Now. . . if I get really crazy, I will prep some meals for the freezer. I’ll get back to y’all on that. 
In our budget post, I indicated that meal plans were on the way.
So- our meat for the month is 30lbs of beef (ground, steak, stew, roast, oxtail), 4 whole chickens, 2 pkgs (2 lbs each) shrimp, & 2 pkgs Tilapia filets. We have a variety of produce that can change weekly, but we tend to stick with the same type of veggies and fruits. We have eggs, oats, rice, & beans and plenty of healthy fats.
Breakfasts will be simple- eggs, oats, & fruit
Lunches- leftovers or packed “finger” lunches
Snacks- fruit or veggies & protein (cheese cubes, kefir smoothies, berries & cream, leftovers)
Dinners- this is where the fun begins! Now that I’ve laid down our meal rotation plan, I can order my produce accordingly (for instance include potatoes if roast is on the weekly menu).
*Beef meals* My beef order this round includes 12 pkgs of ground, tri & bottom roast, 1 oxtail, 2 pkg stew, 8 filet & 2 rib eye steak
#1- hamburgers (rice, salad) 2x (4 lbs ground)
#2- taco soup (includes beans, almond flour bread) 2x (2lbs ground)
#3- beef & broccoli (rice) 2x (1lb stew meat or rib eye steak)
#4- stew (rice & salad) 1x (1lb stew)
#5- mini meat loaves (rice, cabbage/peppers/carrots inside) 2x (4lbs)
#6- roast (potatoes, carrots, mushrooms) 2x (tri and bottom)
#7- taco salad (refried beans made w/ lard) 2x (2lbs)
#8- steak (and loads of veggies!) 1x (filet)
#9- beef veggie soup 2x (oxtails/roast leftovers)
16 meals
*Seafood*
#1- Shrimp Scampi, rice, veggies 1x
#2- grilled fish packets 2x
#3- Shrimp stir fry w/ rice 1x
4 meals
*Chicken*
#1- whole roasted chicken w/ potatoes, veggies x2
#2- chicken soup w/ almond flour dumplings (made with carcass for bone broth) x2
#3- chicken stir fry w/ rice (prepare whole chicken & remove meat) x2
#4- chicken broccoli w/ rice x2 (prepare whole chicken and remove meat)
8 meals
*Meatless*
#1- rice and beans 2-4x’s
Meal Count= 30-32
My trick for making ground beef stretch- I process up a mix of vegetables like cabbage, spinach, bell peppers, & carrots and then add it to the ground beef. This works especially well in taco meat, meat loaves or balls, etc. . . for burgers and meat balls/loaves it’s essential to add egg to the mix for binder.
Soups are easy to make ahead and to make large batches to freeze for lunches, as are rice and beans. I may take the approach over the summer I learned from another mom- pre-soak beans and have them on hand. Allow the children to fry up their own bean and veggie/fat combination at lunch (this would work with rice as well). We usually have extra eggs, so omelets or scrambles are another great option. My kids are also always thrilled with oats and fruit, so if we end up with more than we need for breakfast, they will eat it up.
Now the challenge for me is going to be sticking to the plan. The pregnant belly has a tendency to “crave” certain things. . . like hot dogs and mac n’ cheese (which I fed with grassfed beef hot dogs & cauli mac) but that’s not in the budget. 6 grassfed beef dogs cost $8 and my family needs 2 packs for a meal. Ouch!
