I thought I’d share with you guys what I eat on a typical day along with my budget for doing so. The budget shows the daily average along with the monthly totals, which is then shown on my full monthly basics budget page. Since I enjoy working out at the gym and have an active lifestyle, I eat quite a bit food. This diet is common for many active people who like to stay lean. You’ll notice that the diet is low in carbs and I avoid sugar like the plague. It consists of eating a lot a greens and is very high in proteins. I’m not giving any nutrition advice by posting this, just showing you what works for me and the lifestyle I lead.
Once you form the habits of eating like this, staying in shape is relatively easy because you’re not filling your body full of garbage. It’s also easier to gain muscle mass with the high amount of protein in the diet. Higher cost items like chicken can be replaced with other items such as lentils and beans. The items I choose are sometimes a bit pricier, especially with items like Greek Yogurt, but I consider being healthy and looking my best as one of the best investments I can make.
How I built my meal plan
There are basically two sources that I pulled this meal plan from. The first sounds a bit cliche, but it was learning about the diet that Hugh Jackman was eating to get in shape for his role in the Wolverine movies. The other was from Tim Ferris’ book “The Four Hour Body” in which he talked about being able to eat as much as you want through lentils and natural proteins, while removing carbohydrates and sugars. With that said, I do veer off their diets a bit by eating a few blueberries each day, but with my sweet tooth, it’s all about balance. So check out the meal plan below. I believe as a guy you should be able to eat enough to be lean and athletic, without breaking the bank, this is how I do it.
Monthly Food Budget
| Food | Daily Price | Price & Servings Per Unit to Purchase | Calories | Protein (grams) |
| Breakfast | ||||
| 32 oz. cold water & 16 oz. hot green tea. | $0.13 | $2.50 for 20 tea packets. | 2 | 0 |
| 1 cup blueberries | $.70 | $9 for 4 lb. bag of frozen | 85 | 1.1 |
| 1/4 cup steel cut oats | $.19 | $4 / 30 oz - 21 servings | 150 | 5 |
| 2 hard-boiled or scrambled eggs. | $.21 | $1.90 for 18 grade A Eggs | 156 | 12 |
| Lunch | ||||
| 32 oz. water | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1.5 chicken breast (approx 3/4 lb) | $1 .5 | $2 / lb at grocery store deli | 346 | 64 |
| 1 sweet potato (1/2 lb) | $.50 | $1 / lb | 114 | 2.1 |
| 2 servings cooked broccoli | $.75 | $1.50 / lb | 100 | 8.4 |
| Dinner | ||||
| 32 oz. cold water | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vegetable Stir Fry | $0.80 | Mixed Veggies. | 200 | 9 |
| Half Chicken Breast in Stir Fry | $0.50 | $2 / lb at grocery store deli | 115 | 21 |
| Brown Rice 1/4 cup dry | $0.18 | $2 / lb | 216 | 5 |
| Snacks | ||||
| Almonds 1/4 cup | $0.58 | $7 for a 1 lb bag | 164 | 6 |
| Air-popped popcorn | $0.13 | $2 / 32oz bag of kernels. | 212 | 3.1 |
| Totals | $6.17 | $185 / month | 1,860 daily calories | 136.7 daily grams of protein |
These numbers were last updated 2/1/17 when I went grocery shopping at a Kroger owned grocery store, which is one of the largest chains in the U.S.
These numbers are for an average day. Sometimes I eat more, sometimes less. If I’m lifting heavy or doing a lot of athletic activity, the numbers do tend to go up. This is a baseline for a guy who wants enough protein, to eat healthy, reach roughly the amount of calories they need to stay level and eat clean without junk food.
What are some foods or diet related tips you use to cut costs at the grocery store while still eating clean and healthy?
