Dinner for about $2!

So after doing all my shopping, I totaled it all up.  Came to just over $114 for everything---$4.10 per dinner for 2 or $2.05 per person per dinner!!!

 

And, yes, that was my little Ladybug helping me shop.

February Meal Planner

Below is the shopping list along with the prices for everything. 
Some of the items don't have a price because I already had them in my pantry.
 

 

 

12 Meals in 30 Minutes!

During Ladybug's nap today, I was able to prepare 12 meals in about 30 minutes.  I simply prepared the marinades for the three chicken meals from my February Meal Planner.

 

I mixed all the ingredients for the marinade in a quart-sized bag and added the necessary amount of chicken for one meal.  Then, put the 4 quart bags in a large gallon bag and labeled them.  I let them marinate for about a hour or two in the fridge, then transferred to the freezer.  Easy!!!

 

So, I now have 12 of the 28 meals for February complete! 

That's practically half of next month's dinner's complete!

 

February's Paleo Meal Planner

It's done!
Yes, it's Paleo but it's very easy to make non-Paleo if you are not leading a Paleo lifestyle...just a grain or legume to your meal.

Okay...so after trying to get google docs to work and upload my original file and even upload a PDF...I finally had to copy and paste into google docs.  So I think it's working.  ***Please let me know if it's not working for you.***

February Meal Planner

Also, please feel free to leave me comments or suggestions for the next month.  I want to make this as easy as possible and would love to hear feedback from y'all!

Buen provecho and healthy eating!

How This is All Came About

Well, as many of us, with a New Year comes new resolutions and goals.  About a year and half ago, I decided to stay home with Ladybug (that is what I'll call my daughter...she's now almost 19 months...time really does fly!).  And, as part of my job as a SAHM, I feel I'm responsible for making sure that we stay within a grocery budget every month.  Last year, I discovered a few meal planning sites and I loved the idea of planning your meals for an entire month, prepping/cooking the meals in one or two days and then NOT having to worry about what was for dinner each night.  And, also with a one-year old running around and getting fussy right around the time you want to get dinner ready was a not fun! 

Reasons I love to Cook Once and Eat For a Month:

1. Reduce the amount of trips to the grocery---this is really important to me because I live about 40 minutes away from a decent grocery store...so I save time and gas! And I've only made two trips to the store this month (and the second time was to get more fruit) and I don't plan on going until next week to get all the groceries for February.  I used to go every week, so that's 4 round trips at 60 miles total and lots of gas! 
2. I can prep a lot of the meals in a day or two (meaning during Ladybug's naps and in the evening after she's been put to bed)
3. It saves money---yes, you have to rotate the 7 or 8 meals over the course of the month but I don't mind and neither does my husband BUT you then only prep/cook 7 or 8 LARGE meals for the entire month.  And don't you always end up throwing wilted lettuce, rotten tomatoes or slimy green beans that were shoved way back in the veggie drawer??? I know I hate throwing away food and being wasteful.  This has truly helped me and I hardly ever throw out food now.
4. I get to spend more time with my husband and Ladybug in the late afternoon.
5. I don't worry about having to come up with a dinner idea every night or stressing about defrosting the chicken daily.

I'm putting the finishing touches on February's menu and I should have it up this coming weekend.  And, hopefully, you'll join me on this new adventure!

Have a blessed week! :)