When people learn that our family of six spends less than $300 per month on average, they want to know what we eat. I share our monthly grocery hauls and other frugal tips on my YouTube channel and I talk about how we save money by stocking up, but that just has people begging to see what we do with it.
My tendency is to post more on preserving (canning, dehydrating, freezing) or baking (because I love brownies, cakes, and cookies) rather than actual meals. I’ve shared some ideas on menu planning, saving on groceries without coupons, cooking from scratch, and our grocery shopping. I’ve even shared a couple of our favorite dinner recipes.
But I don’t share much about what a normal menu looks like or what we actually eat to keep our food budget is consistently low.
UPDATE: I recently got brave and shared what a $400 monthly grocery budget looks like on a plate!
Why am I so hesitant to share?
So what has been holding me back? As readers you’ve told me what you want to hear about. That information is so helpful for a blogger. Still, I haven’t delivered. Here’s why:
Sometimes I wonder what we eat too.
I’m not always good at planning my own menu and often fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to dinner. I try, but I’m only sporadically really good at it. I encourage others to plan a menu because it prevents people from ordering take-out or going out to eat. Living in the boonies means that ordering a pizza if I don’t feel like making dinner just isn’t an option. Although menu planning absolutely helps me be more organized and come up with more interesting meals, because I’ve been cooking from scratch for years, I can still make dinner even if I don’t have a game plan.
I’m not a food blogger
I’m just a regular home cook who feeds her family (and is happy if at least 80% of the family eats it). Our dinners aren’t anything fancy or complex. They are just home-cooked from scratch with regular (mostly whole food) ingredients.
I’m not a food photographer
Even when I make something wonderful that tastes delicious and is a hit with the whole family (lots of bonus points for that one), my pictures don’t convey that. If something doesn’t look yummy, you aren’t going to want to make it and no one will want to pin it on Pinterest.
One time I posted a muffin recipe (which was yummy and healthy) and my dad emailed me, essentially telling me that they looked like goat droppings. (True story.) He was right, it was a horrible picture, but it’s the best that I had, so I posted anyway. Needless to say, I’ve buried that post in the archives.
Blogging a recipe or cooking tutorial is a lot of work
Taking photos of every step of the process makes the recipe take at least twice as long. It’s tricky to be the photographer and chef at the same time (thankfully my husband helps with the photos when he’s around). It’s hard to keep our tiny kitchen cleaned up as I go so that you aren’t grossed out by a messy kitchen.
I usually don’t follow a recipe
I cook with what we have, substituting other ingredients for what we don’t have. Even when I do look at a recipe to cook something new, I have a hard time sticking to it. I almost always adapt it, even when I’ve never tried it the way it’s written. For me it’s more art than science (though calling it “art” makes it sound a lot fancier than it actually is).
Because of my not cooking the exact same thing twice, I’ve been hesitant to post a “recipe” for most of the dinners I make, since it would have a thousand variations (“or you could add ___ or try ___”).
I’m self-conscious
Honestly, part of the reason I haven’t shared is that I’m a little self-conscious. What if you see that my meals aren’t always balanced? What if homemade mashed potatoes is the main dish, instead of just a side dish? What if we don’t have something green with our dinner every night? What if you think our food is boring because we don’t eat meat very often? What if I tell you the way that I do something and everyone tells me that I do it the wrong way?
But I’m going to try anyway
In the spirit of doing hard things anyway, I’m going to try to share with you some of our meals in the coming weeks.
Even though sometimes I wonder what we eat… The truth is we are blessed to always eat.
Even though I’m not a food blogger… I like food and, well, everyone’s gotta eat!
Even though I’m not a food photographer... I do want to learn (I just need to make time)!
Even though blogging a recipe or cooking tutorial is a lot of work… If it helps someone get a handle on their grocery budget and start cooking from scratch, it’s worth it.
Even though I usually don’t follow a recipe… I’ll just show you what I do, and maybe you can learn to wing it and use what you have, too!
Even though I’m self-conscious… It’s time to get over it and stop worrying about what people *might* think.
My Plan
So next week I’ll be starting an occasional series (see how I’m not boxing myself in here) of “Frugal Food Friday” posts where I’ll share one of our meals, along with a tutorial or “recipe” (using that term loosely here). I will do my best to plan the posts ahead of time so I can have a second chance to get a better photo if the first one flops.
My hope is that you will see that cooking from scratch and eating at home doesn’t have to look like HGTV or your Pinterest feed, but it can still taste pretty good, be pretty good for you, and save you a pretty penny.
Update– So far in the Frugal Food Friday series we have:
Versatile and Easy Potato Soup Tutorial– You don’t need a recipe for this classic!
Hawaiian Haystacks– A favorite at our house!
7 Ways to Use Nearly Expired Milk– Never waste milk again!
Fast and Frugal Taco Soup– From scratch, no cans!
Cheesy Broccoli Quiche– Super easy and uber delicious!
Chicken Pot Pie– Totally versatile– use the veggies and/or meat you have on hand.
Other Frugal Dinner Favorites:
Homemade Pizza– My kids complain about any pizza that isn’t homemade. Try this and you’ll see why.
Creamy Taco Casserole– This one was adapted from a family recipe at least 3 generations old.
Mock Lasagna– My mother-in-law created this crowd-pleasing recipe.
Soft French Bread– You’ll never buy French bread at home after having it from scratch.
Other great plans!
Frugal Real Food Meal Plans
If you’re looking for a menu that is already planned out for you, then I recommend Frugal Real Food Meal Plans. Not only are these meals made from scratch with real food (no processed stuff), the average price of a month’s meals is $350! That includes over 50 meals per month for a family of four.
I love how Frugal Real Food Meal Plans are organized. The shopping lists are done for you and includes a price guide so you know what prices to aim for when you’re stocking up on staples. Meals are ordered strategically so that ingredients are used again in other recipes so they don’t go to waste.
Feeding your family healthy, whole foods doesn’t have to be expensive!
MyFreezEasy
Another plan that I’ve tried and enjoyed is Erin Chase’s MyFreezEasy freezer meal plans.
The basic version of MyFreezEasy gives you access to 8 different meal plans with new recipes each month. There is a traditional plan, gluten-free plan, slow cooker plan, clean eats plan, all chicken plan, just to name a few. You get access to ALL 8 meal plans each month.
Each meal plan includes five recipes (you make two of each one), shopping lists, prep and assembly instructions, and labels for your freezer bags or trays.
You get a complete assembly video of the traditional meal plan each month so you can actually do your prep right along with Erin Chase. You also get highlight videos of all eight of the plans, so you can get specific tips and tricks for that set of recipes.
Premium members get all the benefits of the basic membership, but you can also adjust the serving sizes for the meals, look through the recipes and create your own meal plan from all of the recipes available using a brand new drag-and-drop desktop app. You’ll also be able to save your favorite recipes so that you can easily find them for future meal plans.
Both of these plans are tried and true! Whether you use your own plans or someone else’s the key to keeping a trim grocery budget is planning!
UPDATE: I’m sharing my frugal family grocery shopping hauls over on my new YouTube channel. Head over and see exactly what groceries we buy each month!
UPDATE 2: Now that we’re done paying off student loans, we have increased our grocery budget for our family of 7 to $400. Want to see what our meals look like? Here’s the post for you: “What Our $400 Monthly Grocery Budget Looks like on a Plate.”
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It’s 2024. I have a family of 7. I used to be able to get things this cheap but not any more… I wonder if these meals can still be this cheap.
I hate menu planning, one thing that has made it easier, is every time we have a meal we like and I will cook again (I like 20min meals or freezer easy if I’m batch cooking) I write it on the calendar, after a month or so you have a handful of menu idea that you already like and know how to cook, I guess it’s menu planning in reverse but it’s worked for us.
I do try to plan our meals but anything that helps AND helps save money is a blessing! My husband is retired and recovering from cancer and I’m disabled so our income is nearly laughable. Thanks for gathering your courage and posting this!
I love your honesty. I do not do meal plans because my family likes to mix it up on menus and snack on special ingredients. I do a lot of the “art” and on the fly cooking. 👍👍
I definitely need to reduce my grocery budget. It’s very hard with a man in the house who INSISTS on eating Lobster and Steak EVERY SINGLE WEEK!!! I too blog and cook/bake and I’m getting better at posting my creations as my photography skills improve. I’ve been taking online photography classes through skillshare to help and I’ve gotten some great tips. I love seeing that it IS POSSIBLE to eat on a smaller budget and it’s something I need to work toward. Thanks for this post; it’s very inspiring. 🙂
350.00 for a family of four still equals 700.00 for a family of 8 like us. That’s stills so much for our budget to handle. I’m trying to find a way to keep our grocery bill around the 500.00 range and boy is it difficult. Thanks for sharing your ideas, I’m always looking to see if I can come across something new that I haven’t tried yet to see it can work for our family.
This is the way I cook, and I wouldn’t want to try to explain it to anyone, much less take photos and figure out step by step instructions!
This reminds me so much of the very down to earth “Tightwad Gazette” method. Pinterest is great, yet at the same time creates a sense of comparison with others than can make us feel “less than” when what we do is on parade. Keep it real!😘
I loved reading this, and the comments too! It’s so wonderful to see people being so honest and kind.
I never share my menu plans on my blog because it looks something like spaghetti, leftovers, enchilada casserole, leftovers, whatever mommy feels like making. I always feel that as long as I am giving my children healthy, good tasting food, who cares what it looks like? But, still, most of the food I make I wouldn’t post online.
Thank you for your honesty about the reasons you have been hesitant to post a food based blog! Your concerns speak to most family chefs, I’m sure! Personally, I am excited by the idea of meal ideas that work off of what ever was in the panty that day, that is real life! I am a new reader to your blog and look forward to continuing?
I just loved the transparency of this… I’m much the same way except that when we are on the go (three boys going in different directions)… it’s hard to stick to the plan and why blog about a plan I’m not keeping.
🙂 I’ll be interested in seeing what you put out there…
Not being a recipe cooker myself, I find it hard to add value to the posts when I blog my grocery receipts. I just make it up – sometimes I’ll do a collection of dinner IG photos but I cook to eat, not cook to be a food blogger.
Yes! I’m definitely not trying to be a food blogger. That’s way out of my league! 🙂 I do IG our food occasionally though.
Thank you! I can totally relate to the reasons you have. I get “performance anxiety” any time I have to cook for anyone who doesn’t live in my house. I mean, WE think it’s good… But no recipes, never the same thing twice, etc. I’d really love to see what you do for “real life” to save money and cook from staples, as that’s what I need to help me grocery budget for me, my daughter and 4 year old granddaughter.
“Performance anxiety” 🙂 Love it! Recently I’ve shared my potato soup tutorial and Hawaiian Haystacks.
One of our favorite recipes, Crockpot Enchiladas, is affectionately referred to as “Mexislop” around our house, because it looks like slop! But it’s delicious, because even from fresh ingredients it’s inexpensive, and it’s a great way to use up odds and ends of meat and some other leftovers. So post away with your “boring” “unphotogenic” meals!
I am excited about this, Stephanie! I always love getting new ideas and recipes. What works for one family may not work for another, but it’s always fun to learn.
I agree Sarah! It’s fun to learn from others. Even if they do things differently, there’s always something to learn or a tip to pick up.
Yay! I am always curious how others make their food budgets stretch and what they are eating. I started sharing our weekly dinner plan on my blog a few months ago hoping to get some ideas from others so I am excited to see what you share.
The increase it the cost of food where I live has been in the new this week as it is expected to rise even more as our dollar is dropping. Living on the Canadian Prairies means that we import the majority of our fresh foods and so I struggle to keep us all fed and healthy while staying in budget.
Yes, I’ve been watching the Canadian dollar dropping! I’m sorry that it’s directly affecting you. Adjusting to higher costs of living (gas, food) was hard when we moved from the midwest to California. That’s great that you’re sharing your dinner plans!
I was self conscious about my meals too until my mom told me what she ate growing up in the 60’s! Sure they ate a lot of home canned foods because they lived next to a family farm, but also tons of sugary cereals, tang, kool-aid and candy bars – for breakfast! I don’t feel so bad now 🙂 And doctoring up meals to use up what I have in the fridge, replacing ingredients because I ran out of something and general chaos that is my cooking “style” would lead to a mess of a blog post too. But ya know what? That’s real life baby. So what if it doesn’t fit in the current mold of what people WANT to see, maybe real life cooking is what they NEED to see. Real life doesn’t always look like a catalog. Keep it real mama, that’s what you’re good at!
Ha ha! I grew up in the 80s and we drank a lot of Kool-Aid! The thought of putting two cups of sugar in a 2 quart pitcher is kind of sickening to me now! 🙂
Stephanie, I love this. Thanks for being honest. I know it is hard as a blogger to share the full scope of what you eat because it can open you up to criticism as well – there are so many “right ways” to eat now. I love photography and cooking, but lately with 4 kids it just feels impossible to both make my food and photograph it in the “perfect” light so that it looks Pinterest-worthy (the sun is going down when we eat, and they’re eating my photo subject!). I love looking at beautiful food pictures, but I will look forward to real food pictures as well in your upcoming posts.
Thanks Jenni! 🙂
Ladies, ladies, ladies,
PLEASE stop being so hard on yourselves! Please – really do stop being so hard on yourselves. Do you have any idea how grateful hungry, tired people are just to have a decent meal already prepared and served to them when they get home from a long day’s work?
Share! No one is going to criticize (except the biggest idiots – who are clueless and have no business criticizing you).
Share! And don’t be embarrassed by it. You’ve only got a very short time to dance upon this earth.
So true. Thanks for the reminder Jim.
I read my husband your comment and he totally agreed, lol! We truly are too hard on ourselves sometimes. He eats whatever I make and doesn’t ever say anything bad even when I know it wasn’t all that great. He works hard so he is really hungry when he gets home and is genuinely glad to eat whatever I make. Even if it is just a grilled cheese sandwich, lol!
Right on!
Your occasional postings about food have always been appreciated, but I never expected you to teach me how to cook, so never felt you were holding back! You are wonderful at what you do, and I have become an avid reader in the last few months. Your humble yet confident attitude, articulate writing style, and well conceived and executed posts have had a calming and encouraging impact on my days. Thank you for your hard work!
Thanks for the kind words Deb. You’re sweet. 🙂
I wouldn’t worry about it to much meatless meals aren’t boring, they are what we eat at my house all the time. Most Americans do not have well balanced meals at every meal it’s just how life is and pretty much always has been. When working with clients, or my children, I always remind them that you don’t have to eat fruits and/or vegetables with every meal. As long as you get them sometime through out the day it will be fine. You just want to eat more than you did before.
I’ve found when we aren’t eating as much produce as I’d like purple smoothies (berries & spinach) start becoming snacks for us. I throw in some of the homemade yogurt so they’re getting probiotics too. Our 6 & 4 year old always ask for spinach in their smoothies because they love the purple color it turns.
🙂 My kids love smoothies too! It’s an easy way to sneak in all sorts of healthy things!
I do the same things you do. Some nights the meal isn’t completely balanced but I know we will make up for it in the next meal or snack. Also, when I am constantly altering recipes to use make them more frugal. This occasionally results in a flop. But often times it’s still delicious but maybe doesn’t look all that great. I think most people understand that we are all out here trying our best. I have enjoyed the food posts you have done in the past. I too just cobble together a meal at times that would never be considered photo worthy. If you feel like you are having to put a lot more time, effort, or money into your meals consistently just to make them photo worthy for all of us I’m afraid you will enjoy blogging less. I enjoy when you do post special things you do a little along. Like, the squash with cheese in the summer, your pizza dough and pie crust post, and the zucchini brownies. I like these little gems you throw in every once in awhile. Just keep it simple for yourself. That’s what we like about you!
I’m glad I’m not the only one Jennifer! I’ll definitely keep it real. 🙂 That makes me happy that you’ve like what I’ve shared in the past.
Thanks for doing this!! I have a family of 5 and over the course of 2015 we averaged $770 per month on food. Hopefully you will be able to share some things that will help us trim this down. We do host family often and we buy some organic items…but its pretty high.
I’ll do my best Tammy! 🙂
I understand your feelings of self-consciousness in regards to posting food photos. If it helps, I post a lot of food photos to platforms like Instagram, and I’ve never had anyone criticize me for not eating enough greens or eating too much ice cream. I don’t eat a ton of meat either, and I can safely say that my food isn’t boring, and I’m sure yours isn’t either! By the way, if you want to see some funny “real food” check out the Sad Desk Lunch website. I just discovered it a few days ago. It’s a funny website where people post photos of the lunches they eat at their desks.
Thanks for the encouragement Amy. 🙂 I’ll have to check out Sad Desk Lunch!
Hello, I came across your page by accident but I must say I feel a lot like you. I recently retired and now I need to learn how to live on less than 50% less $$ than I’m use to.
Eating a balanced meal is very important to me, after all “you are what you eat….lol”
I really enjoy your page and am happy that someone had the time to sum it all up so that other women can avoid falling into the “I need” trap and get into debt. I look forward to your recipe ‘s 🙂