Sticking to $50...

I had to stick to $50 this week. Truly. My husband's last two paychecks have been $50 short, and when we're already dealing with the 50% paycut we're up against, losing that $50 is a big problem! (Thankfully, it's been resolved.)

When I did our grocery planning, I didn't get very far with sale and coupon matching. It just wasn't a good week. I picked up a few things at Hy Vee and filled in the gaps at Trader Joes. My main goal at Trader Joes was to pick up a few quick and cheap dinner items. We really like their spinach torellini and veggie fried rice, and they are both very inexpensive meals for us! I also got milk and a few things to pack in lunches this week -- shelled pistachios, letter cookies and cereal bars. We'll be ok, but my $50 sure didn't go very far!

Here is our meal plan for the week -

Friday - Little Caesars at dance

Saturday - 100% whole wheat toast and jam / beans and rice burritos / Hawaiian BBQ chicken bowls

Sunday - cereal / pumpkin waffles and cheesy eggs / possible dinner and pumpkin cake with family

Monday - cereal / brown bag lunches / spinach tortellini with marinara

Tuesday - smoothie popsicles / brown bag lunches / chicken salad sandwiches

Wednesday - 100% whole wheat toast / brown bag lunches/ slow cooker black bean and cheese burritos

Thursday - cereal / brown bag lunches / fried rice and fresh fruit

Friday - smoothie popsicles / brown bag lunches / something from next week's groceries

One thing we don't have a shortage of is frozen bananas! We'll be snacking on banana shakes and whole wheat banana bread, I'm sure!

My kids also put a major hurtin' on the pumpkin applesauce I made last week. Unfortunately, the work that goes in to making homemade applesauce is just not cost effective. Instead, I'm going to try doctoring up store bought unsweetened sauce in to spiced pumpkin applesauce. We'll see how it goes!

Ah, I already feel better seeing in writing! We really do have what we need to get through the week. It's not gourmet dining, but we certainly won't starve.

See more meal plans at www.orgjunkie.com.