cook until the desired color is obtained. Stir often so it’s not burned. This mixture is called roux (roo).
Slowly add milk and stir. Continue adding the milk until the thickness you desire is reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
If the gravy is too thin add more of the roux.
Serve the gravy over the biscuits.
Sunday Dinner
Roast and Root Veggies
This will be your most expensive meal of the day. Buy a chuck roast at your local grocer. Again, these are best purchased when there is a good sale.
Heat a large frying pan that has a lid. Once it’s hot add a little bit of oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan, only).
Salt and pepper the roast. Dredge it in flour.
Add the roast to the pan and allow it to brown (3-5 minutes). Turn the roast and allow it to brown on the other side. Once browning is complete add about a cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan. Reduce heat to a simmer.
While the roast is simmering clean and cut your root vegetables. We use onions, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
If you prefer mashed potatoes cook those separately from the carrots, onions, and celery.
If there is room in the pan simply add the vegetables to the pan and allow them to cook.
Cook the roast until it’s fork tender. It might take a couple of hours depending on the size of the roast.
Use the pan drippings to make an awesome gravy. The roux used previously in the week will work perfectly. Use water or veggie stock instead of milk.