August 2023 Meal Plan

Groceries for a weekly meal plan I made in July.

I made my first monthly meal plan! I recently started meal planning to save money on groceries. We have always done most of our cooking at home, but without much of a plan. We would grocery shop every two weeks, stocking up on all the same staples, whether we needed them or not. Then we would get bored and frustrated that we only had the ingredients for the same old meals! In June, I started weekly meal planning. This involves choosing 5-7 dinner recipes, making a shopping list based on the recipes, and buying only the ingredients needed for that week. In the first month, we saved $150 on groceries, just by being more intentional! At first, the process seemed overwhelming, but we got the hang of it quickly. Now it only takes about 20 minutes on Friday night to make my meal plan and grocery list for the upcoming week. Initially, I planned 7 different dinners, but we realized that cooking 5 times a week provides enough for all our lunches, plus 2 nights of leftovers. Starting in August, I will be working full time and taking college classes online. To save time and effort while I'm adjusting, we decided to make a meal plan for the whole month in advance. We will make our 5 favorite dinners twice a month, then there are 10 other dinners we will cook once a month.

​Monthly Meal Plan	​Meal 1	Meal 2	Meal 3	Meal 4	Meal 5
Week 1	​Fajitas, rice, peppers, & onions	Pancakes, fruit, & sausage	Jerk chicken, rice, & cauliflower	​Barbecue, sweet potatoes, & broccoli	​Homemade pizza
Week 2	​Chili	Skillet chicken, sweet potatoes, & Brussel sprouts	​Korean beef bowls, rice, & broccoli	​Burgers, sweet potatoes, & greens	​Tacos, rice, peppers, & onions
Week 3	​Enchiladas & cauliflower	​Pancakes, fruit, & sausage	​Mexican casserole	​Meatloaf, sweet potatoes, & broccoli	​Homemade pizza
Week 4	​Sausage, rice, peppers, & onions	​Skillet chicken, sweet potatoes, & Brussel sprouts	​Sesame chicken, rice, & broccoli	​Burgers, sweet potatoes, & greens	​Tacos, rice, peppers, & onions

Breakfast will be oatmeal, berries, nut or seed butter, and protein powder. Lunch will be leftovers. If there are not enough leftovers, I will meal prep garlic chicken and rice in the crockpot, because it makes 10 servings. Snacks will be fruit, trail mix, and whatever is available at Bargain Hunt. When we want dessert, we have baking staples on hand. Everything is free of gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, corn, potatoes, shellfish, strawberries, and pineapple! If this meal plan goes well in August, we may reuse it in September, or we may swap out a few of the recipes for something new. Do you meal plan? If so, how far in advance? What tips do you find helpful? Let us know in the comments!