Lucky for us I am a bit of a food hoarder, I like to prep as it saves tons of time and money. When i find a killer sale I stock up, I freeze things people normally don't and it save us TONS. (my Saving a Buck category will give you hints as to what I typically do) After scanning both the big freezer and the pantry I discovered that I had about a dozen prepared meals I already made ready to go. We were also just recently gifted a wonderful shipment of Omaha Steak items so we can splurge at least once a week on those yummy items!
Getting creative I am able to fill out the entire calendar with meals I have already prepped, ones that take minimal time and only a few I need to make from scratch- and when I do I will make in large quantities! This is ALL made from food we already have!
Along with these meals I will need to add some fresh produce. I plan to do thrifty alternatives as I am hoping to keep our TOTAL food budget for this month at $250 for the family of four big eaters (including pet items and home care things like TP). Okay- three big eaters and one child-sized appetite. I will make it work!
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| our menu plan for all of March. I will stick to it like glue! |
Thrifty Produce Ideas(these will be my staples for the month since they are CHEAP)
Carrots:
my favorite Balsamic Carrot Salad
regular Carrot Salad
sliced and eaten raw
throw in soups and stir-frys
Kale:
my very favorite Kale Caesar Salad
Apples:
eaten whole
Bananas:
in smoothies
eaten whole
on granola and yogurt
in healthy cookies 2 Ingredient Cookies
Spinach:
salads
smoothies
sandwiches
Onions:
in everything!
Broccoli:
stirfrys
Broccoli Salad
to dip in hummus
Cabbage:
with tacos
with fish
in sandwiches
as coleslaw
Sprouts(grow my own):
salads
sandwiches & wraps
taco night
Im hoping we will have leftovers many of the days to carry over to lunch for the following. I also plan on making a lot of sandwiches for lunches, oats for breakfast and anything else I can scrounge up :)
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| full pantry and freezer. (hidden agenda: organize this chaos! ) |
Here is to a very frugal March!!! Curious as to why we are doing a No-Spend Month? This post HERE will tell you more! Come back to follow my journey! Im excited to share my progress!
Like menus? Check out OrgJunkie for more!
We are doing a month of no-spend as well, we need to get ahead for school tuition and traveling though so a bit of a different situation than yours, but a need we feel none-the-less. We aren't as stocked as you so we have a grocery budget, but it is quite small since we live in an area with really low grocery prices. Good luck, I can't wait to follow your journey of no-spend!
ReplyDeleteoh yay! thank you for posting- I can't wait to follow your journey as well! This is actually our 2nd no spend month since last summer :D
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