All the articles & recipes on this website have been created through real-life testing and experience (no ai) since 2010. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These five meals are fresh, delicious, and easy budget dinners that are perfect for families! Check out these $10 meals made with whole, fresh, foods!
At some time or another in our lives, we’ve all have had to create a budget for our household expenses; and the grocery expenses is the first place most families look to cut back on when creating a monthly household budget.
Lunch Ideas For Kids At Home
Unfortunately, this is approached with sadness by many because most people think they’ll have to resort to eating red beans and rice or ramen for days and cut back on many of the fresh food items that have become a staple in our weekly plans.
I’m here to tell you that with a Budget Meal Plan, that is not the case. However, if you want to eat healthy and fresh foods on a budget, a little planning will be needed.
With a bit of creativity and the tips below, you can successfully make fresh, wholesome, and delicious meals while sticking to that budget!
Cheap Family Meals To Help Lower Your Grocery Bill
For instance, these Salsa Chicken Tacos, the entire meal costs $11.96, with 6 servings! Each serving is $2.99. I’ll break down the recipe costs below.
Not to mention this is made in the slow cooker, and the leftovers can be used for lunches the next day. Two meals with one slow cooker recipe… c’mon! Check out the full recipe and directions for Chicken Salsa Tacos.
Let’s compare this to a trip to the most basic, cheap taco chain restaurants, no names, to keep it fair. For 12 chicken tacos, no drinks, no sides, no toppings aside from what the tacos come with, which is lettuce and cheese, the total cost is $ 22.68. #Micdrop ;)
Healthy Snack Ideas
As with any budget, you will need to have a meal plan! That means selecting recipes and creating a shopping list. With a plan, you can put your food to use and make sure nothing goes to waste.
If you subscribe to one of our family meal plans, we take care of all the planning by providing 5 family-friendly lunches or dinners, prep tips, and a completed shopping list!
But, to give you a good idea of how you can eat well on a budget check out these five simple and fresh family meals, that feed 4+ for less than $12.00 a piece! That’s a fraction (about ¼) of the cost for one drive-thru trip chicken sandwich, fries, and drink!
Budget Friendly And Healthy Family Dinners
As you can see, with a little creativity and using ingredients in multiple ways, you can stick to a grocery budget and still eat amazing food!
Serving: 1 bowl Calories: 485 kcal Carbohydrates: 34.1 g Protein: 43.3 g Fat: 19.5 g Saturated Fat: 4.6 g Cholesterol: 101.7 mg Sodium: 700.9 mg Fiber: 2.5 g Sugar: 7 gAll the articles & recipes on this website have been created through real-life testing and experience (no ai) since 2010. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Today, I’m going to show you exactly how you can set a good grocery budget and stick with it… without sacrificing the quality, taste or nutrition of your family’s meals.
Healthy Family Food On A Budget
With these healthy family meals and budget tips, I’ll show you how to save money AND eat right every night of the week.
When it comes to the topic of eating healthy one of the most common responses I get is “it’s so expensive!” followed by “it’s so hard to do!”
Listen, I get it. I’m a busy mom with three picky kids. Our family has faced every barrier possible to eating better while sticking to a food budget (it gets even more challenging if you travel…) but we always find a way to make it work. Making meals my family loves with fresh, real ingredients is a priority for me so I’m always finding new ways to make healthy swaps without abandoning our food budget.
Top 20 Recipes For Eating Healthy On A Budget
We’ve all heard it said that eating whole, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, and meat will cost way more than pre-packaged, prepared foods, sauces, and meal starters. However, if you plan ahead and know how to stock your pantry, that doesn’t have to be true for you.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you wondering how we do it. Today’s post is all about how to prepare healthy meals for your family while staying on your budget.
Homemade meals give you the advantage of knowing what goes into a recipe and the ability to swap ingredients for healthier options. This way kids (and adults) don’t have to go without their favorite meals like pancakes or chicken nuggets. Believe me, my kids wouldn’t survive without them and the homemade versions are way cheaper than storebought or drive-thru.
Best Kid Friendly Recipes
One way to encourage healthy eating habits in kids is to serve them the same thing everyone else at the table is getting. No more custom-ordered meals for kids while the adults have something else.
Making one meal for the whole family encourages kids to try new foods, develop a balanced way of eating, and reduce unnecessary costs.
While their bodies are growing and developing, kids need a balance of nutrients from quality proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, a.k.a the macronutrients. A few examples of each category below:
Healthy Dinner Ideas For Family
With our busy schedules, saving money and making healthy meals requires planning and preparing meals ahead of time. That’s why I set aside time each week to select our meals, shop, and prep the ingredients, it makes weeknight dinners quick and smooth.
Even on nights when I go straight from the office to Karate with the family, we’re still able to have a homecooked meal around the table, because I’ve planned for it. When you are laying out your meal plan, make sure that you plan around your busiest nights and have something easy like homemade nachosor tacosfor those crazy evenings.
I like to select 3 to 4 different breakfast, lunch, and dinners for the week. This gives us room to use up leftovers and reduces waste on unused grocery items.
Budget Friendly Meal Prep Ideas
I’ll admit, putting together your own meal plan from scratch can be quite the feat and if you don’t have it in you, I get it. Good news is you’re not the only one, many families in our community get the weekly Classic Meal Planwith a completed shopping list so they can save time and still eat right.
Even when on a budget, you can enjoy a variety of delicious and amazing meals, here are a few of my families favorites:
Breakfast Burritos– You can make as many as you want at once and freeze the leftovers – they make the perfect grab-and-go meals for super busy days.
Dirt Cheap Meals (w/ Meal Plan!) To Make When You're On A Budget
Pizza Pasta Salad– You can make this ahead of time and store the pasta salad for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Tex Mex Bistro Box– Built with guacamole, chips, cheese, black olives, and fresh veggies, it’s practically party food for lunch. This box is super quick to assemble making it a great option for a fast meal prep.
It helps to have a collection of family favorite dinners on hand so you can keep the pantry and fridge stocked with those ingredients. This saves you from that “what the heck am I going to make?!” dinner frenzy come 6 p.m. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Cheap Recipe Ideas
Chicken and Broccoli Stir fry– While your chicken is cooking, you can make the awesome Asian sauce in a bowl and cook your rice to serve with this chicken and broccoli stir-fry!
Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup– Love lasagna, but dread the layering of noodles, meat, cheese, repeat…and repeat? What if I told you that by making this Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup recipe you won’t have to layer anything and you don’t dirty as many dishes?
Chili Mac– Delicious and hearty, this recipe is a perfect quick and easy mid-week meal for nights you don’t have much time to cook!
Meals For Large Groups {easy & Inexpensive Ideas!}
If you want your kids to pick up healthy eating habits, you’ll need to set the standard. While some of my standards are unique to my only family’s needs here are a few baseline tips:
Eating together makes a comfortable atmosphere for kids to try new foods and if they see you making healthy choices they’re more likely to follow. It also gives you a chance to catch up with the family after a long day.
While we love snacks, too many too frequently can be counterproductive if you’re trying to build healthy eating habits. Eating too close to dinner, kids will lack an appetite and are more likely to refuse what’s being served. In my house, snacks are off-limits two hours before a meal, by the time dinner rolls around everyone’s ready to eat. Depending on sports, and how much your kids eat, you can definitely adjust this rule as needed.
Eating Healthy On A Budget + 10 Cheap Dinner Ideas
This is one of the first steps in our Family Kickstart program. By keeping all processed snacks, sodas, and candy bars out of the house you’ll avoid unnecessary snacking or unhealthy meal choices.
As beneficial as organic foods
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