If you saw my recent Instagram post, you know that I fumbled back into some credit card debt. Since I’ve mentioned it, I have been living on my debit card only and sending all I can to pay down the card.

Well, during my last paycheck budget, unplanned expenses have also come up: my medicine costs more than planned, I succumbed to Starbuck’s holiday drinks a couple of times (I love the chestnut praline latte) and I started a hobby that required an upfront payment. To make up for the overspending, it means my food budget is extra tight for the next two weeks.

Here is the menu plan

I like a good challenge and am going to tackle the issue with an intentional food menu plan that I hope to shop for under $125!

Meal	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
Breakfast	coffee oatmeal toast	hot tea pumpkin pie	hot tea breakfast sandwich	hot tea waffles & sausage	hot tea blueberries & granola yogurt	hot tea breakfast sandwich	hot tea oatmeal toast
Light lunch	(tday)	(tday leftovers)	crunchy PB&J fruit	turkey sandwich chips	leftovers	leftovers	burrito (made with leftovers)
Dinner	Mandarin orange Jello salad (my contribution)	(tday leftovers)	chicken Parmesan (leftover spaghetti sauce)	Autumn kale & sweet potato salad	chicken noodle soup cheddar drop biscuits	tacos refried beans Spanish rice	Kung Pao chicken & rice

Meal	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
Breakfast	smoothie bowl toast	hot tea breakfast sandwich	hot tea ube pancakes sausage	hot tea toast	hot tea strawberry-oatmeal	hot tea toast	hot tea blueberries & granola yogurt
Light lunch	leftover salad	crunchy PB&J fruit	leftovers	leftovers	frozen meal – (veggie Penang curry)	leftovers	gyoza leftover fried rice
Dinner	baked potatoes w/chili & all the toppings	tuna noodle casserole	corn chowder & cheddar-chive drop biscuits	Falafel sandwiches	black bean tacos calabacitas soup	vegetarian stuffed acorn squash bake	steak, baked potato, veggies

Notes on the menu plan:

I did not add a snack row because I usually make do with whatever is available in the kitchen. Most snacks are a handful of nuts, apples with peanut butter, no snack, popcorn, more coffee or whatever is on hand. Now that I am trying out the 16:8 intermittent fasting for health reasons, I don’t snack as often.

I am very happy to eat leftovers and will usually have that for lunch. Or I will freeze leftovers to have for lunch or dinner another day. In fact, most of my leftovers taste even better the next day because the flavors have had time to meld.

While I have my menu plan all nicely thought out, it doesn’t mean I will eat it on that exact day. It just means I have written two weeks of options to eat in any order.

The grocery trip

The meal plan builds off ingredients and spices I already have available. You can see the grocery list breakdown (image 3 below) between the planned price and the actual price. Coffee was not going to fit in the budget. So hot tea will substitute (and we have plenty in stock).

I was able to get 98% of the items I needed. Elsewhere, I will improvise. I am pretty happy the outcome and am excited to make my own falafels for the first time!

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In the end, the total came to $124.46. But I still needed eggs because they are a kitchen staple. Overall $127.61 and I will call it a win. It definitely will be easier next time when holiday meals/items don’t need to be included.

How did I do? Let me know in the comments below!