Best 5 Budget-Friendly Meal Planning Sites for You
My five favorites can help feed your family healthy affordable meals!
I want to discuss the connection between cooking and stress management in this space.
One of the most stressful situations I think I’ve ever had as a parent is figuring out how to FEED MY FAMILY. Can you relate??
Nearly every mom I know complains about this never-ending daily chore, and it is definitely a chore most days!
If I’d known that once I had kids, I would not only have to figure out how to feed myself but also other humans, every single day, morning, noon, and night, I would have run away and never looked back.
Not to mention, feeding said humans is expensive!
And if you’re like my situation in years past, you’re responsible for feeding special needs people with certain dietary needs (including myself)!
The exhaustive toll of thinking about, planning, and shopping for meals is astronomical.
But before I go into my five favorite budget-friendly, healthy meal-planning sites, I want to tell you something very, very important.
Like, VERY important.
Are you ready? Because I’m serious here.
I’m a mom who has been where you might be now, with a job, possibly full-time, or full-time plus a part-time, or multiple part-times to equal full-time (you get the gist), and household responsibilities.
Plus, all the mental load of being the one who primarily runs the household and kids.
NOTE: If you’re not a mom, but know someone who has all these responsibilities in their household, keep reading so you can understand why they’re stressed. And then share this post with them!!
If your partner is the one doing most of this, HELP them. That’s what “partner” means! Sharing the load EQUALLY.
Anyhoo…Back to my very serious, keep-reading-because-it’s-important-to-know statement.
I want you to know that IT IS OKAY if you don’t or can’t get a meal on the table every single day, multiple times a day, for the entirety of your parenting life.
I’m sure that you, like me, have tried a million different ways, websites, apps, planners, and all the things, to figure out what works best for you and your family.
I was not a good cook in my early parenting days. My family would say that’s an understatement!
In fact, I truly didn’t become a good cook until the past 5 years, and I’m a grandma!
I finally had more time and energy to devote to learning how to cook.
Honestly, after I adopted a more plant-based diet (I do still eat meat so don’t come at me, carnivores!), I’ve had way more fun creating healthy, colorful, filling meals.
So I’m sorry, my darling children, that the grandkids eat better than you did. Oopsies!
Funny story: My kids, now in their 30s/near 30s, still talk about having their Sonic/Mcdonald’s/Dairy Queen orders ready to go depending on what I made or “tried” to make when they were growing up.
I’d taste test my own cooking, and then shout out, “Who wants (fill in the blank here)??” and the text orders would start rolling in!
Of course, sadly that was at a time when you could actually feed a family of 5 for about $20 from those places.
So, please, hear me when I say this…
I am giving you PERMISSION (because I know you’re not going to give it to yourself!!) to ask for help from your spouse or partner, even your kids if they’re old enough, because they need to learn how to do this too.
Or, if you’re a single parent, to say, “Kids, we’re having cereal tonight. Which one do you want?”
(My kids grew up with “Whatever you can make” when they were old enough to handle the microwave and oven if I didn’t go pick up a meal or we couldn’t afford it!)
I am giving you PERMISSION to NOT cook all the freaking time, especially a seven-course meal that grandma or your mom used to make!
We live in a different age than they did, and we don’t have to do what has always been done at the cost of our mental and financial health!!
And, I am giving you PERMISSION to let your kids eat the junk every once in a while or pick up a meal on your way home, whatever you can do that day.
It’s okay. The sky won't fall. The world won't fall apart. I promise!! Pinky swear.
Okay, stepping off my soapbox now!
With that said, let’s get into what I do when I need help planning my meals.
Honestly, I don’t officially “plan” because I cook when I can, when I’m in a creative mind space, and other times, we eat cereal, ramen, eggs and toast, or a meal we pick up from somewhere else.
Since we’re an “ingredients” household, meaning that I keep enough staples and basics on hand in the pantry and freezer, I can throw together any meal most days of the week.
And these are the regular sites I use for finding budget-friendly, healthy meals. I signed up for their email newsletters and often do one or two a week.
Why I like them: The word Budget is a giveaway. For real though, these recipes are sooooo simple, easy, and affordable to make. Check out their Under $10 recipes here!
I can almost always throw together something from what I have on hand, either in its entirety or use it as a starting point and make it more my own. TIP: We eat ground turkey instead of beef, so beef recipes are easy to customize.
Why I like them: First, their name is super cute! Second, they have recipes that use affordable ingredients, with simple preparation, and diverse options.
One-pot meals are my favorite and this Sausage Pasta recipe doesn’t disappoint! Just type “one pot” in their search bar for more budget-friendly meals.
TIP: You can make this one and many others healthier by swapping beef or pork sausage links with turkey or chicken!
100 Days of Real Food (I have their cookbook!)
Why I like them: These folks focus on using whole, unprocessed ingredients for a healthier lifestyle and better overall nutrition.
And, when you subscribe to their email newsletter, you gain access to a free weekly meal plan, complete with five dinners, sides, and a treat!
Like I said before, I don’t technically “plan” because that doesn’t fit my lifestyle and personality, but I love getting these emails to spark meal ideas.
I go to the links of recipes I think sound good and if so, I add them to my favorite recipe app Paprika. (more on that below!!)
Why I like them: Just like the ones mentioned above, they offer recipes with healthy food options and simple ingredients that are more nutritionally dense and diverse.
The site is perfect for busy households that still want to eat healthy and within a tight budget. Simple meals like this Sheet pan Fajita Chicken are delicious.
TIP: To make it complete, you can make Spanish rice from the box or on a less busy day cook from scratch. (I use my rice cooker).
Let it cool overnight in the fridge, freeze, and then thaw for this meal (it’s important to let hot rice cool before freezing to eliminate deadly bacteria.) Then heat canned, refried beans, and voila! A simple, healthy meal on a busy weeknight.
Why I like them: This is my go-to site for sweet cravings, but there is a comprehensive recipe database too. I especially like these categories: 30-minute meals and 4 ingredients or less like this 4 Ingredient No Bake Coconut Oatmeal cookie recipe.
As someone with IBS and food sensitivities, I appreciate that many of the recipes *seem to use safe ingredients for people with allergies and food sensitivity, and are easy to customize for dietary needs. *TIP: Don’t take my word for it. Check to make sure for yourself when researching these recipes for you and your family!
Of course, these aren’t the only sites I use, but they're at least the top five for me.
I would love to know what your favorites are so I can try out new recipes!
Leave a comment with your suggestion, and let me know if you’re okay with me saving that to include in a future post (anonymously if you want!).
One last thing
I absolutely love a meal-planning app I started using several years ago. I’m not an affiliate, so I’m not getting anything out of this recommendation. I just truly love this app!
It’s called Paprika (cute, right??) and I mostly use it for the recipe find/save feature.
I create categories that fit my needs, including one for My Recipes that I can refer to when I start sharing my recipes with you someday! (There might eventually be a cookbook, we’ll see!!)
Paprika also has a feature for a grocery list that cross references with the recipes.
And my favorite feature is the in-app browser that lets you (get this!!) Google search for a recipe and DOWNLOAD IT right there in the app to save in the recipe database!
So go to whichever store you need to download it, Google Play or Apple.
I bought the premium version when it was $4.99 for lifetime access. I checked again and it still says it’s $4.99, so hopefully if you decide to purchase it, that’s still the price.
TO SUMMARIZE
1. Meal planning, shopping, and cooking are STRESSFUL. So, remember that it’s okay to ask for help with planning, buying, and cooking, or other household responsibilities so you can focus on this task.
2. Budget-friendly healthy meal planning sites exist that provide affordable and healthy recipe ideas and these are my favorites (for now):
3. Use the Paprika app for meal planning and organization, because of features like recipe saving, grocery list creation, and an in-app browser with a download option.
Again, let me know in the comments your favorite recipe sites or app suggestions, and if you’re okay with me saving that to include in a future post (anonymously if you want!).
Until next time,
Your friend, Dawn-Renée ❤️
Note: You don’t have to be a parent or caregiver to be stressed out!
You can benefit from these recommended resources too.
What a great resource! Thank you for sharing. 🙏