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Home > Our Meal Plan and Why it's Frugal

Our Meal Plan and Why it's Frugal

April 8th, 2018 at 12:54 am

I think my daughter is HANGRY. She played all 70 minutes of the soccer game today and that doesn't include the warmup. I have, of course, been feeding her all day, before and immediately after and since the game. I am going to go make dinner in 5 minutes.

But first, while I'm thinking about food...

Here is our meal plan and "why it's frugal."

S - flacas with mini peppers (flacas are two corn tortillas, dry pan fried with beans and cheese) - Frugal because not meat-based, corn tortillas are a cheap grain, we already have some extra mini peppers on hand...
S - asian meatballs - Made with ground turkey instead of ground beef, we put in a couple of diced green onions and some garlic and ginger, make a sauce with leftover marinara/rice vinegar and add some rice - nothing exotic or expensive. Usually a vegetable on the side - whatever is on sale.
M - pasta with zucchini and goat cheese - No-meat meal. Goat cheese from Trader Joe's is affordable - this uses about half a package and we use the rest for lunches.
T - aloo gobi with rice - Makes a ton! No meat, two potatoes, one head of cauliflower and some onion and spices - I think the whole dinner is less than $5. This is made in the crockpot which is good for soccer night.
W - lemon crumbed fish with veg and cheddar bay biscuits - The fish is not cheap but we buy whatever vegetable is on sale at Sprouts and make our own cheddar bay biscuits. I have the breadcrumbs from bread heels in the freezer ready to use. Probably one of our more expensive dinners, but definitely under $15 total.
Th - freezer and salad - We have some posole and chili in the freezer, leftover from a crockpot meal specifically for soccer nights when we don't get home until 7:30 at the earliest. We make a salad with lettuce ($1) and some radishes, shredded carrot and sunflower seeds. Homemade salad dressing that I always have in the fridge.
F - tacos - One last soccer night to deal with. Corn tortillas, a little bit of shredded chicken made in the crockpot, sour cream, salsa, lettuce... Or we might do these veggie with avocados instead of chicken.

Now time to feed one hungry girl... and two hungry adults... and a dog and a cat.

10 Responses to “Our Meal Plan and Why it's Frugal”

  1. shiela Says:
    1523155251

    I think I might try that Aloo Gobi today I got a lot of cauliflower yesterday because it was really cheap and I was just trying to figure what to do with them. Thanks for the idea.

  2. Amber Says:
    1523186181

    Love the no meat menu, I definitely need to try this

  3. CB in the City Says:
    1523192336

    Lots of creative cooking! I love it!

  4. scottish girl Says:
    1523193273

    Your meal plans are always frugal,at least I think so. I like to check them when I'm looking for inspiration.

  5. rob62521 Says:
    1523219762

    Great frugal, but nutritious meals!

  6. LuckyRobin Says:
    1523226696

    Actually, I would have meat on the soccer nights and meatless on other days. If she works out that hard she's going to need the higher quality protein for muscle repair and cellular regeneration. It will also stop her hunger a lot faster. Save meatless meals for days when she doesn't expend so much energy. Or at least have beans. The lack of protein after a workout is going to make your daughter feel like she is starving all day long, as you are experiencing.

  7. Buendia Says:
    1523244776

    Hi LuckyRobin! We don't eat meat (do eat chicken and fish), but we do get plenty of protein... Thurs. and Fri. soccer nights have chicken in them, but we've been eating mostly vegetarian for years, and she's been playing soccer for 8 years... her snacks are avocados, nuts, cheese, eggs... When you eat mostly vegetarian, you do need to make sure you eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, but you don't need to eat meat (or chicken or fish) to get all of the amino acids you need... you do need a lot of calories!

  8. ceejay74 Says:
    1523247238

    I love articles like this! Smile businessinsider.com/elite-athletes-who-are-vegan-and-what-made-them-switch-their-diet-2017-10

  9. LuckyRobin Says:
    1523252997

    Oh, I know you don't eat red meat. I call all flesh meat. I didn't see chicken listed in your meal plan for Tuesday which you said was good for a soccer night. So is Tuesday not a soccer night? They way it is worded is misleading. I just mean chicken meat or fish meat is best on soccer days, and vegetarian is good on non-soccer days, but if Tuesday is actually a non-soccer day, than vegetarian is great. But don't you have to have a vegetarian source of protein at every meal when you are a child? Sorry, it's been years since I looked at vegetarianism when my daughter went through a meatless phase, but I thought it was what was recommended. But that was 11 years ago.

  10. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1523321989

    Yum! I would eat with you most of those nights. Smile
    Ceejay - I saw that article too - great article Smile

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