I’m on my second week of the austerity budget version of THM and so far it’s been creative and delish! I might have a over spent a wee bit (i.e., a lot) in my grocery budget department while prepping for Thanksgiving (we were away visiting our wonderful family, but I was the only on the THM train and didn’t want to feel deprived so I bought/brought a lot of goodies from home and while there I splurged shopping at Sprouts and Whole Foods– how could I not splurge a little at those places, right?! ;). So, I’m being more… ahem… creative in my meal planning for a few weeks. 😉
Last week, I relied heavily on freezer/pantry goodies and managed to spend a mere $60 on groceries, $10 of which was taking advantage of a great sale on drumsticks at Aldi. This week, I’m coming in around $70, which includes some splurges (like pecans for Pecan Praline Pay Off Day Candies- oh my yum!). I’m not great a overall meal planning, but I like having options in my freezer and pantry so I can choose as the mood/sales occur. I had paid $3 for 5 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breast at Aldi on sale a few weeks ago, so I defrosted the lot of them last week. We had several chicken meals, including my newest favorite: Zoodles (zucchini noodles) topped with chicken marinated in Italian dressing.
I’ve been surprised how well we can eat while on a tight budget! I haven’t been hungry, and I’m eating yummy treats like those pecan pay off candies, gingerbread cookies, cheese biscuits, and chicken fried rice! I need to keep this in mind when grocery budgets are not as tight and be thankful for the variety!
I’m not always a creative cook, but below are a list of the delicious, easy, on plan meals we’ve been enjoying! Some of these were supplemented by what we already had in the freezer and pantry, but some of my grocery budget also went toward foods just for my toddler or big, strong, hard working, I-want-a-six-pack-but-need-more-food-than-you hubby. I’ve been alternating S and E meals as that seems to help me to be less hungry! I have S or E snacks depending on how close I am to the next or last meal and what I’m craving. Most dinners have enough leftovers to be lunch the next day. So, here’s several of my favorite easy, budget friendly, on plan meals (that have been served in this house for the last 2 weeks):
Breakfasts:
oatmeal with sprouted toast and collagen coffee (E)
2 eggs scrambled with cheese and bacon bits and 1 slice sprouted toast and collagen coffee (S-helper)
Lunches:
Lentil soup in the crock pot (E)
Sprouted pita pizzas (E- go light on the cheese)
Pizza on a lavash (S- go heavy on the cheese)
tomato basil bisque with cheese tortilla on a lavash (S)
Dinners:
Chicken Fried Brown Rice (E)
Eggroll in a bowl (S)
Roasted tilapia with roasted zucchini and sweet potatoes topped with cinnamon (E)
Taco salad (S)
Chili (accidentally made a crossover this time– very tasty!)
Chicken Drumsticks, roasted broccoli, French onion soup, cheese biscuits (S)
Zoodles scampi with marinated chicken
Snacks:
Pumpkin BAM Cake (E)
Toasted sprouted tortilla with LLC (E)
gingerbread cookies and peanuts (S)
low fat cottage cheese with fresh pineapple (E)
Pecan praline pay off day candies (S)
Cheesestick and fruit (E)
a handful of peanuts and green tea
Momma's Got the Munchies 