Meal Plan Monday: Saving Money on Your Gluten-Free Meals (Oct. 7-13)

 

Money Saving Meal Plan Tip:

Eating healthy, and especially gluten-free, can be pricey if you aren't careful. There are so many ways to meal plan--but really, the only ineffective meal plan is NOT having a meal plan. Meal planning not only saves time, but it saves money with fewer trips to the grocery for last minute ingredients and fewer restaurant or take-out dinners.

 

One of my favorite ways to save money on our GF menu is to cook around the weekly sale circular. As I sit down to plan our family's meals for the week (generally on Sunday), I do so with my calendar in hand and my Sunday newspaper ads. I leaf through the Kroger, Meijer and Aldi ads and look for excellent deals on produce or meat and try to work those into my menu.

 

 

For example, this week canned pumpkin is $10/10 with 11th item free at Meijer and $.89 at Aldi. Not only will I make several recipes with pumpkin this week, I will also stock up for the weeks to come (anything less than $1 is a good price!). I also noticed that Aldi has 3 lb. of sweet potatoes for $.99 and ricotta cheese for $1.79. Kroger has Annie's Homegrown Mac-n-Cheese for $1 and fresh pineapple for $1.99. I'll get my spaghetti sauce at Meijer and stock up on 3 lb. bags of onions, both included in the $10/10 sale.

 

 

What if you see that ground turkey, canned tomatoes and cheese are on sale and still have no idea what to do with them? Try Pinterest! Type a few key words into a search and see what comes up to inspire you. {Speaking of Pinterest, are you following me? Click HERE.} Or try a recipe site, like All Recipes, where you can type in ingredients and look for corresponding recipes. For an excellent list of advertised and unadvertised grocery deals, coupon match ups and more--visit Bargains to Bounty.

 

Instead of planning your meals and then paying full price for the ingredients you will need, try coming up with your meals AFTER you check out what you can get for a steal at your local grocery store/s.
 

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Here is what is on our family's menu this week. Recipe links are shown in BLUE. Items on sale are listed in RED.

 

Monday

Applebee's Copycat Fiesta Lime Chicken

Sauteed Asparagus

Pineapple Whip

  

Photo Credit

Tuesday

Pasta e Fagioli Soup w/GF Pasta (tomatoes, beans, celery, carrots & onion on sale)

Spinach Salad w/Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Yogurt Topped with GF Pumpkin Granola

Wednesday

Dinner at church

Thursday ~ (Kids' night--Dad works late)

Spelt Pumpkin Waffles (not GF) w/Pure Maple Syrup

Homemade Turkey Breakfast Sausage

Blueberry Banana Smoothies (with spinach...shhh!!)

 

 

Friday

GF Crockpot Lasagna* ~ Recipe coming soon!

Spinach Salad w/Homemade Ranch Dressing

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

 

*ricotta & spaghetti sauce on sale

 



Saturday

Dinner out

Sunday 

Mini Chicken Pot Pies w/GF crust  (Make extra to freeze)

Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Broccoli

GF Crustless Pumpkin Pie

 



Do you plan your meals around what's on sale at the grocery? I'd love to hear from you. Please leave any questions or comments in the space below.






I'm linked up at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!





Fresh Food Deals: April 2013 Aldi Price List

I finally managed to get to Aldi today to check out their selection and prices on healthy, unprocessed foods and I was pleasantly surprised with what I found! If you have never been to an Aldi store before, please keep these tips in mind.

• Aldi does not accept manufacturer's coupons.
• Aldi charges you for shopping bags, so take your own.
• Bring a quarter with you to unlock your shopping cart (you get your quarter back when you return the cart).
• Aldi only accepts EBT cards, cash and debit cards--no checks or credit cards.

Today my family and I found a nice electric juicer for $35 to replace our old one that has been broken for a few months. I also scored the cheapest pure maple syrup I have found anywhere, along with some fair trade coffee and frozen thin-style green beans...you know, the ones they have in fancy restaurants.

Below, I listed some potential good buys on healthier foods. Aldi brands are often manufactured in the same plants as the big names. Millville cereal is made by General Mills, Aldi almond milk is in the same box as Silk, etc. For a listing of this week's Aldi sale prices, click HERE.


$2.99 Nature's Path Organic Granola
$1.69 Millville "Cheerios"
$2.49 Organic Agave Nectar
$2.49 Friendly Farms Almond Milk, original or vanilla
$2.79 Lifeway Kefir
$3.29 Fage Greek Yogurt, 17.6 oz.
$1.89 Butter, 1 lb.
$2.49 String Cheese, 10 oz.
$1.99 Feta or Blue Cheese Crumbles
$1.79 Block Cheese, 8 oz.
$2.49 Millville Steel Cut Oats
$.99 Canned Pumpkin
$2.19 Rolled or Quick Oats, 42 oz.
$3.99 Fair Trade Coffee, 12 oz.
$2.29 Dry Beans, 2 lb.
$1.79 White Rice, 3 lb.
$.99/lb. Pasta
$1.99 Frozen Fruit
$1.69 Frozen Ground Turkey
$4.49 Wild Caught Salmon Fillets (frozen), 16 oz.
$3.99 Pure Canadian Maple Syrup, 12 oz.
$1.99 Lunch Buddies All-Natural Fruit Twists (no added sugar/HFCS)
$2.49 Dried Cherries
$1.49 Frozen Extra Fine Green Beans


Are you an Aldi shopper? What are your favorite things to buy at Aldi?