Sample Menu: $80 per Week for a Family of
Four
I was asked to help create a one-week sample menu for a
military family who is trying to live on their food military subsistence of $324
per month. The family has 2 adults, one toddler and one infant. That equates to
$81 per week for this family's food budget.
My method of shopping is not coupon based, but rather is sale-based. I tell people to take the items on sale and then make a menu based around the sale items.
That is what I did for this family. I took the sale items at two stores (King Soopers and Albertsons) in my area (Colorado Springs) and made them a sample menu for their family using only their military food subsistence. Below is that menu and shopping list.
| NOTES: This is a menu for 2 adults, 1 toddler and an infant | |||||||||
| The infant food can be made from these meals by | |||||||||
| cooking the food (without spices) and put in blender with some | |||||||||
| liquid and blend then pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Each cube is a meal. | |||||||||
| TOTAL $80 for one week | |||||||||
| WHATS ON SALE AT…… | ….in ZIPCODE 80919 on 10.24.10 |
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| KING SOOPERS | ALBERTSONS | ||||||||
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | ||||
| BREAKFAST | (3) cereal 1.47 | cereal | cereal | cereal | cereal | cereal | cereal | ||
| LUNCH | (2) Totino pizza 1.00 | (1) tombstone 0.00 | Totino | meat sandwich | mac n cheese | hot dog | mac n cheese | tombstone | |
| (1) hot dog 1.00 | (1) Kraft mac 3.99/5 | orange | grape | canned fruit | orange | grape | canned fruit | ||
| (2) Budwig meat 0.69 | |||||||||
| SNACK | (1) Oroville popcorn 2.79 | popcorn | apples | oranges | popcorn | apples | oranges | ||
| (1) Yoplait 5.00/10 | Yoplait | Yoplait | Yoplait | Yoplait | Yoplait | ||||
| MEAT | (2) diced pork 1.79 | (3) chicken breast 1.88 | Tossed salad: | chicken | fajita-pork | chicken | rib roast | chicken | |
| 2.5 people=1 lb. | (2) rib roast 1.99 | diced pork | |||||||
| meat per meal | avocado | ||||||||
| salad | |||||||||
| PRODUCE | (3) apples 2.99 | (2) broccoli .69 | tomato | broccoli | salad | broccoli | salad | broccoli | |
| (2) salad mix 1:1 | (1) tomato .99 | ||||||||
| (1) avocado 1.00 | canned fruit | grapes | canned fruit | orange | canned fruit | grapes | |||
| (4) canned fruit 1.00 | |||||||||
| (2) grapes 1.49 | |||||||||
| (3) oranges 1.00 | |||||||||
| SIDE DISH | (3) crescent rolls 1.00 | (1) egg noodles 1.49 | crescent roll | rice a roni | noodles | crescent roll | noodles | crescent roll | |
| DESSERT | fruit served with dinner + | (1) Breyers ice cream 1/2 gl. 2.5 | |||||||
| BEVERAGE | (3) milk 2.79/gl | 2 cups per day per person=3 gl | Drink water instead of juices, soda, etc. | ||||||
| Calcium is also coming from Yoplait and broccoli | |||||||||
| NOT ON SALE | |||||||||
| bell pepper | 1.01 | ||||||||
| onion | 0.25 | ||||||||
| bread | 0.99 | ||||||||
| hot dog bun | 0.69 | ||||||||
| (2) Rice a roni | 1.89 | ||||||||