Healthy Meal Planning on a Budget

When it comes to money, I like to say that I enjoy "ballin' on a budget." If you know me, you know that I like to make a dollar stretch for as long as I can. Perhaps, you can relate to that; however, it often feels difficult to create a healthy grocery budget that fits nice and tight into your overall budget. How do you organize your grocery budget and would you say your shopping cart includes nutritious foods? Well, make sure to keep reading so I can give you a couple of tips and tricks on how to create a healthy meal plan on a budget.

Let's Get to It!

1. Create a budget

When creating a grocery budget, the first thing you need to do is determine how often you expect to get paid from your job. For example, if you get paid every two weeks, make sure your budget is based on how much you expect to spend on groceries for that two week period. Once you decide on that number, cut it in half and use half of the budget for the first week and the other half for the second week. Use this chart as an example below.

Monthly Income	Bi-Monthly Pay Out	Bi-Monthly Grocery Budget	Weekly Grocery Budget
$4000	$2000	$150	$75

Keep in mind: my suggestion is based on a single person. I simply picked a hypothetical situation with an individual's income and amount they spend on groceries. Please feel free to revise this based on your financial situation and grocery budget. I will say that $300 total for a grocery budget may seem really small, but Im telling you it is possible with a great meal plan. You can absolutely make that happen! The key is writing out all of your meals for the week and even overlapping some of the ingredients so you can use many of the same items.

2. Create a list of your favorite staple foods

Let's start with a list of 12 items - 3 carb items, 3 fat items, 3 protein items, and 3 snacks. I think there are different types of eaters. Some of us will eat anything regardless of its taste. Some of us are foodies and will eat everything regardless of its nutritional value. Some of us are a bit more particular about our food and prefer specific brands. Perhaps you find yourself in one of those categories or maybe not; regardless, my point is that staple foods for you may not be the same staple foods for someone else. It is important for you to identify which foods are your favorite without any shame. From there, I recommend that you modify the list by choosing 2 new healthier alternatives to your favorite foods. For example, I love eggs...when I say that, I genuinely mean that I can eat them multiple times a day. Eggs are very nutritious, however, in order to keep my cholesterol levels in check, I prefer egg whites because they are packed with more protein and no cholesterol. I've grown to love egg whites and eat them on a daily basis. This chart below shows some healthier options that you can grab at the store the next time you are there. There are so many other options, but below you'll find a few options that you can pull from.

Carbs	Proteins	Fats	Snacks
white rice	Chicken	Olive Oil	popcorns
whole wheat bread	Tilapia	Almonds	seaweed
aspargus	Tuna	Cheddar cheese	apples
brussel sprouts	Ground Turkey	non-dairy milk	almonds

3. Create a list of meals

My recommendation is to make it simple, seriously! Do not overcomplicate your meal planning process. Once you do that, you are more likely to change your mind and order via DoorDash - am I lying?! Resist the urge by making it simple. I have a close friend who doesn't like cooking but decides to cook meals on Pinterest that have 20 ingredients and 20 steps. I always have to pop her over the phone LOL. If you (that friend) are reading this, know that I love you and Im trying to make your life easier haha. So please make it simple guys. It'll save you a lot of time, headaches, and money honestly. Make a list of meals including some of your favorite staple foods that I encouraged you to write out in the above step.

Use my 3X3X3X3 method that I touched on in the previous step in order to successfully create healthy meals on a budget. Once you have 3 proteins, 3 carbs, 3 fats, and 3 snacks, you can use that as your foundation for your meals. I am a firm believer that this will help you stick to your budget. Here are some very important questions to ask yourself:

• Will I meal plan only Monday - Friday (for the workweek)?

• How often will I eat out every week?

• How much time do I realistically have to cook all of my meals (20 mins, 1 hour, or 3 hours, etc)?

• Do I like leftovers or do leftovers make me sick? BE HONEST!

Don't be afraid to get canned items or frozen items. If Im honest, they are cheaper. I know many of us fear getting things like that because we believe that it is extremely UNHEALTHY but Im telling you it will not ruin your health goals as much as you think. If you need a coach to help with mindset training and meal planning, Im here for you. It is totally possible to eat frozen veggies and canned beans and still be successful in your health journey.

4. Compare your meals against your budget

Let's say you decided that you wanted to make salmon every night, but your budget is only $75 for the week, do you think you will go over budget? Likely, you will. It's not a great idea even if you really want it. You won't have enough room in your budget to get your sides, or sauces, or snacks, and everything else that you may need for the week. Keep in mind that its the little things that add up. If you are going to make tuna salad for lunch, don't forget about the red onions, the mayo, and celery - well, tats if you make it like that. All of those small items need to be considered in your budget. If not, you'll end up spending way more than you intended. That defeats the purpose. :( Here's a thought: you can totally get cheaper salmon and have it 2-4 times in that week instead. SHOUTOUT to Target - no they are not sponsoring me to say this. Target has an amazing frozen foods section. They sell Atlantic Salmon in a pack of 4 for under $10. Each piece is about 4-5 oz which is a reasonable portion for a meal. I love it! So if you purchased that, you can have 4 meals of salmon and then add other veggies and rice to it if you would like. Don't sleep on the frozen stuff guys!

How many of us can relate to feeling frustrated about meal planning ? Let alone feeling hopeless that you can’t buy all the healthy groceries you need with the budget you created. Hopefully, the steps I gave act as a starter kit to help you create a healthy meal plan that fits your budget. If you need some help, I can coach you through your health journey. Sign up for a free consultation below!

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