How to Cook Healthy on $50 a Week

Cooking healthy on $50 a week is possible. It is not easy, and it
gets boring if you do it without a plan. With a plan, it turns into a
repeatable rotation of five or six base dishes you can live with for
months.

This article walks through a real $50 weekly budget for one adult,
item by item, with a full 7-day menu and the logic that makes it
work. Prices are US mid-2026 averages from a standard chain
supermarket; your mileage varies by city.

## The $50 budget, itemized

| Item | Quantity | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | 2 dozen, large | $6.00 |
| Chicken thighs, bone-in | 3 lb | $7.50 |
| Dried black beans | 2 lb | $3.00 |
| Dried green lentils | 1 lb | $2.00 |
| Brown rice | 2 lb | $3.00 |
| Rolled oats | 2 lb | $3.50 |
| Frozen spinach | 1 lb bag | $2.00 |
| Frozen mixed berries | 1 lb bag | $4.00 |
| Bananas | 6 | $1.80 |
| Apples | 4 | $3.20 |
| Yellow onions | 3 lb bag | $3.00 |
| Garlic | 1 head | $0.70 |
| Carrots | 2 lb bag | $2.00 |
| Cabbage | 1 head | $2.50 |
| Canned tomatoes | 2 x 28 oz | $3.00 |
| Olive oil | 250 ml (monthly pro-rated) | $2.00 |
| Salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, soy sauce | pro-rated | $0.80 |
| **Total** | | **$50.00** |

Every item on that list is shelf-stable or freezer-stable except the
produce. The fresh fruit and vegetables get eaten first; everything
else survives the week.

## The menu

### Breakfast (same 3, rotating)

- **Oatmeal with frozen berries and half a banana.** Roll oats + water
+ pinch of salt, microwave 3 minutes, top with berries.
- **Two-egg scramble with spinach and half an apple on the side.**
- **Overnight oats with yogurt** (if you can spare $3 for a small tub
of plain yogurt, otherwise skip).

### Lunch (Mon–Fri, one big cook)

**Big black bean chili.** Sunday prep: soak 1 lb dried black beans
overnight, simmer with a diced onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 can
tomatoes, cumin, paprika, salt. Yields about 6 lunch portions.
Reheat daily with a handful of frozen spinach stirred in at the end.

### Dinner (Mon, Wed, Fri)

**Chicken thighs with rice and cabbage slaw.** Sear thighs skin-down
8 minutes, flip 4 minutes, rest. Microwave brown rice (cooked in
bulk Sunday). Shred half a cabbage, toss with carrot, a splash of
vinegar, soy sauce, and olive oil.

### Dinner (Tue, Thu)

**Lentil soup.** 1 lb lentils + 1 can tomatoes + diced onion +
carrots + garlic + cumin. Yields 4 bowls; one is dinner tonight, one
is lunch leftover backup, two go in the freezer.

### Dinner (Sat, Sun)

**Saturday:** Fried rice with egg, spinach, onion, garlic, soy sauce.
**Sunday:** Chicken thighs again with whatever vegetables are left.

### Snacks

Apple, banana, hard-boiled egg, handful of oats dry-roasted with
cinnamon. No granola bars, no protein shakes.

## Calories and macros

This menu lands around 2,000 to 2,200 calories/day for most adults.
Protein is about 90 to 110 g/day from eggs, chicken, beans, and
lentils combined. Fiber is high (30+ g) because the base is whole
grains and legumes.

If you need more calories, add peanut butter ($3/jar, one week of
use) and bump oats and rice portions. If you need more protein on
the same budget, swap some carrots for canned tuna ($1.25/can).

## Why this works

Three levers make it survive:

1. **Buy dried legumes, not canned.** A pound of dried black beans is
$1.50 and cooks into 6 cans worth. A pound of canned beans is
effectively $6.
2. **Bone-in chicken thighs, not breasts.** Half the price per pound,
more flavor, and the bones make a free stock for the week's
soups.
3. **Frozen produce for vegetables that lose nothing to freezing.**
Spinach and berries are identical frozen; you avoid the spoilage
risk and the premium on fresh.

## Why it stops working

- **You skip the Sunday 90-minute cook.** The plan requires one big
session to cook beans, rice, and lentils. Without it, you will eat
takeout by Tuesday.
- **You buy convenience products.** Rotisserie chicken, pre-shredded
cabbage, and individual yogurt cups each cost 2 to 3x their bulk
equivalents and torch the budget.
- **You buy drinks.** A six-pack of soda or a bottle of juice is a
full lunch.

## Scaling the plan

For two adults, budget $80 to $90/week using the same list doubled.
For a family of four, $140 to $160. The per-person cost drops as
household size rises because dried legumes and bulk grains scale
linearly while spices and oil amortize.

## Using the app

Filter /recipes by total cost per serving (if enabled in your region)
to browse similar low-cost recipes, or start with /pricing to see
which plan tier includes the meal-planning and shopping list features
that make this workflow repeatable week to week.

## Regional substitutions

Prices above are US averages. In other markets the same shape holds
but the cheap proteins differ:

- **UK:** chicken thighs, eggs, lentils, tinned tomatoes, frozen
vegetables. Swap sweet potato for regular potato for cost.
- **Mexico and Latin America:** dried beans, corn tortillas, eggs,
chayote, cabbage, tomato are the cheap staples; rotate with
cheaper cuts like chicken leg-quarters.
- **India:** lentils (any color), atta for chapati, seasonal
vegetables, paneer (if budget allows). The same $50 template
shifts to roughly 2,500 to 3,000 INR/week.
- **Southeast Asia:** rice, eggs, cabbage, carrot, tofu, tempeh,
seasonal greens, small dried fish for flavor.

Every cuisine has a cheap-and-nutritious base. Build on yours
rather than importing an American template that uses expensive
local substitutes.

## Growing the grocery list over time

The initial $50 shops rely on building up pantry staples (spices,
oil, vinegars). Week one is actually closer to $70 because you are
buying a bottle of olive oil that will last six weeks and a jar of
paprika that will last six months. By week three, the true weekly
run is $45 to $50 because the pantry has absorbed the one-time
costs.

Track one month of spending before judging the system. Month two
is the accurate baseline.

## Micronutrient gaps to watch

A cheap whole-food diet covers most macros easily but can miss:

- **Vitamin D** (limited food sources): weekly oily fish, eggs, or
a $5 supplement.
- **Omega-3s:** canned sardines ($1.50/can) are the cheapest source.
- **Calcium:** if dairy-free, fortified soy milk or canned salmon
with bones.
- **Iron:** lentils and leafy greens, absorbed better with vitamin
C at the same meal.

Rotate one "micronutrient meal" per week (sardines on toast,
salmon salad, a greens-heavy soup) to fill the gaps.