Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (2024)

Table of Contents

Hi! I'm Sydney. I'm a stay-at-home mom of three, and I make homemade meals for my Colorado family every week. Although my current phase of life is a stay-at-home mom, I've also been a college student mom and a full-time working mom — and each stage taught me valuable lessons about feeding myself and my family. One of those lessons has been that meal prep and planning are essential for running a smooth household with three kids under the age of 9. Figuring out all the meals ahead of time allows me to save time and stick to a $120 budget each week. When planning each week, I start by looking at my local grocery store's weekly sales so I know what items will get me the most bang for my buck. This first step has lately become more important than ever to my planning and budgeting. With meal planning, up-front preparation is key — but it's also the most challenging thing. Here are a few tips and tricks that I use each week: Lastly, I'm not a chef. I'm a mom who cooks meals for her family. I learn things as I go and pick recipes that seem manageable for me to keep up with — as I also try to be present with my family. After I made my plan for this week, my total sat at $126.17. I saved $3 from coupons, but more than $10 from sale items! Most weeks, I get my groceries delivered to save me time, gas, and impulse buys. (I also opt for delivery because if you've ever taken multiple young kids grocery shopping, you know the struggle!) I've had a few experiences where people have come up to me mid-crisis, telling me I'm doing a great job. Although the intention behind the comments is good, I'm always internally mortified because I'm someone who loves to fly under the radar, and these comments remind me that we are, in fact, on full display. 💀 As you continue to build your pantry, it's easier to spend within your budget because you'll utilize staples you have already acquired. But for the purposes of this post, several pantry staples (like oats, flour, and rice) were included in the $126.17 I spent. The only staples I did not include were oils and spices. Here's how my week went! First, the afternoon grocery haul: Once I had everything put away, I thought it would be a good idea to head to the pool to let some afternoon energy out...but I was a bit too late and the energy was already fizzled. Still, I had the foresight to take my sourdough starter out of the fridge so that I could feed and bake with it later on. I had also already mentally prepared for a simple dinner: honey mustard ham and cheese pretzel sliders. A quick mix of some Dijon and honey: boom. Honey mustard. I spread the honey mustard on the tops of the buns, and ham with cheese on the bottom buns. I covered with foil and baked for 25 minutes. I realized I didn't account for anything to go with the sliders, so I put some arugula in a bowl with lemon juice, avocado oil, and sea salt for some dressed greens. Not much left after this meal! Before heading to bed, I used the sourdough starter to make some dough for English muffins. I let this sit overnight to proof. Breakfast time! The first thing I did when I woke up was cut the English muffins into circles, and then I cooked them in a skillet on the stove for about four minutes per side. I served the English muffins with some eggs. Then we put away the leftovers and headed out for some morning exercise. Temps were already heating up on our walk, which meant something refreshing was needed for lunch. While the kids worked on getting some water down, I started a quick summer tuna pasta salad for lunch. While the water and noodles boiled, I chopped, diced, and made the dressing. The final step was to add in the pasta and serve! A few bites in and I knew this would be added to our normal rotation. The flavors were perfect. Even the kids approved! Then it was time to hit the pool! Here in Colorado, some afternoon thunderstorms have started to roll in — so we went back to the house to prep brown butter banana bars as a snack option for the week. Once the butter was browned, I mixed the batter and put it on a sheet pan. After that, I roasted some leftover banana peels, then ground them up to throw into my garden beds as a natural fertilizer. The thunderstorms were in full force, and I received a message saying baseball practice would be canceled for the night. Suddenly knowing we had the night free led me to pull out dinner ingredients for California Caesar chicken pitas. The first step was to do a quick marinade of the chicken with a blend of the spices and oil. The chicken baked in the oven at 375°F for about 15 minutes. My chicken ended up cooking way faster than the recipe called for, so I would advise keeping a close eye! Mine ended up being a little dry. The recipe for the tahini Caesar dressing instructs you to add water to thin the dressing to your desired consistency. I decided against this and kept mine thicker, like a hummus consistency. As we were eating dinner, I received a message saying that baseball practice was suddenly "a go" because the rain had stopped. Breakfast was a repeat: English muffins and eggs. At this point, we've made it through the first few weeks of summer, and my kids spend their morning figuring out how to all be together ~nicely~ all day every day. There was still a ton of quick tuna pasta salad left for lunch. For dinner, Italian baked chicken meatballs were on the menu tonight. Any type of meatball is a huge hit in my house, so I knew this was sure to please. I wanted to keep my expenses on pantry items as low as possible to make room for more fresh produce in the week. So instead of buying bread crumbs, I took two of the homemade English muffins and pulsed them in the food processor to make my own. Everything baked on a sheet pan, which was bonus points for this recipe! This recipe can also be used as a "make-ahead" or "freezer meal" option, as it gives directions on how to prepare the meatballs in advance! Following dinner, we had a little birthday ~paw-ty~ for one of our dogs! Today we had plans for a playdate, so I made oatmeal for breakfast, which is a family favorite. While the oatmeal cooked, I also threw together a dough for sourdough crackers. After the crackers were done baking, I pulled them out of the oven to cool while we were gone. It wasn't until then that I realized I never took the melted butter out of the microwave...meaning I also didn't add it to the cracker dough... We spent the morning at the Museum of Discovery, where we learned about sound waves, hurricane winds, and how you can use pulley systems to lift heavy things, like pianos! We got home a little later than our normal lunchtime, but we were equipped with good leftovers. In the afternoon, we kept things close to home and played ice cream shop, in true summer fashion. After a while, I knew we needed to get a start on 40-minute hamburger buns. After baking for only 8–10 minutes, I pulled the buns out of the oven and set them to cool for later. To go with the buns, I made crispy dill chicken sandwiches. I cut the chicken into thinner sandwich pieces and coated them in bread crumbs. While the chicken was in the oven, I made the dill pickle ranch sauce. I served the sandwiches with the sourdough crackers, which ended up okay despite the butter mishap! The kids told me that they were *not hungry*, and they fueled themselves for the evening with excitement, stubbornness, and a dreamsicle. Breakfast was everything bagels with some scrambled eggs. After breakfast, we headed out to the movie theater as a family because my husband had a rare morning off. I hadn't been to the movies in years! It was so fun to be back, and it was the perfect activity for the day, since it was very rainy out. When we got home, I warmed the leftover buns and we had chicken sandwiches for lunch. Corn pasta salad with bacon and creamy pesto dressing was for dinner. My little helper was back in action, helping me dice and prep all the vegetables. While my daughter performed her sous-chef duties, I made the creamy pesto dressing and cooked the bacon. In terms of assembling, all that was required was to throw everything together in a bowl and dinner was served! We had lots of leftovers... Breakfast was leftover bagels, and lunch was, begrudgingly, also leftovers. For my birthday this year, my mother bought me supplies to make my own pasta. Now, my birthday was back in March, and I still had yet to give it a try. My husband and I like to cook fun things together on the weekends, and after I got a new pasta cookbook, we knew it was time to give it a try. I also didn't have any specialty flours, but the book says it's okay if you need to use all-purpose flour, which is exactly what I did. In terms of making the dough, it really was very simple. Obviously not as convenient as boxed noodles, but the process was fun, and the texture so much heartier. Dinner was served — and my kids loved these! I couldn't keep up with their requests for more, and eventually we just ran out completely. When I woke up the next day, I made soft and fluffy white bread. It baked while I made oatmeal on the stove for breakfast. Then we headed out for our morning exercise. When we got home, I used the leftover pieces of bacon from when I made the corn pesto pasta salad, lettuce, and some of the sandwich bread to make BLTs. We actually had no T, but we made it work. When dinner came around, I pulled out all the ingredients to make chicken taco poblano rice bowls. The first step was to prep the vegetables and prepare the spice blend for the chicken. I realized that I accidentally used all my tomatoes — so I was unable to make the pico that goes along with this recipe. Luckily, I had also bought salsa, so it wasn't a total goof. Breakfast was — you guessed it — eggs and toast. After breakfast, I took my daughter to a dance camp that was put on by the high school team. Lots of excitement and adoration came from my daughter and focused on the dancers, and she spent the morning in absolute bliss. I packed ham sandwiches for lunch, and we went and ate them at the park afterward! And that was my week! I hope this was helpful. Again, I don't share these plans assuming that people will replicate them exactly. Every household is SO different — from palate preferences to cost of living to the amount of time available to cook. Still, I hope this provides some inspiration for new recipes, new planning ideas, or how to work with whatever your budget may be. You can find more of my articles, with weeks' worth of plans, here! For more, follow me on Instagram at @sydneyinsuburbia. That's where I give step-by-step breakdowns about how I plan my weeks, shop, and cook — hopefully helping you to do it too! And one last takeaway: Never let anyone make you feel bad for making a budget. People create budgets for all different reasons — necessity, savings, student loans, retirement, investments — and it's something you can feel proud of. You got this! Tell me what you're making for your family this week in the comments below, or DM me on Instagram!

Posted on Jun 23, 2023

Chicken, cheese, and strawberries were on sale this week — so I built my grocery list from there.

by Sydney MartinBuzzFeed Contributor

Hi! I'm Sydney. I'm a stay-at-home mom of three, and I make homemade meals for my Colorado family every week.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (3)

Although my current phase of life is a stay-at-home mom, I've also been a college student mom and a full-time working mom — and each stage taught me valuable lessons about feeding myself and my family.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (4)

One of those lessons has been that meal prep and planning are essential for running a smooth household with three kids under the age of 9. Figuring out all the meals ahead of time allows me to save time and stick to a $120 budget each week.

When planning each week, I start by looking at my local grocery store's weekly sales so I know what items will get me the most bang for my buck. This first step has lately become more important than ever to my planning and budgeting.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (5)

With meal planning, up-front preparation is key — but it's also the most challenging thing. Here are a few tips and tricks that I use each week:

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (6)

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (7)

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (8)

Lastly, I'm not a chef. I'm a mom who cooks meals for her family. I learn things as I go and pick recipes that seem manageable for me to keep up with — as I also try to be present with my family.

After I made my plan for this week, my total sat at $126.17. I saved $3 from coupons, but more than $10 from sale items!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (9)

Most weeks, I get my groceries delivered to save me time, gas, and impulse buys. (I also opt for delivery because if you've ever taken multiple young kids grocery shopping, you know the struggle!) I've had a few experiences where people have come up to me mid-crisis, telling me I'm doing a great job. Although the intention behind the comments is good, I'm always internally mortified because I'm someone who loves to fly under the radar, and these comments remind me that we are, in fact, on full display. 💀

As you continue to build your pantry, it's easier to spend within your budget because you'll utilize staples you have already acquired. But for the purposes of this post, several pantry staples (like oats, flour, and rice) were included in the $126.17 I spent. The only staples I did not include were oils and spices.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (10)

Here's how my week went!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (11)

First, the afternoon grocery haul:

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (12)

Once I had everything put away, I thought it would be a good idea to head to the pool to let some afternoon energy out...but I was a bit too late and the energy was already fizzled.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (13)

Still, I had the foresight to take my sourdough starter out of the fridge so that I could feed and bake with it later on.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (14)

I had also already mentally prepared for a simple dinner: honey mustard ham and cheese pretzel sliders.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (15)

A quick mix of some Dijon and honey: boom. Honey mustard. I spread the honey mustard on the tops of the buns, and ham with cheese on the bottom buns.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (16)

I covered with foil and baked for 25 minutes.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (17)

I realized I didn't account for anything to go with the sliders, so I put some arugula in a bowl with lemon juice, avocado oil, and sea salt for some dressed greens.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (18)

Not much left after this meal!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (19)

Before heading to bed, I used the sourdough starter to make some dough for English muffins. I let this sit overnight to proof.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (20)

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (21)

Breakfast time! The first thing I did when I woke up was cut the English muffins into circles, and then I cooked them in a skillet on the stove for about four minutes per side.

Sydney Martin

These turned out better than I expected. We buy English muffins a lot, and for some reason I've been intimidated to try making my own. As with most things, once you give something a try, you realize that there really wasn't much to be worried about — even if mistakes were made along the way. I realized that I could use a larger cutter in the future to cut out bigger circles, but we never really know until we just try something. 😊

I served the English muffins with some eggs.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (22)

Then we put away the leftovers and headed out for some morning exercise.

Sydney Martin

As we get into a rhythm for summer, I know that our days turn out best if we start the day outdoors, letting out lots of energy. If I don't focus on making this part of our day a priority, our living room turns into a UFC cage and my mental well-being checks out particularly early.

Temps were already heating up on our walk, which meant something refreshing was needed for lunch. While the kids worked on getting some water down, I started a quick summer tuna pasta salad for lunch.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (23)

While the water and noodles boiled, I chopped, diced, and made the dressing.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (24)

The final step was to add in the pasta and serve!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (25)

A few bites in and I knew this would be added to our normal rotation. The flavors were perfect. Even the kids approved!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (26)

Then it was time to hit the pool!

Sydney Martin

Here in Colorado, some afternoon thunderstorms have started to roll in — so we went back to the house to prep brown butter banana bars as a snack option for the week.

Sydney Martin

While I got all of the dry ingredients together, I started browning the butter on the stove. I recently got a new cookbook that I love called "Knife Drop" by Nick DiGiovanni. It has several QR codes that link to videos that teach you how to perform a variety of kitchen tasks — one of which is making brown butter. (If you need, here are similar photo and video tutorials.)

Once the butter was browned, I mixed the batter and put it on a sheet pan.

Sydney Martin

Once they were baked, I cut and wrapped these for a grab 'n' go snack option for the week. I've also made these with the brown butter frosting — but this week I kept them plain.

After that, I roasted some leftover banana peels, then ground them up to throw into my garden beds as a natural fertilizer.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (27)

The thunderstorms were in full force, and I received a message saying baseball practice would be canceled for the night. Suddenly knowing we had the night free led me to pull out dinner ingredients for California Caesar chicken pitas.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (28)

The first step was to do a quick marinade of the chicken with a blend of the spices and oil.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (29)

The chicken baked in the oven at 375°F for about 15 minutes. My chicken ended up cooking way faster than the recipe called for, so I would advise keeping a close eye! Mine ended up being a little dry.

Sydney Martin

I put the ingredients on the counter so that each person could customize their own. The kids and I opted to keep our strawberries on the side.

The recipe for the tahini Caesar dressing instructs you to add water to thin the dressing to your desired consistency. I decided against this and kept mine thicker, like a hummus consistency.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (30)

As we were eating dinner, I received a message saying that baseball practice was suddenly "a go" because the rain had stopped.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (31)

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (32)

Breakfast was a repeat: English muffins and eggs.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (33)

At this point, we've made it through the first few weeks of summer, and my kids spend their morning figuring out how to all be together ~nicely~ all day every day.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (34)

There was still a ton of quick tuna pasta salad left for lunch.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (35)

For dinner, Italian baked chicken meatballs were on the menu tonight. Any type of meatball is a huge hit in my house, so I knew this was sure to please.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (36)

I wanted to keep my expenses on pantry items as low as possible to make room for more fresh produce in the week. So instead of buying bread crumbs, I took two of the homemade English muffins and pulsed them in the food processor to make my own.

Sydney Martin

Everything baked on a sheet pan, which was bonus points for this recipe!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (37)

This recipe can also be used as a "make-ahead" or "freezer meal" option, as it gives directions on how to prepare the meatballs in advance!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (38)

Following dinner, we had a little birthday ~paw-ty~ for one of our dogs!

Sydney Martin

The absolute thrill was palpable.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (39)

Today we had plans for a playdate, so I made oatmeal for breakfast, which is a family favorite.

Sydney Martin

While the oatmeal cooked, I also threw together a dough for sourdough crackers.

Sydney Martin

I spread the dough out on a sheet pan and put it in the oven while we got dressed and ready for our day.

After the crackers were done baking, I pulled them out of the oven to cool while we were gone. It wasn't until then that I realized I never took the melted butter out of the microwave...meaning I also didn't add it to the cracker dough...

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (40)

We spent the morning at the Museum of Discovery, where we learned about sound waves, hurricane winds, and how you can use pulley systems to lift heavy things, like pianos!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (41)

We got home a little later than our normal lunchtime, but we were equipped with good leftovers.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (42)

In the afternoon, we kept things close to home and played ice cream shop, in true summer fashion.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (43)

After a while, I knew we needed to get a start on 40-minute hamburger buns.

Sydney Martin

Ever since I discovered this recipe, I haven't bought a single hamburger bun. These come together so fast that it's worth the few extra minutes to make homemade buns and save on our budget! My daughter also loves helping with these, so it's a good opportunity to teach her a fun skill.

After baking for only 8–10 minutes, I pulled the buns out of the oven and set them to cool for later.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (44)

To go with the buns, I made crispy dill chicken sandwiches.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (45)

I cut the chicken into thinner sandwich pieces and coated them in bread crumbs.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (46)

While the chicken was in the oven, I made the dill pickle ranch sauce.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (47)

I served the sandwiches with the sourdough crackers, which ended up okay despite the butter mishap!

Sydney Martin

My husband finished with work late, so I quickly packed his sandwich to go, as we were headed off to a neighborhood summer kickoff event!

The kids told me that they were not hungry, and they fueled themselves for the evening with excitement, stubbornness, and a dreamsicle.

Sydney Martin

Our neighborhood has this event every summer, and my kids always look forward to it. They have free ice cream, bounce houses, balloon animals, face painting, and a ton of different summer activities! This year was particularly exciting because I decided to take a deep breath and get over myself, allowing them to do face painting for the first time.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (48)

Breakfast was everything bagels with some scrambled eggs.

Sydney Martin

After breakfast, we headed out to the movie theater as a family because my husband had a rare morning off. I hadn't been to the movies in years! It was so fun to be back, and it was the perfect activity for the day, since it was very rainy out.

Sydney Martin

My son had been counting down the seconds to see the new Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie, which was A+++, and my girls got to have their very first movie theater experience ever with their dad and the Little Mermaid.

When we got home, I warmed the leftover buns and we had chicken sandwiches for lunch.

Sydney Martin

Corn pasta salad with bacon and creamy pesto dressing was for dinner.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (49)

My little helper was back in action, helping me dice and prep all the vegetables.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (50)

While my daughter performed her sous-chef duties, I made the creamy pesto dressing and cooked the bacon.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (51)

In terms of assembling, all that was required was to throw everything together in a bowl and dinner was served!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (52)

We had lots of leftovers...

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (53)

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (54)

Breakfast was leftover bagels, and lunch was, begrudgingly, also leftovers.

For my birthday this year, my mother bought me supplies to make my own pasta. Now, my birthday was back in March, and I still had yet to give it a try. My husband and I like to cook fun things together on the weekends, and after I got a new pasta cookbook, we knew it was time to give it a try.

Sydney Martin

I decided to start with the basics in terms of pasta (although there are tons of recipes for different flavors and shapes) with a burst tomato sauce. I didn't actually have cherry tomatoes, but I did have some Roma tomatoes that I diced and used as a substitute.

I also didn't have any specialty flours, but the book says it's okay if you need to use all-purpose flour, which is exactly what I did.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (55)

In terms of making the dough, it really was very simple. Obviously not as convenient as boxed noodles, but the process was fun, and the texture so much heartier.

Sydney Martin

I could use some practice with cutting the noodles, as I was reminded that I'm unable to make a straight line even if my life depended on it.

Dinner was served — and my kids loved these! I couldn't keep up with their requests for more, and eventually we just ran out completely.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (56)

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (57)

When I woke up the next day, I made soft and fluffy white bread. It baked while I made oatmeal on the stove for breakfast.

Sydney Martin

Then we headed out for our morning exercise.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (58)

When we got home, I used the leftover pieces of bacon from when I made the corn pesto pasta salad, lettuce, and some of the sandwich bread to make BLTs. We actually had no T, but we made it work.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (59)

When dinner came around, I pulled out all the ingredients to make chicken taco poblano rice bowls.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (60)

The first step was to prep the vegetables and prepare the spice blend for the chicken.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (61)

I realized that I accidentally used all my tomatoes — so I was unable to make the pico that goes along with this recipe. Luckily, I had also bought salsa, so it wasn't a total goof.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (62)

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (63)

Breakfast was — you guessed it — eggs and toast.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (64)

After breakfast, I took my daughter to a dance camp that was put on by the high school team. Lots of excitement and adoration came from my daughter and focused on the dancers, and she spent the morning in absolute bliss.

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (65)

I packed ham sandwiches for lunch, and we went and ate them at the park afterward!

Sydney Martin

I also brought a few organic ice pops, even though these weren't on my grocery list for the week. I had these in my freezer from when my kids did an ice cream stand for the last day of school. The entire lunch pack freezes like an ice pack, making it much easier to pack freezer items on the go!

And that was my week! I hope this was helpful. Again, I don't share these plans assuming that people will replicate them exactly. Every household is SO different — from palate preferences to cost of living to the amount of time available to cook. Still, I hope this provides some inspiration for new recipes, new planning ideas, or how to work with whatever your budget may be. You can find more of my articles, with weeks' worth of plans, here!

For more, follow me on Instagram at @sydneyinsuburbia. That's where I give step-by-step breakdowns about how I plan my weeks, shop, and cook — hopefully helping you to do it too!

Here's How I Stretch A $120 Weekly Grocery Budget To Feed 5 People And Cover Nearly Every Meal (66)

And one last takeaway: Never let anyone make you feel bad for making a budget. People create budgets for all different reasons — necessity, savings, student loans, retirement, investments — and it's something you can feel proud of. You got this!