$300 Grocery Experiment: week 1 plans

This week we are starting our $300 monthly grocery budget experiment. It took me quite awhile to come up with a suitable meal plan that I could buy every single ingredient needed for $75 or less. It took some compromising on some ingredients, but I really want to show how my process of grocery shopping and budgeting starts from the very beginning. I hope I give you some ideas and feel free to email me (address found in the "Contact Me" tab above) or leave a comment below with any questions or friendly comments.

To follow is both my meal plan and the accompanying grocery list for everything you'd need to make these meals. I'll share the actual prices for each item later this week.

Planned dinners:

• Spaghetti
• 3-bean chili
• Chili cheese potatoes
• Loaded Potato Soup
• Fried Rice
• Black Beans and Rice
• Enchilada Ravioli

Planned lunches:

• Peanut Butter and Jelly w/ apple, pineapple, grape, or ants on a log
• Leftovers 

Planned Breakfasts:

• Oatmeal with sugar and raisins
• Cheerios with bananas and milk
• Pumpkin pancakes

Planned Grocery List

milk

apples

bananas (per pound)

frozen peas and carrots

pasta

pasta sauce

canned beans

canned tomatoes

rice

bag flour

butter (1lb)

celery

oatmeal

sugar (4lb)

strawberry jam

grapes (2lb)

yeast

pineapple

raisins (20oz)

sweet peppers

chili powder

nutmeg

dozen eggs

baking powder

salt

baking soda

cinnamon

pumpkin

bouillon

brown sugar

oil

bag carrots

cream cheese

sharp cheddar

bacon bits

green onion

ravioli

tomato sauce

sliced olives

cumin

cheerios

bag potatoes

peanut butter

1 tomato

bag onions

Buying all of the basic pantry items added up to such a large portion of the budget that there isn't enough room for the typical American diet amount of meat. However, you'll notice that we are still getting plenty of protein through beans, peanut butter, and some cheese.
I wish there were a little more room in the budget for some additional fruits and veggies, but we're still getting some.