just a proud mom & dad 🥹🏈❤️ #touchdown # just a proud mom & dad 🥹🏈❤️ #touchdown #boymom #footballsaturdays
CREAMY CHICKEN & BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE 🥦💛 CREAMY CHICKEN & BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE 🥦💛 This dinner was a win-win! Cheesy, comforting, and my kids never complain about eating broccoli. That’s why it will always be on rotation!

Comment ‘CASSEROLE’ for the recipe.” 

#recipe #dinnerideas #cookingathome #foodie #kidfriendly #whatsfordinner #homecook #momlife
Football season is baaaaack babyyyy!!! & these sli Football season is baaaaack babyyyy!!! & these sliders turned out soooo good 🤤😆🏈 #gameday #foodie #sliders #steelers #sundaydinner #cookingathome #momlife
Nothing beats the smell of fresh pancakes on a Sat Nothing beats the smell of fresh pancakes on a Saturday morning 🥞✨ They were the perfect fuel before heading out to cheer at the Shoe for our first Buckeye game as a family. I finally nailed the fluffiest, melt-in-your-mouth pancakes—and the recipe’s on the blog! Comment ‘pancakes’ and I’ll send it your way. 

#pancakes #breakfast #momlife #boymom #girlmom #ohioblogger #midwestmom #buckeyes
Friday night = pizza at home before the big game. Friday night = pizza at home before the big game. Way less chaos, way more family time 😌🍕🏈 #momlife #boymom #momof5 #familylife #cookingathome #dinnerisserved
A little hack to make kids birthdays feel a bit mo A little hack to make kids birthdays feel a bit more special 🎈🎉🥹 #momhacks #birthdayballoons #traditions #family #momlife #boymom
Football Saturdays 🏈🫶🏽 A lot of people h Football Saturdays 🏈🫶🏽

A lot of people have asked me this weekend how I do it with 3 kids in little league and one in high school. Honestly, I don’t even know 😅 I know that isn’t the most helpful response, but the truth simply is, I love it. 

I love the sport. I love the season. I love watching them grow and develop doing what they love. And I love cheering them on every step of the way. Yes, even if that means giving up my Friday nights and Saturday mornings + afternoons on the sidelines. Because as their mom there is no other place I’d rather be (as long as I’ve got lots of snacks and caffeine of course 🙃) 
#GoWarriors
Baking one last summer dessert. A peach cobbler du Baking one last summer dessert. A peach cobbler dump cake for my husband’s family reunion 🍑✨ 

#baking #desserts #family #momlife #sahm #foodie
My favorite mom hack: cooking dinner in the mornin My favorite mom hack: cooking dinner in the morning so I can rest in the evening 😌✨ Crockpot Marry Me Chicken Pasta tonight.

#momlife #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #slowcooker #kidfriendly #familylife #cookingathome #slowcooker #whatsfordinner #dinnerideas
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Danielle Skeaton

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By: Danielle Skeaton

How to Plan Family Meals On A Budget

When you have a family to feed, buying groceries every week can get expensive. Especially right now with grocery prices skyrocketing.

These days we’re getting less food for more money.

Its crazy! Thankfully, there are lots of ways to save money on groceries that still work. Learning how to weekly meal plan and stick to it is one of them.

You may not feel the results immediately, but the more you make weekly meal planning a habit, you will soon find extra money you didn’t know you had.

Today, I’m sharing five strategic ways I feed my family of six on a budget through weekly menu planning.

Related: Overcoming My Grocery Shopping Anxiety

1. Plan to eat the same meals.

You probably don’t notice that when you eat the same budget-friendly meals in rotation for breakfast, lunch, and dinner it keeps your grocery bill under control.

Now, our grocery bill is pretty predictable at around $150-$180 every week because we plan to eat a lot of the same things. Then for dinner, we try one new recipe at a time so we don’t get sick of our favorites.

2. Plan to eat from your pantry.

If you need meal ideas, start with the ingredients that you don’t need to buy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found items like noodles, sauces & condiments, or rice buried in my cabinets that I turned into easy meals!

So check your pantry, fridge, and freezer to see what meals you can make from what you already have! Sometimes those ingredients will help you put together meals you would’ve never thought of, which will save you time and money as you’re menu planning.

3. Plan to eat less meat.

The biggest budget buster for groceries is always buying meat. So to offset this cost, I recommend you have a meatless day on your menu once a week.

You can make homemade pizza or find kid-friendly vegetarian recipes on Pinterest to try with your family!

But if you prefer to make meat the star of every meal, chicken is definitely one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy. And there are SO MANY ways you can cook with chicken—from pulled chicken sandwiches to chicken tacos, homemade chicken nuggets, and southern fried chicken (yum!).

(I cook with chicken a LOT and my kids don’t complain!)

4. Plan to eat leftovers.

Once or twice a week I will plan to make a Stretch Meal—which is one meal intended to stretch over two days!

It gives me a break from cooking and it helps our grocery budget stretch further.

When I make these Stretch Meals, I always store the leftovers inside food storage containers to keep it fresh to eat the next day!

But you can also use the leftovers from your Stretch Meals to pack lunches instead of ordering food.

5. Plan around sales.

Some moms plan their ENTIRE menu around what’s on sale every week! (I have to admit, I’m not that creative.) The best way to do this is to grab the sales ad from your favorite store before you go shopping.

Then, you can plan what you’re going to make for dinner during the week using the ingredients that you find from the sales ad!

Plus, planning your menu around sales is a smart way to save money on meat and other groceries without couponing. Because you can stock up and freeze it for later, or treat your family to a steak or roast beef dinner without going over budget!

You certainly don’t have to use all of these methods to stay on budget. You can try a few at a time and or mix and match until you find the right formula that works for you!

These days, I primarily plan to eat the same meals, plan to eat leftovers, and plan to eat from my pantry because combining all three is helping me kill it even with inflation! I’m sure if I also started planning around sales, I could save even more money on groceries, but I supplement this by shopping at grocery stores that already have very low prices (Walmart and Aldi are my fav!).

Cheap & Easy Dinner Ideas You’ll Love:

  • Simple, Cheesy Ranch Chicken Alfredo To Make This Week
  • Slow Cooker Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs
  • One-Pot White Chicken Chili
  • The Baked Ziti Recipe That My Picky Kids Approved

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Our Cheap $50/Week Meal Plan For A Family of 5

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Welcome to my little corner on the internet! I’m Danielle Skeaton — wife, mama of 5, and storyteller at heart. I'm so glad you're here. About Me
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just a proud mom & dad 🥹🏈❤️ #touchdown # just a proud mom & dad 🥹🏈❤️ #touchdown #boymom #footballsaturdays
CREAMY CHICKEN & BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE 🥦💛 CREAMY CHICKEN & BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE 🥦💛 This dinner was a win-win! Cheesy, comforting, and my kids never complain about eating broccoli. That’s why it will always be on rotation!

Comment ‘CASSEROLE’ for the recipe.” 

#recipe #dinnerideas #cookingathome #foodie #kidfriendly #whatsfordinner #homecook #momlife
Football season is baaaaack babyyyy!!! & these sli Football season is baaaaack babyyyy!!! & these sliders turned out soooo good 🤤😆🏈 #gameday #foodie #sliders #steelers #sundaydinner #cookingathome #momlife
Nothing beats the smell of fresh pancakes on a Sat Nothing beats the smell of fresh pancakes on a Saturday morning 🥞✨ They were the perfect fuel before heading out to cheer at the Shoe for our first Buckeye game as a family. I finally nailed the fluffiest, melt-in-your-mouth pancakes—and the recipe’s on the blog! Comment ‘pancakes’ and I’ll send it your way. 

#pancakes #breakfast #momlife #boymom #girlmom #ohioblogger #midwestmom #buckeyes
Friday night = pizza at home before the big game. Friday night = pizza at home before the big game. Way less chaos, way more family time 😌🍕🏈 #momlife #boymom #momof5 #familylife #cookingathome #dinnerisserved
A little hack to make kids birthdays feel a bit mo A little hack to make kids birthdays feel a bit more special 🎈🎉🥹 #momhacks #birthdayballoons #traditions #family #momlife #boymom
Football Saturdays 🏈🫶🏽 A lot of people h Football Saturdays 🏈🫶🏽

A lot of people have asked me this weekend how I do it with 3 kids in little league and one in high school. Honestly, I don’t even know 😅 I know that isn’t the most helpful response, but the truth simply is, I love it. 

I love the sport. I love the season. I love watching them grow and develop doing what they love. And I love cheering them on every step of the way. Yes, even if that means giving up my Friday nights and Saturday mornings + afternoons on the sidelines. Because as their mom there is no other place I’d rather be (as long as I’ve got lots of snacks and caffeine of course 🙃) 
#GoWarriors
Baking one last summer dessert. A peach cobbler du Baking one last summer dessert. A peach cobbler dump cake for my husband’s family reunion 🍑✨ 

#baking #desserts #family #momlife #sahm #foodie
My favorite mom hack: cooking dinner in the mornin My favorite mom hack: cooking dinner in the morning so I can rest in the evening 😌✨ Crockpot Marry Me Chicken Pasta tonight.

#momlife #dinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #slowcooker #kidfriendly #familylife #cookingathome #slowcooker #whatsfordinner #dinnerideas
Well that mom win was short lived 😂😮‍💨💕 #girlmom #toddlermom #toddlerlife #momlife #sahm #parenting

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