Groceries are expensive, and when you add in eating out, the random snacks, and daily/weekly Starbucks or Sonic trips…your budget for food and drinks for the month can easily be blown away! Creating a monthly meal plan can save you so much in the long run.
When going through our monthly budget, my husband and I noticed this trend and made a deal to do something about it. And that is where my meal planning journey started…
My goal was to spend $400 on our food for the entire month, which included breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Talk about MAJOR monthly meal prep-I was going to have to get really creative.
Breaking it down…This would give us around $100 a week (give or take), which would give us a little less than $15 a day to feed both of us for 3 meals and snacks. I saw this as a challenge, but something we could totally do.
Friday night is date night in our home so we have a separate budget for that, as it is a standing outing we have every week. If you are in a relationship, not only do I suggest date nights every week (whether you stay in or go out), but I also suggest setting aside a budget for dates specifically so it is a priority and it is not something you have to worry about not happening due to lack of funds.
Check out these homemade recipes that would make such a fun date night activity♥️
Now, I want to clarify before we get into the specifics, that your total price of meals could be different than ours depending on where you live and what brand and quality of food you buy, which changes your overall budget. The meals that are included are merely suggestions and I would change/add to them as it fits your local food offerings and family size. Your budget will be completely different than ours and that is OKAY👏🏻
For example: If we buy our meats at the grocery store, we will have a little more play in our budget because meat is less expensive there for us, but if we want to get our meat at a local butcher (which is what we prefer) we shell out more and usually go over the $400 budget. In this case, we choose quality over quantity and I adjust our meals accordingly. You have to decide what is best for your family!
I am going to walk you through the steps of how I meal plan for the month so there is little-to-no food waste and so we always have something ready to go when it is meal time, but I won’t be breaking it down with specific prices. I don’t want to lead anyone astray, as my only goal is to show you that it is possible to plan your whole month and stick to whatever budget you have for yourself!
Step 1: Set Your Budget
Before you get to the meal planning and prepping, you need to know what your money situation is. Once you have crunched the numbers, break it down from your monthly total to a weekly total and then a daily total. This will help give you an allowance for meals out if you want to grab a quick bite or go out with friends!
Step 2: Plan Your Meals
Now that you have your budget, you can start planning your meals for the month. This is usually the time I start scrolling through Pinterest to get ideas for meals, but I tend to just stick with what I know so I know exactly how to prepare/prep it for the freezer.
I suggest choosing 7-8 meals that you will rotate throughout the month (you’ll see how this works in just a second). This ensures that you and your family won’t get tired of the recipes and will give you some variation or repetition when desired.
I have a Monthly Meal Planner that I use that you can get here for free🙌🏻
I usually do one big shopping trip at the beginning of the month (I go weekly for fresh fruits and veggies as needed) and then prep for the meals as much as I can when I get the groceries home, as I have a deep freezer that I can fill. If you do not have a deep freezer, you can split up the large grocery haul into 2 trips and prep for 2 weeks at a time.
Again, you have to do what is best for you and your family.
Step 3: Make a List of Ingredients You Need
Now, it is time to make a list of things you need for your monthly meals! The first step is to see what you have in your pantry and then go from there.
Another hack to the meal planning game is to see what ingredients you have already and see if you can make a meal out of them to add into the mix! It saves you money to either put back into your budget, or to put in savings. A win-win.
Also, don’t forget to plan for snacks and desserts! If you want to really challenge yourself, also make your drinks a part of your monthly budget 😉
On the example plan below, I have included only lunch and dinner ideas, so make sure that you plan for breakfast as well!
Check out the meal planner I use every month to gather our ingredients list!
Step 4: Go Shopping
This is probably the hardest part of the meal planning process as it is SO easy to get distracted and just throw whatever sounds good in your cart, but I plead you to stick to your list! Have your list and a pen in hand and stick to your guns – your wallet will thank you!
If you plan to freeze your meals, don’t forget to purchase/plan for food storage containers that fit the space you have.
Step 5: Prep Your Meals
Again, this depends on what is best for you and your family, but since you are buying food in mass quantities you will want to make sure that you spend some time up front prepping as much as you can to save you space as well as time in the long run.
Chop your veggies.
Clean up and trim the meat.
Prep breakfasts.
Every little thing you do will help you as the weeks go on!
Check out my YouTube video that talks more about these steps🙌🏻
Meal Ideas for Easy Meal Prep (Lunch + Dinner)
- Salsa Crack Chicken Nachos
- Rosemary Chicken with Salad
- Tacos
- Grilled Chicken with Potatoes
- Burger with Sweet Potato Fries
- Pesto Chicken Pasta with Garlic Bread
- BBQ Turkey Sausage with Mashed Potatoes
We eat a lot of chicken in our home, but will swap out some of the chicken meals for steak or sausage so we have some diversity, but this is a previous month of meal prep that I wanted to use as an example to break it down for you, ingredients-wise.
The following recipes are for 2 people, but can easily be changed to accommodate more.
The way that I schedule our meals is by cooking 2 portions for a person at a time, which allows the leftovers to be lunch for the next day. This saves you time in the morning from having to pack a lunch and makes sure that no food goes to waste.
Salsa Crack Chicken Nachos
8 Servings = 4 meals per person
- 4 Large Chicken Breasts
- 1 cup of salsa
- 1-2 tbsp of taco seasoning
- 8 oz of cream cheese
- 1 packet of ranch dips seasoning
- 2-3 tbsp of lime juice
Mix all ingredients together in a crock pot, and when all ingredients are cooked shred the chicken and mix. Serve with chips or tortillas.
*This recipe was my first to share on TikTok and went viral with 100K views in less than 24 hours so definitely try it!😉*
This recipe x4, you can freeze leftovers and reheat when you are ready to eat it again!
Rosemary Chicken with Salad
4 Servings = 2 meals per person
- 2 chicken breasts cut in half length-wise (makes 4 servings of chicken breast)
- Rosemary
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Salad
- Salad Dressing
Season and cut chicken breasts and bake or grill, prepare your salad as desired.
This recipe x4
Tacos
4 Servings = 2 meals per person
- 1 lb of ground meat of your choice
- 2-4 tbsp of taco seasoning
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 package of Tortillas (you may need more depending on how many tacos you want to have in a month)
- 1 box of Taco Shells (you may need more depending on how many tacos you want to have in a month)
- 1 container of Sour Cream
- 1 large bag of Shredded Cheese
Brown your taco meat and once done, enjoy a taco spread! You can freeze the taco meat in serving sizes to reheat when you are ready to eat it again.
This recipe x4
Grilled Chicken with Potatoes
8 Servings = 4 meals per person
- 4 chicken breasts cut in half length-wise (makes 8 servings of chicken breast)
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 bag of small red potatoes (1 bag can be used for 2 rounds of this dish -8 servings. Split accordingly.)
- Butter
- Olive Oil
Season and cut chicken breasts and bake or grill. Wash and cut small red potatoes into 1/4. Spread potatoes on a lined baking sheet and drizzle olive oil, sprinkle seasonings, and dabs of butter around the sheet and bake on 350* for 35-50 minutes, or until soft.
This recipe x4
Burger with Sweet Potato Fries
4 servings = 2 meals
- 1 lb of ground beef
- salt
- pepper
- buns
- 1 bag of frozen fries or 1 large potato to cut into fries
Prepare your burgers and fries and enjoy!
This recipe x4
Pesto Chicken Pasta with Garlic Bread
6 servings = 3 meals
- 1 rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 container of pesto (my favorite is the kale pesto from Trader Joe’s)
- 1 box/bag of pasta
Boil pasta, debone your chicken, and stir in pesto. This is one of my fav meals and SO easy to make!
This recipe x2
BBQ Turkey Sausage with Mashed Potatoes
4 servings = 2 meals
- 1 package of turkey sausage link
- BBQ sauce
- 1 bag of small red potatoes
- Butter
- salt
- pepper
Slice sausage and brown in a skillet. Add BBQ sauce to sausage and let it caramelize. Spread potatoes on a lined baking sheet and drizzle olive oil, sprinkle seasonings, and dabs of butter around the sheet and bake on 350* for 35-50 minutes, or until soft.
This recipe x4
By following this plan, you will have more than a month’s worth of lunches and dinners ready to go🙌🏻
I hope that this helps you on your meal planning journey and that it helps save you time and money this upcoming month♥️
Grab your FREE Monthly Meal Planner here!
Happy Planning!
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