My 7 Day Budget-Friendly Dinner Plan That Will Save You Time

Eating routine meals on a weekly basis saves both time and money. By doing so, you are taking the thought out of meal planning and are able to reuse the same staple ingredients instead of buying a jar of something you only need a tablespoon for and then letting it expire in the refrigerator. I am sharing my family's budget-friendly meal schedule with links included to each recipe.

Monday | 15 Minute Ramen

We love this quick and easy (vegan-friendly) ramen from Budget Bytes, especially on a Monday when we usually don't feel like cooking. Ingredients list is below and I've made some notes with how we have adapted:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil - I use olive oil

• 4 oz. baby bella mushrooms - I use cremini vs. white, they have a nicer texture

• 1.5 cups vegetable broth - I use the Better Than Bouillon. I find it's economical and really tasty, especially the vegetable broth.

• 1 handful fresh spinach - I tried using frozen but fresh is waaaayyy better.

• 1 package ramen noodles (discard seasoning)

• 1/2 cup coconut milk (canned)

OPTIONAL GARNISHES

• 1 green onion, sliced

• 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce - For us, this is a must!

Tuesday | Loaded Sweet Potatoes

This one is from the most fabulous cookbook, Oh She Glows Every Day by fellow Canadian, Angela Liddon. We can pretty much make this recipe in our sleep. It's SO easy. The only modifications I make are olive oil and salt rubbed on the sweet potato skins and I use 2 avocados instead of 1 for the crema. My hubby is allergic to cilantro so we just omit it or throw in some Italian parsley instead. We've been making this one almost every week for a couple of years!

Wednesday | Vegan Meatloaf

This is a super easy, one dish meal and it is an excellent substitute for traditional meatloaf by Nora Cooks. Both my husband and I find this veggie based meatloaf totally filling. We don't even make a side dish of veggies because it's got all the veggies we need and we really aren't hungry enough for more food. Plus it makes lots of leftovers (if just the 2 of us eating it). We make it exactly as is, no need to modify anything - so delightful!

Thursday | Honey Mustard Broccoli

My husband and I love this meal from Budget Bytes - it's quick and easy to make. The only modification we make is to roast the broccoli and the onions first so it's more of a warm salad. I've run out of cranberries tons of times too and it's just as good without.

HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard

• 3 Tbsp honey

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/8 tsp garlic powder

• 1/8 tsp paprika

• 1/8 tsp salt

• freshly cracked pepper

SALAD

• 1 large crown Broccoli (about 5 cups chopped)

• 1/4 red onion (about 1/2 cup diced

• 1/3 cup slivered almonds

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Visit this link for full recipe.

Friday | Takeout

We do takeout when budget allows, and what we eat depends on both our mood and how our budget is doing. We choose Friday's because both of us are usually exhausted by then and are ready to shut off our brains. We have had some Friday takeouts that are more of a date-night type of meal and other nights just our local takeout sushi restaurant (which is SO yummy!). We like having the Friday takeout as something to look forward to during the week too.

There is some debate whether takeout meals should come out of a grocery budget or otherwise. In my household, we pull from the grocery bill unless we go over, and then it comes from our personal "entertainment" budgets. This has proved to be a good incentive to try to keep the grocery bill low the rest of the month.

Saturday | Creative Cupboard Raid

Saturday is a great day to get creative with what's left in the cupboard and make something yummy. Easy options are varieties of pastas and my current favourite recipe that I made up has been as follows:

• Rotini pasta

• 1 tbsp of capers

• 1/2 of grated parmesan (I usually add a little more!)

• 1/3 cup of olive oil

• Zest and juice of one lemon

• 1/4 of chopped Italian parsley leaves

• 4 Italian sausages, cooked and sliced into small chunks

• Tomatoes (either halved cherry tomatoes or diced whatever-kind-you-have)

• 1 tbsp of dijon mustard

• 1/4 cup of finely chopped green onions or chives

All you do is mix everything with the hot pasta once it's cooked. Easy peasy and so delicious!

Sunday | Soba Noodle Salad

Another classic from Oh She Glows Every Day. I own the cookbook, but online I found the recipe here. I love the tang of the dressing and crunchiness of the peppers in this recipe. When we make the tofu, we press the firm tofu to get the moisture out, then fry small cubes and season with steak seasoning.

One modification we make, is we use arugula instead of coriander leaves. It tends to keep well in the refrigerator and we use it for lunches throughout the week.

I hope you are able to enjoy some of these as they are my favourite, low maintenance recipes. If you have any favourite time and money saving recipes, please leave a comment with a link or shoot me an email!