Weekly Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner | Budget Meals for Family of 3
Here’s what we’re eating this week - complete this time with breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I usually just share what we’re eating for dinner, but I’m on a bit of a personal health journey. I’m trying to plan out breakfasts and lunches for myself, so that they’re higher in protein and fiber. Our budget isn’t so tight in this season, so this isn’t my usual heavily-budgeted meal plan.
This week includes both our weekly Aldi run and a Costco run, though I try to only shop at Costco every two months or so.
This Week’s Meal Plan
Saturday, September 26
Breakfast: Chicken Sausage, Sweet Potato, & Bell Pepper Hash
Aldi has really great chicken sausage, so I like to make a big batch of breakfast hash on Saturdays and eat it throughout the next week. I’ll chop the sausage, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, and onions and let them roast in the oven for a bit, while I fry up half a dozen eggs. Sometimes I also fry some chopped kale, too. Then I toss it all together in a big pan or portion it out over a few smaller containers.
When it’s time to reheat, I start up the oven, sprinkle some shredded cheese on top, and bake it until it’s warmed through. Makes for super easy mornings, with lots of good protein and fiber - win, win!
Lunch: Ground Beef & Sweet Potato Bowls
Also on Saturdays, I brown one or two pounds of ground beef with some light seasoning. Sometimes I add a can of beans to the ground beef as well. Then I chop a few more sweet potatoes and bake them until their cooked through. I also keep chopped bell peppers in the fridge to add to recipes easily.
I keep all these ingredients separate in the fridge and then toss them in a pan to reheat in the oven or on the stove top at lunch time. Super easy and filling.
Dinner: Eating Out
Saturday is my husband’s college homecoming, and they always do a big food truck event alongside a soccer game. We’ll likely eat out at the event. :)
Sunday, September 27
Breakfast: Chicken Sausage, Sweet Potato, & Bell Pepper Hash
Same recipe as above. :)
Lunch: Brunch at Home & Ground Beef & Sweet Potato Bowls
I’ll likely stick with a ground beef and sweet potato bowl to keep up with my health goals, but for my husband and toddler, I’ll make scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage patties, and buttered toast.
Dinner: Small Group - Beef & Bean Chili with Fixings
We’re hosting small group this Sunday, so I’m going to make a big batch of chili! I’ll grab one of those bulk ground beef packages at Costco (about $35 for around 5 or 6 pounds of ground beef) and use half of it for this recipe, and the other half for meal prepping on Saturday.
I might just make a separate recipe post for this one, so stay tuned!
Monday, September 28
Breakfast: Chicken Sausage, Sweet Potato, & Bell Pepper Hash or Yogurt with Granola
I should have enough of my hash to make it through to at least Wednesday of this week, but in case I’m running low, my other breakfast option is Greek Yogurt with granola and honey. This is my toddler’s hyper-fixation breakfast right now, especially if I add a few dark chocolate chips.
Lunch: Tuna Sandwich for My Husband; Beef & Sweet Potato Bowl for Me; Girl Lunch for My Toddler
Lunch during the week is a little complicated for us, since we all want and need something different.
For my husband, I make a tuna sandwich on white bread every week day. He loves it and has promised to let me know whenever he’d like me to mix it up. Haven’t heard anything yet, so tuna sandwiches it is.
For myself, I’m sticking with my health plan and having a beef & sweet potato bowl. Though I may use Monday to prep for the rest of the week: spaghetti squash & ground beef. I just roast a spaghetti squash or two, store all the innards in the fridge, and add ground beef and sauce to it when it’s time to reheat and eat!
For my toddler, she’s a big fan of “girl lunch” - where there’s a little bit of everything. I usually just make her a charcuterie board of sorts, with some tuna from my husband’s lunch, some sweet potatoes from my lunch, some fruit, some veggie, whatever we have on hand.
Dinner: Chicken & Dumplings
I made this recipe a few weeks ago and we’ve been dying to have it again. Now that it actually feels like fall, we’re ready for it!
Tuesday, September 29
Breakfast: Hash or Yogurt
Lunch: Tuna Sandwiches & Spaghetti Squash with Ground Beef
Dinner: Salmon Patties & Roasted Broccoli
I love to use this recipe for salmon patties - it’s super simple and I almost always have many of the ingredients already on hand, especially the canned salmon. I’ll just chop some broccoli, season it well, and roast it in the oven. Quick and easy dinner!
Wednesday, September 30
Breakfast: Hash or Yogurt
Lunch: Tuna Sandwiches & Spaghetti Squash with Ground Beef
Dinner: Dinner at Church
Our Wednesday Night Fellowship Dinners are back at our church!
Thursday, October 1
Breakfast: Hash or Yogurt (or leftovers!)
At this point in the week, it’s time to use up whatever’s left in the fridge! If I still have hash, I go for that and maybe add any leftover bell peppers or ground beef. If not, I usually have enough yogurt to last until Friday morning, since I grocery shop on Friday afternoons.
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Leftovers or Tuna Melts
Sometimes we don’t have enough leftovers by Thursday night, or at least not enough to feed all my family. I always keep bread, cheese, and tuna on hand, so we can have tuna melts as a backup meal at any given time.
Friday, October 2
Breakfast: Leftovers
Anything left in the fridge is fair game for Friday breakfast!
Lunch: Leftovers or Eating Out
Again, I try to get through leftovers on Fridays. Sometimes though, since we’re already out getting groceries, my toddler and I will use this opportunity to have a little mommy-daughter date.
Dinner: Chickfila & Leftovers
We still eat Chickfila once a week! Well, my husband does, at least. Chickfila doesn’t really fit into my health journey at the moment, so I’ll either get a 12 count of grilled nuggets and supplement with leftovers at home, or just buy my husband dinner and cook something for my toddler and myself. Depends on what’s left in the fridge at the end of the week, honestly. :)
Aldi Grocery List
For my small group meal (chili):
3 cans black beans
3 cans chili beans
3 cans kidney beans
6 packets chili seasoning
sour cream
green onions
jalapenos
2 bags shredded cheese
saltines
For everything else:
Eggs (my egg lady had to stop delivering us eggs :((, so we’re back to store bought for the time being)
½ gallon of milk (we don’t drink a ton of milk, so we’ve switched to half gallons)
6 cans tuna
2 heads broccoli
2 3-packs bell peppers
2 spaghetti squash
spaghetti sauce
parmesan cheese
carrots
chicken sausage
sweet potatoes
Costco Grocery List
This list includes what we’ve run out of since our last Costco run, not just what we need for this week:
Greek Yogurt
Ground Beef (5-6 pound package)
Yoggies (for my toddler’s daycare lunches)
Tractor Wheels (for my toddler’s daycare lunches)
Coffee pods
Protein shakes
Beef Bone Broth
Sandwich Bread
Frozen chicken (bulk)
There’s our weekly meal plan - hope you get some ideas for your family’s next week of meals!
Happy stewarding. :)
