Healthy Grocery List for Family of 4 on a Budget #3

Meal planning can get boring, and you may lack inspiration after you have been doing it for a few months. I love to start with what I already have and then fill in the gaps with what is on sale this week at my local stores.

Other weeks there is no great sales, so I like having some super cheap meal plans ready to go! This is one of those meal plans that may use what you already have or that the items you will need will be very cheap to buy.

Cheap Meal Plan for the Week

Breakfasts

Scrambled Eggs with Bacon and Toast
Banana Pancakes with Syrup
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars

Scrambled eggs are really simple, but I do recommend that you use butter in the pan to prevent the eggs from sticking. I used to use vegetable oil and the eggs always stuck even in a non-stick pan. Butter literally makes it so much better!

I will usually bake all my bacon in the oven and then store it in a Tupperware container, so it is ready to use in any dish. To keep your bacon from sticking together, we use paper towels to separate levels of bacon. I like bacon at room temperature, but you can warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds if you like it hot.

Banana Pancakes – When my oldest child was doing baby led weaning, I came across this super simple breakfast. Basically, you just need 1 smashed up banana, 1 egg, and a dash of cinnamon. You mix well and then pour it into a pan the way you would normally do pancakes. If you use just 1 egg and 1 banana you make about 3 mid-size pancakes.

The only real difference is that instead of seeing little bubbles in pancakes you will start to notice the edges will brown. I flip it once and let it fully cook and then it is ready to serve. I like to cut them into small chunks for toddlers, but you can serve them like traditional pancakes for adults.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars- This is another item that takes a smashed banana and I tend to do this towards the end of the week when my bananas are starting to look less fresh.

I’m not a huge fan of set recipes and I like to use formulas or processes to make food so I can recreate it with tons of different ingredients. For Oatmeal bars I like to start with about 1 cup of quick oats, 1/2 cup of peanut butter, and 1 banana. I will typically add a little vanilla and or cinnamon for flavor.

I mix all the ingredients with a wooden spoon in a bowl. If it seems to wet, I will add more oats. If it seems to dry, I will add some peanut butter. I really just eyeball it until it all seems well mixed.

Once it is ready, I will either squish the whole mix into a greased casserole dish or on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. I really use whatever is handy, but I try to make the bars about 1/2 an inch thick.

I will bake this for about 15-20 minutes in a 350 F oven. The edges will slightly brown and it will firm up nicely. You can also just stick these in the fridge and make no bake bars. They may be slightly chewy, but still tasty.

This really depends on if you want a more granola bar type product or a chewy cookie type food.

Lunches

Leftover Chicken Salad with Raisins Sandwiches
Black Bean Hummus (using leftover black beans) with Homemade Potato Chips and Carrots
Taco Salads (leftover taco meat)
Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream, Cheese, and Bacon
Dinner Leftovers

Chicken Salad– I will typically make chicken salad with either ranch dressing or mayonnaise, it all depends on what I have on hand. Since this is going to use leftover chicken from our whole chicken that we bake, I will mostly use the meat from the thighs and legs. It doesn’t take long to make chicken salad so I will typically make this on nights that I have a few extra minutes and already have the cutting board out.

Black Bean Hummus- I will time this lunch with the night we make tacos. I will cook one large batch of black beans and then let them refrigerate overnight for the hummus.

I like to dump the chilled cooked beans in a food processor, add any spices like taco seasoning or cilantro, and blend with some vegetable oil until smooth. Hummus is a great way to experiment with flavors and spices.

If I know we will be eating the hummus with salty tortilla chips, I will make the hummus less salty. If we are going to eat it with carrot sticks, I will add more salt. It’s a balancing game with seasonings sometimes.

Baked Potatoes– In my younger days, I lived off baked potatoes because not only are they yummy, but they are super cheap!

I am not a big fan of having to “make” lunch on the day I will be eating it and prepare an easy grab and go lunch. Baked Potatoes are the exception to this because they can be made in the microwave.

I simply wash the potatoes and use a fork to piece each side, then place on a microwave safe plate. We have an 1100-watt microwave, so the timing may be different at your house, but I like to cook them for 3 minutes. Then flip them over and cook again for 3 minutes.

I keep repeating this process until the potatoes are pretty soft to the touch. If they are still pretty firm, I will go another round. If they are large potatoes, it may take 12 minutes, and if they are small, it may only take 6 minutes.

We will use some sour cream, cheese, bacon, and whatever else is available in the fridge. Maybe some leftover taco meat or chili will work too!

Dinners

Lentil Veggie Soup (using dry lentils, canned tomatoes, chicken broth from cooking whole chicken, and frozen mixed vegetables)
Baked BBQ Pork Chops with Carrot Raisin Salad (mayo, lemon juice, & maple syrup), and Baked Potato Wedges
Chicken Carbonara-ish Pasta with Bacon and Frozen Peas (alfredo sauce with Italian seasoning) *using leftover chicken*
Whole Baked Chicken with Brown Rice and Baked Carrots
1/2lb Ground Turkey and Black Bean Tacos (with lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream) and Brown Rice
1/2lb Ground Turkey Chili with Cornbread and Side Salad with lemon juice & oil dressing

Lentil Veggie Soup– This is so easy to make and is basically throw everything in a pot and let it cook! I like to start by rinsing my lentils and some people like to soak lentils overnight. This is really just personal preference.

This is also a good time to use the chicken bones from our baked chicken. Some people throw them away, but I find that they work great to make your own broth for soups. Once the chicken is cooled and I have taken all the meat off, I will store the bones in a Ziploc bag to use for a soup starter.

I cover the chicken bones with water and boil for 10-15 minutes. This will gather up all the flavor left in my chicken and help me save money by not having to buy broth or bouillon cubes. If you throw your bones away just start with broth or bouillon.

Since I make this towards the end of the week, I will also clean out my fridge of any leftover vegetables like onions, carrots, or celery. You can sauté these in the pan first, or you can cook them in a seperate pan and add to soup later.

Lentils typically take about 25-30 minutes to soften for soup, so I will boil them in the broth first. Once they are soft but retain their shape, then I will add my frozen mixed vegetables and a can of diced tomatoes.

Another trick is not to use the whole bag of mixed vegetables, I typically use about half and save the other half to use as a side dish for other meals.

Baked Pork Chops- With a busy family life I am always balancing making real food and the time to do it, so if I can find a super easy way to do it, I jump at the chance. For the pork chops you can use boneless or bone in, this is strictly personal preference.

I like to dry my chops with a paper towel and then either dunk them into a bowl of BBQ sauce or use a brush to cost them. Then I just put them on a greased sheet pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes in a 350F degree oven. If they are thicker chops, I will typically flip them halfway. Baking time will depend on the size of the chops, so you will have to keep an eye on them.

The carrot salad is super easy to make and very adaptable as well. I like to use my food processor to chop the carrots into tiny pieces, but you can also grate them. I like to make a simply dressing of mayonnaise, maple syrup for sweetness, and lemon juice.

Since we are using fresh lemons, you can also grate the rind for zest. Even if I don’t use the zest for this dish, I rarely throw lemons in the compost without first zesting them. Why waste the zest right?

I will then mix the dressing in with the carrots and raisins for a super easy side salad that my kids love! If you want to balance out the sweetness, my husband loves to add a few drops of Sriracha sauce to make his spicier. You can also use any hot sauce you like!

Since I already have my pork chops using the oven, I like to make baked potato wedges as a side dish. I wash my potatoes and cut them long ways into nice wedges. Then I toss them in seasoning and oil to coat.

Place them on a separate sheet pan and bake for 25-30 minutes with the pork chops. Definitely a nice easy meal that gives me time to work on other things while my dinner is baking in the oven!

Chicken Carbonara-ish Pasta– This is another super easy dinner for a busy night. I have recently found that you can make most pasta dishes in one pan, and this has been a game changer!

I will take a large sauté pan, and add my chicken, peas, and alfredo sauce. I also will add about 2 cups of water or chicken broth if I have it on hand. You just need enough water that your pasta is mostly covered. I will cook this over medium high heat and let it boil until the noodles are cooked.

I like to chop up the bacon and add in last, so it is not lost in the sauce. If you still have a lot of liquid left in the pan, I like to add a spoonful of sour cream to thicken the sauce and add extra creaminess.

Technically the vegetables are in this one pot dinner, but I will usually serve this with any leftover sides or a side salad. Depending on how busy I am that night, I will also typically make some super easy garlic bread using loaf bread or if I have any bread left in the freezer.

Ground Turkey– With skyrocketing meat prices, I have had to get a little creative to make sure we still get enough protein and have a hearty dinner. So, I have started supplementing our meat with beans when I can.

For the Tacos and the Chili, I will start by browning the ground turkey in a pan and draining off any fat. I will then take half of my cooked turkey and place it in a Tupperware container to use later on. You can also add onions, celery, bell peppers or anything else you have on hand to the ground turkey.

For the Chili, I have noticed that all the chili seasoning packs are really just chili powder and salt, so I skip the packs and just buy chili powder. This lets me determine how spicy I want the chili to be. To my ground turkey, I will add a can of tomatoes, chili powder, rinsed kidney beans and cook for another 10 minutes.

For the tacos, I will add some taco seasoning and add in about half of my black beans. I don’t typically use a whole pack of taco seasoning because I think it gets too salty, so I may only use 1/3 to 1/2 a pack.

Snacks

Bananas
Carrots
Popcorn

I like to have snacks ready to go for anyone that is hungry or to take on the road. So, I will pop a bag of popcorn and section it out into multiple Ziploc style bags.

I also like to use some of my whole carrots for carrot sticks so I will go ahead and cut them when I already have the cutting board out for another meal. I just store these in Tupperware containers, so they are ready to eat as a snack or for lunch with the black bean hummus.

Sweet Treat

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding is a great way to use up older bread! If it is towards the end of the week and I still have a lot of bread, I will go ahead and mix up some bread pudding to use it up.

I also like to browse my freezer for any old bread like from a French bread loaf or even hotdog/hamburger buns. I rarely throw out bread and will always find a way to use it even if it is just croutons, garlic bread, or breadcrumbs.

Bread Pudding is also a great way to use up any odds and ends in your pantry. We have used up dried fruits like apricots, craisins, and others. You can also add any nuts that you have leftover. Occasionally I will have some chocolate chips in the pantry too that we can add for a super sweet treat!

I will typically make this on a night that I am already using the oven. So for instance, after my pork chops and potato wedges are done, I will put in a pan of bread pudding to cook while we eat dinner.

Grocery List for the Week

This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.

Produce Items	Have on Hand?
8 bananas
Potatoes
Carrots
Leafy Green Lettuce
1 Tomato
1 Cucumber
2 lemons
Total: (7 items)

This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.

Deli & Meat Items	Have on Hand?
Pork Chops
Whole Chicken
Precooked Bacon
1lb ground turkey
Total: (4 items)

This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.

Dry Good Items	Have on Hand?
Peanut Butter
Sandwich Bread
Pancake Syrup
Oatmeal
Brown Sugar
Mayonnaise
Raisins
Black Beans (dried)
Lentils (dry)
Canned tomatoes x 2
BBQ sauce
Alfredo Sauce
Brown Rice
Taco Seasoning
Tortillas
Kidney Beans
Chili Powder
Cornbread Mix
Popcorn
Total: (19 items)

These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.

Frozen Items	Have on Hand?
Frozen Mixed Vegetables
Frozen Peas
Total: (2 items)

These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.

Dairy Items	Have on Hand?
Eggs
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Butter (sticks)
Milk
Total: (6 items)

Under $100 Meal Plan

I have priced out this meal plan at multiple stores, and at most places it typically runs under $100. If you have some of the items like the dry goods already in your pantry, you can spend even less!

Store	Total
Publix (Miami, FL)	$118.56
Walmart (Miami, FL)	$79.42
Target (Atlanta, GA)	$85.85
Publix (Atlanta, GA)	$116.07
Cub Foods (Minneapolis, MN)	$103.79
Target (Minneapolis, MN)	$81.18
Cub Foods (Rochester, MN)	$101.12
Walmart (Rochester, MN)	$71.87
Fred Meyer (Seattle, WA)	$80.04
Safeway (Seattle, WA)	$107.02
Fred Meyer (Portland, OR)	$79.28
Walmart (Portland, OR)	$76.05
Wegmans (Trenton, NJ)	$103.99
Stop & Shop (Trenton, NJ)	$92.91
Albertsons (Phoenix, AZ)	$96.74
Smart & Final (Phoenix, AZ)	$125.46
Food Lion (Newark, DE)	$79.64
Acme Markets (Newark, DE)	$103.77
Hy-Vee (Bloomington, IL)	$90.36
Aldi (Bloomington, IL)	$93.23
Total Stores: 20	Average Total: $94.31