Real Food Budget + Menu Week 1 (GF & DF)

Real Food Menu Plus Menu Week 1

Dear friends… I have a problem. It’s called spending too much on groceries. Our food budget for a family of 3 (yes we have a baby that does eat a little bit of food, but I’m breastfeeding which makes me twice as hungry) was around $600 a month. But we will do that no more. We are attempting to stick to a strict $400 a month food budget. My hubby doesn’t believe I can do it, but I want to prove him wrong.

Meal planning: You can see how I meal plan here. It may be confusing since I start the meal plan week on Monday, but I don’t grocery shop until my day off on Friday I use Friday as my first day of the week for the menu. Make sense? Of course you can move recipes around to any day you would like.

Week 1: 

Breakfast is usually oatmeal or toast, fruit, and eggs.

Lunch is leftovers for me and the baby, hubby usually eats a PB&J with carrots and other various snacks.

Snacks are usually trail mix, fruit, chips, or pretzels. Honestly I try to limit my snacks as much as possible, but the hubby is snack king. They are easy for him to eat in the car while he is driving.

Menu:

M: Chicken, cabbage, and white bean soup. I make this soup by sautéing onions and garlic in a large pot. Add in 2 large chopped carrots, a half of head of cabbage chopped, 1 can of cannalini beans, veggie of choice- we used broccoli (optional), and 2 boxes of chicken broth or homemade broth. Bring to a boil cook about 20 minutes. Add in 2 cups of leftover chicken- shredded. Heat for another 5 minutes.

  • Had carrots, beans, and 1 box of chicken broth on hand.

T: Leftovers (we have group this night so we usually bring a small side)

W: Lemon chicken with sautéed veggies, and goat cheese over pasta. Find recipe here.

  • On hand: GF pasta and butter
  • Leave goat cheese out if you can’t tolerate goats milk.

Th: Leftovers

F: Potato and cabbage hash w/ eggs. Chop 4 medium white potatoes and 2 small sweet potatoes. In a pan sauté onions and potatoes until fork tender and add in cabbage and cook until cabbage is translucent ~10 minutes. In a sauté pan fry 1 egg per person.

S: Spagetti with meatballs and a veggie of choice. This is the first time ever making beef meat balls and they were alright…

  • On hand: GF pasta and marinara sauce

Sun: Chicken nachos w/ rice, homemade guacamole, salsa, and beans. Cook chicken in crockpot (I use this recipe) and use for dinner on Monday and Wednesday. Top tortilla chips with cooked chicken, beans, onion and pepper. Bake in oven at 350 degrees until heated through- about 10 minutes. Enjoy with guacamole and salsa. You can also top with cheese, but we can’t eat dairy.

  • On hand: rice, beans, salsa, onion, and tortilla chips.

Total Spent: $105.83

Aldi: $26.65

  • Asparagus: not organic, but it is on the clean 15 list
  • Organic chicken broth- you can make your own and save money.
  • Organic avocados
  • Organic quinoa- needed for pantry stock
  • Goat cheese
  • Organic apples
  • Organic frozen strawberries
  • 2 bags of chips for snacks
  • GF pretzels

Kroger: $32.10

  • Organic Bananas- 2.5#
  • Organic russet potatoes-3#
  • Organic sweet potatoes- 2
  • Organic frozen vegetables- 3 bags
  • Organic zucchini- 2
  • Organic cabbage
  • Organic peppers- 2
  • Coconut milk
  • Lemons- 2- they were out of organic
  • GF bread

Co-op: $22.08

  • Free range whole chicken
  • Organic coffee
  • Organic tomato
  • Organic jelly
  • Organic oranges- on sale
  • Organic mango- on super sale

Farmers market: $12.50

  • Free range eggs- 2 dozen
  • Grass fed beef- 1#

OK so I did go a little over my budget. First mistake… I took my hubby with to the co op and he picked up 3 things not on the list. Second mistake… I purchased a smoothie at a store because I had a coupon not thinking it wasn’t something that was really needed. So I payed $2 back from my own spending money to the grocery budget. As my hubby told me, I failed at no spend month on the first day haha. Lord give me grace.

Not so bad for the first time trying to get to $100.

Don’t forget to enter to win 1 year free of You Need a Budget- YNAB

 

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