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!*

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

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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

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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)

Caramelized Onion and Root Vegetable Pot Pies from Simple Bites
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!

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March Meal Plan Pinterest Boards:

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

Recipes to Try Winter

Recipes to Try Spring

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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

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

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.

Featured on:

Save Money Monday on Frugality Gal

*Also see our Frugal, Flexible Monthly Menu Planning
OR

Weekly Meal Plan Printable Template

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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