Stuff your face!

Good Afternoon! Ok so I have been doing this awhile at my home off and on and hopefully now on all the time - Meal Planning! Plan out your meals a week in advance, go shopping once a week and reap the benefits - more money in the pocket (only buy from your list - eh hem) and peace of mind because you are not frantically searching for something to make - I hear this is helpful for moms :) . I decided to share this with you all so you can see how much is spent and also how "green" and healthy you can be on a budget. Also for those who say "How in the world can you be Eco friendly on a budget? I would like to be but have no clue how or where to start!" I have your answers here :)

My goal is to spend $50 / wk for 2 sometimes 3 people. There is a blog out there where a lovely woman writes about her $30 weekly challenge - she is a stay at home mom with one little girl and a working man - AMEN SISTER - $30! Wow if you are interested $30 Weekly Challenge her menu plans look good too - not just beans and rice! I found tons of Meal Plan Monday posts on this great site called I'm an Organization Junkie everything from Vegan to Raw to Meat n' Potatoes folks - they are all there. So here goes....

Monday - Spaghetti - spaghetti sauce in a jar - I love Newman's Own varieties w/ 1/2 lb grnd beef (try to find grass fed - happy cow beef) and noodles this time are rice noodles (gluten free) trying to find a good tasting gluten free noodle is a bit tough...we'll see how these go.

Salad - mixed greens

Tuesday - Chicken pot pie - (chicken - free range organic- happy chickens) - buying chicken breast frozen in bulk is cheapest option I've found. Need a pie baking dish, frozen pie crusts - bake bottom 1st for 15 min at 350. So grill chicken - chop up, chop up carrots, broccoli, potatoes (red can have skin on) and mix with cream of mushroom soup - pour in pie dish place other pie crust on top (normally come in packs of 2) cut vent holes and bake for 45 min - 60 min at 350.

Wednesday - Grilled Chicken on spinach w/ sliced almonds

Thursday - Pork Chops (happy pigs - same deal), Asparagus w/ butter and corn on the cob

Friday - Rice, beans, mixed veggies, 3 tablespoons salsa, corn, and can add browned ground beef - cook rice first then throw it all together and let cook for 15 min (just to heat it all up) you can throw some cheese on top (I use fake cheese -think it's made out of soy) if you'd like as well as avocado slices or guacamole - I prefer to eat the vegetarian version - but it's all good and you can scoop up with a tortilla

Saturday - left overs

Sunday - Lasagna I will try this version and see what happens :)

Breakfast - Granola/protein bars - I like Cliff bars and you can always find the $1 / bar deal at most grocery stores, smoothies w/ organic frozen fruit, almond milk or water, flax seeds, bananas, protein mix

Lunches - sandwiches, leftovers, fruit, eat out 2 X during week for lunch - try to stay under $10 a meal - very doable

Snacks - fruit, nuts

ok so $$$ two weeks ago I spent $130 on groceries/household supplies - since we were out of town and generally not cooking so our pantry/freezer got depleted. Last week it was $75 BUT I had a $50 gift card to Wal Mart so it was only $25 :) so we'll see if this week I can stick to budget. I'm getting my stock piles up again so it should be easy to hit.

The key is to focus on the veggies/fruits - side dishes - less meat - the sides should be the star of the show - pile on the veggies/fruits/salad and use much less meat - you WILL fill up just fine on the other stuff. Veggies and Fruits are fairly inexpensive if you make sure and do the list with quantities. And it is soooo much healthier for you Happy Eating :)