Last week we shared on Instagram about how we cut our grocery bill in half last year with organization, meal prepping, and investing in online grocery delivery.
Since we’ve gotten some requests on what in the world we can meal plan for and with that bill we wanted to share our go-to meal recipes and how we do it!
First, I want to say our kids go to daycare full-time. That means, it cuts out lunches and snacks throughout the day for our littles, but I still believe you can cut your grocery bill in half; your monthly bill just might not be at what our monthly bill is that I mentioned.
Here’s a list of our go-to recipes that we cycle through throughout the week. It’s a mixture of family recipes, things I’ve kinda made up, and our favorite foodie bloggers: Greens-N-Chocolate, Fit Foodie Finds, and Nourish Move Love.
Our favorite go-to recipes:
Lunch/Dinner:
- Wild Rice Chicken Salad
- Ground Turkey w/ Veggie Quick Dish
- Dates & Cheese Stuffed Chicken
- BBQ Chicken Quinoa
- Uncle Frank’s Stir Fry
- Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- Parmesan Chicken Zucchini Pasta
- Sweet – N – Sour Chicken
- Cashew Chicken Quinoa Bake
- Vegan Pad Thai
Breakfast/Snacks:
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Energy Balls
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bombs
- Raspberry Overnight Oats
- Blueberry Oatmeal Protein Muffins
We are a family that is always in a hurry, trying to get out the door as fast as we can and usually coming home late at night and ready to eat the second when we walk in the door, so 30 minute meals are key!
It’s also another huge reason why planning out our meals weekly with an online grocery delivery service has been a game changer. It limits our drive-thru meals, which not only helps with the checkbook, but fueling our bodies with good food and not food that makes us feel like crap the next day.
P.S. – We can have our kids up on the countertop next to our stove because it’s induction. You can read all about our appliances and why we bought what, here.
Another reason to meal plan is that it forces you to actually eat your food instead of throwing it. When you only buy enough for 5 meals at a time, you feel obligated to eat it before it goes bad!
We usually try one new recipe a week otherwise we’re constantly cycling through these recipes.
How we budget & save:
A couple of weeks ago, I started a new nutrition program, with my coach Jen Vick, which counts marcos. This is an entire new thought process for me. However, I will say, I had been for the most part following these dietician guidelines, but just realized I wasn’t eating nearly enough, which is actually mind blowing, because I had thought I was eating all the time.
Throughout the week we have two low carb days, two carb days, two low macro and one regular macro day. Through this program, we’re supposed to try to be gluten and dairy free, which I do my best but if I’m at a friends house, I’m not going to be rude and not eat what they made us.
1. Meal Plan
As you guys already know from reading how we cut our grocery bill in half, meal planning is key for us! Not only does it save on storage in our kitchen cabinetry, it makes coming home and thinking up recipes way less stressful, but it helps us save on costs.
2. Buy for only five meals
No more, no less, we only buy enough food for five meals. With those five meals, we always have leftovers or else we find ourselves eating out with friends those other two nights.
Before only buying enough for five meals, we found we were throwing away so many leftovers and also food that just simply went bad and we didn’t even touch.
3. Cook for two
Our kids hardly ever eat what I make and if they do, it’s hardly anything. Instead of cooking dinner for four and letting a ton of food go to waste, I now just cook meals for two. We bought Greens-N-Chocolate‘s new cookbook, “30 Minute Cooking for Two,” and have pretty much tried almost ever recipe in the book and every one was SO good. This book helped me shift how much I cook, because even with two it’s usually enough to feed four.
You can grab her cookbook off Amazon here.
4. Your leftovers are your lunch
I always eat our leftovers from dinner the night before for lunch the next day. Jamie usually always just makes a sandwich, grabs some fruit and a bag of chips and he’s set. Otherwise, if I don’t eat our leftover for lunch, we’re never in the mood to eat them again for dinner the next night. Or there’s only enough for one, so we end up making something else and then that little bit goes to waste.
5. Limit the Snacks
You always think you need more snacks than you do! I just quit all together buying fruit snacks, granola bars, and more for the boys. We realized they would go through 10 fruit snacks in one day and weren’t even hungry and there was no stopping them. Now that we have zero snacks for them like that, they have no options.
For our snacks, I buy fresh fruit and always have a good ‘ol P, B, and J on hand for them, so if they get hungry all they will ever want is one and the fruit they have just enough to be satisfied.
Hope these five simple tips help you guys cut back on your grocery bill and enjoy those recipes up on top as much as our family have!
