5 Dinners, 6 Servings Each, $47.

Kathleen Spangler
Jun 1
6 min read

Here's Exactly What I Made.

I'm going to start doing these weekly because I genuinely cannot find what I'm looking for when I search for family meal plans online. Everything I come across is either budget-friendly but loaded with carbs and zero protein, or high protein but $200 in groceries for three meals. Nobody is hitting all of it at the same time: high protein, Weight Watchers friendly, family of four, fast enough for a Tuesday, and cheap.

Five dinners. Six servings per meal so my husband and I both have lunch the next day. Roughly $47 in purchased groceries. The rest came from my freezer (I have a cow share, so beef costs me nothing week to week) and pantry staples I already had.

Here are the meals, the ingredients, and how to make them.

The Cost Breakdown

Here's the honest number. I spent about $47 on dinner-specific ingredients this week at Aldi. That covered chicken breasts, ground turkey, sweet potatoes, carrots, romaine, broccoli, yellow potatoes, avocados, black beans, salsa, and rice. I bought 5 pounds of chicken instead of 3 because it was on sale, which means two of those pounds are already in my freezer for next week. So this week effectively cost even less, and next week costs less too.

The ground beef and short ribs came out of my deep freezer from a cow share we split with family. If you don't have a cow share, ground beef at Aldi runs around $5-6 per pound, which would bring the total closer to $60-65. Still not bad for 30 servings.

Everything else, olive oil, spices, Greek yogurt, cooking spray, was already in the house.

The Meals

Southwest Chicken Quesadillas

Why this works: This is a Monday meal, which means I have about 20 minutes and zero patience. Canned chicken gets a bad reputation but seasoned right and stuffed into a quesadilla, nobody knows the difference. High protein, Weight Watchers friendly, and the kids eat it without a fight because it's basically a cheesy wrap.

Serves: 6 (4 dinner + 2 adult lunch portions)

Ingredients:

2 cans canned chicken breast, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup mild salsa
1.5 cups shredded colby jack cheese
6 carb control wraps (the whole family uses these)
Cooking spray
Salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder to taste

Directions:

Drain canned chicken and break it up in a bowl. Add black beans, salsa, and seasoning. Mix until combined.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
Lay a wrap flat, add a layer of cheese, a scoop of the chicken mixture, then another layer of cheese on top.
Fold wrap in half and cook 3-4 minutes per side until golden and crispy.
Slice and serve. Done.

Protein note: Each serving comes in around 30-35g protein depending on wrap size and fill amount.

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Roasted Veggies

Why this works: This is the kind of meal that sounds like effort but requires about 10 minutes of hands-on time. You season everything, throw it in the oven, and cook the chicken while the veggies finish. Weight Watchers friendly because the potatoes are zero points on their own, the chicken is lean, and nothing is swimming in a heavy sauce.

Serves: 6 (4 dinner + 2 adult lunch portions)

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken breasts
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups carrots, cut into coins
2 medium yellow potatoes, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Toss broccoli, carrots, and potatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a sheet pan and roast 20-25 minutes.
While veggies roast, season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and minced garlic.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 5-6 minutes per side until cooked through.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice over chicken before serving. Plate with roasted veggies.

Portion note: Each serving comes in around 30-35g protein depending on wrap size and fill amount.

Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Bowls

Why this works: This is a Wednesday meal, which is my other long commute day. Under 25 minutes, one skillet, one sheet pan. The sweet potato roasts while the beef browns, everything comes together in a bowl. High protein, naturally sweet, and the Greek yogurt on top is a straight swap for sour cream that nobody notices.

Serves: 6 (4 dinner + 2 adult lunch portions)

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground beef (from freezer)
3 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
Olive oil
Garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper
Salsa for topping
Plain nonfat Greek yogurt for topping (in place of sour cream)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cube sweet potatoes, toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast 20-22 minutes until tender.
While potatoes roast, brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season with garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Build bowls: sweet potato base, seasoned beef, a spoonful of salsa, a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.

Protein note: Ground beef runs about 22g protein per 4 oz. Add the Greek yogurt and you're well over 30g per serving.

Slow Cooker Beef Short Rib Bowls

Why this works: This is the Thursday meal, which my husband makes. The rule in our house is that Thursday is his night, so everything has to be either already staged or simple enough that I'm not leaving instructions in a notebook. Short ribs in the slow cooker are exactly that. You season them in the morning, set the slow cooker, and dinner is ready when everyone gets home. The beef shreds and the whole thing goes over rice with avocado and salsa. It's the kind of meal that feels like you spent all day on it.

Serves: 6 (4 dinner + 2 adult lunch portions)

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef short ribs (from freezer)
1 cup beef bone broth
Garlic powder, salt, pepper
2 cups dry white rice, cooked per package directions
2 avocados, sliced
Salsa for topping

Directions:

Season short ribs generously with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Place in slow cooker with beef bone broth. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 4-5 hours.
Shred beef with two forks directly in the slow cooker.
Cook rice according to package directions.
Build bowls: rice base, shredded short rib, sliced avocado, salsa on top.

Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Why this works: This is Friday and I want something that feels light after a week of heavier meals. Ground turkey is one of the leanest proteins you can buy, the whole thing comes together in under 25 minutes, and romaine leaves as the wrap keeps it low carb without trying to be a diet meal. The soy sauce and honey give it enough flavor that it doesn't taste like health food.

Serves: 6 (4 dinner + 2 adult lunch portions)

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs ground turkey (93% lean)
1 head romaine, leaves separated
1 cucumber, diced
1 cup carrots, shredded (from the 2 lb bag you already have)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown ground turkey in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks.
Season with salt and pepper. Add soy sauce and honey, stir to coat. Cook another 2 minutes.
Set out romaine leaves as your wraps. Fill with turkey, diced cucumber, and shredded carrots.
Serve immediately.

Protein note: Ground turkey runs 22-24g protein per 4 oz, and this is one of the lighter meals on the plate so the protein does the heavy lifting.

Why These Meals Are Different

Most of the meal plans I see online are picking two of these three things: budget, speed, or nutrition. You get cheap and fast but the protein is low. You get high protein and fast but the cost is $15 a meal. You get cheap and high protein but it takes an hour and a half on a Sunday and then you're eating the same thing five days in a row.

These meals hit all three. They're designed around a real family with kids who need something recognizable on their plate, two adults who want high protein and are tracking Weight Watchers, and a weekly grocery budget that doesn't have room to go sideways.

The other thing nobody talks about: lunch. If you're buying lunch every day for two adults that's $20-30 gone before you even think about it. Every single one of these dinners scales to six servings on purpose. Four at dinner, two packed for lunch the next day. That's five days of adult lunches covered inside the same $47 grocery run.

Get the Full Meal Plan PDF

Download the printable meal plan when you It includes all five dinners with portions and ingredients laid out in one place so you're not scrolling through your phone while standing at the stove.

All meals planned and cooked by Kathleen at Efficient Mom Life. Grocery shopping done at Aldi. Freezer beef is from a local cow share.