This is a meal plan based on the real recipes that I cook at home during the week however in honor of the back to school season I thought it would be good to feature a quick and easy weeknight meal plan this week. All the meals shared in this week’s meal plan are either made ahead and left to crock away (yes I made that up) or come together easily in 30 minutes. It’s everything you could ask for this time of year.

Also check the bottom of the post for more convenient meal ideas.

Monday – Vermonter Panini with Garlic & Salt Baked Fries

Tuesday – Orange Chipotle Chicken Stir Fry over rice (make extra for Thursday)

Wednesday – Crock Pot Split Pea Soup

Thursday – Shrimp Fried Rice (use leftover rice form Tuesday)

Friday – One Pan Beef Stroganoff

If you are looking for more meals like these check out the posts below!

• 100 Easy Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes
• 12 Quick and Easy Meals for the Holiday Season
• How to Reduce the Temptation of Take out
• How We Meal Plan

Cook from scratch – this is by far
the best piece of advice I can give anyone looking to save money. You can save
*** a serving on something as simple as mashing your own potatoes. I know
learning to cook can be daunting for some but check out my new book*****
Shop sales – If we are craving
burgers but beef isn’t on sale, we wait until it is. Simple as that, I don’t
buy anything that’s not on sale. On the same note I don’t buy something just
because it is on sale, you could end up spending an excessive amount of money
on something only to find out you already have a few years supply of it at
home, or no one in the house likes it, so it will go to waste.
Stock pile – When things do go on
sale I buy multiples of them (especially meat and household products) and then
I keep them in the freezer or cabinet for later use.
Buy in bulk – I never buy staples
like rice, beans or certain meats in individual or small packages. Buying the
large package usually saves on the price per unit. It also saves on packaging,
when I get home from the store I break up the larger packages into manageable sizes
and store them in re-usable containers. I’m saving all around this way.
Shop in season. – it helps to know
what’s in season, and keep track of the prices of your favorite things. Lots of
vegetables are for sale at reduced prices at certain times of year without
being on sale, knowing what’s a good price makes all the diefference.
Meal plan – more on How I Meal
Plan Here. If you need some inspiration check out my Weekly Meal Plan Series.
Eat Leftovers – Sometimes we get
sick of eating the same thing for a week so it goes in the freezer for a last
minute meal, but we never throw anything away.
Avoid take out – More on how to do
that in this post.
Recognized that not all months are
created equal! – sometimes we spend way more on food, maybe there was a good
sale, or we spent a lot of time traveling or something, it happens, but there
are also times when we spend way less on food than we planned. Maybe someone
gave us a ton of garden veggies, or we just ate stuff from the freezer, it
happens. Don’t freak out.