This week, we are focusing on creating an economical, no-waste many. My local HyVee was featuring cauliflower and broccoli for just $1.49. That price wasn’t per pound. It was per large head of broccoli and big bunch of broccoli.
I walked in, bought three of each, and walked out – having paid just under $9.00 for everything. This produce will provide the basic ingredients for all of this week’s $50 menu plan.
If your goal is to drop your food expenses, then purchasing only items which are on sale and then centering your entire menu around them is your key to success.
This $50 weekly menu will show you how very effectively this cost-saving method works.
Don’t Waste Anything
The first thing I did was wash all of it thoroughly, cut out the cores, and peel the tough outside edges of the broccoli stems.
We have a 3% food waste goal in our home. This means that we try to use every bit of our vegetables.
The scraps will be frozen and used later for homemade vegetable stock. Making vegetable stock from scratch is so incredibly easy and doesn’t take much time.
Many don’t realize that the soft, inner portion of the broccoli is edible. These stems can be either sliced or grated for use in casseroles or soups.
Now that we have all of the broccoli and cauliflower prepped and ready for use, let’s see how I used it to feed my family of four for $50 for an entire week.
Breakfast
- Oatmeal – Cost: $2.00
- Fruit – Cost: $3.00
- Cream of Wheat – Cost: $1.00
- Oat Milk – $2.00
Total cost of 7 days of breakfast: $8.00
Lunches and Main Dishes
Vegetable Pizza Pockets 
Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos 
Stir Fry over Rice 
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
The cauliflower and broccoli made an appearance in nearly every single dish this week. Leftovers from the main dishes did double duty for lunches the following day.
Vegetable pizza pockets are easy to make and freeze very well. You can stuff them with homemade marinara sauce and any vegetables that you have on hand.
In season fruits with a little cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla will allow you to make a sweeter version for desserts or snacks.
- No Fry Fried Rice – Cost: $5.00
- Broccoli and Brown Rice Casserole with Chickpeas – Cost: $5.00
- Roasted Cauliflower Quinoa Casserole – (I subbed millet for the quinoa) – Cost: $4.00
- Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Broccoli – (It lasted for three days!) – Cost: $6.00
- Cauliflower Vegan Casserole – Cost: $ 6.00
- Vegetable Pizza Pockets – Cost: $4.00
- Leftover Butternut Squash Sauce with Leftover Quinoa, Homemade Tortillas – Cost: $0.00 – Accounted for in the recipes.
Total Cost of Lunches and Main Dishes: $30.00
Side Dishes
- Homemade Tortillas – Cost: $1.00
- Salads – Cost: $8.00
Total Cost of Side Dishes: $9.00
Total Cost of This Week’s Menu = $47.00
Need more help with menu planning?
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10 out of 10 for creativity ,
I would use a carton of milk in the week for just myself .
Sorry but I’m going to get a job cleaning toilets before I could eat like that .
I spent $35 per week on myself for vegetables and fruit . I guess I like variety .
Dianne, thank you for your thoughts. We find that utilizing store sale items allows us to not only feed our family for a remarkably low price, but also provides plenty of variety. That same cauliflower and broccoli won’t be on sale next week. So, next week we’ll move on to the items that we are able to find at sale or markdown prices. Thank you, once again, for your input.
Love how healthy and organized this list was and I appreciate the pictures. Makes me feel like I really need to put more effort into serving my family healthy meals. I wish I had started off my kids eating healthy when they were younger so their palates werent use to prrocessed foods. Thanks for the motivation. If you can do it, so can I. ❤
Thank you so much for your kind words, Melanie. The more real foods your kids eat, the more they will crave. It takes a few weeks for taste buds to adapt. I served healthy foods in a variety of ways. If they didn’t care for one recipe, I would offer it to them again a few days or weeks later in a totally different way.
I just love all the creative menus. Boy, do I wish I had these resources 17 years ago with all 7+ kids at home 5 boys and 2 girls and bonus friends and family. Now, I have trouble downsizing my meals. Using 2 8×8 instead of a 13×9 and freezing one is something I’m trying. The weekly mealplans look great.
I’m right there with you, Brenda. When my two oldest boys moved out nine months ago, I had a hard time with the amount of leftovers. It took me a while to figure out how to cut down on the number of items I was making every week.
You’re an amazing cook Hope! Your meals look delicious!
Thank you, Lizzie. I’m glad you are finding the $50 menu posts helpful.
This is how I shop too. Every week we go to a large produce market and the first thing I do is scout the entire market for quality and price. I will buy what is on sale and build menu around what I buy. Produce in season tends to be cheaper and eating seasonally gives us great variety. I shop for colour too – something green, something yellow and something red. I like to think of how my grandparents lived through two world wars when food and money were scarce. They ate what was available and affordable. Their dishes were simple yet tasty and have been passed down for me to prepare for my family. It turns out that in this age of abundance my family appreciates these simple meals most.
Jane, I totally agree. Your comment about color was spot on. I always tell my kids that their plate should look like a rainbow. Actually, when you think about it, we do “eat with our eyes”. So, serving dishes that are full of color actually make us want to eat more of them.
Hope ,
I appreciate all the lovely recipes. I also am vegan and omit sugars and oil. Your recipes are perfect for me. My husband is not vegan but still eats many of the meals I make. I cook large portions each week to freeze or eat through out the week. We don’t mind leftovers. I do use natures sugar as in dates and maple syrup. I also shop the sales and that’s what we usually eat for the week. thank you for all you do. Love your videos.
Pam, thanks for your kind words. We love dates, too. Whenever we visit our favorite local ethnic store our son, Daniel, puts a package of fresh dates in the cart. I pretend not to notice and buy them for him. LOL!
Just a simple thank you and to say how much I enjoy your videos! They are keeping me on track to spend less and use up my stuff instead of cleaning out “unrecognizable” monsters growing in my fridge, at great cost unfortunately!
Judi, thanks for your kind words. I’m so happy that the videos and posts are helpful to you.