Groceries/Meal Plan March #2

Ka-ching Ka-ching!  That’s the sound of my money slipping away from me.  Is it just me or are groceries getting more expensive?  I’m totally failing this month with staying on budget, so you may not want to follow my lead on this one.  But I’ll still share my progress and see where I end up this month. 

We budgeted $320 this month.  This week is also Spring Break for schools here in Texas.  Since the Mr. teaches, he has this whole next week off!  I can’t tell you how excited Beckham and I are to spend some time with him.  If you remember, he’s been gone majority of the week for the last several months reffing volleyball and basketball.  We set aside separate money for this week so we wouldn’t confuse it with our regular entertainment and dining out budget.  We have some fun things planned.  Needless to say, we’re all three home this week when it comes to eating!

I’ll start with my meal plan for the week.  This was hard not knowing how many times we’ll eat at home or what days, so I planned 4 meals, breakfast and lunch ideas, and some alternative meals in case we eat here more than 4 times.

Breakfast:  Egg Breakfast Sandwiches, Oatmeal, Eggs & Pancakes, Toast & Eggs, Banana Bread
 

Lunch: Salads (Wedge style with chicken), Tuna Sandwiches, Egg Salad Sandwiches, PbJ

Dinner:
Day 1 – NY Strip Steak, baked potato, grilled zucchini
Day 2 – Chicken Teriyaki and Fried Rice (I’m using this homemade teriyaki sauce)
Day 3 – Black Bean Burgers and sweet potato fries (I’m doubling the burger recipe)
Day 4 – Mushroom and Onion Sliders w. Aioli sauce and broccoli or spinach
Day 5 (Alternative) – Meatloaf (with ground turkey)
Day 6 (Alternative) – Teriyaki Salmon

I’m also making these spinach pops for our smoothies this week.  Beckham LOVES the smoothies too.  I just add my protein powder after I’ve poured his glass. 

Our running tab on groceries before this week was $147.86 (I made a $17 mid-week run to Sprouts for some fruit, veggies, and grass-fed ground beef).  That amount so far is HORRIBLE considering it is March 10 with 3 weeks to go.  Well, I didn’t do much better this week.  Below is what we bought and how much.

Our total this week was $109.82!  Ummm…yes if you’re doing the math, we have spent $257.68 so far.  Leaving us with roughly $62 for the rest of March!  Ouch!  I think it’s safe to say my mojo is gone this month! 

I plan on being extremely frugal and purposeful these next 2 weeks for meals and groceries!  I highly doubt I will stay within budget for the month, but I sure am going to try!  Any tips or meal ideas would be greatly appreciated!  I have lots of chicken.  Anyone else finding it hard to stay within budget?  I really need to stop watching the food network.