Cheap Meal Plans for Families

Cheap Meal Plans for Families - recipes, printable menus and tips to help you save money on weekly grocery shopping are featured as part of our Weekly Meal Plan. I hope you'll use these recipes to inspire your meal planning for the week.

Let’s talk about this week’s meal plan and how to save money on your grocery bills.

Feeding a family while you're trying to save money can be a difficult job. Today I'm going to share with you a few tips that I have used over the years to plan cheap family dinner recipes as well as saving money while grocery shopping.

A few of my family's favorite meals, like my daughter's Pasta Fagioli Recipe, or Hamburgers in Mushroom Gravy are very economical to prepare. They also happen to be delicious!

How to meal plan on a budget:

We've all had times when we need to feed our family when money is low. I remember taking a calculator with me to the grocery store when our daughter was first born to make sure I didn't go over a certain amount because there wasn't much left in our checking account.

Choose recipes you know your family will eat. Now, sometimes that can be difficult if you have picky eaters at home.
Try to plan meals that are also healthy and don't contain many processed foods.
Take advantage of frozen vegetables instead of fresh vegetables. Try to stay away from canned vegetables as most of those are filled with added sodium.
Pay attention to grocery store sales circulars and buy what's on sale. Put a meal plan together with what you can purchase that's on sale this week.
Try to plan one vegetarian or meatless meal.
Do your best to plan ahead. That drive thru meal could cost a family of four close to $40! Even if you think you don't have time to cook dinner, you can always make my family's favorite grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup.

Make sure you check out 10 Essentials Pantry Items and Freezer Meal Planning Tips to further help you save money on your grocery bill.

Meal Planning Categories

This is just an example of how I like to meal plan. You could also incorporate a “leftover meal” or even “clean out the refrigerator” night.

Try to use what you have in your pantry and freezer to plan meals. It helps to keep a list so you know exactly what you have on hand.

Assign each day of the week a different category and then plan a meal according to that category.

Monday - Meatless, Vegetarian or even Leftovers from the weekend.
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday or Mexican Recipe
Wednesday - Chicken, Beef or Fish
Thursday - Pasta or Italian Night
Friday - Sandwiches and Soup
Saturday - Pizza or Eat Out, Order In
Sunday - Comfort Food Meal

Now, pick a side dish to serve with the recipes listed above. Side dishes should include potatoes or rice along with one or two veggies. A tossed salad with homemade ranch salad dressing is always nice too.

Click HERE to Download and Print Meal Plan #27

Cheap Meal Plans for Families

Photo Credit: www.easyanddelish.com

BLACK BEAN PASTA RECIPE