• About
    • Work With Me
    • Contact Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • New? Start here!
  • How To Budget
    • Ways to Save Money
    • Set Up A Budget
    • Stick To A Budget
    • Budget Printables
  • Easy Meals
    • 15 Minute Meals
    • Easy Lunch Ideas
    • Meal Planning
  • Home Organization
    • Home Management
    • Save Time
    • Home Routines
    • Home Management Binder
  • Make Money
    • Work From Home
    • Side Jobs
    • Money Making Apps
    • Hobbies That Make Money
  • Shop
↑

The Busy Budgeter

A balanced life for busy people!

  • Work with Me
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Shop
  • How to Budget
  • New? Start here!
  • Home Organization
  • Make Money
  • Easy Meals
    • 15 Minute Meals

12-1-12 This Weeks Meal Plan of Cheap 15 Minute Meals. *Shopping List Included* (Under $120.00 weekly for all food), New Meal Plans Post on Sunday.

By The Busy Budgeter | Leave a comment | This post may contain affiliate links

52shares
  • Facebook 26
  • Twitter
  • Yummly

 

This week, I’m back at work and surprisingly loving it. It’s less hectic than I remember it being. Of course, I’m only on day four of ten worked in a row, so perhaps we should revisit this idea in a few days. Meals have been going great, and while I could probably upgrade to 30 minute meals, I’ll spend a few more weeks on 15 minute meals to make sure I can keep this pace. 

Each Week, I sit down with my schedule book and plan out this week’s meals. Breakfasts are serve yourself from pre-made options, and snack bags for lunches are separated into snack baggies on shopping day (Sunday). I just grab 3 snack baggies for each of our lunches to toss in. We both pack our lunch every day, even being at home these last few months. I pack my lunch as well so I can grab it and go while running errands etc. Jon took over the shopping as one of his chores (You rock Jon!), He does that on Sunday and then I can do food prep that day for the week. I share our menu for the week for those that are new to menu planning. If you have no idea what to do for the week and would like to steal some or all of our plan… I promise not to prosecute:-)

As always, I feel it’s important to note that this is not the healthiest plan to follow. It’s a great plan for us, because it’s breaking our addiction to fast food and other unhealthy habits, and its cut our food budget by about 50%. Slowly, we’re making substitutions that will lead us to a healthy cheap meal plan. Romewasn’t built in a day and all that jazz.



 

Meal Planning Made Easy
 

 


“Recipes” for all menu items can be found
here and here, unless they are noted below in the menu plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MENU:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast Options for the Week:

 

 

 


French Toast and Pancakes!! I’m making tons of these tomorrow from scratch and freezing them in groups of three. Add a little butter and strawberry preserves and I’m a happy girl.
Milk and Cereal: Self Explanatory.

 

 

 

 

 

Fruit Smoothies: We have frozen strawberries left over from last week’s Strawberry Shortcake so we can blend these with milk and ice (and chocolate if it’s going to be one of those days).

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch Options:

 

 

 

 

 

Jon may never get sick of Turkey and Muenster, but I certainly do. I’ll get a few options for the week and we can choose accordingly.

 

 

 

Frozen Healthy Choice Steamers- at 200 calories, these are great addition to lunch if I get sick of sandwiches.

 

 

 

Roast Beef and Cheddar

 

 

 

Oven Roasted Turkey and Muenster

 

 

 

Leftover TurkeyJ– Lots and Lots of Leftover Turkey, considering Mom and Dad brought down another turkey so we had two for Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

Snack Options for Lunches:

 

 

 

Pudding cups
Slim Jim’s
Peanuts
Popcorn
Granola Bars
Fruit
Carrots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reminders:

 

 

 

Gym all week right before lunch. Dinners must be stored for Jon and quick to both make and heat.

 

 

 

Make sure you have everything you need to pack two lunches from now on.

 

 

 

Plan for an insane Breakfast Burrito batch cooking session on your day off this week. We need 20 burritos to last until my next day off.

 

 

 

Pack extra easy snacks to store in car for unexpected late nights.

 

 

 

Weekday Lunches are now also being eaten on the weekends since one of us will almost always be working the weekend.

Monday:

Lunch: Lunch Options and Three Snacks

Dinner: Broiled Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans. Served with A-1 Sauce and Garlic Parsley Butter.

 

(Broiled Steaks- Take 2 pieces of steak, preheat broiler to HI. Place steaks in oven on a broiler pan, leave the oven door open an inch. Broil on each side for about 5 minutes (could be less or more depending on steak thickness). Check the middle, if you want it more well done, close the oven door, bake at 375 for another 5 minutes.)

 

We use instant mashed potato flakes for quick mashed potatoes and frozen steamable green beans.

Tuesday:

Lunch: Lunch Options and Three Snacks

Dinner: Taco Salad, Chips and Guacamole

Wednesday:

Lunch: Lunch Options and Three Snacks

Dinner: Grilled Chicken Salad on Pita’s

 

(Either use grilled chicken that you’ve made yourself and frozen, or you can use Tyson’s Frozen Grilled Chicken Breasts, or Wegmans Frozen grilled Chicken Breasts, or you can shred a rotisserie chicken.  Chop cucumbers, onion, olives, green pepper, romaine lettuce and mix with chopped chicken. Toss with greek dressing and pile on top of pita bread (or naan bread) that’s been warmed in the microwave for a few seconds. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Thursday:

Lunch: Lunch Options and Three Snacks

Dinner: Homemade Sloppy Joes, Steamed Peas, Brown Rice

Friday:

Lunch: Lunch Options and Three Snacks

Dinner: Sausage, Green Pepper, Onion and Pepperoni Pizza. Carrots and Blue Cheese Dressing

Saturday:

 

Breakfast: Tomato and Mozzarella Omlets.

Lunch: Lunch Options and Three Snacks

Dinner: Broiled Steaks, Cauliflower and Cheese (frozen prepared), Egg Noodles.

 

 

 


Sunday:
Breakfast: French toast with strawberry preservesLunch: Lunch Options and Three Snacks

 

 

 

Dinner: Chipotle Style Bowls


 

 

 

Shopping List: (All prices are approximate based off memory- If we shop before I post, I’ll include total)

 

**This Post also serves as my husbands shopping list – you can ignore the descriptions meant for him.

 

 

 

2 Loaves of Giant Bread- $2.00

 

Gallon Fat Free Milk – $2.50

 

5 Healthy Choice Steamers – $9.00

 

Wegmans Muenster Cheese- $2.50

 

Wegmans Pudding Cups- $1.50

 

Slim Jim (Large Container)- $3.00

 

Wegmans Honey Roasted Peanuts- $2.00

 

Wegmans Applesauce Cups – $2.00

 

Wegmans Pear Cups (for lunches) – $2.00 (If Wemans doesn’t make these- just grab the cheapest national band)

 

3 Packs of Wegmans Burrito Tortillas- $6.00

 

3 Rolls of Frozen Sausage (like Jimmy Dean- but buy Wegmans if they have it)- $8.00

 

Huge Bag of Mozzarella Cheese- $14.00

 

Frozen Mixed Peppers (for burritos- if you can’t find them, just grab a club pack of green peppers for about $4.00)- $1.00

 

Frozen Onions (diced, chopped etc- doesn’t matter) – $1.00

 

Salsa- $2.00

 

4 thin personal size steaks (expiring after 11/30 if possible) – $11.00

 

1 Pound Wegmans Butter- $2.00

 

Steamable Green Beans- $2.00

 

Club Pack Ground Beef (when you get home, separate it into 1 pound packs and freeze with date and contents on label)- $13.00

 

Romaine Lettuce- $2.00

 

2 Small Packs of Cheddar Cheese – $4.00 (Don’t get a large one because once opened they expire in 3 days).

 

Large Wemans Sour Cream- $2.00

 

Taco Seasoning – $1.00 (these are kept with the seasoning packets- like beef gravy packets etc – If my memory serves it’s in the canned veggie aisle)

 

2 Avocados- $3.00

 

Wegmans Tortilla Chips- $2.00

 

Steamable Peas (with that french sauce- berganaise?- I’m sure I just butchered that)- $2.00

 

1 Green Pepper – $1.00

 

1 White Onion- $1.00

 

Pepperoni – $2.00

 

Pizza Crust- $2.00 (Any type- refrigerated, wegmans dough, or boboli type crust)

 

Baby Carrots- $2.00

 

Wegmans Blue Cheese (Not the light one)- $1.50

 

Wegmans Fozen Cauliflower and Cheese- $2.00

 

Egg Noodles- $2.00

 

1 Can of Black Beans- $1.00

 

Wegmans Frozen Grilled Chicken Breast- $6.00

 

Lime Juice- $1.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total: $ 120.00



 

 

 

Items already at Home:

 

 

 

Ketchup

 

Mayo

 

Strawberry Preserves

 

Brown Sugar

 

Diced Onion

 

Cilantro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click & make a purchase, I receive a small commission that helps keep the Busy Budgeter up and running. Read my full disclosure policy here. 

More You'll Love:

  • How we reduced our spending by $23,537.00 in a year (Money Saving Tips)!How we reduced our spending by $23,537.00 in a year (Money Saving Tips)! Since we've been married and I began tracking our spending, we've made a lot […]
  • The Secret to Saving Money When You Don’t Have WillpowerThe Secret to Saving Money When You Don’t Have Willpower Do you feel like no matter what you do, you never have a decent savings? You reduce […]
  • How 14 Bank Accounts Saved Our BudgetHow 14 Bank Accounts Saved Our Budget How 14 Bank Accounts Saved Our Budget Thanks to Talaat and Tai McNeely of His and Her […]
  • 6 (Cheap!) At-Home Family Fun Night Ideas6 (Cheap!) At-Home Family Fun Night Ideas I’ll bet you could use a super-fun night! I know I sure could. But when you’re livin' […]
FTC Disclosure of Material Connection: In order for us to maintain this website, some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally and/or believe will add value to readers

Filed Under: 15 Minute Meals, Frugal Foodie, Meal Plan

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Recent Posts

Easiest Weekly Budget Printable

Easiest Weekly Budget Printable

April 13th, 2021

​​​​​​​The Quickest Way To Save For An Emergency Fund.

​​​​​​​The Quickest Way To Save For An Emergency Fund.

April 5th, 2021

How many productive hours in a day get done in 8 hours?

How many productive hours in a day get done in 8 hours?

March 14th, 2021

Cheap Easy Party Food Ideas For The Ultimate Budget Party.

Cheap Easy Party Food Ideas For The Ultimate Budget Party.

March 12th, 2021

How to Not Be Late (The Easy Way).

How to Not Be Late (The Easy Way).

March 9th, 2021

Busy Budgeter Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Ready to save a TON of money?

Get step by step budget help with the FREE 90 day budget bootcamp!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

  • How To Budget
    • Ways to Save Money
    • Set Up A Budget
    • Stick To A Budget
    • Budget Printables
  • Easy Meals
    • 15 Minute Meals
    • Easy Lunch Ideas
    • Meal Planning
  • Home Organization
    • Home Management
    • Save Time
    • Home Routines
    • Home Management Binder
  • Make Money
    • Work From Home
    • Side Jobs
    • Money Making Apps
    • Hobbies That Make Money
Copyright ©2021, The Busy Budgeter. All Rights Reserved. Contact Rosemarie@busybudgeter.com. Privacy Policy
Design by Pixel Me Designs