One complaint I hear A LOT about eating healthy is that it's too darn expensive and that it’s impossible to eat healthy on a budget.
Sound familiar?
And - I totally agree...chia seeds, pure maple syrup, matcha powder, and the like can get kinda pricey...
BUT there's way more to healthy eating on a budget than those ingredients (which you can totes buy in bulk for much cheaper, by the way). I wanna show you how you can totally eat on a budget and still be full, satisfied, and healthy.
So, I decided to put my money where my mouth is, peeps. I went to Whole Foods and bought as many fresh and nutritious foods as possible, all the while staying under a $75 budget.
With just $75 to spend, my goal was to get enough healthy groceries to prep 5 meals for 5 days.
So...did I do it??
YES! I’m happy to say I walked out spending just $71.44 which meant I even had a few dollars to spare! [Happy dance.]
For protein, I bought chicken thighs, chicken breast, plain greek yogurt, peanut butter, walnuts, and lean ground beef. For produce, I got bananas, apples, a yellow onion, garlic, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, green onions, spinach, a lemon, and a bag of carrots. For my starches, I purchased rolled oats, brown rice (which bought in the bulk section so I could get just the amount I needed and at a cheaper price). I also purchased honey, raisins, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and dijon mustard.
The ONLY things I didn’t purchase for this meal prep was olive oil and basic spices and dried herbs, like salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
Okay so now that we’ve gone over the groceries, it was time to prep all the food. Check out the video (below) to see every step for how to prep all the meals you would need for a healthy diet for an entire week (including snacks!), all assembled and prepped in about 3 hours. Thats right - we’re gonna prep enough food for 3 large meals and two snacks for an entire week! Meal prep is amazeballs.
$75 Whole Foods Meal Plan Challenge
What did I make? SO glad you asked!
- Breakfast: Cinnamon and Honey Oatmeal with Walnuts and Sliced Banana.
- Light Snack: Fresh Apple Slices With Peanut Butter & Raisins
- Lunch: Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Heavier Afternoon Snack: Baked Sweet Potato Topped With Spinach, Chicken & Greek Yogurt
- Dinner: Dijon-Roasted Chicken & Carrots.
To get the full PDF of all these recipes, click here and make this entire meal plan for yourself.
See? Healthiness, deliciousness, and cheapness. My kinda stuff right here!
If you enjoyed this 5 day meal plan video on a budget, check out my 7-Day Meal Plan for Weight Loss post!
Hereine
i really appreciated this meal plan guide. i think it will work really well. although i think i may prefer to prepare daily. i dont mind. the money would normally spent unwisely anyway if i didnt have something intentional to use it on. so i am not sure what the negative remarks are referring to as i am sure that this is only meant to try and help. i am definitely keen to try and may just cater to my needs and budget to. but i love the plans.
Judily
15 dollars a day per person is high!
That's 450 dollars per person per month (plus olive oil, etc).
=900 for couple, 1800 for family with 2 big teens
In what wold is 15 dollars a day for ingredients a low cost budget.
I live on my own, in a major city, buy only organic, buy premade food (hummus, patés, etc) often enough, and luxuries like kombucha and coconut water and all gluten free and some gluten free snacks; berries, gluten-free fresh bread, etc, without limiting myself in the food department, and spend the same amount as your "low budget". I was hoping to find a way to spend less, but I only see a way to work more and have the same meal 5 days a in a row. (I can go for 2-3 days in a row but after than most meals get a bit repetitive, and im no novelty freak).
Jessie
I buy bulk, mostly whole chicken & turkey instead of breasts & thighs only. I buy meat from Butcher and Asian market for seafood. I make my own stock from scraps. I spot for sale weekly for fresh produce and make sure I'm stocked up for various types of protein which can be frozen. I spent about Cdn$400 a month for 2 people. I think the meal prep is only for illustration and Whole Food is notoriously expensive. There are many ways to save money if we plan it.
Kendra Vonda
I really appreciate this comment. I am trying to get on track with my money and i seriously thought 75 dollars was good LOL.
Gina S
Lacey,
This is so wonderful. I am trying to get myself back on track and was looking for a guide. I plan on going out today and purchasing all of these items to prep for myself and my husband. My only question is can you tell me the approximate calorie range for this entire day's meals?
Thank you so very much for this help, I need it!!
Danny
This made me laugh. The goals of meal prep are, in order of importance, eat healthy, save money, more convenience and time.
If you are spending more than $35 (maximum) a week to feed one person for 5 days, you might as well just not prep at all. Go to trop smoothie or Publix deli and enjoy two meals a day at $7.50 each. 3 hours a week meal prepping is also absurd. If it takes longer than an hour, you can probably just go pick up lunch everyday and have more time to do what you like.
Lastly, everything on your list could easily be made with one or two less ingredients or sourced from somewhere that you’re paying less than half the price. I can’t imagine a person who wants to lose weight and save money taking this article seriously. The Whole Paychecks is probably a sponsor of this post. Most people who stick to a diet and exercise plan do so because it’s affordable and easy.
Sparknotes: i meal prep 10-12 meals a week for an average of $32 a week at lucky’s, thrifty, Aldi, or Walmart, in an hour’s time. Look for bodybuilding.com posts from community or elsewhere for easier and healthier alternatives. No matter what your income is, think of what you would do with an additional $4,000 a year in terms of investments or travel. Don’t let the internet tell you there is anything wrong with baked chicken and rice, Greek yogurt, protein shakes, variety salads, and fresh fruits.
Judily
Danny I agree it is high. (see my post above). But Walmarts and Cie at prices citedis probably non-organic. (and also may pose some other ethical problems-hiring, monopoly- a changing phenomenon to watch as policies change ).. Recently I read that one is 25% more likely to get cancer if one eats non-organic. I would look for a middle ground between Walmarts and the article above. I'm with you in terms of the foods you listed as healthy, (minus much rice in my own personal case -I'd just have a tiny bit-as I have to watch weight as I get older = less carbs).
In terms of time and effort it looks like she is making some fancy dishes but just 1x a week, pre-preparing them, so that's ok. though I have worked in very frugal community kitchens and the message was to toss cooked veggies out after 2 days (could serve the next day and that's it) and cooked grains after 4 days, for health reasons. I'm sure that was required to avoid toxins. though public meal prep is more stringent, cooking at home doesn't change the realities of chemistry. cooked veggies 3-4 days later is not always top notch (except for some very saucy dishes). Often they lack flavour after some days, which means the food is breaking down.
Stephen
Here's an idea for you. If you don't like this, move along. Don't make snide comments on someone's hard work because you feel like you're "better". She said she spent $75 at Whole Foods for a week of meal prep, not Walmart/Aldi/Random other grocers you go to. I'm sure she could EASILY spend $30 a week at those places. Move along Karen, go speak to a manager elsewhere.
BADFoote
You sort of missed the whole boat here dude. The object was to to to one store and buy grocery so you could eat clean, organic, whole foods. Yes going to a deli is cheaper, but not clean and organic. Healthy food costs more. Yes, Walmart is cheap, but you really have to look to find anything that is organic. So you're comparing apples and pineapples. I'm sure if she was looking to save every penny she would have gone to 5 stores finding the cheapest food she could. The premise of the video wasn't how cheap you can make meal prep, it was 5 days of meals from Whole Foods (which is known for everything in the store being organic--and that's what she did.