This week’s meal plan on a budget

As regular readers will know, I find that getting organised with a meal plan saves us so much time and money. Just 15 minutes spent doing meal planning is time well spent. I sometimes think I don’t have the time to spare, but because I understand the benefits to our wealth and health of meal planning, I motivate myself to do it.

Meal planning involves going through the cupboards, fridge and freezer to see what we already have and then having a quick look through our recipe books and online to see what can be produced. I also take into account what we will be doing each day, so that I can build in some really quick meals for the busy days. Then I write a shopping list. It’s simple really.

It’s a lot easier to find what we have now that my daughter Izzy has finished her mega kitchen declutter, as mentioned in yesterday’s Frugal Friday round up.

I am keeping an eye on the Olio app for free food too, so if necessary will adapt the plan to incorporate any freebies. Last week I picked up a load of packs of turkey chunks, which are in the freezer, corned beef and celery. It’s such a great app if you are on a tight budget and want to help reduce food waste.

So, without further ado, here is this week’s meal plan on a budget.

Saturday

Home made beef casserole with mashed potato and broccoli. I bought a big pack of stewing beef from Lidl. It’s really good value and there should be leftovers for dinner again on Monday.

Mr S absolutely loves Christmas pudding, so why wait until Christmas? I bought a couple of mini puds in Lidl too! They were only 86p each, so a reasonably priced treat.

Sunday

Today we will have yellow fin sole fillets from Lidl with air fried potatoes, grilled tomatoes and mange tout. Now that we have eaten all of our home grown tomatoes, I am buying them again.

I like these big packs from Lidl. They are always really ripe and tasty, but I do need to remember to include them in our meals so they get used up.

Monday

Leftover beef casserole from Saturday with peas from the freezer. It’s  only me in for dinner tonight, so a home made ready meal will be perfect.

Tuesday

Smoked mackerel and hard boiled egg salad with a baked sweet potato and grated cheese. Another easy dinner, and our oily fish dose for the week.

Wednesday

Tuna, cheese and rice bake with salad. I will deliberately make it big enough so that there is some leftover for tomorrow. This has become a new family favourite. It’s so tasty, easy to make and cheap, so good for a meal plan on a budget.

Thursday

You guessed it – more of the tuna, cheese and rice bake with green beans from the freezer.

Friday

Simply Cook paneer and spinach curry – going to try this with halloumi instead of paneer, since it needs using up. Hopefully, it won’t be too salty.

We generally have one Simply Cook meal each week at least. If you want to try a box of 4 Simply Cook recipe mixes for free, use my referral code here. Just don’t forget to cancel your subscription if you don’t want to continue.

I am eating more carbs at the moment, although not as many as I used to. I am generally avoiding bread, as it bloats me up. Potatoes and rice in small amounts seem to be OK, but I know about it if I eat too much chocolate! Really, I am better on a very low carb diet, but it’s a bit of a faff and more expensive. I will go back on it in the new year I think to get rid of any extra flab from Christmas.

What are you eating this week? Are you going for a meal plan on a budget?

I am joining in with Katy Kicker’s meal planning linky. Check out her meal plan this week too. You can see more of my favourite food ideas and recipes here.