Recipe for a week of meals for 4 for $100.

As a woman who has had to stretch a paycheck or two on occasion, I have been thinking of sharing a menu for a family who has little to spend on the weekly grocery bill. I used a budget of $100 for the whole family of four for the week.  I tried to make somewhat balanced meals with fruits, veggies, dairy, and meats everyday. Many of the items on the shopping list can be purchased more cheaply, and you can always find ingredients for more.  I used an average price you would find at a California store in 2015 for most of the ingredients.

This menu is assuming you are starting from scratch as if there was no pantry.  If you have some staples like spices and flour, you are really far ahead of the game. Use this as a loose guide and improvise and improve as needed.  Please send comments and any corrections you see that need to be made.

Shopping List:

24 Eggs	$6.00
1.25 lb ground turkey	$3.50
1 lb ground beef	$3.50
1 lb of chicken breast	$4.00
2 cups fresh spinach (about 16 oz)	$2.50
1 bag panko crispy bread crumbs	$2.50
1 red onion	$0.75
1 bulb garlic	$0.50
Salt	$1.00
2 pears	$1.00
Black Pepper	$1.50
ketchup	$1.75
Pack of Burger Buns	$2.00
10 lb Sack of Potatoes	$4.00
Bag of Rice	$2.00
Box of cherry or grape tomatoes	$3.00
4 Apples	$2.00
8 Bananas	$1.75
2 cans of soup	$3.00
Spray oil (like Pam)	$2.25
1.5 - 2 Gallons of Milk	$5.00
1 lb Butter unsalted	$3.50
Old Fashioned Oatmeal canister	$3.00
Brown Sugar	$2.00
White Vinegar	$1.00
2 Tuna Cans	$4.00
Sliced cheap wheat bread	$1.50
Mayo	$2.00
Box of Corn Flakes	$2.00
Cheddar Cheese Bar	$3.00
Broccoli Crowns	$1.50
Bag of whole Carrots	$1.00
1/2 lb of sliced turkey	$3.50
3 lb chicken thighs	$4.00
5 lb Bag of flour	$2.50
1 lb bacon or turkey bacon	$3.00
Ranch dressing	$2.50
Romaine Lettuce	$2.00
Yogurt Cups 2 for a dollar	$2.00
Baking powder	$1.50
Splurge - 2 liter of soda or bag of chips	$1.00
	$100.00

Day 1

Breakfast

2 Apples sliced for all to shareOatmealBrown SugarMilk

Lunch

Egg Salad Sandwiches (4 eggs)Home made potato chipsCarrot sticks

Dinner

Meatloaf Cupcakes with Home Made Mashed Potatoes instead of packaged potatoes (use soy sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce).Home Made Mashed potatoes are: about 1-2 pounds of potatoes, 1/4-1/2 cup of milk, 2-3 TBSP of butter and salt as desired.  Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes or until soft.  Drain water and mash up potatoes with other ingredients.Meatloaf recipe makes 6 servings (2 cupcakes a person) - eat 8 cupcakes at dinner and reserve 4 for a brown bag lunch.

Day 2

Breakfast

Toad in the hole (4 eggs cooked over easy in a piece of toast with the center cut out.)

Lunch

Meatloaf cupcakesHome made potato chips - preheat oven to 450 degrees F, slice 3-4 potatoes very thin. Boil the potato slices in water for 3-5 minutes. Drain the water and sprinkle with salt and pepper (add chopped garlic if desired). Spray oil a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or so until chips are golden brown. (eat half, save half for tomorrow).

Dinner

Rice and soy sauce1/2 lb Chicken with sauteed spinach and garlic 

After Dinner Snack (dessert) 

Muffins

1-3/4 cups of flour

4 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Cup milk

1 egg

4 tsp unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Spray a 24 cup mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray (I use a silicone pan with spray)3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.4. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, and butter. Pour over the flour mixture and stir, just until blended (do not overmix).5. Spoon the batter into the cups, only filling the cups until they are just to the top, not over the sides.6. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Day 3

Breakfast

Corn Flakes (with brown sugar if desired) & Milk

Lunch

Wheat Bread and Tuna Sandwiches (2 cans of tuna, mayo, 1 hard boiled egg)Carrot sticks with Ranch

Snack

Leftover Muffins

Dinner

Baked potatoes with butter, broccoli and cheese topping.Romaine lettuce salad with a few tomatoes, a little shredded cheddar, and thin sliced carrots.Bananas sauteed in butter for dessert

Day 4

Breakfast

OatmealBrown SugarMilk

Lunch

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (Wheat bread, buttered, cheddar, and tomatoes)1 can of soup2 Apples sliced for all to share

Snack

Any leftover muffins

Dinner

1/4 lb Burgers made with garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce served on buns with lettuce.Homemade french fries with KetchupCarmelized 1/2 Red Onion.  Try simplifying a gourmet recipe like this: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_caramelize_onions/ by using what you have on hand, spray oil, white vinegar

Day 5

Breakfast

Jiffy Corn Muffins (need 1 egg +1/2 Cup milk)Yogurt cups

Lunch

Cherry tomatoesSliced turkey and mayo or ranch with lettuce sandwiches on hamburger buns or sliced bread.2 pears sliced and shared

Snack

Splurge items like soda or chips or if you did not have that extra dollar, try a simple rice pudding with rice, milk and brown sugar.

Dinner

Chicken Adobo - Recipe here - maybe make half if the chicken thighs are not cheap.  Borrow a bay leaf from a friend or skip it.rice 

Day 6

Breakfast

Corn Flakes with sliced bananas & Milk

Lunch

Rice and Soy Sauce, leftover chicken adobo

Snack

Biscuits - Here's a recipe http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013741-all-purpose-biscuits

Dinner

Quiche - Pie crust + 1/2 lb bacon, 5 eggs, milk, any spinach, broccoli, tomato and onion that is left over

Day 7

Breakfast

Spinach, tomato, and egg scramble (Spray oil into the pan, saute spinach and tomato until spinach is wilted.  Scramble up 4-5 eggs, a little milk, salt, pepper into the pan.  Cook until fluffy.)Toast with butter

Lunch

Bacon and Cheddar slices of whatever cheese is left on last of the hamburger buns, biscuits, or sliced bread - with mayo or ranch dressing. 1 can of soup

Snack

If you have enough butter left you can make shortbread cookieshttp://amydouglass.blogspot.com/2011/02/butter-brown-sugar-flour.html

If not, and you are hungry, have some oatmeal with brown sugar and milk.

Dinner

Carrots cooked in brown sugar and butter1/2 lb Chicken, sliced, dipped in a little milk and 1 egg, and coated with a mixture of panko crumbs, salt, and pepper.  Spray a lot of oil into a pan and cook or spray a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F, 10-12 minutes on each side or until cooked through.Mashed potatoes or baked potatoes with butter.