Have you noticed your grocery bill getting higher since COVID-19 hit? Between job losses and the price of food, here budget-friendly and healthy meal planning ideas.
Are you a fan of meal planning? There are numerous benefits to meal planning, including eating healthier, reducing costs, and even getting your family involved in the household.
Yet, with the rise of COVID-19, your meal planning process may have changed. Suddenly, you may find that meat is too expensive, or that your family is tired of the same old, same old. Or, maybe, between working from home, helping kids with distance learning, and still having a somewhat clean house, you find that you have much less time to meal prep.
This guide will help you with budget-friendly ways to meal plan, use up your leftovers, and time-friendly tips to still feed everyone.
The Cost of Protein
If you Google “meal planning tips”, most results will give you ideas with ingredients that are protein-heavy, such as beef, chicken, turkey or pork.
According to Fox Business, the price of beef and veal is up 25.1 percent, pork is up 11.8 percent and poultry has increased 8.7 percent, according to the CPI. Eggs were also up 12.1 percent.
We have especially felt the pinch of these rising meat prices, and have sparingly purchased beef or pork. While you can certainly buy cheaper cuts of meat, you might have to budget more time to cook them in order for the meat to be tender or tasty.
When it comes to healthy meal planning, starting with protein is always a good focus. However, how do you incorporate plenty of protein without emptying your wallet?
The same trend is happening for typical “health meals”, such as breakfast smoothies. The whey protein powder market is poised to grow by USD 3.33 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 6% during the forecast period.
When you look at cost per gram of protein , most protein powders can be an economical bonus over the per gram cost of animal protein. Yet, that is assuming you and your family eat protein powder every day, and maybe even several times a day.
Depending on which brand of protein powder you use, you can include it in your breakfast in the form of smoothies, oatmeal, mug cakes or protein bars, as a meal replacement during other times of day, or post-workout.
There are some ways you can cook protein powder (see Don’ts on Protein Pow here), but in my experiments in the kitchen, few baked goods made with protein powder were successful. Or, they were dry, disappointing if not downright disasters.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t really care for most protein powders, and I don’t drink smoothies. My workouts rarely require a post-workout shake, as I get plenty of protein from my normal foods. And, most protein powders are sold in HUGE canisters that may take some time to use before it goes bad. While protein powder can be consumed up to one year after the “best by” date, it does lose its potency and taste over time, especially when opened.
The best way to eat healthy on a budget is to focus on more plant-based sources of protein.
Plant Based Protein
Plant-based foods are any food that grows on the ground, on trees, or on bushes. You do NOT need to be vegan or vegetarian to embrace more plant-based foods. Here is a list of budget-friendly plant-based proteins to consider adding to your healthy meal planning list.
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Edamame
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Quinoa
- Nuts/Seeds
- Plant-based burgers or products
Want to download a free plant-based protein products list that are also gluten-free? Enter your email here.
You should also be aware that many vegetables are high in protein, including the following:
- Lima beans
- Bean sprouts
- Green peas
- Spinach
- Asparagus
- Artichokes
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
The good news is- you can still eat plenty of protein without paying the high prices of animal proteins or protein powders. Many of these vegetable sources can be purchased cheap if they are in season, or frozen if they are not. Sometimes, you can also find coupons for the plant products (check the manufacturer website), or subscribe to save on monthly costs.
Use up your Leftovers
Budget-friendly meal planning is not all about cooking new recipes. It can also include being mindful of leftovers in your fridge.
According to Washington Post, Americans throw away 27 million tons of food each year. If you have ever tried cleaning out your fridge at the end of the week only to discover a new species of mold or bacteria, this number may not surprise you.
I hate cleaning my fridge, and will usually put it off. I also have a family that favors freshly-made meals as opposed to even their favorite leftovers.
Here are some tricks to organizing your fridge to reduce waste from leftovers, as shared by Kielyn Simonson of OrgaNice Professional Organizing.
However, if COVID-19 has taught me anything, it is to make better use of my leftovers. Especially when my husband cooks- he tends to double (if not triple!) the portions he cooks.
Store them well
Glass containers are not only reusable and sustainable- they also allow you to view at-a-glance what they contain. If you store your leftovers in opaque jars, you might not pay attention to what’s inside.
Portion and store
If you meal prep well or regularly shop at warehouse stores, you may have large quantities of ingredients on hand that are susceptible to spoilage.
Portion them into individual size portions, and store them in the fridge or freezer for later use. You can store them raw or cooked.
This works for dinner leftovers, too- store in a lunch container and put that in the front of the fridge.
Fridge Friday
I don’t know about you, but by the end of the week, I’m DONE with cooking 2-3 meals every day. Therefore, Friday has become “Fridge Friday” in our house, which means we scrounge for whatever leftovers are there.
Want more of my meal planning tips? Check out this article from SparkPeople on 5 Ways to Maximize Meal Planning.
The benefit is we each get to choose what we want to eat (important if your family doesn’t eat the same ingredients), and we empty the fridge before our grocery shopping (which typically happens on weekends).
Leftover Recipes you can Love
When it comes to leftovers, you have many options. Join me in my Facebook group, Weight no More, for a free Livestream on Tuesday, October 27 at 10:30 AM Central time on Quick Sanity-Saving dinners you can love, including ways to use up those leftovers creatively! (note: replay will be available through Halloween).
Time Friendly Tips
You probably already know to throw ingredients in your Instapot, crockpot, or blender for easy meal prep.
Yet, there are a number of budget-friendly tools you can use in your kitchen that cut down on the time spent cooking budget-friendly healthy meals for your family. You can use these tools in several ways- either to batch cook on the weekend that you can freeze all week, or to make the perfect portion-controlled meal for yourself in minutes.
Consider these easy tools to shake up your meal planning techniques.
Waffle Iron
Waffle irons are a great way to make large batches of food you can freeze and eat later. Or, they are great ways to cut down on food waste, because you only make what you need. Plus, the waffle iron is not just for waffles!
I use a basic waffle recipe that my kids love. Doubling the recipe results in frozen waffles that are even better (and more cost effective) than Eggo or Kodiak cakes.
However, you can also use your waffle iron to make individual or batch foods such as:
- Veggie fritters (I like these spaghetti squash ones from OneGreenPlanet)
- Chaffles (keto option on Midget Momma)
- Omelettes
- Hashbrowns
- Muffins/Cinnamon Rolls
Cookie Sheet
A cookie sheet can be used to make delicious and time-saving sheet pan meals. A sheet pan meal is a great way to cook your entire meal with one tool.
You can put your chopped veggies, protein of choice, and top with your favorite seasonings and oil (I like avocado oil). Then, in 20-30 minutes, you have your meal.
Note: some sheet pan meals require you to add veggies in later, due to different roasting times. Here is a nice graphic with suggested roasting times for your veggies from Grace in Place:
Even better, any leftovers can be repurposed into soups, sandwiches, wraps or bowls the next day. That is- if you HAVE leftovers.
The beauty of a sheet pan is you can also make breakfast with it, like these sheet pan pancakes from DinnerthenDessert.
Much faster than a crockpot, eh?
Coffee Mug
I support a number of coaching clients who are single or who do not need family meal ideas. Instead, they want something quick and easy that is not the convenience food from the local gas station.
Enter the coffee mug!
Did you know you could cook a healthy mug breakfast in 2-3 minutes using a coffee mug?
You can even make this option healthy by incorporating protein powder, using fruit instead of sugar, and using gluten-free or grain-free flour.
I have sampled everything from keto to vegan mug cakes, and not a single one disappointed! Especially on a cold, dark day when you want something tasty that isn’t oatmeal. Bonus: you don’t have to eat a mug cake for breakfast- you can also have one for “dessert” or as a nighttime snack.
Follow my mug cake Pinterest board for breakfast recipes to try.
Healthy meal planning does not need to cost an arm and a leg, especially if you are on a budget. By incorporating more plant-based proteins in your recipe ideas, using your leftovers more wisely, and finding fun and creative ways to make those budget-friendly kitchen tools you may already have in your kitchen, you can save money while still feeding your family.
3 thoughts on “Healthy Meal Planning on a Budget”
Great comprehensive article. Thanks for all the fabulous suggestions.
Thank you, Linda. Glad you liked it.
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