One of the main reasons we Meal Plan is to save time and Money. Some of us just want Cheap and Cheerful Meal Planning to feed our families without breaking the bank. So here is a selection of meals that are very cheap to make but still good to feed your family nutritious dishes
Meal Planning is all about saving time and money and with my Plain Printables you can make a Meal Plan perfect for your family, or you can use my meal suggestions below.
Cheap and Cheerful Meal Planning Menu – click the image to download your free copy
How to stick to your meal plan and keep costs down
- Never Shopping when Hungry – this one Vital
- Write a List and Stick to it.
- Avoid packaged meals – cooking from scratch doesn’t always take time.
- Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit by shopping the special offers
- Try to add a Meat-free meal to your diet at least once a week
- Shop in budget stores Aldi and Lidl which keep their prices low and have weekly special buys
Get your Free Budget Meal Planning Printables below
Here is your downloadable Free Meal Planning Printables so you can make your own budget using local stores to you and I have included a Freezer Inventory to help you shop from your freeze.
Cheap and Cheerful Meal Planning – recipes
Monday
This tasty Cottage pie with Sweet potato mash can be made for under 5 euros and will feed 6. Sweet Potatoes are on special in both Aldi and Lidl this week
TIP: You can also have this meatless for Meatless Monday by using Meatless mince which is €1.99 a bag
Tuesday
You can make carbonara easily and cheaply out of your favourite pasta and some bacon pieces and s few mushrooms – you will find our Got to Carbonara here.
Tip: You can kick it up a notch with fresh parmesan when your feeling flush
Wednesday
This Tasty Easy Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Puff-pastry Slice is so easy with frozen puff pastry and as it is now 89c a pack it definitely won’t break the bank
Tip – Load this with Ham and sliced mushrooms to make it even more special
Thursday
This fabulous recipe Lemon Pepper chicken thighs from The Magical Slowcooker is a so tasty and using the slow-cooker saves you time during the day. Chicken thighs are always cheaper than chicken breast and serve this with potatoes and carrots or green beans.
TIP: If you are using meat in your meals why not cheaper cut to reduce costs
Friday
On Friday I will share with you this tasty Cheap and Cheerful Sausage. Potato and Bean Serving – easy to make and €1.50 a serving – make sure you pop back in for that recipe !!
Saturday
If you stopped by recently you know I am a huge fan of Kale, you can read all about Why Growing Kale is a great idea here. But this tasty Fabulous Gluten free Kale and Mushroom Pasta is just over a Euro a portion and so good.
TIP: Sometimes pick things that are in Season to save money – Kale is in season in October
Sunday
On Sunday I will be cooking our usual Free-range Chicken. I will serve it with lots of Veggies from the garden and for dessert. As Apples and Pears are on offer this week I will be serving these tasty Autumn fruits Puff Pastry desserts recipes
Tip: using seasonal fruits in your dessert mean you can have a treat with your Sunday dinner
The total for all these dishes is €35.46 and I have even designed a Shopping list to help you – click the image to download
Disclaimer : these Prices are correct in Ireland for this week 23/10 – as some prices fluctuate this could be slightly more if used at another time. Also obviously I can only describe the prices in my country. I would love to know how others got on in there countries with is list.
If you sign up for my Snapshot and Snippets Newsletter, which as exclusive recipes and tips. Sign up and you can a Free copy of my Beginner’s Guide to Menu Planning. Which comes with plain versions of the Meal Planner and the Shopping and so much more. For more Menu’s head over to the Organizing Junkie’s Monday Menu Link up.
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That apple and pear puff pastry sounds delicious Amber!
It is Randi thank you 🙂
All of these recipes would be a hit in my house. And our weeks are so busy, so Thank you for making meal planning so easy and affordable Amber!