Welcome to Meal Plan, our new series about how real families plan, budget for, and prep their weekly meals, with all the details you want to know, from their grocery receipts to their favorite recipes.
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Alicia Adamczyk
Today, a stay-at-home mom of three young kids in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, discusses how she got back into meal prepping after her kids were born, and how she came to love no-recipe recipes. Here we go!
Age: 43
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Household size: 5
Household income: $78,000
Monthly grocery spend: $800
Where do you shop for groceries?
Trader Joe’s, Wild Fork (for meat), Costco, Target, Pick ’n Save (Kroger chain), and occasionally Meijer and Whole Foods.
I shop at a variety of stores for the best prices, and I keep an eye on quantity. For example, a box of Market Pantry (Target’s in-house brand) granola bars has 18 bars, where most other brands only have six or eight.
How did you start meal planning? Did it change over time?Before I had kids I really enjoyed cooking. I got into recipe blogs Smitten Kitchen and Budget Bytes, and those two have influenced how I cook and shop and think about food more than anything. (Alicia seconds Budget Bytes! And Lindsey loves Smitten Kitchen!) I’m obsessed with making simple, healthy snacks and meals for my kids.
What meals are you prepping this week or do you prepare in a typical week?
This week I’m making vegetable stock for the first time since I had kids. It’s so simple and such a great way to use up every bit of produce we buy. I don’t know why I waited this long. Later in the week I’ll use the stock in a potato soup, black beans, and as a cooking liquid for rice.
In a typical week, I cook two big batches of chicken meals that my partner enjoys. We almost always eat separately except for his days off work. He’ll eat the chicken and leftovers alongside whatever vegetable and rice/pasta I make for myself and the kids. I usually make a toddler-friendly main like chicken nuggets for the kids as well.
I also keep food in the freezer for my dinners. This week it’s lentil soup that I made last week. Sometimes I eat with the kids, and sometimes I eat later with my partner. I always offer the kids what my partner and I have, too. (They usually decline.)
What groceries did you need to buy this week?
I bought staples at Trader Joe’s, produce at Pick ’n Save, and meat at Wild Fork. I usually do a second shop midweek for milk and produce and anything else we might need. I find this is a good way to ensure I don’t overbuy. I shop at many stores for both quality and price. We try to eat as much fresh, whole, preservative-free food as possible.
How much did they cost?
- Trader Joe’s: $74.26. Includes a gallon of whole milk ($3.79), Hash browns ($2.99), sliced ham ($3.99), string cheese ($3.99), mac and cheese ($0.99), fig cookies ($2.49), mini plain bagels ($2.99), bay leaves ($3.99), cinnamon raisin bagels ($2.99), red seedless grapes (2 lbs for $5.99), sourdough bread ($3.69), unsweetened black tea ($4.99), and more.
- Pick ’n Save: $63.26. Includes russet potatoes ($2.99), Pink Lady apples ($5), Brussels sprouts ($3.99), kale ($1.16), bell peppers ($6), broccoli crowns ($2.10), celery ($1.99), leeks ($2.89), baby bella mushrooms (2.38 lbs at $0.49/lb), bananas ($1.17), Chobani yogurt (24 at $1/each), and more.
- Wild Fork: $22.50. Incudes chicken drumsticks ($12), smoked hickory bacon ($5.50), and beef classic hot dogs ($5).
Total: $160.02. Our weekly budget is $200, so the remainder will be spent during our midweek shop.
Did you use other foods you already have in your pantry? If so, which ones?
Yes. I had butter and eggs (which we normally buy every week) from last week’s grocery shopping trip. I also had a frozen, packaged lasagna and homemade lentil soup in my freezer which I plan to eat this week.
Did you utilize sales or coupons?
Yes, the high-protein yogurt we like (Chobani) was on sale for $1 each, so I stocked up. This summer, I’d like to utilize FlashFood more. It’s an app that lets us buy $5 bags of mixed produce with a one to two day expiration window.
What apps, websites, cookbooks, etc., do you use to meal plan?
I use a big messy handwritten list. And I really like the Smitten Kitchen and Budget Bytes food blogs for recipes.
Can you walk us through how and when you prep?
I prep on Sunday mornings. I start by making a list of proteins I want to cook and also look through what we already have. I’ll look at our schedule for the week and when I will have blocks of time to cook and just try to fit it all together.
Do you have specific dietary restrictions or considerations?
No restrictions, but oh so many considerations, LOL. My partner is a meat eater, and I’m a former vegetarian who now enjoys meat as a garnish. Our kids are young (1, 3, and 5 years old), so they are picky and generally want food with less seasoning than my partner and I enjoy. The one thing we ALL love to eat is fresh fish, so when we can we splurge on salmon.
How do you store your food?
The freezer. We have a standard above-the-fridge freezer. I’ve found Ziploc freezer bags are the most space-saving.
How has your meal planning evolved over time?
Kids really changed things. When I was pregnant/nursing, it was a victory just to get food on the table. My partner did more cooking during those years, and we also ate a lot of frozen meals from Trader Joe’s. (Which gets expensive, though still cheaper than takeout.) I’m finding my way back to enjoying cooking again.
The key for me, after kids, has been to keep things very, very simple. When I was getting back into meal planning, I went through a few rounds of plans where I didn’t have the time or energy to execute, and that was a low point. However, a few months later, my kids were in different stages. I tried again and started by just planning two to three meals per week, filling in the rest with prepackaged frozen dinners or leftovers, and I found my stride.
It’s always great to have some recipes I’m excited about cooking, but what really helps our budget are the flexible dishes without recipes, things where ingredients can be modified to use up whatever we already have in our fridge and pantry.
And other things you want people to know?
Even using a small freezer can help save so much. I keep a list on the outside so I don’t forget what I’ve put in there, and I check things off as we eat them. I think it’s a lot easier to go from eating prepackaged meals from your freezer to homemade meals from your freezer than it is to cut a takeout habit. When we had only one child (and two incomes), we considered it normal to eat takeout once or twice a week. Now we rarely get takeout, and to my surprise I don’t miss it.
My goal this year is to learn to make Indian food because my partner and I both love the flavors, and so many Indian dishes freeze well.
This week’s menu
This week I will be making:
- Potato leek soup
- Blueberry muffins (I make without the extra sugar on top.)
- Slow cooker black beans (I’m leaving out the sausage.)
- Crispy chickpeas (I no longer need a recipe, but I learned to make these following this recipe and this recipe.)
- Twice-baked potatoes (No recipe, just the standard loaded potato stuff.)
- Brown stew chicken (Another no-recipe recipe that is more complicated to write down than I realized.)
- Stuffed mushroom caps, recipe below.
Stuffed mushroom caps recipes
My favorite no-recipe recipe is stuffed mushrooms. I love this because it uses up whatever I have around, it’s endlessly versatile, and it’s an easy way to elevate a tray of roasted vegetables to a dinner-guest-worthy side dish or vegetarian main.
The ingredients I use:
- 8-oz box of mushrooms
- 1 egg (You can substitute milk for egg in a pinch, but it will lose the wow factor.)
- Breadcrumbs (Like from the ends of our sandwich bread. I do not buy breadcrumbs for this.)
- 1 handful of grated/crumbled cheese (I use whatever is in our fridge: Parmesan, Pecorino, feta, cheddar, etc.)
- Fresh or dried herbs (Again, whatever is around. Fresh parsley and/or dried thyme are my go-tos.)
- ½ to 1 tablespoon of minced onion, scallions, or shallots (This is optional.)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Remove the mushroom stems and clean off the mushroom caps. Toss lightly in olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet. Season the empty mushroom caps generously with salt and pepper.
- Beat the egg in a bowl. Add the cheese, herbs, and onion. Add breadcrumbs slowly until you have a gloopy consistency and season with salt and pepper.
- Stuff the mushrooms. Bake for 20–35 minutes or until the tops are puffed and golden (baking times will vary depending on how big your particular mushroom caps are).
This week’s meals
Monday
- Breakfast: Oatmeal for the kids and me, bagel with cream cheese for my partner
- Lunch: The kids and I have salami trays (crackers, raw carrot and bell pepper slices, string cheese, cookie), and my partner has a ham and cheese sandwich with a banana and cookie. (I pack his lunch.)
- Snacks: Throughout the day, we munch on apple slices, granola bars, crackers, crispy chickpeas, and yogurt, and I have a mini bagel with cream cheese.
- Dinner: We all eat mac and cheese, stuffed mushrooms, and roasted veggies. The kids eat chicken nuggets, and my partner eats brown stew chicken. I’ll eat more of the stuffed mushrooms than anyone else since I’m not eating chicken.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: Oatmeal for the kids and me, bagel with cream cheese for my partner
- Lunch: Tuna tacos for the kids and me, served with celery sticks and an orange, and a ham and cheese sandwich for my partner, with a banana and cookie.
- Snacks: Throughout the day, we munch on apple slices, granola bars, crackers, crispy chickpeas, and yogurt, and I have a mini bagel with cream cheese.
- Dinner: We all eat mac and cheese leftovers and roasted veggies. The kids eat chicken nuggets, and my partner eats leftover chicken. I will bake potatoes to use in Wednesday’s dinner.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: Oatmeal for the kids and me, bagel with cream cheese for my partner.
- Lunch: The kids and I are back to salami trays, and my partner has his usual lunch.
- Snacks: Same as Monday and Tuesday
- Dinner: We all eat roasted carrots and brussel sprouts. The kids and I eat twice-baked potatoes, hot dogs, and black beans (hopefully the kids eat beans; they often don’t but there’s enough here without the beans to make a complete meal). I make rice with lentils for my partner to eat with the leftover chicken (it’s the third day of leftovers because it’s only him eating the chicken). I’ll take chicken out of the freezer to thaw for Thursday’s dinner.
Thursday
- Breakfast: You know the drill.
- Lunch: Tuna tacos for the kids and me, served with celery sticks and an orange, and the usual for my partner.
- Snacks: Same as the other days, plus frozen pineapple (I’ll save some not frozen for pizza toppings tomorrow)
- Dinner: We all eat the biscuits I make. I also make a creamy chicken dish for my partner and chicken nuggets for the kids. I stir fry the leftover rice and lentils with eggs and veggies from our fridge, including bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, and whatever else might be in there. The stir fry is my main and a side for my kids.
Friday
- Breakfast: The same as the rest of the week.
- Lunch: The kids and I eat the salami trays, and my partner has his usual lunch.
- Snacks: We have apple slices, granola bars, crackers, crispy chickpeas, and yogurt, and I have a mini bagel with cream cheese.
- Dinner: The kids and I eat flatbread pizzas (they get to top their own pizza). My partner eats leftover creamy chicken with leftover biscuits. I plan to buy some asparagus on sale at Pick ’n Save at our second weekly shop, so I will make that, too.
Thank you so much! Please comment with kindness!
