Coming back from a vacation away, my fridge and cabinets had never been so bare! I challenged myself to make an extreme budget meal plan! I needed to start stocking back up and feed my family well for the week for as little as possible. At Walmart, I was able to spend just $115 for enough food for the week and then some. Below you’ll find the grocery list, meal plan and money saving tips!
When You Should Use this Meal Plan
This meal plan is designed for times when your pantry is rather bare. It’s a robust plan that includes 6 full dinners, lunches, and breakfasts with food to spare and roll over for the next week.
On a regular basis, I recommend using my Stick To Your Budget Checklist to shop your shelves create meals based around what you already have, shop the sales, and stock up for the future!
Let’s Jump Right Into the Grocery List For This Extreme Budget Meal Plan:
Here is everything I purchased from Walmart for my extreme budget meal plan and the prices in my area, in August 2023. These prices may vary depending on where you live and when you make the purchases.
- 12 Mixed Fruit Cups $7.98 (I asked for the great value brand for $6.58 but was substituted)
- 12 Count Medium cheddar cheese $2.22
- Great Value 2lbs cooked ham $8.38
- 3lbs Gala Apples $4.48
- 14 Bananas $2.85
- 3lb organic yellow onions $4.54
- 1 bulb garlic $.87
- 1 red pepper $1.48 (unfortunately, mine was bad on the inside)
- 1 english cucumber $.98
- 5lbs russet potatoes $4.27
- 1 Roma tomato $.44
- 3 heads romaine package $2.74
- 1 8 oz bag jalapeno $1.18
- 1 family pack chicken breast $12.56
- 1 24oz great value mild salsa $2.36
- 1 16oz brown rice $.88
- 1 lb great value unsalted butter $3.68
- 60 great value large white eggs $7.47
- 1 16oz creamy great value peanut butter $1.84
- 1 13oz tortilla chips great value $2.24
- 8 Great Value Burrito tortillas $1.98
- 1 16oz great value tub sour cream $1.88
- 1 15oz jar great value queso dip $2.27
- 1 8oz block cheddar great value $2.00
- 1lb great value dry black beans $1.48
- 1lb great value dry red beans $1.38
- 1 gallon whole milk great value $2.27
- 1 can great value green beans $.64
- 2.5oz Great value real bacon bits $1.70
- 1 6oz great value tomato paste $.86
- 1 12oz great value tomato paste $2.44
- 16 great value blueberry bars $4.23
- 16oz great value saltines $1.52
- 1 14.5 oz jar great value stewed tomatoes $.96
- 2 loaf great value sandwich bread $2.64
- 1 25 ct beef bouillon cubes $2.12
- 1 29 oz great value can corn $1.08
- 5lb bag fresh carrots $3.88
- 12oz frozen edamame $2.54
- 2 15.5oz cans great value garbanzo beans $1.56
- 1lb shady brook farms 90% ground turkey $3.82
- 16oz barilla orzo $1.76
My Favorite Budget Purchases For an Extreme Budget Meal Plan:
I wanted to highlight some items I purchased this particular week that are the true budget stars of the show. These are items I buy again and again to save money on food long term:
- 60 egg pack from Walmart
- Block Cheese – cheaper than shredded
- Dried bans- cheaper than canned and perfect for rolling over into future weeks
- Bananas! These are cheap, cheap, cheap and are very nutritious
- Bouillon cubes – These are so inexpensive and almost always roll over into the next week or so. They add lots of flavor to your food!
The Meal Plan:
Breakfast:
Eggs/Toast with butter or peanut butter/Bananas
Snacks:
Chips with salsa or queso
Bananas
Apples + Peanut butter
Carrot Sticks and Sliced Cucumber with homemade ranch dip
Panera Bread Turkey Chili
To make the chili and the vegetable soup (later in the meal plan), you’ll need to cook the dried kidney beans or spend a little more and buy canned. I like to use this instant pot method but if you don’t own an instant pot (I highly recommend this one if you’re looking), you can soak and cook your beans like this.
Get the full Panera Turkey Chili Recipe here!
Cajun Chicken With Orzo
On the first night we had this Cajun Chicken Orzo Recipe I wanted to use my fresh chicken earlier in the week and then move to the more vegetarian options later in the week to make sure everything was as fresh as possible.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Baked Potatoes
I served these potatoes with a simple salad. While I really recommend these potatoes as they are. You can always switch things up and serve the Panera Bread Chili over baked potatoes as a different dinner option. Get the full Chicken Bacon Ranch Baked Potato Recipe here!
I also promised I’d share a ranch dressing recipe so here is a great one to use with sour cream, milk, and seasonings you have on hand!
Instant Pot Chicken and Potatoes
I chose to make this instant pot chicken and potatoes because it’s a quick hearty meal that is full of flavor. I don’t know about you, but every time I make something in my instant pot I’m blown away by how good it is! Get the full recipe here!
If you don’t have an instant pot you can always buy one here (this is the one I have and love). Or instead, bake this for 30 minutes at 350 degrees just make sure the chicken is fully cooked to 165 degrees before enjoying!
Mexican Fried Rice
This is an awesome twist on fried rice that I was so glad I tried! I’ll be considering this along side my old favorite fried rice when I have leftover chicken, from now on! Get the full recipe here!
Black Bean Crunch Wraps
These were a such a delicious way to have a meatless meal! And we each only ate one so we ended up with 4 leftover burrito sized tortillas perfect for making burritos with my leftover rice and black beans!
Vegetable Soup
Truthfully, we never got around to making this soup this particular week. But here is the recipe I’d intended to make!
Meals 6&7
We had so many leftovers, so much chili, and I really did have a few things already around the house so we had more than enough to eat during these 7 days! And I even had leftover/roll over items to use the following week!
What I had left at the end of the week:
Using this extreme budget meal plan, I had some great roll over items to use in the weeks ahead. Here is what I ended up with:
- 4 onions
- 1/2 lb brown rice
- beef bouillon cubes
- 1/2 lb cooked black beans in my freezer
- 1/2 a jar of peanut butter
- 2lbs carrots
- 2 sleves saltine crackers
- And all the fixings for the vegetable soup (recipe above)
In my stick to your budget checklist, I recommend basing 3 meals off of what you already have on hand. Based on these items I’d make these three recipes the following week:
- Fried rice with the leftover rice
- Burrito bowls with the leftover rice and black beans
- and of course the vegetable soup I never got to the week before!
Watch Me Make All Of These Recipes Here:
For More Extreme Grocery Budget Challenges, Check out these videos:
- $125 Budget week using my stick to your budget checklist
- $10 for a week for 1 person!
- Feeding my family for $5 a day!
MORE EXTREME BUDGETS:
- $80 Grocery Budget Meal Plan (My most popular post on Pinterest!)
- Exciting $10 Dinners!
- Big Savings with this $125 Meal Plan and checklist!
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