Week of June 9 Meal Plan for $100 (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Sides!)
***Quick Disclaimer*** This meal plan is a mix of my own recipes and those that I found online and have linked the appropriate source for those recipes as to not take credit for them!
Welcome to the first of this meal planning series! I am so happy to have you here! I wanted to create a way for my family to eat well, but stay within our grocery budget. I was finding that without a plan, I would go to the grocery store almost everyday because I would have missed ingredients, I ran out of things, I just didn't know what to cook and so I would go buy a "quick" meal from the store. This is what ended up causing our family to spend almost $950 on groceries in ONE MONTH! We have a family of 4 and one of them is a toddler and doesn't eat that much. I just couldn't believe that we spent that much money on groceries, and it needed to stop.
Even with inflation on the rise, there was no reason for us to have to spend $900 on food, and the worst part was... I feel like we didn't even have that much in our house! This was all because of poor planning though.
I still wanted good, wholesome, hearty meals, but I wanted them to be cheaper than what we were spending. This is why I came up with this goal of $400 a month for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sides. Now, I may go over by $50 here and there, but I am determined to stick with this goal I have in mind, because I know that it is doable with the right planning.
I will preface with, I cook all of my meals from scratch, very rarely will I go and buy something pre-made to put into my dishes, this is also how I save money on my grocery bill though. I will mill my own flour, make my own sauces, grate my cheese from the block, buy dried beans (or beans grown in our garden), make all bread items from scratch, etc.. This allows me to spend a little bit more on higher quality ingredients for our family rather than purchasing something pre-made from the store. I realize not everyone has the time, or energy to do this, so with that being said, your grocery bill might differ from mine a little.
I do hope that my journey to a cheaper, cleaner, less processed lifestyle can help you out on your grocery bill as well! Let me know if you try any of these meals and happy cooking!
Meal Plan
| Day of the Week | Breakfast | Dinner | Sides |
| Sunday | Sourdough Pancakes | Crockpot Creamy Garlic Chicken | Asparagus |
| Monday | Sourdough Bagels - Bread Machine | Chicken Pot Pie | Side of fruit |
| Tuesday | Breakfast Bagel | Stuffed Pepper Soup | Bread (I like to make my own sourdough bread) |
| Wednesday | Eggs, Bacon, and Peppers | Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup | Rolls (your favorite rolls recipe) |
| Thursday | Peaches and Cream Oatmeal | Sloppy Joe | Green Beans |
| Friday | Chicken Tater Tot Casserole | Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff | Fruit |
| Saturday | Breakfast Sandwich | Leftovers | Fresh Summer Quinoa Salad |
Breakdown of how this is calculated:
In this meal plan, I have included the main ingredients that you would have to buy from the store to make up these meals. I have not included things like: flour, baking soda, seasonings, sourdough starter, water, or anything that is a regular staple item in the pantry.
There are certain things that my family will get from local farmers in our area, like eggs or fruit, whenever it is in season. This cuts down on the cost for us a little, so you may need to add extra to your grocery budget for those things.
I will note, we buy a lot of our grain (rice, wheat berries, oats) in bulk from Amazon and this also cuts down on the cost of our monthly grocery bill.
Like I mentioned above, I also make most items from scratch. I did not include the price of buns, rolls, bagels, or bread, because these are all items I will be making from scratch with what I have on hand in my pantry. The cost breakdown to make a loaf of bread or bagels is significantly less expensive compared to buying them from the store. They also taste better in my opinion.
Weekly Meal Plan Recipes by Day
Sunday -
Sourdough Pancakes
Crockpot Creamy Garlic Chicken (this makes double the chicken that the recipe calls for because we are using the leftover chicken in our chicken pot pie recipe for tomorrow!)
Monday
Sourdough Bagels - Bread Machine
Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday
Breakfast Bagel
Stuffed Pepper Soup
Bread
Wednesday
Eggs, Bacon, and Peppers
Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup
Rolls
Thursday
Peaches and Cream Oatmeal
Sloppy Joes
Friday
Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff
Saturday
Breakfast Sandwich
Leftovers
Quinoa Salad
Grocery List
| Category | Item | Quantity |
| Produce | Onions | 3 medium |
| Shallots | 1 | |
| Garlic | 16 cloves | |
| Red bell peppers | 3 | |
| Green bell peppers | 3 | |
| Leeks | 2 large or 3 small-medium | |
| Mushrooms | 20 ounces (~560g) | |
| Red potatoes | 5lbs | |
| Carrots | ||
| Celery | ||
| Seedless Cucumber | ||
| Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) | 6 (about 3 lbs) | |
| Fresh dill | ||
| Fresh parsley | ||
| Spearmint | ||
| Meat | Lean ground beef | 6 pounds |
| Italian sausages | 17.6 ounces (500g) | |
| Chicken Sausage | 8oz | |
| Dairy | Butter | |
| Heavy whipping cream | 32oz | |
| Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded | 16oz | |
| Milk | ||
| Sour Cream | 16oz | |
| Eggs | ||
| Canned/Bottled | Tomato sauce | 3 (13.5 fluid ounce) cans |
| Fire-roasted diced tomatoes (with juices) | 2 (28 fluid ounce) cans | |
| Low sodium chicken broth | 3 boxes 32oz | |
| Full-fat coconut milk | 1 (13.5 ounce) can (400 ml) | |
| Canned or Dried Chickpeas | ||
| Peaches | 1 can | |
| Tamari or soy sauce | ||
| Worcestershire sauce | ||
| Baking/Cooking | Dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc) | |
| Rice | 3 lbs | |
| Pasta of choice | 12 ounces (340g) | |
| Quinoa | 16oz | |
| Rolled Oats | ||
| Frozen | Peas (fresh or frozen) | |
| Tater Tots | 32oz | |
| Bread | Hamburger buns | 12 |