Another week has begun, which means I’m continuing with my new series of posts about our weekly meals, as meal planning really helps us stick to our budget month after month. Am I the only one who loves looking at and reading about what other people buy at the grocery store and what they eat each week? The amount of food that some people buy when at the supermarket astounds me, though I guess I don’t know how many people they are feeding. But still, there must be some waste going on, as some of the trolleys are piled so high with food!
I do our grocery shopping on Sunday morning whilst Mr FC has some quality daddy-baby time with our little one, so I can take my time in the supermarket. I actually enjoy food shopping and browsing round the store, though I make sure that I stick to the list that I make before I go. Making a list means that I don’t buy things we don’t need, plus ensures that nothing gets thrown away. I do try not to get distracted by the ever-present Christmas stock that seems to be in our local supermarket, along with the very cute baby clothes that are for sale. Temptation is everywhere, so it seems.
So, our meal plan for this week is as follows:
Monday – spaghetti bolognese (freezer)
Tuesday – baked salmon fillet with new potatoes, carrots, broccoli and hollandaise sauce
Wednesday – cheese and onion quiche with new potatoes and beans
Thursday – smoked salmon tagliatelle
Friday – sausages with sweet potato mash, peas and gravy.
Not much this week is from our freezer supplies, as our freezer stock is beginning to run a little low. I think I’ll have to start buying a couple of things extra each week to build it back up again; I’m aiming to have a very low spend January so I need to be a bit organised for that to happen. Breakfast and lunches are included in the £40 as well; breakfast is normally a banana for Mr FC and cereal or toast for me. Lunches can be a variety of things; sandwiches, soup, salads, vegetables and dip, just depends on the week and the mood we’re in. Now that I’m at home during the day, I can take longer over my lunch so try to have something hot and filling; as the weather is getting cooler I am loving having warm things to eat, such as soup or beans on toast, all from the store cupboard.
Related posts:
- Healthy Eating On A Budget
- 3 Healthy Breakfast Recipes On A Budget
- 3 Healthy Lunch Recipes On A Budget
Part of our planning and budget for food means that some items are used from our stockpile every week. This is so the food we already have in the cupboards is used regularly and rotated so nothing goes to waste, but it’s also a good habit to get in to so that if we cannot get to the shops for whatever reason, I can make meals from what we already have in the cupboards. Out of the meal plan for this week the bolognese sauce, beans and soup (for my lunches) are all from the stock cupboard/freezer. The bolognese sauce is homemade; I made extra portions at the time and froze them so we’re working our way through the stocks.
Related posts:
Last week I talked about making some oxtail stew in the slow cooker, as I got some reduced and we’ve never had it before. It smelt amazing all day as it cooked slowly in the slow cooker (I can’t find ours to link to, but this is the one
What are you eating this week? Trying anything new? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
This menu looks similar to ours: baked salmon and then smoked salmon pasta! Yum!
Sounds good 😉