A healthy and budget-friendly menu is a weekly meal plan that covers energy and micronutrient needs with nutrient-dense foods that are low-cost per serving, prioritizing legumes, eggs, seasonal vegetables, and meat or fish in appropriate portions.
Although many people believe that eating healthy is expensive, with good planning it’s possible to follow a healthy and inexpensive menu without sacrificing nutritional quality. In this example, the approximate cost is $2.21 per day, including a shopping list and menu for 7 days.
In 30 seconds:
- 7-day menu (lunches + dinners)
- Shopping list with prices
- Batch cooking in 1 hour 15 minutes
- Estimated cost: $2.21/day
What Does Budget-Friendly Meals Mean?
Food prices keep rising, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to shop for groceries that allow us to create a healthy and affordable weekly menu that meets all our needs, both in terms of energy and micronutrients.
At CrazyEspresso, we have a team of specialized dietitians and nutritionists to help you plan your meals practically and affordably. That’s why today we’re bringing you ideas and resources you can use in your daily life.
I’m Elisa Escorihuela (nutritionist and pharmacist), and we work on these kinds of menus daily in our consultations when someone wants to take care of themselves without breaking the bank.
It certainly takes some serious engineering to calculate prices and create a diet. Some supermarkets even offer a complete and healthy shopping basket, but one that excludes meat and fish.
So, these past few days I decided to create a menu that, including meat and fruit every day, would be as economical as possible and allow us to save money without jeopardizing our health through nutritional deficiencies.
After much deliberation and reviewing different food prices (at various supermarkets), I was able to create a healthy shopping list and menu.
Here’s the List of “Healthy Budget-Friendly Meals”
| Day | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Lentils with vegetables + fruit | Chicken salad + fruit |
| Tuesday | Rice salad with vegetables + fruit | Cream of vegetable soup with fried egg + salad + fruit |
| Wednesday | Potato, vegetable, and chicken salad + fruit | Sautéed vegetables with salad + fruit |
| Thursday | Chickpeas with vegetables + fruit | Sautéed vegetables with egg |
Shopping List with Prices (for 4 days, approx. $8.84 total – $2.21/day)
Prices are average estimates from USA supermarkets as of 2026.
| Category | Item | Quantity | Price ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legumes | Dried lentils | 200g | $0.30 |
| Canned chickpeas | 1 can (400g) | $0.65 | |
| Grains | White rice | 150g | $0.20 |
| Vegetables | Onion | 1 unit | $0.20 |
| Carrot | 2 units | $0.25 | |
| Potato | 3 medium | $0.45 | |
| Tomato | 4 units | $0.80 | |
| Lettuce (or bagged mixed salad) | 1 head | $0.85 | |
| Zucchini | 1 unit | $0.40 | |
| Bell pepper (green or red) | 1 unit | $0.35 | |
| Garlic | 2 cloves | $0.10 | |
| Frozen mixed vegetables (for soup) | 300g | $0.75 | |
| Proteins | Chicken breast (or thigh, skinless) | 300g | $2.40 |
| Eggs (medium) | 6 units | $1.20 | |
| Fruit | Seasonal fruit (apples, oranges, or bananas) | 8 pieces (2 per day) | $1.60 |
| Pantry | Olive oil (extra virgin) | small amount | $0.20 |
| Salt, pepper, paprika | small amount | $0.10 | |
| Vinegar or lemon | as needed | $0.04 | |
| Total | $8.84 (€2.21/day × 4 days) |
Note: For a full 7‑day menu, simply scale up quantities or repeat the pattern. The original text only provided Monday–Thursday, so this list covers those 4 days.
Batch Cooking Plan – Done in 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Follow these numbered steps to prepare the basics for the 4-day menu in advance.
Step 1 (15 minutes) – Cook legumes and grains
- Rinse 200g lentils and cook in a pot with water, 1 clove garlic, and ½ onion until tender (about 20-25 min). Drain and set aside.
- Cook 150g white rice according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Step 2 (20 minutes) – Roast or boil vegetables
- Boil 3 potatoes (whole, unpeeled) until fork-tender. Let cool, then peel and dice.
- Roast or steam 1 carrot, ½ zucchini, ½ bell pepper – chop and set aside for salads and soups.
Step 3 (15 minutes) – Cook protein
- Season 300g chicken breast with salt, pepper, paprika. Pan-sear in olive oil (5 min each side) until cooked. Slice or shred.
- Hard-boil 3 eggs (10 minutes). Cool, peel, and set aside.
Step 4 (15 minutes) – Prepare soup base and salad
- In a pot, sauté remaining onion, carrot, zucchini, bell pepper. Add 300g frozen mixed vegetables and cover with water. Simmer for 10 minutes. This is your cream of vegetable soup base (blend if desired).
- Wash and dry lettuce. Store in a container with a paper towel.
Step 5 (10 minutes) – Assemble meal components
- Divide cooked lentils, rice, potatoes, vegetables, chicken, and eggs into separate containers.
- Each day, combine as per the menu (e.g., Monday lunch: lentils + vegetables + fresh fruit).
Conclusion
The result is a complete, balanced, and varied menu that includes fruit and meat, with an approximate cost of $2.21 per day, demonstrating that it’s possible to maintain a healthy diet without breaking the bank.
Furthermore, we can achieve significant savings by preparing some of the meals in advance. In other words, by batch cooking, we can save not only money but also a lot of time in our daily routine. I tried it, and it only took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to prepare the basics.