My Tuesday Menu Planning & Grocery Shopping

Every Tuesday I plan my meals for the week using the sales circular for my store. Then I shop. Because I had plans to have lunch with friends today, I decided to splurge on the $10 fee to shop online and pick-up my groceries (I don’t do delivery because they can’t use your coupons for that order – they credit you for the next).

I just put everything away and reviewed my receipt again and I need to brag! Now, please keep in mind that I live in Northern New Jersey, where we live 56% ABOVE the National Cost of Living Average.

Total bill was $75.94 – take out the $10 fee and I spent $65.94 to feed my family all week. I saved $16.20 in coupons. Included in this total are deli meats and cheese, London Broil (yum) and a 20lb bag of dog food. It’s also the ‘can-can’ sale at my Shop Rite so I did some stocking up too!

Here’s my dinner menu for the week:

Tuesday – Roast Chicken, red potatoes and mix veggies
Wednesday – Left Overs (there’s a bunch so we have to eat it or trash it!) and salad
Thursday – London Broil, veggies & salad
Friday – Grilled pork chops with country gravy, mash taters and veggies
Saturday – No plans because hubby and I are going out! (It’s his company holiday party)
Sunday – Chicken Soup and homemade bread
Monday – Pizza (It’s only $10 with 2 toppings, delivered)

What about breakfast and lunch? Well hubby gets deli sandwiches made for him every night. Plus I’m make chicken salad with the left overs from tonight. As for breakfast, he can have cereal from the pantry or pick-up something on the way to work (he gets an allowance every week and can spend it however he wants).

Now for me and little man, we wing it. Breakfast can be cereal, waffles, pancakes or eggs. It depends on his mood, but all are available. Lunch can be deli sandwiches, mac & cheese, soup (some in the pantry and some homemade in the freezer), chicken nuggets, left overs, etc. And of course there is fresh fruit and veggies available and the usual Toddler snacks.

I’m looking forward to having a nice salad on Friday with some left over London broil and Caesar dressing! I also got a big enough chicken to have enough left over for use next week (I’ll just freeze it). Furthermore, I got a family pack of 8 pork chops – only need 4 for this week, the remaining will be frozen.

So that’s how I do it – not brain surgery. Just put a little effort into it each week and you’ll save money and your sanity. Want more information? Check out my e-book that gives you step-by-step directions on meal planning! Meal Planning for Busy Moms