I often hear how hard it is to eat real food on a budget. I am dedicating a series of posts to meal planning for a large family based on what’s on sale at ONE store with supplemental pantry staples.
This weeks menu is courtesy of the Safeway sales ad. Here is the list of sale items I will plan this weeks menu around. The pantry staples are always on hand, purchased in bulk.
Shopping list–
3lbs steak $2.99lb, 5lbs ground beef $1.99lb, 4lbs pork $1.99lb, 4lbs chicken breasts $1.99lb, and 6 dozen eggs $3/3doz
Produce: 5lbs strawberries .99/lb, 3 bell peppers $1ea, 3 mangoes $1ea, 3lbs grapes $1.49lb, 4 bags frozen veggies $2/bag, 1- applesauce $1.49/24oz, 10 lbs bananas $.66lb, 5 bag salad $1, 1- sweet onion $1.33lb, 1- mushrooms $1.98pk, 5lbs carrots .99/lb
Misc: 3- pasta sauce $1.49 jar, 2- corn tortilla 80ct $3.13, 1- hummus FREE, 1- Sorabes Sorbet FREE, 1- Ginger Ale FREE, 3 GF pasta $2/box
Dairy: 2- milk $1.99, 8- cheese 4 for $5 (limit 8), 1- cream cheese $1.49, 1- Sour cream 3lb $5, 4- yogurt 32oz $1.99
Staples (approx 200/month at Costco & Bob’s Red Mill)
- Rice, potatoes, gf pasta, gf oats, gf flour blend (bulk)
- fats: olive, avocado, coconut, & butter
- Peanut butter (buy when on sale or in bulk)
- seasonings/spices
- sugar/brown sugar (buy on sale or in bulk)
- real maple syrup
- corn tortillas
- dry beans (bulk)
- salsa
- baking powder & soda
Menu: Weekly total $185 for 10 people (Safeway sales + pantry staples)
Breakfast $33
- oats and bananas (whole milk, brown sugar) $6
- cheesy eggs and strawberries $5
- yogurt w/ berries $6
- banana bread $4 (2 loaves homemade)
- creamy rice w/ mangoes (whole milk, brown sugar) $6
- leftovers
- scrambled eggs & corn tortillas w/ cheese & salsa $6
Lunch $28
- leftovers
- cheese quesadillas w/ beans & bell peppers $8
- salads with leftover meat/boiled eggs $6
- PB&J on banana bread w/ carrots $6
- finger foods- egg, meat, veggies, fruit, cheese $8
Snacks $28
- yogurt & mangoes $6
- bananas w/ PB $3.50
- hard boiled eggs (18) w/ applesauce $3
- carrots & hummus $2 (hummus = FREE)
- grapes & cheese cubes $4.50
- cheesy rice $5
- banana bread $4
Dinner $96
- steak fajitas (3lbs steak, 2 bell pepper, 1/2 onion, 30 corn tortillas, w/ beans) $15
- pork chops (4lbs), potatoes au gratin (sour cream, milk, cheese), broccoli $17
- Yumm bowls (rice, beans, cheese, s.c., veggies, salsa) $11
- grilled chicken (4lbs), butter garlic noodles, salad, sauté mushrooms $17
- spaghetti (3 gf pasta, sauce, 2 lbs ground beef) w/ frozen mixed veggies, cheese $21
- tacos (3lbs ground beef, beans, cheese, s.c., salsa, salad, tortillas) $15
- fridge clean-out aka leftovers
Treats
- small ginger ale & sorbet floats (free this week)
Baking/Prep
- Banana bread- 6 loaves
- hard boil 18 eggs
Drinks
- water
- tea
- coffee
When pantry staple expense is under budget, I can purchase extras such as bulk raisins, nuts, & chocolate chips to add variety to snacks and baking.
We spend another $200-250 on household and hygiene items, typically purchased at Target and Costco.
In ideal budget circumstances, we buy local, organic and grassfed… while trying to reduce our monthly output to get caught up on medical expenses, we are making concessions.
Beautiful Nourishment 