Have you watched any of those extreme low budget weekly meal plans? I have and it always makes me feel guilty for how much I spend on groceries weekly, in spite of going to 4-5 different grocery stores to get the best deals. You see I go to WinCo, Sprouts, Aldi, Walmart and sometimes Dollar Tree and I get the best deals I can for eating sugar-free and healthy as possible.

Most of those videos I watch have them eating the same meals 3-5 times during the week. I understand why with one or two people eating for the week but I cook for four people and that means we eat an entire meal at one meal and seldom have any leftovers. So we can make a different meal each day rather than eating leftovers for several days.

Another thing I notice is the high use of carbs and not the healthy ones either; I’m talking white rice and egg noodles, both of which are very inexpensive. Healthy carbs are a bit more expensive.

So I’ve been thinking about this. Thankfully healthy carbs like brown rice, beans, and lentils can be eaten on the Trim Healthy Mama program and these items are inexpensive. Some aren’t as inexpensive as their unhealthy counterparts but we’re already used to paying a bit more for them.

I generally get boneless skinless chicken breast for under two dollars a pound, so this is a good meat option for us. I also get frozen ground turkey for $1.35 – $1.50/lb so this is another good meat option for us. Limiting our fresh veggies will be important because they can be a bit more pricey.

A couple of the plans I watched made their own bread and I love it so much, I’m planning to try it myself. It is very similar to a no-knead sourdough bread on Glenda’s website. Of course the whole wheat flour is more expensive than the white all-purpose flour.

Here are some menu ideas I have for this. I’ll make another post when I actually make a low budget menu and how much it ended up being for me.

• taco rice
• tortillas filled with leftover taco rice
• cajun sausage, rice, and beans
• pizza (using 2 ounces of mozzarella or some cottage cheese, chicken, and veggies on a homemade crust – I used a can of tomato paste watered down and seasoned for my pizza sauce.)
• chicken, rice, and veggie soup
• make a gravy with the ground turkey and serve over brown rice and add some veggies (e.g. canned green beans) – this one will be a crossover if you don’t drain and rinse the meat but could also be made with chicken breast.
• chicken “fried” rice using the pepper stir fry package of frozen vegetables from Dollar Tree for the veggies and reducing the amount of oil used to 2 teaspoons for 4 servings.

So, that’s what I’ve come up with. I buy my rice in BULK at WinCo, so I have a 20 or 25# bag of it but you could do this with 1-2 pound bags as well.

I make another post when I actually follow this menu or modify it and use it some time in the next month or so.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº