$50 Menu Plan Help: Three Rivers, Michigan

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This weeks $50 Menu Plan help across the USA is for Three Rivers, Michigan.

KareBear400 wrote, “Three Rivers, MI 49094, we have a Meijers, Walmart, and a Hardings in our town. I would love to get your help and advice for lowering our foods bills to $50/week. We have are a family of 5 and we have one teenager, and two preteens so needless to say we are constantly feeding them. My husband and I are tired of walking out of the store with three bags of groceries that cost $100 or more and yet we still have hardly anything for meals/snacks. Please HELP!!”

Karebear has stated that her normal preferred stores are Meijers, Walmart and Harding- however, based on her stated expenses it would appear that these stores aren’t offering her a lot in the way of deals. Based on her location, we’ve located a store only 11 miles away that would offer her considerable savings on her grocery bill, Aldi.

She might also want to consider shopping at Sam’s Club about once a month to take advantage of meat deals. There is one about 20-25 minutes from her in Battle Creek.

Aldi Deals from this weeks flyer

Friendly Farms Milk $1.69 Gallon
Fresh Whole Pineapple $1.49 Each
Fresh Cherries $1.99 lb
Seedless Watermelon $3.49 ea
Fresh Strawberries $1.19 lb
Fresh Blueberries $1.29 Pint
Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast $1.99 lb
Chicken Drumsticks or thighs .99lb
Hotdog or Hamburg Buns .79
Fresh Pork Shoulder Steaks $2.19 lb
Flat Leaf Spinach $1.69
Cottage Cheese $1.99

Aldi’s Everyday Prices:
Artisan Lettuce $1.99
Bell Peppers $1.29
Cucumbers .99-1.29
Frozen Ground Turkey $1.47 lb
Frozen Veggies .79-.99 bag
Refrigerated Roll Dough (Like the pillsbury bread dough in a can) .99
Zucchini $1.50 pkg
Summer Squash $1.50 pkg
Onions $1.29 3-5lbs
Colored Bell Peppers 3/$1.59
Potatoes 10#/$3.99 (or less)
Oatmeal $1.69
celery $1.29
Bananas .39 # (or less)
Bread $1.29 a loaf (or less)
eggs .99
Sweet Potatoes 3lb $1.49
Honey $2.49
Sugar $2.19
Flour $1.79
White Rice $1.69

Meijer Store Deals from this Weeks Flyer:

Pork Shoulder Ribs $1.37 lb
Peaches .99 lb
Nectarines .99
Bratwurst $2.69 pkg of 5
Oscar Mayer Bologna .99
Cool Whip .99
Pasta $1 box (Muellers various types)
Raisin Bran or Shredded Wheat Cereal $1.99 box
Meijer Soft Tortillas .99

(non food deal: Purex Laundry Detergent $2.99)

Hardings Deals from this weeks Flyer:

Nothing Notable.

Sam’s Club Deals (this weeks online flyer)

Pork Boston Butt $1.68 Pound
Whole Pork Boneless Loin $2.48 lb (this can be cut into loin roast or thick chops for grilling or stuffing)
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast $1.77 lb

Example of groceries you might choose to purchase from the weekly deals available:

1 Gal Milk $1.69
1 watermelon 3.49
1 pineapple $1.49
2 pints blueberries $1.29 (x2 pints) = 2.58
5 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken $1.77 (x5 pounds) = 8.85
Flat Leaf Spinach $1.69
Artisan Lettuce $1.99
Bell Peppers $1.29
Cucumbers 2/$1.
3 lbs banana .40# = $1.20
White Rice $1.69
Oscar Mayer Bologna .99
Pasta .99 box
Meijer Soft Tortillas .99 (x2 pkgs) = $1.98
2 doz eggs .99 (x2) $1.98
Cherries $1.99
celery 1.29
potatoes 3.99
carrots (2lbs) .99
Pork Roast $1.58 (x4) $6.32
Frozen Ground Turkey $2.94
—————————————–
Total Spent $50.42

Breakfast ideas:

French Toast
Blueberry Pancakes or Muffins
Jam Breakfast bars
Blueberry ginger Smoothies
Fruit Salad- Cut the watermelon in half, scoop the insides out, cut into bite size chunks, mix with fresh strawberries, blueberries & fresh pineapple chunks- makes a great Healthy Breakfast or snack

Lunch/Dinner Ideas: the Following recipes are extremely simple to prepare, even for beginner cooks:

Shepherds Pie (leftovers for lunch next day) & Salad
Italian Pasta Salad -Rotini Pasta, Shredded Carrots & Chopped black olives with Italian dressing
Cajun Pork Roast w/ Salad & Baked Potatoes
Pulled Pork Sandwiches (using leftover roast), Garlic Roasted summer Squash Spears
chicken Pesto Pizza, Salad
Key West Grilled Chicken, Au Gratin Potatoes (Serve the leftover chicken in wraps the next day for lunch or cut up over salad)
Savory Meatloaf, Salad (leftovers for lunch next day)
Egg Salad (18 different ways) Sandwiches or Wraps
Bologna Sandwiches

More Snack Ideas:

Banana Muffins
Fresh Watermelon/Fruit Salad
Fresh Cherries
Chewy Granola Bars
Copycat Nature Valley Granola Bars
Fruit Kebabs
Grilled Pineapple

I’m actually a bit jealous on the milk prices! Did you know that if you remove a bit of milk from the jug, you can freeze it for later with no ill effects? Milk actually freezes quite well and on another note, your freezer actually runs LESS when it’s full than when it’s empty, thereby saving you money on your electric bill as well.

Incidentally, if you happen to be gatorade drinkers- Aldi offers an “aldi brand” sports drink for about 1/3 of the price of Gatorade and it actually tastes exactly the same.

Other Resources to Checkout:

In addition to the great buys listed above, it may be worth it to check out a few of the farmers markets available in this area:

Asher Acres website
Clare Limerick Alpaca & Produce Farm – website
Coonce Farms -(5 miles away) Network with local Amish Farms for fresh organic foods
Hoover Farm – 15105 R Dr S Tekonsha, MI 49092
Idle River Farms (Union City)- (2.5 miles away) website
Karyl Baker- (5 miles away)- raises Siler Laced Wyandatts (Chicken/eggs)
Maurer Family Pasture Farm (3.5 miles away)
The Hiday Farm (6 miles away)
Pleasant Hill Farm (Sells yr round at various Farmers Markets) 8711 G Drive S Ceresco, MI 49033
Tomorrow Farm- (13 miles away) website 8690 2 1/2 Mile Rd East Leroy, MI 49051
Union City Farmer’s Market –
Vaughn River Ranch