Menu Plan for the Weeks Ahead

Planning a menu helps us keep costs low, minimize work day stress, & also ensures that we eat in, rather than grabbing dinner out.

I'm happy to report that in November, we spent under $500 on groceries! $499.57, to be precise.This is huge for us. :-) Our goal for the month was $540, so it's great to see that we're slowly driving our overall spending down. We had a few expensive months after we moved, & had to restock.

A few things that are keeping our spending low(er):

• Running to the grocery store after work is rarely possible anymore, due to our schedules. As a result, we do one trip to Costco each weekend, & occasionally I'll go to the produce stand for something during the week. 
• Free lunches at work during the work week, for me + M, as well as free coffee & breakfast for me. M goes in later, so still drinks coffee/eats breakfast at home. I've always been a lunch packer, & previously took leftovers. Because I'm no longer eating leftovers for lunch, we have more left for dinners, which means both less cooking, & more money savings. Win/win!
• We continue to menu plan, watch our food waste, & focus on primarily spending our grocery money on: produce, dairy, & meat. We buy  little in the way of snacks.

I premade quite a bit of food before I went back to work, so we are eating our way through those stockpiled freezer meals. Here's what's on the menu for the weeks ahead.

• Sunday - M's famous grilled cheeseburgers. It's still grilling weather!
• Monday - tilapia & pasta, as a side dish
• Tuesday - leftover burgers
• Wednesday - Tacos (late night, with soccer tryouts)
• Thursday - Chicken & veggie sautee over rice
• Friday - Spaghetti & meatballs (Freezer)
• Saturday - Grilled chicken & pasta
• Sunday -Homemade pizza
• Monday - Leftover spaghetti & meatballs
• Tuesday - Leftover pizza
• Wednesday - Leftover grilled chicken & pasta
• Thursday - chicken soft tacos
• Friday - Tomato, chicken, & gorgonzola soup + homemade bread
• Saturday - M & I are attending a birthday party, so we'll eat there. The kids will have something quick & easy.
• Sunday - Risotto

In other news, I made the most amazing butternut squash, goat cheese, & chicken sausage risotto. I doctored a couple of recipes, so I'll try to recreate it into one & post it. It was restaurant quality & absolutely delicious!

How are you doing with your grocery spending? What's helping you control costs at the grocery store?