here are my best tips for creating a cheap, healthy meal plan for the week ( to feed two adults and two kids ) based on a budget of $ 100, plus cheap recipe ideas to try for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. And do n’t miss the shopping tilt below !
Low-Cost Healthy Meal Planning Tips
Follow these tips for creating a healthy meal plan on a budget each week .
1. Scan the weekly grocery deals
Proteins, like chicken or gripe, tend to be the most dearly-won items on the grocery list, so build a meal design around items that are on sale. Consider seasonal produce, which tends to be cheaper, like asparagus in the spring and fresh berries in the summer.
2. Build a budget-friendly fridge and pantry
Keep a stock of bum staples like eggs and canned tuna that can be used in multiple meals throughout the week. hard-bitten eggs add protein to your dawn avocado goner or your child ‘s lunchbox. Canned tuna becomes an easy meal-prep fill for lunch wraps and doubles as melts for a quick dinner. When shop, keep an eye out for deals and stock up when stuff goes on sale.
3. Write in a few meatless meals
pound for syrian pound, plant-based proteins like lentils and displace beans are a steal compared to animal proteins ( and some actually contain more protein than meat ). Plus, inquiry suggests that eating more plants is good for our health. Add in a few meatless options throughout the workweek for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
4. Plan on theme nights for dinner
Assigning theme-night meals based on unlike meal types ( like Slow-Cooker Sunday, Meatless Monday or Stir-Fry Friday ) or based on pantry staples like brown rice and whole-grain pasta ( think Rice Bowl Thursday or Pasta Wednesday ) is a dependable way to stick to your budget and besides reduce meal-planning decision fatigue duty. Adding in a leftover night ( or two ! ) is besides a beneficial idea.
5. Stretch the leftovers.
Pack up tonight ‘s leftovers for tomorrow ‘s lunch, or transform whatever is left into another meal for the family. Make loaded sweet potatoes with leftover chili, a frittata to use up any remaining fudge spaghetti noodles, or burrito with the survive of a roast chicken.
What I’m Making This Week
This workweek, I ‘m keeping things dim-witted with no-cook breakfast options, versatile meal-prep lunches and kid-friendly dinners that come together in about 30 minutes or less. To minimize food waste and save on groceries, I ‘ll use many of the same ingredients for multiple meals .
Breakfast
Whole-wheat toast with nut butter and banana
Planning simple, quick breakfasts I can serve in minutes is key to less-chaotic mornings in our house. I ‘ll meal-prep a boastful batch of overnight oats to be eaten on demand during the workweek or packed up to-go. Or, I ‘ll toast a push-down storage of wheaten bread and let everyone choose their toppings. On the Menu
- Overnight oats with sliced banana or berries
- Whole-wheat toast with nut butter and banana, or with avocado and sliced hard-boiled egg
Budget Ingredients Rolled oats, wheaten bread, banana, freeze berries
Lunch
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We keep lunch extra-easy in my sign of the zodiac with snack-style lunches for the kids and salads or rice bowl for the adults. Meal-prepping a few ingredients in advance minimizes cooking during the week and allows everyone to help assemble their own lunch. I like to have a couple of protein options, a batch of cook grains, and some washed boodle and cut vegetables on hand. Check out our best base recipes for meal homework for inspiration for what to make. On the Menu
- Bento-box lunches for the kids
- Egg salad (to stuff in tortillas, lettuce wraps or sandwiches)
- Rice bowls with black beans and vegetables (I’ll use leftover veggies from dinner the night before if I have them or will sauté whatever veggies I have in the fridge.)
Budget Ingredients Eggs, canned black beans, brown rice, leftover vegetables from dinner
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Dinner
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I rely heavy on a well-planned dinner menu because this is where I spend the majority of my grocery budget ( plus it ensures I ‘m not scrambling to find something to serve come 6 post meridiem ). I ‘ll plan on three easy recipes plus a night of repurposing the leftovers. Because our evening schedule can be unpredictable, I ‘ll pick up ingredients for a pantry meal that wo n’t go to waste if I end up not cooking one night ( the canned salmon recipe this week ). Make your own menu or try one of our budget dinner plans. On the Menu Budget Ingredients Lentils, boodle, beef stew meat, sugared potatoes, eggs, canned salmon, black beans
Snacks & Treats
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I like to plan snacks and treats based on one or two staples or on ingredients that are already separate of the meal design. Smoothies are the perfect room to use up yogurt, bananas and frigid berries, and my kids love them as after-school snacks. recently we ‘ve been brainsick about salted ridicule chickpeas, the best one-ingredient nosh you ‘ll ever make. And none of us can turn down a square of colored chocolate with a schmeer of peanut butter after dinner. On the Menu
- Fruit and yogurt smoothies
- Roasted chickpeas
- Dark chocolate squares
Budget Ingredients Apples ( or any leftover fruit ), peanut butter, canned chickpeas
Grocery List for the Week
From the Pantry
From the Pantry
A count of our meals this week incorporate a few pantry staples that I often have on hired hand. hera ‘s what I ‘ll trust on this workweek. notice : I did not include these items in my budget, but included estimate cost per serving for reference.
- Dijon mustard $0.05
- Mayonnaise $0.08
- Worcestershire sauce $0.04
- Ketchup $0.08
- Salsa $0.11
- Pickled jalapeños $0.42
- Brown rice $0.14
- Olive oil $0.27
- Vinegar $0.05
- Maple syrup $0.12
- Brown sugar $0.01
- Dried herbs, spices, salt, pepper $0.05
From the Store
From the Store
For $ 100 ( $ 101.44 to be exact ), I was able to pick up all of the ingredients I ‘ll need to feed my family of four for five days, including breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and treats.
Produce:
- Bananas (8) $0.73
- Apples, organic (2 lbs., or about 5) $4.98
- Avocados (3) $3.75
- Green bell peppers, organic (3) $2.99
- Red onion (1 medium) $0.53
- Onion (1 medium) $0.43
- Garlic (1 bulb) $0.42
- Scallions (1 bunch) $0.99
- Celery, organic (1 bunch) $3.50
- Carrots (1-lb. bag) $0.98
- Sweet potatoes (4 medium) $1.61
- Romaine lettuce (3 medium heads) $2.09
- Baby spinach, organic (5-oz. box) $3.00
- Cilantro (1 bunch) $0.98
- Green cabbage (1 medium head) $1.59
General Grocery:
- Oatmeal (18-oz. container) $2.99
- Whole-wheat bread (1 loaf) $4.29
- Whole-grain tortillas (1 package) $2.99
- Natural peanut butter (16-oz. jar) $3.29
- Lentils, brown (1-lb. bag) $0.99
- Canned black beans (4 14.5-oz. cans) $3.92
- Canned chickpeas (2 14.5-oz. cans) $1.96
- Canned green chiles (4-oz. can) $0.89
- Canned diced tomatoes (28-oz. can) $1.99
- Canned crushed tomatoes (14-oz. can) $1.19
- Canned tomatoes and chiles (10-oz. can) $1.29
- Tomato paste (6-oz. can) $0.89
- Tomato juice (32-oz. can) $2.09
- Canned wild salmon (6-oz. can) $4.49
- Bittersweet chocolate bar (2.5-oz. bar) $2.49
Dairy & Eggs:
- Greek yogurt (32-oz. container) $5.49
- Sharp Cheddar cheese (8-oz. package) $2.79
- Almond milk (½ gallon) $3.29
- Eggs, organic (2 dozen) $8.18
- Heavy cream (½ pint) $1.89
Meat:
- Beef stew meat (1½ lbs.) $10.49
Frozen:
- Blueberries (15-oz. container) $4.99
The Bottom Line
With a bit of plan and creativity, you can feed your kin a workweek ‘s worth of alimentary meals for a little more than what you ‘d spend at a restaurant. Use this goodly meal plan on a budget as inspiration to make the most of your grocery budget without sacrificing taste or diverseness ! See all of our other healthy meal plans and healthy dinner plans.
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