A Modern Alternative Mama’s Two-Week Meal Plan
By Kate, Contributing Writer
This is an average meal plan in our home. We have four kids who are 5.5, 4, 2, and 4 months (the baby doesn’t eat with us yet). Our goal right now is to increase the quality of food we are eating while keeping our budget down.
I create meal plans two weeks at a time and save them on my computer, as well as printing a copy and sticking it to my fridge. I literally have over three years’ worth of previous plans saved and organized! They serve as inspiration sometimes if I’m having trouble coming up with new ideas.
We get paid every other Friday, so I write my plans Friday – Thursday. The first Friday is shopping day!
My husband has recently decided that we will relax our budget slightly and go out to eat once a week. We go for Saturday lunch with my parents one week and Sunday lunch after church the other week. That’s what “OUT” means. We are lucky enough to live in a major city with a number of excellent, local, organic restaurants!
Week One
Friday
- Breakfast – Omelets, blueberry muffins
- Lunch – Chicken and pasta
- Dinner – Leftovers
Saturday
- Breakfast – English muffins, fruit
- Lunch – OUT
- Dinner – Leftovers
Sunday
- Breakfast – Bacon and eggs, English muffins
- Lunch – Sausage sandwiches, sweet potato chips
- Dinner – Taco soup/salad
Monday
- Breakfast – Omelets and smoothies
- Lunch – Pita pizzas, soup
- Dinner – Roast chicken legs, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Tuesday
- Breakfast – Omelets and smoothies
- Lunch – Pita pizzas, soup
- Dinner – Sausages, rice, broccoli
Wednesday
- Breakfast – Carrot cake waffles w/cream cheese frosting
- Lunch – Pita pizzas, soup
- Dinner – Grilled white pizza or broccoli cheddar soup
Thursday
- Breakfast – Waffles, smoothies
- Lunch – Pita pizzas, soup
- Dinner – Salmon, fries, broccoli
Week Two
Friday
- Breakfast – Waffles, smoothies
- Lunch – Cheeseburger pockets, veggie sticks, fruit
- Dinner – Meatball subs
Saturday
- Breakfast – Sausage gravy and biscuits
- Lunch – Chicken noodle soup
- Dinner – Scrambled hamburger, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Sunday
- Breakfast – Leftovers
- Lunch – OUT
- Dinner – Chicken nuggets
Monday
- Breakfast – Sausage gravy and biscuits
- Lunch – Cheeseburger pockets
- Dinner – Pizza
Tuesday
- Breakfast – Omelets, smoothies
- Lunch – Cheeseburger pockets
- Dinner – Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, peas
Wednesday
- Breakfast – Omelets, smoothies
- Lunch – Pita pizzas
- Dinner – Spicy chicken sandwiches, sweet potato chips
Thursday
- Breakfast – Bacon and eggs, English muffins
- Lunch – Chicken, veggies
- Dinner – Burgers, buns and fries, fruit
Looks yummy! We have pizza night once a week as our “out”. It’s this tiny pizza joint with the best pizza ever. 🙂 If a bill crops up, unexpectedly then we have homemade pizza (I freeze pizza kits so it’s not a big deal).
I used to meal plan for the whole month, but in the spring/summer I do every 2 weeks… there are just too many in season fruits and vegetables to take advantage of (monthly meal plan seems to be perfect for fall and winter though).
i want to know more about your carrot cake waffles! I have my first picky eater (of three) who won’t eat veggies or meat, and they sound great!
That recipe will publish on my blog (www.modernalternativemama.com) this Thursday!
Can I ask what your budget is? We’re a family of 5(the youngest baby is just starting to eat), and I’m having a terrible time staying under $500/month. We buy our meat in bulk through local farmers, order bulk foods, buy raw milk and eggs at a very low price from a local gal, shop at Costco and except for my husband we don’t eat any premade snacks or other processed foods. I lean towards a nourishing traditions/wapf type of cook and I’m losing my mind trying to stay on budget and cook foods my husband likes!
Hi Brittany,
Our budget is around $600 a month. I used to do more like $400 two years ago, before my third or fourth were born. But the kids just eat so much! We’ve also had various special diets and are about to go grain-free again. That might shoot it up another $100 or so a month. $500 for your family, depending on your area, is actually really good.
Thank you! That makes me feel better! I think I will start asking more people that question. Sometimes I think I’m spending way too much on food, but then when I try to cut back I end up cutting out meat, fruit, milk… And we need all of it. I guess I need to stop stressing and ease up sometimes. Thankfully we no longer have food allergies. Thank you for the meal plans! I just looked at your blog and feel much better prepared for my next meal planning session:)
I don’t mean plan to this sort of level, but I do tend to plan a week in advance, planning for dinners and the leftovers for lunch the next day, as much as possible. That way I can do a shop once a week, which works reasonably well.
I have also discovered that if I go to our local(ish) markets last thing on Sundays, the organic meat shop has virtually everything half price! Of course, the options are more limited at that time, but there’s still plenty there. So I will be going there fortnightly from now on, and planning out my meat meals, at least, a fortnight in advance.
meal plan! I don’t mean plan either of course, LOL.
I try to plan a week out, but I find that I sometimes slack off because I simply don’t have the energy to cook. I rely on healthier frozen meals and pasta. I would love to get inspired to cook again!