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7-Day Family Meal Plan (With Grocery List) Easy & Budget Friendly
Meal planning is a great way to save time while also avoiding unnecessary food waste. But sometimes finding real-life healthy meals can be challenging especially when you have a whole family to feed.
That’s why I have decided to share with you this 7-day meal plan filled with some delicious dinners. These budget-friendly meals are not only some of our favorite recipes but they are quick & easy too!
I’ve also included all of my grocery shopping lists along with what I spent for each item. And if you want to give any of these recipes a try for yourself you can find the links to all the recipes as well.
Missed the previous meal plans? Check them out here Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7
Grocery Shopping List This Week – $100.44
Below is a breakdown of everything I bought at the grocery store as well as what I spent to make an entire week’s worth of meals for my family.
Keep in mind some of the ingredients required to make these meals are pantry staples so I already had them on hand. You may need to purchase more or less to make these same meals.
The best way I have found to keep grocery costs down is by buying ahead. Buying ahead allows you to stock up on your most used food items when grocery prices are at their lowest.
In addition to buying ahead, I also like to utilize apps like Fetch Rewards. Fetch Rewards allows you to scan all of your receipts for points. You don’t even need to buy anything special in order to earn points. Anything you buy whether it be at Starbucks, the gas station, restaurants, or grocery stores earns you points.
This week I was able to cut $25 off my grocery bill just by using my fetch rewards points and redeeming them for a $25 gift card to Target. I often do this and it’s a great way to stock up on grocery items for free.
Sprouts:
- Blueberries (3) $2.50 each – total $7.50
- Grass fed ground beef 1lb – $6.49
- Boneless skinless chicken cutlets 1.35 lbs – $8.09
- Red onion – $1.10
- Yellow onion (2 large) – total $2.05
- Red bell pepper (2) – total $1.96
- Green bell pepper (2) – total $1.98
- Applegate organic sweet italian chicken sausage – $8.07 (this was a little bit of splurge but I personally just prefer this brand. You could spend a fraction of the price if you went with a cheaper option.)
- 4 pack of guacamole – $3.99
Total = $41.23
Sam’s Club:
- Red seedless grapes 3 lbs – $5.89
- Little bites muffins (not needed for recipes but purchased this week) – $11.57
- Orange juice 2 pk – $6.99
- Refried beans 8 ct – $8.27
Total = $32.72
Target:
- Egg noodles – $1.59
- Diced tomatoes – $0.55
- Chicken bouillon – $0.79
- Dunkin donuts creamer – $3.99
- Half gallon milk – $2.99
- Shredded mozzarella cheese – $1.99
- Frozen cheese tortellini – $2.99
- Chopped caesar salad kits (2) – total $5.98
- Pasta sauce – $1.49
- Frozen texas toast garlic bread (2) – total $3.98
- Sour cream – $1.89
- Serrano pepper salsa – $2.99
- Flour tortillas – $3.29
- Frozen waffles (2) – total $2.58
- Diced green chiles – $0.65
- Bread (2) – total $2.38
- Cream of chicken family size 22 oz – $2.31
- Cream cheese – $2.79
- Cream of chicken 10 oz – $1.27
- Good & Gather honey nut hoops (2) – total $5.00
Total = $51.49 (I had a $25 fetch rewards gift card so my total out of pocket was $26.49)
GRAND TOTAL FOR GROCERIES – $100.44
Weekly Meal Plan #1 January 2-8 2022
Here is a list of all of the dinner recipes we made this week!
If you are in need of more new recipes for your weekly meal plan you can check out my other FREE meal plans HERE.
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Chicken & Noodles (Stove-Top or Crock Pot)
This chicken and noodle recipe was such a comforting and warm meal to make during this cold week we had.
This recipe reminded me of a creamy chicken noodle soup and was an absolute hit with the entire family.
The best part is that this recipe can either be made on the stovetop or slow cooker. Seriously it can't get any easier than that.
We served this with leftover freezer biscuits and salad. Yummy!
Easy Cheesy Baked Tortellini (With Meat Sauce)
If you have ever tried the super infamous baked ravioli this recipe is very similar to that.
I always enjoy meals that come together very easily and especially ones that don't take much time or a lot of meal prep.
Of course, this recipe was a hit with the kids because who doesn't love pasta?
We served this with a caesar salad and garlic bread.
Sausage and Rice - One Pot!
This recipe was another super comforting, creamy, and warm meal on a cold rainy day.
I highly suggest trying this recipe using a sweet Italian chicken sausage. It was so good.
Pro tip - Let this meal sit for a few minutes once everything is combined. At first, it looked a little too runny for my liking but as it sits it thickens up and becomes the perfect texture.
We ate this with a side salad but any vegetable would do.
Green Chile Chicken & Potato Skillet
If you are looking for an extremely flavorful, easy, and healthy recipe this one pot meal is it.
I will mention that this meal e may be a tad bit on the spicier side (spicier than I was expecting) so keep that in mind if your feeding any picky family members.
We served this with a side of broccoli and some leftover rolls that we had in the freezer.
How to Make Easy Chicken Quesadillas
If you get serious cravings for takeout by the end of the week this recipe will totally hit the spot! Kid-friendly and easily customizable you can make everyone's quesadilla exactly the way they like it.
As a convenient option, we love using leftover chicken to make this meal come together in little time.
We ate this with a side of refried beans and chips but Mexican rice would be a great addition as well.