Recently I was part of a discussion in a Crunchy group on Facebook concerning eating whole foods on a budget. We try really hard to stay on a budget of $120 a week to feed our family of four. This includes buying almost all organic items. I shared my weekly menu and grocery list with some of the ladies and it was discussed that I should put this on my blog weekly so it is easily accessible. I figured it wouldn't be much extra work for me since I already type it up for myself.
So, here is my weekly menu with grocery list. I added in some info about breakfast, lunch, snacks, items bought at the Farmer's Market, and a list of things I currently have on hand. I've also added some of the recipes if you're interested. *I shop at Sprout's*
Menu
Breakfasts usually consist of a mixture of the following:
eggs, oatmeal, cereal, pancakes, waffles, breakfast cookies (banana, oats, chocolate
chips), fruit, yogurt.
Lunch is usually leftovers from the night before and then
once a week the kids get macaroni and cheese (Sprout’s organic brand), peanut
butter and jelly or grilled cheese.
Snacks we keep on hand are fruit, cheese, Annie’s bunny
crackers, organic fruit strips (Target), popcorn (stovetop), and raw
veggies.
Sunday- Spaghetti,
salad
Monday- Black
bean and corn enchiladas, veggies
Tuesday- BBQ pork
on sweet potatoes, salad
Wednesday- Mushroom,
spinach, alfredo pizza on a whole wheat crust, veggies
Thursday- Chicken
fried rice, salad
Friday- Tilapia,
roasted potatoes, veggies
Saturday- Chili,
salad, homemade corn bread
*The only meals above that usually don’t have leftovers are
the pork sweet potatoes and the Tilapia. Everything else makes more than enough
for the next days’ lunch.
*On hand I already have these ingredients: pasta, rice,
corn, potatoes, yeast, whole wheat flour, olive oil, tomatoes, parmesan cheese,
BBQ sauce, chili powder, soy sauce, cheddar, mac & cheese, peanut butter,
jelly, popcorn, yogurt, oatmeal, eggs, milk, popcorn (and other snack items),
butter, some fruit, and some other veggies.
*Farmer’s Market purchases for this week were potatoes,
onions, bell peppers, okra, cheese, eggs, peanuts (for peanut butter), and
apples. ($20)
Grocery List (since I
already have a lot on hand this list should cost around $65+tax)
Organic spaghetti sauce (usually Muir Glen is cheapest)
Organic can black beans (Sprout’s brand)
2-cans organic kidney beans (Sprout’s brand)
1 pkg whole wheat tortillas (Sprout’s brand)
Simply Organic enchilada sauce mix
3- 8oz cans organic tomato sauce
1 loaf Organic whole wheat bread (Alpine Valley is usually
cheapest)
1 box of organic cereal
Organic salad mix (big plastic container) -if you get spinach it can be used for the pizza too!
Organic Ranch dressing (refrigerator kind)
Organic baby portabella mushrooms
2-3 large organic sweet potatoes
Assorted organic fruit (usually bananas, grapes,
strawberries, and blueberries or raspberries)
Mozzarella (block)
Tilapia (1 lb-fish counter at Sprout’s)
Ground beef (1 lb)
Chicken breasts (1/2 lb)
Sweet Italian sausage (meat counter)
Pork chops (boneless, ½ lb)
Recipes
Enchiladas are easy and I actually wrote the
recipe up on my blog, here:
The BBQ pork is super easy as well! I pan sear the
pork chops and then put them in a baking dish, cover with BBQ sauce and cook in
a 350 oven for 15 minutes until the chops are cooked through. Dice up the meat
and serve inside a baked sweet potato with a pat of butter and a little bit of
sour cream.
For the pizza, I use this dough recipe:
Alfredo
sauce-melt 4T of butter in a saucepan and then sprinkle in 1/4 cup of flour,
whisk around until flour is cooked out....add in 2 cups of milk and whisk until
thickened. Then take off heat and stir in 1 cup of parmesan cheese (give or
take).
This makes a lot of sauce, but we use it for dipping too
I then saute some garlic in olive oil, add in the chopped
mushrooms. Cook until soft and then add in a couple handfulls of spinach and
cook just until wilted. Put this over the alfredo sauce and top with
mozzarella. Bake pizza in oven until done!
For the chili-Saute a diced onion in some olive oil
until soft. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Add in both cans of kidney
beans, two cans of tomato sauce, 2-3T chili powder, and a bay leaf or two.
Simmer on low for 20 minutes or so.
Spaghetti- really doesn’t need a recipe! Sausage,
pasta, sauce….easy!
Chicken Fried Rice- cook brown rice and set aside. Dice
up chicken and sprinkle with soy sauce and ginger powder. Saute in some olive
oil until cooked through. Toss in half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and
cook until thawed. Pour in rice and add soy sauce until the taste is right (2 T
or so). Once everything is cooked together, move it all to one side of the pan
and add some olive oil to the empty side of the pan. Beat 2-3 eggs in a bowl
and pour into pan. Mix around until cooked through and then combine with the
rice mixture.
Tilapia- I make little “boats” with tin foil to
contain the fish. Slice a lemon and lay out on the foil. Place the fish on top
of the lemons, sprinkle with salt and some herb seasoning (I use Frontier
brand) and a few pats of butter. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes
depending on the thickness of the fish.
