Taco Salad and Menu for Monthly Shopping

This recipe is the FINAL one (YAY!) in a series on "A Month of Meal Plans and Groceries in 30 Minutes." - link HERE

We shop for a month at a time, for more explanation on how we do this see the above blog post link. It saves a ton of time, money, and calories from buying off plan items. The shopping list in the link above as well. Today I am going to share just what my weekly menu looks like; we repeat this menu four times for the month. We spend $500 a month and that includes extra of the food to feed both of our growing children as well as household items such as detergent.

	MON	TUES	WED
Breakfast	PB Cup Shake 245 Cal – 12 F – 9 C – 28.5 P	Loaded Oatmeal 313 cal – 10 F – 25 C – 31 P	PB Cup Shake 245 Cal – 12 F – 9 C – 28.5 P
Lunch	Apple Turkey Salad 505 cal – 14 F – 41 C – 33 P	6 oz chicken 1/2 cup rice 1 cup green beans 297 cal – 4 F – 30 C – 39 P	Burrito Bowl 519 cals – 4 F - 41 C  - 47 P
Snack	Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe Bar 180 cal – 5 F – 17 C – 20 P	Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe Bar 180 cal – 5 F – 17 C – 20 P	Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe Bar 180 cal – 5 F – 17 C – 20 P
Dinner	6 oz chicken 1/2 cup rice 1 cup green beans 297 cal – 4 F – 30 C – 39 P	Burrito Bowl 519 cals – 4 F - 41 C  - 47 P	Chicken Tacos 355 cals – 5 F – 39 C – 38 P
Dessert	1 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup strawberries 228 cal – 4 F – 14 C – 32 P	1 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup strawberries 228 cal – 4 F – 14 C – 32 P	1 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup strawberries 228 cal – 4 F – 14 C – 32 P
DAY TOTAL	1455 cal – 39 F – 111 C – 152.5 P	1537 cal – 27 F -127 C – 169 P	1527 cals – 30 F – 120 C -  165.5 P

	THURS	FRI	SAT	SUN – Maintenance Day
Breakfast	Loaded Oatmeal 313 cal – 10 F – 25 C – 31 P	PB Cup Shake 245 Cal – 12 F – 9 C – 28.5 P	Hashbrown Omlet 379 cal – 11 F – 23 C – 41 P	Hashbrown Omlet 379 cal – 11 F – 23 C – 41 P
Lunch	Chicken Tacos 355 cals – 5 F – 39 C – 38 P	Taco Salad 523 cals – 27 F – 24 C – 57 P	Lean Tuna Salad  365 cals – 4 F – 40 C – 47 P	Red Chili with Chicken and Beans  428 cal - 5 F  52 C -  41 P
Snack	Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe Bar 180 cal – 5 F – 17 C – 20 P	Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe Bar 180 cal – 5 F – 17 C – 20 P	Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe Bar 180 cal – 5 F – 17 C – 20 P	Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe Bar 180 cal – 5 F – 17 C – 20 P
Dinner	Taco Salad 523 cals – 27 F – 24 C – 57 P	Lean Tuna Salad  365 cals – 4 F – 40 C – 47 P	Red Chili with Chicken and Beans  428 cal - 5 F  52 C -  41 P	Apple Turkey Salad 505 cal – 14 F – 41 C – 33 P
Dessert	1 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt 1/2 cup strawberries Stevia as needed 169 cal – 0 F – 21 C – 24 P	1 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup strawberries 228 cal – 4 F – 14 C – 32 P	1 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt 1/2 cup strawberries Stevia as needed 169 cal – 0 F – 21 C – 24 P	1 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup strawberries 228 cal – 4 F – 14 C – 32 P
DAY TOTAL	1540 cals – 47 F – 126 C – 170 P	1541 cals – 52 F – 104 C – 184.5 P	1521 cals – 25 F – 153 C – 173 P	1720 cal – 39 F – 147 C – 167 P

Shopping List and Recipes HERE

Are these macros for everyone? No way. I am 5'9" and active,, If I were shorter, I would lighten up or eliminate the snacks and dessert options on all the days. My husband is 6'0" so he needs more calories even while dieting so he adds in a snack between breakfast and lunch along with more at his afternoon snack time. His macros are pretty much just increased by 25% to 2000 cals a day on a deficit day.

I serve the same exact dinners to my kids, we eat dinners every night together. They make some tweaks like they would have nachos instead of a taco salad, for example. The kids eat different things that they like at breakfast like a PB sandwich or frozen breakfast sandwich. They eat lunch at school or pack a tuna sandwich. But on the weekend, they like the omelets or oats that we eat, again we like to sit down to breakfast as a family.

Taco Salad

Serves 1

Ingredients

Baby Spinach , 2 Cups (or kale/romaine as desired)

Hamburger - 90% Lean Beef Burger, 8 ounces   

Black Beans, 0.5 cup  

Salsa, 2 TBSP

Cheddar, 0.25 cup, shredded  

Greek Nonfat Yogurt Plain, 2 TBSP

Taco Seasoning

Directions

Brown the beef as directed with taco seasoning. (I usually cook this up in bulk for the week!) Pile your lettuce of choice on your dish. Top with beef, beans, cheese, salsa, and Plain Greek yogurt. (Note- in the picture I left off the cheese to save 114 cals (and 0g Carbs - 9g F - 7g Protein))

Nutritional stats per serving

523 cals

24 g carbs

27 g fat

57 g protein