Meal Plan | August 2011

1  |  Fettuccine Alfredo with Bacon
2  |  Skinny Chicken Tikka Masala and rice
3  |  Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
4  |  Asian Chicken Wraps
5  |  Tacos and Spanish rice
6  |  lake

7  |  Bourbon Chicken and rice
8  |  Date Night
9  |  Spaghetti, garlic bread
10  |  French Toast, eggs, sausage
11  |  Slow Cooked Pepper Steak, mashed potatoes
12  |  Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata
13  |  lake

14  |  Philly Cheesesteak Pizza
15  |  Makeover Rigatoni with Bacon and Asparagus
16  |  crunchy garlic chicken salad
17  |  cheeseburgers, Italian new potato bake
18  |  BLTs, pasta salad
19  |  Asian Grilled Chicken, rice, garlic parmesan edamame
20  |  lake

21  |  Chipotle Lime fajitas
22  |  Baked Potato Soup
23  |  Sausage Skillet
24  |  meatballs in cream of mushroom soup over egg noodles, sweet corn
25  |  Slow Cooked Chicken Dinner
26  |  out
27  |  lake

28  |  Pizza Bites
29  |  Loaded Baked Potatoes
30  |  out
31  |  Beef Stew

meal plan 5/1 - 5/7

Sunday:  out
Monday:  spaghetti and garlic bread
Tuesday:  sweet and spicy bacon chicken on ciabatta rolls, sweet corn
Wednesday: chicken fettuccine alfredo
Thursday:  biscuit tostadas, Spanish rice (Cinco de Mayo)
Friday:  Philly cheesesteak pizza
Saturday:  out

meal plan 4/24-4/30

Sunday:  Easter
Monday: walkin' tacos and Spanish rice
Tuesday:  grilled chicken caesar salad
Wednesday:  chicken tikka masala and rice (subbing, because we didn't eat it last week)
Thursday:  pesto tortellini
Friday:  appetizer night
Saturday:  out

meal plan 4/17-4/23

Sunday:  sesame pepper flank steak and potatoes  *new*
Monday:  chicken enchiladas  *new*
Tuesday:  Italian drip beef
Wednesday:  FFY
Thursday:  Italian beef stew  *new*
Friday:  out
Saturday:  chicken tikka masala and rice  *new*

how I spend less than $200/month on groceries by meal planning

Many people have asked how I spend so little and how I meal plan, so I thought I'd take the time to write it all up so that I can quit repeating myself. :)

Meal Planning:

1. I start by printing off a calendar each month. I usually just do a Google search of "May 2009 calendar" or whatever month I need.  Updated:  I now just have a calendar in Excel that I just add to.  No more printing it out for me!
2. Then I get out my binder of recipes (This is full of recipes I've found online or in magazines that I cut out and put in a binder. I have arranged them by type to make them easier to find. I also have gone through all my cookbooks and made a list of all the recipes I love or want to try and arranged them by type as well with the name of the cookbook I can find it in at the end. This makes meal planning super easy.).  update:  I also have lots of recipes pinned on Pinterest that I will go through.
3. I go through all my recipes and just plug them into different days. I try to do Meatless Mondays and FFY (fend for yourselves, aka leftovers) on Wednesdays or Thursdays, depending on when I have bigger meals that will have more leftovers. I also try to not put similar foods right next to each other, like no chicken 2 days in a row, etc. Lunches are always leftovers, which saves us lots of money.  update:  no longer stick to the meatless mondays.  :)  They fall on any old day of the week.
4. As I go through and plug in the recipes, I also make a grocery list on Microsoft Word as I go along. I separate it into weeks. I don't write down what I know I already have, but I do write it down if I'm not sure if I have it or not. 

Saving Money:

• Now that the grocery list is complete, I go to each grocery store's website to check out the sales. I put everything on sale in bold with the price next to it, as well as the name of the store where it's on sale. I do this for ALL of the weeks, but I don't do it for produce (except for things that I can freeze like onions and peppers) and other things that will go bad later in the month, just the current week for those. Those in FM, remember that Sunmart and Cashwise ads come out on Sundays, and Hornbachers comes out on Wednesdays.  update:  I also plug the lists into Cozi now and have them sent to my phone, rather than take the whole list with me.  My shopping lists are separated on Cozi by store.
• Once you have bolded all the sale stuff, print out your grocery list. Go into your kitchen and cross off the things that you already have, but weren't sure if you did or not earlier.  update:  no longer print it out.
• Grocery shopping time - We try to go grocery shopping each Sunday at either Hornbachers or Cashwise, depending on which had the best sales. B works close to Sunmart, so if we need sale items from there, he'll just pick them up after work.  update:  We tend to hit all of the stores on Sundays now so that we don't have to make extra trips with how high the gas is now.  We do, however, usually hit Hornbachers on either Wednesday or Thursday to get the stuff for Thursday-Saturday that wasn't on sale at the other stores, since Hornbachers's ad comes out on Wednesdays.
• What to buy - Buy everything that you need for the current week, as well as everything else that is bolded on your list for the rest of the month (remember, don't bold the produce and stuff that will go bad if it's not for the current week!). Once you've bought the item, cross it off so that you know you don't need to buy it later in the month. Just hold on to the list and use it each week. Since you can't bold it when it's printed off, I'll either use highlights later in the month, or just write the sale prices down next to the items. Once you get to the last couple weeks, there's usually not much left to buy on your list!
• Using coupons - I don't use a ton of coupons, because the generic brands are generally just as good, and they usually end up being cheaper, even if you use a coupon on a brand name item. The only time I'll use a coupon is if the item is also on sale and it will still end up cheaper than the generic brand. Remember, if you don't normally buy the product you have a coupon for, you're not saving money! Only clip coupons for items that you normally would buy!
• When things come up - If something comes up and you're not able to make the meal you had planned on making... I just shift things over a day, or if I can, I add the missed meal to the next month. Or, if there's a meal towards the end of the month that I haven't bought ingredients for yet, I'll just omit that meal and substitute the missed meal.
• Buying meat in bulk - When meat goes on a good sale, we get all the meat we need for the month at once. If it's not a good sale, we'll just get it for the week. Last month, hamburger was $1.67/lb, so we bought about 12 lbs. of it, I think.
• Buying rice in bulk - We buy our rice from either a natural foods store or an Asian food market. WAY cheaper.
• Take advantage of the summer months! Buy produce at vegetable stands or farmer's markets! The veggies are SO much yummier, and WAY cheaper! If it's not summer, use frozen veggies! Once you cook them, they taste the same. It's way cheaper to buy a mix of frozen red peppers, green peppers and onions than to buy each thing when you're doing a stir fry.
• We very rarely buy those frozen pre-made meals. It's way cheaper to make food from scratch, and it tastes way better too!

Coupon Sites/Money Saving Blogs that I like:

• Coupons.com
• A Full Cup
• Coupon Saving Family
• Being Frugal is Fabulous
• iMommies
• Coupon Cravings
• Sarah's Deals
• Money Saving Mom
• Deal Seeking Mom
• Organic Grocery Deals

Hope all this information helps and that I didn't overwhelm you all!

Meal Plan 4/10-4/16

Sunday:  out
Monday:  tandoori chicken over rice *new*
Tuesday:  FFY
Wednesday:  braised flank steak with peppers and onions  *new*
Thursday:  teriyaki meatballs and couscous
Friday:  date night
Saturday:  chipotle chicken paninis and crash hot potatoes

Meal Plan 4/2 - 4/9

I make my meal plans for a month at a time.  Do you guys want to see the whole month at once, or should I break it up into weeks like I've been doing?

Sunday: BBQ chicken pizza  (new)
Monday:  Pasta Primavera
Tuesday:  FFY
Wednesday:  hamburgers, O'Brien potatoes, sweet corn
Thursday:  spaghetti and garlic breadsticks
Friday:  slow cooker Chinese chicken curry over rice
Saturday:  out

Meal Plan 3/27-4/2

Sunday:  taco pizza with chips and salsa
Monday:  sweet and spicy bacon chicken on ciabatta rolls with Suddenly Salad and sweet corn
Tuesday:  slow cooked steak fajitas  (new)
Wednesday:  FFY
Thursday:  bbq cheeseburgers, fries (olive oil, rosemary and sea salt), green beans  (new)
Friday:  baked potato soup
Saturday:  Cajun chicken pasta  (new)

Meal Plan 2/27-3/5

Sunday:  chipotle chicken panini on focaccia
Monday:  steak and crash hot potatoes
Tuesday:  taco pasta
Wednesday:  simple sesame chicken and Thai sesame noodles
Thursday:  FFY (fend for yourself)
Friday:  baked potato soup
Saturday:  fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and dinner rolls

Meal Plan 2/6 - 2/12

Eventually I'll put links to my recipes when I do these, but since I just started, I don't have them yet.  :)  I meal plan for a month at a time, but I'm not quite finished yet for February, so I'll just be posting my weekly meal plans this month.

• Sunday: Super Bowl - chicken tortilla soup 
• Monday: hamburgers, steak fries, green beans
• Tuesday: Asian chicken wraps
• Wednesday: Penne Rustica, homemade bread
• Thursday: Pepperoni Bread
• Friday: Date Night
• Saturday: Fiesta Nachos