Easy Budget-Friendly Meal Planning for the Family
Meal prep has been one of the best ways we’ve been able to combat the rising prices of groceries we’re witnessing in the US right now. If your grocery bill is stressing you out and feeding your family members has become difficult to manage, today’s budget-friendly meal planning tips are for you!
As a large family, our grocery list takes up the largest portion of our monthly budget aside from our mortgage. It’s frustrating how much the cost of food has risen in the last year alone, but with some simple swaps and adjustments to our eating habits, we’ve been able to keep our budget to around $200 a week for our family of 8!
Our family consists of 2 adults and 6 children, ages 16 to almost 2. Our children have fairly big appetites, and my husband almost always utilizes leftovers for his lunch at work the next day.
I make delicious, healthy meals, reduce food waste, and add new recipes to our rotation to keep things interesting, all while sticking to a tight budget. If you need new ideas to make your weekly meal plans affordable, you’re in the right place!
How to make family meal planning work for you
Before starting meal planning, it’s essential to understand your family’s unique needs and preferences. Consider any dietary restrictions, allergies, or food preferences to ensure that your meal plan caters to everyone. Consider portion sizes and quantities based on each family member’s appetite and any specific nutritional requirements. Additionally, take into account your family’s schedule and time constraints, as this will influence the types of meals you plan.
We try to purchase organic foods as much as we can within our food budget and aim for an 80/20 split. 80% organic, 20% conventional. While not always easy, we’ve made adjustments to the way we cook and eat to accommodate our desire to purchase organic foods as much as possible. We don’t go out to eat very often, and I bake from scratch as much as possible to help offset any potential increased costs of purchasing organic foods.
Create a budget
The first step before heading to the grocery store is to look at your monthly income and bills and see what you can afford to spend. This will vary for every family size and budget, but our goal is $200 every week. To keep me out of the grocery store and avoid overspending, we shop every two weeks and purchase enough food and supplies to last that long. That way, I am only shopping twice a month.
Choose budget-friendly meals
Once you know your budget and food preferences, it’s time to start brainstorming meal ideas. I’ve created a master list of meals that are perfect for budget-friendly meal planning that the whole family loves. We chat as a family, choose 10-12 meals we’d like, and create our shopping list based on those meals.
If you don’t have a meal list, I’ve shared over 40 easy recipes here to get you started! Pinterest is also perfect for finding new ideas. You can search for healthy meal plan ideas, menu plans, and so much more. It’s an excellent tool for budget-friendly meal planning. Both of these are great resources to help you get started!
We have about 80-100 meals on our list that we rotate through to keep things interesting. While it’s taken some time to create our list, it’s one of the best tips for avoiding decision fatigue.
Check what ingredients you already have on hand
Now that our budget and meals are ready for two weeks, it’s time to check for pantry staples and any ingredients we need while grocery shopping. By checking what we’ve already got at home, we can avoid purchasing unnecessary items and potentially going over budget. As much as I’d love to have a fully stocked pantry with extra food on hand, it’s just not something we can manage right now. That’s okay, though! It’s a good goal to work towards.
Build your grocery list
Once you’ve checked your meal plan and pantry for ingredients, it’s time to build your shopping list. I like to go through each recipe one by one, compare it to what we have at home, and add anything missing to the list.
Important things to know about our family meal plan
Before I share an example of our family meal plan, it’s important to know these facts about the way we eat. Embracing these habits has helped us create delicious meals and put extra money back into our budget for other goals.
We shop in bulk
Shopping in bulk allows us to save money and purchase fresh fruits and veggies, ground beef, and starches like white rice and all-purpose flour. As a bigger family, we have to purchase more food for our meals, and buying in bulk helps keep us on budget. We don’t buy novelty items like tortilla chips, prepackaged snacks, or candy, as they are not cost-effective choices. If items like this tempt you, stores that sell in bulk may not be the best option for you.
I bake almost everything from scratch
I started teaching myself how to bake bread from scratch almost 2 years ago and haven’t purchased a single loaf of bread since. When I bake a cake, I skip the box mix and do it myself. Bagels, French bread, pasta, pie crust, soups, the list goes on. It’s become therapeutic learning something new and feeding my family an original recipe that I’ve created.
Making your own food is typically less expensive and much healthier as there are fewer unnecessary ingredients.
Breakfast is one of 3 options
It may seem boring, but it streamlines my schedule and ensures I spend less time in the kitchen each day. Baked oatmeal, homemade granola with yogurt, or muffins are on constant rotation. To keep things interesting, I keep our freezer stocked with varying flavors of muffins, and we can switch up what ingredients we add to our oatmeal or granola. If the kids want something different, they know it’s their responsibility to ask for help from an older sibling.
My older children often make their own breakfast and will make extra for the other kids if anyone is interested. It’s just one of those little things that takes a responsibility off my plate and makes my day easier.
Lunch is always sandwiches or quesadillas
Another habit that helps lighten my load is having easy meals for lunch. This allows me to finish up household chores and gives my children an opportunity to gain some responsibility. My kids enjoy the sense of freedom it provides them to make a meal, even if it’s simple.
We have leftover nights at least once a week
To reduce potential food waste, we implement leftover nights. This usually aligns with a date night for my husband and me to keep things simple. Getting through leftovers is probably the biggest struggle we face when it comes to meal planning. My kids don’t always enjoy leftovers, but implementing leftover nights helps them know what to expect.
Budget-friendly family meal plans save us so much money
Implementing budget-friendly meal planning is about saving money, but it’s equally important to save time. I love baking but also need opportunities to step away from the kitchen and spend time with my family. Whether that’s a board game, family walk, or date night with my husband, using a meal plan helps me plan each day and know what I need to prep each day for dinner.
Budget-friendly healthy meal plans
Here’s the fun part! It’s time to create your schedule and plan out your healthy recipes. Here’s what the next 2 weeks look like for us.
Monday
Birria quesadillas with rice and carrot sticks- These are always a big hit. I’ve used both chicken breast and a chuck roast in the slow cooker, added beef or chicken stock, salsa, and taco seasonings, and let it cook on low all day. I don’t have an exact recipe, but this one is pretty similar.
Tuesday
Lasagna and salad: always a huge hit in our home, I make my past from scratch with this super simple recipe. We skip the ricotta for a homemade bechamel. My kids don’t like ricotta, but tweaking my recipe to fit their preferences wasn’t difficult. Veggies are one of the most common side dishes I serve, as it’s important to eat a variety of foods, but they’re also affordable ingredients to keep in the house.
Wednesday
Leftover night: we should have some leftover quesadillas, rice, and maybe some lasagna. The kids can choose what they’d like to heat up as long as they eat something.
Thursday
Bake potato night: completely customizable for each family member and super yummy! We cook bacon and shredded chicken and top it with cheese, green onion, and sour cream. You could also use sweet potatoes for a sweet twist!
Friday
Turkey and cheese melt with tomato soup- Very easy to throw together, which is perfect because we have a date night planned! We butter both sides of the bread and sprinkle with garlic salt, then add 2 slices of cheese and sliced turkey before grilling. The tomato soup we love is very simple but so creamy and filling.
Saturday
Pizza night! The kids love to choose new toppings and help assemble the pizzas. This dough recipe is excellent and makes 3 large pizzas. Served with carrots and ranch while we play a board game.
Sunday
Leftover night- Again, the kids will choose pizza, a sandwich, or something else that’s simple to whip up for an easy night. We also reset our home on Sundays, so I’m pretty tired by the end of the day. Planning a leftover night to make things easier is always a good idea.
We’ll repeat this schedule for a second week before pulling out our budget-friendly meal-planning binder for another two weeks of meals.
My best tips for successfully creating a family meal plan
You can create the most elaborate, budget-friendly meal-planning strategy in the world, but if you can’t stick to it, what’s the point? Here are some of my best tips to ensure your meal plan is sustainable.
Find the best family meal planner
I love planners. I can write out my weekly schedule, add in any upcoming appointments, and write in our weekly meal plan. There are thousands out there, but choose one you’ll actually use. If planners aren’t something you use, that’s okay, too! A notebook, the calendar on your phone, or a dry-erase wall calendar are all excellent alternatives. You just need someone to write your meals so you know what to prep each day.
My favorite planner for meal planning, budgeting, and my business! Use code TGM20 at BizMomCo to save money!
Skip meal delivery services
While they may seem convenient, meal delivery services tend to be overpriced. You’re better off taking time once a week to prep fruits and veggies and plan your meals than spending money to have someone else do it for you.
Save time by using grocery pickup
If you have a grocery store near you that offers grocery pickup, give it a try! I like it because I can price match between the local stores, schedule my pickups, and check something off my to-do list. I have to ship on the weekends as my weekdays are too busy, and trying to get through a busy grocery store sounds miserable.
Make meat a side dish, not the main event
Unless you’re a vegetarian, you know that animal protein has gotten expensive. Instead of making it the main event in our meals, we reduce our portions and serve it in casseroles or as the side. We can still create healthy dinners that include meat without spending so much.
Purchase store brand instead of name brand
While the price difference may be minimal, if you’re swapping all name brands for grocery store brands, the savings can start to stack! Many of them are owned by name brands or have very similar recipes.
Embrace simple living hobbies
Hobbies like baking, canning, sewing, and gardening are incredible for stretching your budget! We have a small garden with potatoes, green beans, watermelon, and a few varieties of squash plants. While it couldn’t completely sustain us, every little bit helps.
Additionally, I am learning how to can foods so that when fresh fruits and veggies are on sale, I can preserve them for later use. Don’t be afraid to try new things! Slow living has done wonders for my mental health and our family budget.
Final thoughts
Budget-friendly meal planning helps us save around $5000 every year compared to the national average for a family our size. That’s enough to pay for our car and homeowner’s insurance for the entire year with some money left over! How incredible is that? With the rising cost of groceries, it can be stressful wondering how to afford to feed your family.
I want to encourage you to use the free meal plan I’ve shared and make changes to your budget so you can stop stressing about groceries and start feeding your family delicious dinners every night!
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