Vegetarian Meal Plan // What's In My Fridge + Pantry

It's that time again -- MEAL PLANNING time. Yup. Today is March 1, so that mean we are getting more cash out of the bank to do the envelope system. And along with getting cash, I'm going grocery shopping for the entire month. Doing both of these things helped tremendously with our budget, and I plan to write a lot more about each.

Today, let's take a look into what food we are starting the month with:

DINNER PLANNING

This month's meals are split into the following categories:

• 20 weeknight meals
• 4 Friday pizza nights
• 4 Saturday sandwich nights
• 4 meals using up what we have

From there, I came up with what we'll eat:

• Veggie Bean Burgers FREEZER x 4 nights 
• Chickpea Curry DUMP x 2 nights 
• Pasta w/ tofu meatballs x 2 nights 
• Veggie-Loaded Quesadillas x 3 nights 
• Sloppy Lentil Sandwich DUMP x 2 nights 
• Breakfast for dinner x 3 nights 
• Ethiopian Slow Cooker Peanut Stew DUMP x 2 nights  
• Udon Noodle Tofu Stir-Fry w/ Frozen veggies x 2 nights

DUMP means that I plan to put all ingredients in a freezer bag, label it, and then pull it out + cook it the day we're eating it. I find when I cook ahead and then freeze, I never want to eat the meals. So, I'm thinking if it's made the day of, that might improve.

SHOPPING LIST

And for those of you who are interested, this is how my shopping list is shaping up. This isn't absolutely everything, but it accounts for everything we'll need to make the dinners above (along with a few other staples for the month).

• 3, 5-pound bags carrots
• 1 large head cauliflower
• 6 large sweet potatoes 
• 2 packages celery 
• 2 tubs baby spinach
• Garlic 
• Bag onions
• Pizza sauce x 2 
• Pasta sauce x 2  
• Olives x 3
• 4 cans black beans
• 12 cans chickpeas
• 4 28-ounce diced tomatoes
• 2 cans coconut milk 
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 2 large peanut butters
• 2 jelly (grape, strawberry) 
• Tortillas x 2 
• Hot sauce  
• Udon noodles x 2 
• Asian freezer veggies x 2 
• Tofu x 1 three pack 
• Large bag walnuts
• Quality bread flour
• Sugar
• Chocolate chips
• Package bread crumbs 
• Large container Goldfish
• Bag lentils      
• Curry powder
• Garam masala  
• Mustard powder
• 4 assorted non-dairy milks
• 6 tubs Greek yogurt 
• 4 packages sliced cheese
• 4 blocks cheese  
• Large pack cheese sticks
• 4 loaves seed bread
• 1 tub of oats
• 6 dozen eggs    

I am shopping at Aldi and Wegmans this month, and I'll be sure to share how I fare with the budget getting all this stuff. I'll also be back soon talking about the other meals we'll be eating this month (breakfasts, lunches, etc.), as well as some handy tips to make school lunches really fast + cheap.

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