2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week #7

2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week After last weeks frugal fast, we're all looking forward to some decent fresh produce this week and luckily, there are some wonderful deals to be found. Our budget for this week was $53.62 and we've decided to do things a bit differently . . .

Rather than list out all the items we purchased individually, we thought we'd share our receipt and a photo of this weeks groceries instead! We spent a bit more this week than normal because I purchased 3 loaves of bread. I'm eating low carb and baking bread & having the smell of it wafting through the house isn't working so well for my "self-control". I also picked up a package of "sandwich skinnys" because I plan on working on my copycat recipe later this week and wanted something to compare it to. The oatmeal wheat blend skinnys seem to be the hardest to recreate, anyway, I digress. Onto this weeks menu!
If you see * beside a recipe it means check out the FYI note at the bottom of the page for more info!

Breakfast Choices this week: If you're new to the site, please note that this is a sampling of what's available for breakfast.

• Raspberry Jam Breakfast Bars
• Hard Boiled Eggs (great protein burst, dirt cheap, actually free since we raise chickens)
• Broiled Grapefruits with a dash of cinnamon
• Berry & Yogurt Parfaits
• French Toast
• Egg White Omelets (Egg whites, diced veggies, seasonings)
• Apple Walnut Butterhorns
• GF Banana Nut Muffins (recipe coming this week)
• Protein Shake Smoothies (Vanilla Whey, Berries or Tablespoon of Peanut Butter, Ice)
• Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal

Monday

February 11th, 2013:

• Lunch: Leftover SouthEastern Chicken Stew, corn muffins (from yesterday)
  
• Dinner: Marinated Grilled Pork Chops, Salad, Savory Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday 12th

• Lunch: Strawberry Melon Salad *
• Dinner: Canadian Grilled Chicken, Salad, steamed green beans with garlic butter

Wednesday 13th:

• Lunch: Dijon Egg Salad on Skinnys
• Dinner: Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon*, Baked Potato, Sweet Peas

Thursday 14th:

• Lunch: Fish Tacos (using leftover salmon!)
• Dinner: Valentines Dinner for 2- Montreal Grilled Steaks, Garlic & Parmesan Broccoli, Twice Baked Potatoes, Double Chocolate Lava Cakes

Friday February 15th:

• Lunch: Toasted PB & J
• Dinner: Saucy Cabbage Rolls

Saturday 16th:

• Lunch: Leftover Cabbage Rolls
• Dinner: Broccoli Garlic Penne

Sunday 17th

• Lunch: Apple Cabbage Toss
• Dinner: Leftover Night (aka Faux Restaurant Night!)

Various Snacks:

• Fiery Deviled Eggs, Hard Boiled Eggs
• Angel Food Cake & Berries
• Protein Shakes & Protein Bars
• Fresh Fruit- Apples, Bananas, Grapefruit
• Copycat Nature Valley Granola Bars
• Carolina Firecrackers
• Fresh Pineapple Wedges with Coconut Whipped Cream

Drinks Available: A note about our drink offerings, while we do always have coffee and tea in the house, coffee is usually with breakfast, hot tea is usually in the evening and for the most part our other drinks consist of Water. We don't "drink milk" at all.

* Iced Tea (Unsweetened & Sweet Tea)
* Coffee
* Hot Chocolate/Cocoa
* Lemonade

A few things we'd like to share with you:

In addition to all the bread we purchased this week, you might have noticed that we also bought 4 tubes of crescent rolls, which was a last minute sale item of .49 each. These make delicious Apple Walnut Butterhorns as well as blueberry pie bites. The cantaloupe you see in this weeks menu is leftover from last week. The kids only ate about half of the humongous melon, so we threw together a small salad for lunch. The salmon mentioned in this weeks menu plan was fish that we caught ourselves. Broccoli is mentioned twice this week, there's a package of broccoli in the freezer as well.

At the beginning of each week we prepare the vegetables and fruits to make meal preparation easier during the week and to save money by preventing waste. You can read more about that here.

FYI Section:
It has been brought to our attention that a few folks who are just joining us are getting the wrong impression that we purchase EVERYTHING at once for each weeks menu plan. This is not the case at all, nor do we recommend it. We are incorporating items purchased or home canned weeks ago into the menu plan this week.

For example, back on week #39 we purchased over 40 pounds of meat- I promise you we didn't eat that all that week! For Further reading/help we recommend the following:

• The 2012 Family Guide to Groceries under $250 a Month- a guide of how and where to cut grocery expenses to get spending under control while providing an eye-opening view of the dirty manipulation tactics retailers use to keep you spending

• $50 Weekly Menu Plan Help across the USA- Do you find yourself struggling to reduce your grocery bill each month? Check out our Menu plan help across the USA to see if your area has been featured for more 1-on-1 help, if not, feel free to add your request to have your city/state featured.

• February Sales Trends- not sure what Should be on sale right now? Here is a list of the current Sales trends for the month of January, so you know what savings to expect

• $50 Dollar Menu Frequently Asked Questions - a few of the most often asked questions regarding our $50 menu plans
  • Basic Questions- Why we don't provide a shopping list, Random ingredients that aren't in the shopping list, are groceries cheaper , etc
  • More Questions- more in depth questions regarding dietary guidelines, dealing with picky eaters, junk food and more