Ideas and resources for menu planning in March, many seasonal winter (and a couple spring) and real food recipes. Very simple ingredients, from scratch. As always, these are all frugal recipes intended for a tight budget. Real food/from scratch/traditional diet/nutrient dense/whole food/blah blah blah. My monthly meal plans are organized into tiers based on how perishable the ingredients are, not sorted into particular days.

*Attention real food purists/whole foodies – the recipes I link/pin are all from scratch, but some of them you may have to make substitutions or modifications. For example, I link recipes that have sugar, but you can substitute whatever your favorite sweetener is.

You can save so much money by planning your meals. Even if you only plan three days at a time, you can be more thrifty by planning ahead.

The universe conspired against me for pretty much the entire month of February. I tried desperately to get the meal plan done before the 1st, which is always my goal, but this month it was not to be. The good news is the Pinterest board has over 230 pins, for your meal plan window shopping pleasure.

*A “real” meal plan with shopping list is in the works, but Feb blew that plan up. Hopefully March is kinder to me.

*Don’t forget to read about how I meal plan at Frugal, Flexible Monthly Menu Planning!*

Seasonal produce for March includes:

Vegetables

Artichokes

Asparagus

Chives

Greens

Horseradish

Leeks

Lettuce (leaf and head)

Parsnips

Peas

Rhubarb

Shallots

Fruit

Grapefruit

Oranges

Epicurious Seasonal produce maps by state

CUESA Seasonal vegetables by month

Recipes from the March Meal Plan:

*What’s with these tier thingies?

Tier 1/Most Perishable (ie peppers, shrooms, broccoli)

Black Bean, Corn, and Spinach Enchiladas from We Got Real

Brown Rice-Quinoa Pilaf w/Butternut, Mushrooms & Kale from Poor Girl Eats Well

Chicken Yakisoba from Budget Bytes 30 min

Country Captain with Cauliflower and Peas from Bon Appetit

Curried Quinoa and Chicken Soup from Greens & Chocolate

Egg and Tater Breakfast Tacos from Poor Girl Eats Well

Fiesta Corn & Potato Chowder from Poor Girl Eats Well

Greek Chicken Dinner from Budget Bytes

Mexican Black Bean Lasagna from Woman’s Day 45 min

Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew from A Couple Cooks

New Orleans-Style Chicken from Taste of Home (Mardi Gras) 50 min

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Polenta Croutons from Poor Girl Eats Well

Sausage and White Bean Casserole from Family Bites

Zuppa Tuscana – Olive Garden Copy Cat from Wholesome Mommy

Tier 2/Less Perishable (ie cabbage, parsnip)



Cranberry-Orange Multi-Grain Snack Mix from Good Life Eats

Irish Colcannon and Thyme Leaf Soup from Cooking Light

Lentil Soup with Balsamic-Roasted Winter Vegetables from Cooking Light

New England Boiled Dinner from Simply Recipes (St Patrick’s Day with ham)

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie from Vegetarian Times

Tier 3/Pantry or Make It Whenever (ie carrot, onion)

Irish Grilled Cheese from Food Network Magazine 20 min

Jackson’s Chinese Chicken Soup from Family Bites

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potato Mash from Simple Bites

Morning Glory Muffins from Budget Bytes

Moroccan Stir Fry from Wellness Mama 30 min

Protein Rich Soup – Carrot Ginger with Lentils from Food Babe

Slow Cooker Sprouted Lentil Soup from Nourishing Days

Slow-Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken & Vegetables from Simple Bites

Traditional New Orleans King Cake from Taste of Home (Mardi Gras)

From Scratch Ingredients and Other Doodads

Homemade Baileys Irish Cream from Brown Eyed Baker

Irish Soda Bread from Saveur (St Patrick’s Day)



Download PDF. This has the links in the order listed above. Keep in mind I don’t limit myself to particular days, so this is not in order by date. Save it to your desktop and you will always have a quick reference when you’re hunting dinner, you probably have the ingredients for Tier 3 recipes at this very moment!

March Meal Plan Pinterest Boards:

Other March Real Food/Whole Food Meal Plans

Bi-Weekly Whole Food Meal Plan from The Better Mom subscribe for shopping list

Crumbs (Frugal) Real Food Meal Plan from Don’t Waste the Crumbs monthly

Free Weekly Real Food Meal Plan from Growing Up Herbal

Menu Plan from Finding Joy in my Kitchen

Menu Week of March 2 from Real Food for Less Money

Real Food Meal Plan from Real Food Real Deals

Real Food Meal Plan Kit from Live Simply includes shopping list

Real Food Weekly Meal Plan from Real Food Outlaws

Whole Foods February 2014 Menu from Once A Month Meals

Participated in Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Clever Chicks, Down Home Blog Hop, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Fat Tuesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Full Plate Thursday, Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural, Hearth and Soul Hop, Home Acre Hop, Homemaking Link-Up, Homestead Barn Hop, Let’s Get Real, Menu Plan Monday, Meal Planning Monday, Mostly Homemade Mondays, Natural Living Monday, Penny Pinching Party, Real Food Friday, Real Food Wednesday, Save Money Monday, Simple Lives Thursday, Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Thrifty Thursday, and Tuned in Tuesday linky parties.

We hope you enjoyed our March Real Food Monthly Menu Plan post

Photo credits:

Kitchen corner photo from Ian Sommerville on Flickr

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