It’s January 2026!
According to Canada’s Food Price Report for 2026, a family of 4 will spend $17,571.79 on groceries this year — that’s up $994.63 from 2025!
That’s $1464.32 a month.
That’s roughly $366 a week.
NEW CHALLENGE!!!
Let’s feed me, my husband, our 17 year old and our 13 year old for about HALF that and make a week long menu plan for under $183!
Ninja and I keep a running tab of all our grocery expenditures. This is our spending for December.
We spent $642.83 and used $30 in points, leaving our monthly spending at $602.83 we clearly went under our budget this month coming in $97.17 under for the month.
The Grand Total for ALL of our groceries and toiletries for the entire year was $8070.00 which is under budget by $1030.00 for the year! We used $550 worth of PC Points this year but even if we hadn’t, we still would have been under.
Here is the January weekly meal plan staying close to my budget of $183! I want you to have all the tools to be able to feed your family 7 healthy(ish) meals, while not putting yourself into the poorhouse! I hope you enjoy and please let me know if you follow this weekly plan and if you were able to stick to the budget! Click on the recipe listed in the MENU below and it will take you directly to the recipe!!
MENU
Sunday: Ham and Swiss Croissant Casserole
Monday: Ground Turkey Rice Bowl with Bang Bang Sauce
Tuesday: Garlic Bread Sloppy Joes
Wednesday: Drunken Noodles
Thursday: Tater Tots Poutine
Friday: Cheesy Baked Chicken Breast with Peppers & Air Fried Potatoes
Saturday: Pepper Steak Stir-Fry with Rice
SHOPPING LIST:
STAPLE ITEMS:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon sesame oil
6 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ginger
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
2-4 tablespoons hot sauce
2-3 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons + 4 teaspoons honey
3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons corn starch
½ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
3/4 cup butter
3 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 lb ground beef
1 ¼ onion
1 teaspoon mustard
¾ cup ketchup
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup cheddar
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1-3 teaspoons red chile flakes
2 cups beef broth
4 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon Better than bouillon
3-4 chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup soy sauce
1½ pounds flank steak
NEED TO BUY ITEMS:
5 large croissants
8 oz ham, diced
2 cups Swiss cheese
10 eggs
1 ½ cups half and half
8 green onions
1 lb ground turkey
1 loaf French bread
5 bell peppers, assorted colours
8 ounces wide rice noodles
1 package frozen tater tots
6 oz cheese curds
1 cucumber
parsley
1 red onion
GARNISH: 1-2 carrots, cucumber, pickled red onions, sliced green onion, sesame seeds, parsley
SUNDAY: Ham and Swiss Croissant Casserole
This is very similar to My Mom’s Famous Christmas Breakfast but more decadent and well, my Kids will eat this version LOL. When I was a kid I was excited fro Mom’s Christmas breakfast all year! We only got it on Christmas morning and it was SO good. I have eaten/made it every year of my life. And my Kids hate it! Bahahaha. Next year I will have to make this dish for them because it was scrumptious and I didn’t hear 1 complaint as everyone scarfed breakfast/dinner down.
Ham and Swiss Croissant Casserole
4-6
servings15
minutes60
minutesIngredients
5 croissants, cubed
8 oz ham, diced
2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
10 eggs
1 ½ cups half and half
4 green onions, sliced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Layer half the croissants, half the ham, and half the cheese. Repeat layers.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, green onions, mustard, salt, and pepper.
Pour mixture over the croissant mixture making sure it is all covered. Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
When ready to bake, remove casserole from fridge and let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 25-35 minutes or until top is browned and the centre is set. Garnish with green onions.
MONDAY: Ground Turkey Rice Bowls with Bang Bang Sauce
We love these fresh and easy meals, even in January! We loved every bit of this dinner. HBear asked if her BF could eat over that night and halfway through he finally looked up from his bowl and was like, “what’s this called?” haha he really liked it too. This is a perfect pallet cleanser for all those heavy comfort dishes we have been eating over the holidays.
Ground Turkey Rice Bowls with Bang Bang Sauce
4
servings10
minutes15
minutesIngredients
1 lb ground turkey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ginger, grated
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons hot sauce
2-3 tablespoons chicken broth
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
- Bang Bang Sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
½-1 tablespoon hot sauce, to your taste
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- Rice Bowl
Rice, pickled carrots, cucumbers, red onions, and sliced green onions.
Directions
Add all of the bang bang sauce ingredients to a small bowl. Whisk well to combine. Chill until ready to serve.
Over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of sesame oil to a large skillet, Add ground turkey and break into pieces. When turkey is browned and cooked through, turn heat to medium-low heat and add in remaining ingredients, except the cornstarch.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle the corn starch over top and stir to combine. Just before serving, stir in 2 tablespoons of the bang bang sauce into the meat.
Add rice and pickled veggies to a bowl and spoon the ground turkey mixture in and then drizzle bang bang sauce over top. Garnish with sliced green onions.
TUESDAY: Garlic Bread Sloppy Joes
This dinner reminded me of my childhood, or at least the flavours of my childhood. Yummy meat sauce on garlic bread toasted with melty cheese? Ummm, yes please! It may not photograph well but boy did it taste good! No leftovers at all.
Garlic Bread Sloppy Joes
4
servings5
minutes25
minutesIngredients
1/2 loaf French bread
½ cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, separated
1 lb ground beef
¼ onion, chopped
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
¾ cup ketchup
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup water
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar, shredded
parsley, chopped for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut the loaf of bread in half and slice lengthwise into two halves. Place both halves of the bread onto the lined baking sheet, cut side up.
In a small bowl, combine the butter and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Spread the butter mixture over the cut sides of the bread. Set aside.
In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef and onions until the beef is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Drain grease. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, salt, pepper, and water, mixing until combined.
Divide the sloppy joe mixture between both sides of the loaves and top with the mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into pieces and serve with parsley for garnish.
WEDNESDAY: Drunken Noodles
The only thing I can say that I regret about this dish is that I didn’t add carrots. If I were you, I would definitely do that. That’s what I love about these dishes, as you cook more, you find what goes together and you feel more confident taking recipes off blogs like this, and making them your own. This was a delicious dish that I usually order from our favourite Thai restaurant but saved the money and made it, just as well, at home! Win! You could also add a meat to this dish f you want, but its just as satisfying without, I promise.
Drunken Noodles
4
servings15
minutes15
minutesIngredients
8 ounces wide rice noodles
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-3 teaspoons red chile flakes
1 bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
3/4 cup frozen edamame beans
4 green onions, sliced
- Sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons fish sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
Directions
To a bowl, add all sauce ingredients, whisk to combine. Set aside.
Cook noodles in boiling water according to package directions taking care not to overcook, drain, toss with a tiny bit of oil so they don't stick together and set aside.
To a wok add oil. Add the bell peppers, green onions, edamame beans, and red chili flakes and stir fry for about 2-3 minutes, or until crisp-tender; stir very frequently.
Add the cooked noodles, pour the sauce over, and toss with a tongs to coat the noodles evenly with the sauce and mix in the veggies.
THURSDAY: Tater Tot Poutine
We are always trying to find new vessels to use to get gravy and cheese curds into our mouths. This week, it was tater tots! A local brewery in town makes tater tots as a Mexican side dish and I LOVE them. Sometimes when I don’t feel well, my stomach is nauseous from the constant pain and I don’t want to eat, Ninja brings me home their tater tots and I just can’t say no lol. This is my second favourite way to eat tater tots but the bar is pretty high so take it for what it’s worth, this was good.
Tater Tot Poutine
4
servings10
minutes30
minutesIngredients
28 oz tater tots, frozen
6 oz cheese curds
2 cups beef broth
4 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoon flour
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon
salt and pepper, to taste
Garnish: parsley, chopped
Directions
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk continuously for about 2 minutes.
Gradually add half of the beef broth, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Then, add remaining broth and whisk in garlic powder, onion powder, and Better Than Bouillon. Let it come to a boil until thick. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Preheat air fryer to 400℉. Place tater tots in the air fryer in a single layer. Cook the tater tots in the air fryer for 15-20 minutes, shaking the halfway through the cooking time to ensure even crisping. Cook until the tater tots are golden brown and crispy.
Place cooked tater tots on plates. Sprinkle with cheese curds evenly over the hot tater tots. Pour hot gravy over the tater tots and cheese curds.
FRIDAY: Cheesy Baked Chicken Breast with Peppers
We eat more chicken breasts in the summer the we do in the winter. There’s just something about BBQ chicken. However, when we do have chicken we like to bake it, add peppers and cover it in cheese! This is a delicious winter dish that we paired with pillowy air fried potatoes.
Cheesy Baked Chicken Breast with Peppers
4
servings10
minutes30
minutesIngredients
3-4 chicken breasts
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Fresh parsley for garnish
Directions
Set oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking dish.
Place chicken in the dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Rub seasoning evenly on both sides.
Toss sliced peppers and onions with remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Arrange them around and over the chicken.
Bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165°F.
Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan over the chicken and peppers. Return to oven for 3–5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with parsley.
SATURDAY: Pepper Steak Stir-Fry
Ninja loves steak but I am having a harder and harder time eating a big red steak. I prefer to slice it up so everyone can choose how much they want. This also saves money and there is less waste. I love a good flat iron steak. It makes a perfect stir-fry and perfect fajitas. It’s just a fact. We served this delicious dish over a bed of yummy rice.
Pepper Steak Stir-Fry
4
servings10
minutes40
minutesIngredients
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
1½ pounds flank steak, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, water, cornstarch, and honey, set aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced peppers, season with salt and pepper, and saute for 3 to 5 minutes, until just tender. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet, increase the heat to high, and add the steak. Sprinkle with the garlic powder, season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Return the peppers to the pan with the steak and reduce heat to medium. Whisk the sauce ingredients again and pour over the steak and peppers mixture. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.
Serve over rice.
Thank you to A Pinch of Joy, Crazy Little Lovebirds and The House on Silverado for featuring my New Year’s Treats Post and my x post at their Busy Monday Link Party Crazy Little Lovebirds Link Party and Sundays on Silverado last week.
This week HBear got her grad photos back and her Winter Formal photos back. I continued my Yoga with Adriene practice, Ninja finished his Xmas puzzle, SBean went shopping and jumped back into gymnastics plus we celebrated CPatch’s 9th birthday! HBear started her online Simon Fraser University digital media class and the final curtain fell on Charlie Brown, HBear’s last high school musical.
13 thoughts on “January: 7 Day Meal Plan”
That looks like such a varied and delicious menu!
Thank you! Eight years of university definitely did not prepare me to think of new dinners every day for the rest of my life lol but I enjoy the challenge. Thanks for stopping by!
Definitely going to try some of these. Thank you for sharing.
I am so up for the Drunken Noodles and Bang Bang Turkey bowl! I love spicy and flavorful! Thanks for sharing the recipes
I like spicy too! Both of those recipes can be adjusted to your spice level, as my children are at a minus one lol we always adjust accordingly as well. Thank you so much for stopping by!
Wow, what a great challenge. And these recipes look delicious! Tater tot poutine would be a fun twist, I think. Visiting from the Sweet Tea & Friends linkup.
Whatever vehicle will get the gravy and cheese curds in my mouth fastest works for me! Lol thanks so much for stopping by, see you again soon 🙂
Your ‘ground turkey rice bowl’ is absolutely delicious! Thank you.
Oh, I’m so glad to hear that! I had some feedback today telling me I forgot to put how much cornstarch into the ingredients! Lol sorry about that. I’m glad it turned out well! Thank you so much for letting me know. 😊
Thanks so much for sharing your January: 7Day Meal Plan with us. I am featuring your awesome post at Full Plate Thursday, 778 this week. You have a wonderful week and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you so much! I appreciate it. Happy new year to you!
Kristen these ,meals sound great. All of them. I love poutine too.
Thanks bunches for sharing with Sweet Tea & friend’s This month dear friend.
Can you ever go wrong with poutine? No way! Thanks for having me, see you again soon.