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ccording to government census records and FDA average food costs polls, the average to feed a family of four costs between $120 and $272 a week on food. That averages out to $30-$70 a person depending on the sizes and the ages of the individual in the household. The following are some menu ideas to feed a family of six for about $100 a week. That averages out to about $16 a person. Basically, it's a matter of finding easy recipes, planning ahead and watching the weekly grocery ads. Always look for ways to save time and money.Weekly Family Menu PlanUtilize a weekly family menu plan and incorporate restaurant style recipes into the plan. Most everyone enjoys eating at a restaurant, getting take-out or having pizza delivered. However, as the cost of dining out increases, many families are choosing to cut back on this luxury. Enjoy low cost restaurant stylefamily meals every night of the week with a few simple tips and easy recipes. With a little practice, it is possible to save big on a weekly menu that looks like this:

• Sunday breakfast: light bread rolls, lightly heated and spread with butter and cinnamon
• Sunday lunch: roast beef or pork roast, potatoes, carrots, green beans and rolls, peach cobbler
• Sunday night dinner: mini BBQ sandwiches, chips, leftover cobbler (sandwiches made from leftover roast)
• Monday thru Friday breakfast choices: cereal, crackers, yogurt and fruit, toast
• Monday lunch: macaroni and cheese straight out of the convenient box; just follow cooking directions. Make six boxes to use for several meals
• Monday night dinner: Tuna patties, Black eyed peas, macaroni and ceese, cole slaw
• Tuesday lunch: Tuna casserole, peaches and salad, casserole made from last nights macaroni and cheese, add tuna, green peas and cream of mushroom soup and milk
• Tuesday dinner: cornbread,">chicken and dumplings, crackers
• Wednesday lunch : Chicken salad sandwiches, chips, grapes and watermelon
• Wednesday night dinner: Pizza, spaghetti and salad
• Thursday lunch : Leftover spaghetti, garlic bread, salad
• Thursday night dinner: enchilada casserole, Spanish rice, salad
• Friday lunch: Leftover enchilada casserole and rice. Add chili, macaroni and cheese and salad or fruit to the meal
• Friday night dinner: hamburgers, chips, chocolate chip cookies
• Saturday lunch: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, rolls, peach cobbler
• Saturday night dinner: tempura chicken, beef and broccoli, eggrolls, rice, green beans – Buy the sweet and sour sauce from the local Chinese restaurant. Purchase eggrolls from Sam's or Wal-Mart

Tip & Tricks – Semi-Homemade Whenever PossibleSandra Lee from the Food Network has a show called Semi-Homemade. Her ideas are to incorporate homemade goodness with a few convenience foods to save time and money. Utilize these tips and tricks when planning the weekly family meals:

• Buy a $10 roast from the grocery store. Slice a little off the end, very thin, and marinate it in the sauce necessary for Saturday night's beef and broccoli. Cook the rest of the roast family style and after the Sunday night dinner, shred the remaining roast into pieces. Add BBQ sauce and use this for sandwiches Sunday night.
• Forget making your own rolls. Rhodes bread company market a large bag of 72 rise and bake rolls in grocery stores around the country. The bag of 72 rolls cost less than $4. On Friday, let a pan of these rolls rise throughout the day. Bake for 15 minutes on Friday night and place in an airtight container. Make enough to use with Saturday's fried chicken lunch, Sunday's breakfast and Sunday's roast lunch and Sunday night's mini BBQ sandwiches
• Chicken: Go ahead and buy the boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast. On sale, they are usually $2 a pound, and a family of four can eat well off about a pound at each meal. These are quick to defrost, cook and use. On Tuesday, cook about three pounds of boneless, skinless chicken. Simply bake it in the oven with a little salt and pepper. Half a pound can be chopped up and thrown in the chicken and dumplings. Half a pound can be used to make chicken salad. Refrigerate one pound to dredge in milk, egg and flour on Saturday for Saturday's fried chicken lunch. Refrigerate the last pound for Saturday's night tempura chicken
• For Mexican food, use corn tortillas, pinto beans, rice and turkey meat seasoned with taco seasoning. All three of these can be bought in bulk, are filling and can easily make many different meals. Cook up a pot of pinto beans. Make a meal one night of pinto beans, rice and cornbread. Brown the taco meat. Serve it up one day with pinto beans and rice, chips, cheese and salsa. Mix all of these ingredients together for a fabulous enchilada casserole or serve beans, rice and taco meat with tortillas to make wraps for one meal
• Pizza: Purchase cheap frozen pizzas and add toppings at home if necessary. One large frozen pizza, cut into small pieces can feed a family of six. Cut it into 12 pieces and give everyone two pieces. Wal-Mart & Sam's both sell a large four-cheese pizza for $6 and the pizza chain Little Cesar's offers a large one-topping pizza for $5, already cooked, hot and ready to eat.
• Hamburgers: Purchase double cheeseburgers from a fast food dollar menu.Only buy for half of the family. Bring the double cheeseburgers home and make them singles using your own buns and condiments. Buy French fries and onion rings or chips in bulk from Sam's.

Buy in Bulk and Watch Weekly Grocery AdsBuying in bulk becomes necessary as the family grows larger. Invest in a membership to a grocery warehouse club such as Sam's or Costco. Buy the basics in bulk: bread, buns, boneless, skinless chicken, spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles, rice, pinto beans, canned fruit and vegetables,cheese and flour. Compare prices on family favorites like pizza, French fries, onion rings and cheese. Watch weekly grocery sale ads and stock up on hamburger meat and pork roast or brisket when it's on sale. Planning ahead, buying in bulk when possible and stocking up when things go on sale can help the family save a bundle on weekly, monthly and yearly food costs.