The beauteous bulb blooms are just coming up here, and we’re enjoying hikes in the woods and some playground time in between gloomy days. Silly New England weather can switch seasons multiple times in one day. We are enjoying the nicer weather and some fairy house adventures. I’m also in the mood for lighter fare and not clinging quite so desperately to my comfort food. Leeks! Leeks are back!

It’s a good thing this is all seasonal recipes. “May” is just a handy label for lovely things like asparagus and rhubarb. Unfortunately I totally suck at deadlines.

Offbeat holidays for this month are: Lei Day May 1st, Free Comic Book Day 3, Star Wars Day 3, Mother’s Day 11, Limerick Day 12, National Pizza Party Day 16, World Goth Day 22, Towel Day 25, and Hug Your Cat Day 30. Feel free to reflect these frivolous holidays in your meal planning. I know I will be hugging my cats mercilessly.

Ideas and resources for menu planning in March, many seasonal winter 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 use an alternative meal planning method, recipes 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.

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

In this post: Seasonal Produce ~ Recipes ~ Download PDF ~ Other Plans ~ Pinterest Boards

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Seasonal produce for May includes:

Apricots
Artichokes
Asparagus
Broccoli
Collards
Leeks
Rhubarb
Spinach
Spring Onions
Spring Peas
Strawberries

Epicurious Seasonal produce maps by state
CUESA Seasonal vegetables by month

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Recipes from the May Meal Plan (organized by how perishable ingredients are)

Tier 1/Most Perishable (ie broccoli, kale, leek, snow peas, spinach, shrooms)

Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas from The Garden Grazer
Broccoli Spinach Frittata with Caramelized Onions from Savory Lotus
Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole from Skinny Taste
Chicken with Leeks, Sun-Dried Tomatoes in White Wine Sauce from Skinny Taste
Chicken and Spring Vegetable Soup from Gnowfglins
Deep-Dish Spinach, Leek and Bacon Quiche from Foodie Crush
Easy Asparagus Quiche from Real Food by Dad
Fancy Sandwich Loaf from Saveur
Ham and Gruyere Quiche with Leeks from Good Cheap Eats
Roasted Broccoli Stuffed Shells from The Vintage Mixer
Sausage, Leek, and Spinach Quiche from My Kitchen Addiction
Spinach Artichoke Feta Quesadillas from The Garden Grazer
Spring Vegetable Stew from Eating Well
Spring Vegetable Stew from Nourished Kitchen
Sunburst Spring Vegetable Quiche with Puff Pastry from Well Plated Kitchen
Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Shells from the Fig Tree

Tier 2/Less Perishable (ie artichoke, asparagus, cabbage, mushroom, pepper, scallion)

Asparagus, Potato, and Spinach Galette from Woman’s Day
Asparagus-Tuna Casserole from Better Homes and Gardens
Asparagus and White Bean Soup with Lemon and Parmesan from Dishing Up the Dirt
Spring Asparagus Flatbread from Naturally Ella

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

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake from Better Homes and Gardens
Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde Sauce from Don’t Waste the Crumbs
Spring-Thyme Chicken Stew from Taste of Home

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!

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Other May Real Food Meal Plans

Meal Plan for May 4th to 10th from Being Frugal by Choice
Frugal Real Food Meal Plan May 2015 from Don’t Waste the Crumbs
2015 May Meal Plan from Letters to Sunnybrook
Grain Free Weekly Meal Plan 4/27-5/2 from Real Food Outlaws
Real Food Meal Plan Week 63 from Real Food Real Deals
Real Food Meal Plan: May 1, 2015 from Real Food Whole Life
Real Food Allergy-Free Meal Plan from Milo and Oats
Whole Foods May 2015 from Once a Month Meals
Weekly Meal Plan from So Chic Life
Our Real Food Meal Plan Week 13 from the Cooks Pyjamas

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May Meal Plan Pinterest Boards:

Meal Plan May (just look at all that tastiness!)

Recipes to Try Spring

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In this post: Seasonal Produce ~ Recipes ~ Download PDF ~ Other Plans ~ Pinterest Boards

How do you save money on your groceries?

*Also see our

Frugal Flexible Monthly Meal Planning OR

Free Retro Mid-Century Weekly Meal Plan Printable Template

We hope you enjoyed our May Real Food Monthly Menu Plan post for seasonal eating

What’s your favorite seasonal produce right now (you can’t say all of it)?

Photo credits: photo from aglet on Flickr

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