2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week #11

2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week #11: As we mentioned in last weeks menu plan, March is a fabulous time of year for snatching up deals on cheaper veggies. This week we found traditional St. Pattys Day foods on sale dirt cheap! Whole cabbages for only .79 each, baby carrots for .59 #, 5# of red potatoes for $1.49, etc. Our total grocery expenditure for this week came to . .

$44.78and included the following: corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, apples, blackberries, oranges, milk, yogurt, green peppers, artisan lettuce, tomatoes, tuna, mini bell peppers, spinach, limes, broccoli, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese and a few packages of frozen veggies that were on sale. Keep in mind when shopping throughout March that you’re likely to find great deals on frozen goods as the stores prepare for New Spring products! We found frozen bay scallops marked down for $3 a pound yesterday.

Breakfast Choices this week: You might have noticed that we don’t plan a specific breakfast for a specific day- this is because our kids are teens, they’re not little anymore and the aren’t interested in having their entire diet planned out for them. So, instead, here are a list of various choices of foods available to them all week long to choose from:

• Toasted Bagels with Mock Raspberry Jam
• Banana Walnut Oatmeal
• Hard Boiled Eggs (great protein burst, dirt cheap, actually free since we raise chickens)
• Homemade Bagels–Blueberry, Cinnamon Raisin or Onion
• Irish Scones
• Egg White Omelets (Egg whites, diced veggies, seasonings)
• Eggs- Poached, scrambled, fried, etc
• Blackberry Yogurt Parfaits
• Homemade Larabars

MondayMarch 11, 2013:

• Lunch: Tuna Pasta Salad
• Dinner:Italian Calzones

Tuesday 12th

• Lunch: Loaded Spring Garden Salad
• Dinner:Montreal Grilled Chicken, Broccoli Slaw

Wednesday 13th:

• Lunch: Creamy Tomato Soup, grilled cheese sandwich
• Dinner:Bacon Vegetable Quiche

Thursday 14th:

• Lunch: Southerners Egg Salad Wrap
• Dinner: Key West Grilled Chicken, Salad

Friday February 15th:

• Lunch: Key West Wraps (made with leftovers)
• Dinner:3 Cheese Spinach Ravioli, Salad, Garlic Bread

Saturday March 16th:

• Midday Meal:Traditional St. Patty’s day dinner: Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots, Red potatoes, yeast rolls

Sunday 17th:

• Lunch: Leftover Ravioli or Irish Eggrolls
• Dinner:Red Flannel Hash, Eggs, Biscuits

Various Snacks:

• Fresh Fruit– Apples, Bananas (leftover from last week) Oranges
• Avocado (Leftover from last week)
• Carolina Firecrackers
• Homemade Microwave Popcorn
• Fiery Deviled Eggs, Hard Boiled Eggs
• GF Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
• Irish Scones

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, various flavors)
* Coffee
* Hot Chocolate/Cocoa
* Lemonade
* Homemade Gatorade

A few things we’d like to share with you:
Not everyone in the house is dining on the full-fat/carb version of the meals. The kids, of course, with their wonderful high energy metabolisms are getting the recipes full fat/carbs/etc with no modifications (unless they choose). I, however, am opting to modify certain recipes just a bit, for example, the Sesame Chicken- I’m grilling my piece of chicken and adding just a bit of the sesame sauce for a lower calorie version. The peaches mentioned in this weeks menu plan were home-canned last summer when they were in Season.

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.

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

• Making Fruits & Veggies Last: 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.

• $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