$20 Dollar Tree Meal Plan

So first things first, I need to state up front that this is not meant to provide all the nutrition a person needs. This is an emergency meal plan. This is for those weeks when your hours get cut at work, when your battery dies in your car, when your co-worker came into work with the plague and now you’re the one with doctor bills. Yanno, during an emergency situation. This will float you for a week without going too hungry. (I hope, but I don’t know your appetite, I don’t know your life!) Also up front, if you’re facing food insecurity and this is all the money you have on a regular basis, please please please seek out resources in your local area. Food banks, churches, etc. Everyone deserves to eat.

There will be repetition. You will probably be tired of the food before the week runs out. But I hope I’ve provided enough variety that you won’t hate me by the end of the week.

Shopping List:

That’s sixteen items. At $1.25 each, your total before any local taxes will be $20. This emergency plan does presume that you have some basic cooking oil, salt and pepper in your pantry. 

There are a few other side notes you should be aware of:

• While Dollar Tree has finally started carrying eggs again, I’ve seen better prices on a dozen at Aldi and Walmart.
• The Hunt’s pasta sauce in the can is also a better price at Walmart than Dollar Tree.
• The box of instant oatmeal at Dollar Tree only has six packages in it. Aldi and Walmart carry boxes of 10 packages, and are again the better purchase if you have one available to shop.
• Not all Dollar Trees will carry the two patty packages of frozen burgers. Some carry a two pound box of 8 patties for $5. Which may be affordable for you, or not. If yours doesn’t carry either of these items, feel free to sub in a different protein like a package of hot dogs, or a hot smoked sausage. Either can work in the spaghetti.
• Sometimes. Sometimes! They will carry two-pound bags of dried beans over the one-pound. If you can find one of those, you’ll get more food for your money even if it’s a different type of bean. Here’s a guide on cooking your dried beans.
• If your local Dollar Tree doesn’t carry the big cans of peaches, check the freezer section for some frozen fruit instead. The 20 oz bags of strawberries, mixed fruit blend, or mango chunks are the better buy than the 10 oz bags of blueberries. But you do you.
• For this particular meal plan, I opted for spaghetti. A 20 oz box of macaroni noodles will also work in this menu, just think macaroni instead of spaghetti and it’s all good. It’s pasta!
• The ramen can either be made as a stir fry with a fried egg on top, or as a soup with a boiled egg floated on top. The frozen stir-fry blend in the shopping list is intended to be served with the ramen in either method.
• You will notice there are more servings than meals in the week. Feel free to adjust portion sizes to your hunger and/or mix and match items in a meal.

The Meals!

Breakfasts

Lunches and Dinners

If you have an extra $5!

Add any four of the following items to make your meals nicer, or bulk up the food: