Week #1- $50 or Less Weekly Menu

GB101

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Published on 01-02-2011 09:00 PM

9 Comments

Over the course of the past 14 years, our family has spent an average of $250 per month on groceries and household items for the four of us. At the request of a good friend, we've decided to share our weekly menus with the world, in hopes that you too can get your family out of debt in this gloomy economy.

Our weekly menus run from Monday through Sunday.

Week 1 Grocery Notes: If you'll note in the picture, I purchased 30 pounds of pork in various cuts from Food Lion for $29. The Welches juices

were completely free due to coupons I received from posts shared in the freebies forums. The vegetables were purchased at our local store for under $6 total. (Please note that there are 2 packages of dole salad mix that got cut off from the photo). Total cost for the groceries pictured here $38.62, (including tax).

Obviously we aren't going to eat all of that pork in a week, it will most likely be spread out throughout the entire month. The 1/2 gallon of milk isn't going to last the entire week with 2 teenage boys to feed,

but we already had a gallon on hand before this shopping trip. The additional $11.38 was spent on weekly loss leaders.

January 3rd - 9th -

Monday 3rd:

Breakfast: Biscuits, (split, Toasted and buttered with homemade Jam), homemade applesauce*
Lunch: Salad with sliced hardboiled eggs, shredded cheddar cheese
Dinner: Apple Roasted Pork, applesauce*, squash*, baked potatoes with sour cream/chives

Tuesday 4th

Breakfast: French Toast, maple syrup (dh cooked a bunch of extra FT to toss into the freezer. That way the kids can simply pop them into the toaster in the morning for a fast, hot breakfast.)
Lunch: grilled cheese & Tomato Soup
Dinner: Chinese Pork Chop Suey, Jasmine Rice (made using leftover pork)

Wednesday 5th

Breakfast: cold cereal or oatmeal
Lunch: Salad or PB & J
Dinner: Pork Enchilada Casserole (using

leftover pork)

Thursday 6th

Breakfast: poached eggs on toast
Lunch: Poor Boy (grilled cheese with tomato slices)
Dinner: Spinach Quiche w/ Hash Brown Potatoes

Friday 7th

Breakfast: Bagels & Cream Cheese
Lunch: leftover Quiche
Dinner: Crab Newburg over Old Bay Pasta

Saturday 8th:

Breakfast: Omelets & Toast
Lunch: (leftover) Crab Newburg over fresh biscuits
Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie & Cranberry Sauce

Sunday 9th

Breakfast: Just Middles (Cinnamon Rolls the easy way)
Lunch: Big Whip
Dinner: Pizza Pasta, garlic bread and side salad

Various Snacks:

homemade Potato Chips
Microwave Popcorn
granola bars
Apples (Sliced w/ peanut butter or Apple Dip)
Rice Krispie Treats
Beef Jerky
Hard boiled eggs (I usually keep a dozen or so on hand for fast, easy snacking)

Drinks included:

Welches Grape Juice (I had 3 free bottles!)
Apple Juice
Iced Tea or herbal teas
Coffee

A few things I'd like to share:

I raise chickens & therefore have more eggs than you could shake a stick at! The chickens are free range (most of the time) and eat whatever they can find, plus all of our fruit, veggie, grain/bread table scraps. In addition

to providing us with 3-4 dozen fresh eggs per Week, they also provide an excellent fertilizer for the lawn/garden, as well as pest control.
If you have the opportunity, it is well worth getting 3-4 hens to provide nearly free eggs.

*Several of the vegetables listed were purchased (or homegrown) when they were in season, vacuum sealed and frozen. We do our best to purchase fruits & vegetables in season and either can, freeze or dehydrate them for later consumption.

9 Comments

Amber - 03-10-2011, 03:19 PM
- Reply
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your menu. I hate searching for recipe ideas when dinnertime rolls around. It's nice to see what other people are eating and how they figure out healthy menus on a limited budget.

lilmomma - 12-21-2011, 01:55 PM
- Reply
I was looking for the post about the $10.00 one. I found this one so I'm going to try and see If I can do the same thing. Might even give me something to start on for the new year. Thank you for all that you do. Ruth.

GB101 - 12-21-2011, 10:10 PM
- Reply
I think you might be referring to this one:

http://www.budget101.com/household/d...ceries-14.html

Cammy Lou - 08-21-2012, 08:30 PM
- Reply
Thank you for all the great ideas , I live on a very tight budget. Now with your help I will be able to live out on my own.

Bamo72 - 11-06-2013, 01:59 PM
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So the lunches during the week, they would not fill my kids at all. Are the kids included on the count in the menu? I mean just one of my children for lunch will take two sandwiches, apple, cookies, cheezits, granola bar, and a drink and still be starved when they get home. And I have three teenage boys who eat like that. And on the weekends you can add three more teenagers that also eat like that. I am glad you have posted this, but after weeks of looking at it, I cannot figure out how to make it work for my family in Michigan where animals are not allowed to be kept on your property where I live, and gardening is only good for like 3 months. I have gotten some ideas though, so thank you.

GB101 - 11-08-2013, 05:56 AM
- Reply
Originally Posted by Bamo72

So the lunches during the week, they would not fill my kids at all. Are the kids included on the count in the menu? I mean just one of my children for lunch will take two sandwiches, apple, cookies, cheezits, granola bar, and a drink and still be starved when they get home.

Yup, ours too, they eat like ravenous wolves, if I have grilled cheese on the menu plan, my oldest can eat 4 without blinking. I always include salad, it's filling, it's healthy and it's cheap. I make homemade croutons, bake bacon slices and finely chop them to add to salads, add hardboiled eggs, etc. It doesn't take long to take a boring salad and make it filling and tasty.I've found when they get junk- cheez-its, crackers, granola bars etc they become unending pits of hunger.

Bamo72 - 11-18-2013, 12:08 AM
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Salads where cheap when I lived down south, but a bit more expensive up here in MI. It helps that I make my own granola bars and can alot of stuff.

ShellyB - 01-02-2014, 06:36 PM
- Reply
Fantastic web site. I just finished reading all of our article, and am now going through your weekly menus. I have to say THANK YOU. Yes, I used all capital letters but because your web site is so relevant and helpful.

samoore001 - 07-11-2014, 10:41 PM
- Reply
I wish I would have found this site earlier, thank you for all the great advice on how to eat on a budget and not feel like it.

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