Saving money and time in the kitchen is all about having a plan. This two-week meal plan can be customized to your level of cooking expertise. We have recipes for people who “Hate to Cook” and people who “Like to Cook”. The recipes are in two web articles that you can print out. We’ll add new recipes to each cooking level on a weekly basis so that you can keep your meal plan interesting. There is also a printable shopping list for the meal plan so you can zoom through the market in record time.
Grocery List Template (printable)
The recipes in the web articles are for the main dish of the meal only. For each main dish, there are suggested “sides” that will round out the nutritional value of the meal. Once you get into the rhythm of this plan, you’ll find that buying in bulk and buying sale staples in larger quantities will save you even more money.
You’ll notice that our plan on Mondays is called Meatless Mondays. I have been doing this experiment with my family for the past few months and they have come to expect and embrace the idea. I explained to them at the outset that eating meatless, occasionally, is good for the environment and can also save a lot of money, given that meat is usually the most expensive thing on my grocery list (besides wine:). Enjoy our meal plan and be sure to give us feedback!
Week One:
Sunday – Pasta Night
Monday – Meatless Monday
Tuesday – Soup/Stew and Bread Night
Wednesday – Easy Day Suggestions
Thursday – Burger /Panini Night
Friday – Fish or Fowl
Saturday – “Smorgasbord” Night (use your leftovers with supplements)
Week Two:
Sunday – Casserole Night
Monday – Meatless Monday
Tuesday – Soup/Stew and Bread Night (make a different soup than Week One)
Wednesday – Easy Day Suggestions
Thursday – Entrée Salad and Bread
Friday – Carnivore’s Choice
Saturday – Eat out! You deserve it.
a friend
This is all good, but I have a very large family, we have ten children and some of this is cheap when its for a family of four but other than that it cost way more for me….I need more creative help then this, sorry but I really do.
Thanks for the feedback, Julie! If you’d like to contribute to the website send us an email. You have some great ideas!
noticed the grocery list had check marks for baggies and foil. of late i have tried to produce less waste and save so i have been using all of the plastic containers and tupperware i have on hand to pack lunches and store all leftovers. granted these are small ticket items but everything adds up. and i feel much better about making less trash. my diet consists of many of the same items from week to week so i even forgo washing some containers between uses – fruit/veggies mainly that don’t get gross, stain or mold. i sometimes use foil to cook – but never to wrap leftovers.
Thanks for this outstanding post. I would like to come back sometime soon. Thanks again
The grocery list is hardly frugal. It only covers meals for dinners. If you didn’t already have these items at home, you could potentially spend alot of money to get started with this. My family of 4 lives much much cheaper than this AND that includes extra meals throughout the day for me who is doing bodybuilding. Additionally, being frugal AND eating healthy can be even harder. Often times a harsh taste bud budget is in order for those who struggle with money. Also, what about bulk food buying? It doesn’t ALWAYS save you money but rather for those of us on a fixed budget, it can wreak havoc only to save you a few quarters. Yes, things add up and every penny counts but when you have a fixed amount of pennies, sometimes you just can’t buy in bulk. I’d encourage this website to take an even more aggressive look at being frugal especially with food and/or other energy items (on the rise costwise).