Update: posted a new meal plan here.

I've found that the best possible way to live a healthy lifestyle and have healthy and delicious meals all week long is by meal prepping once for the whole week. It may seem overwhelming to plan this way but it also allows me to stay within my $40 a week food budget by menu planning and shopping at Trader Joes.  I've made my life way easier by pre-cooking my lunch (and sometimes breakfast) for the week on Sundays so every morning I just reach in and grab what's already been divided into 5 tupperware containers. Planning a weekly meal plan will help you reduce costs and will save you time and energy after a long day at work.  It might take a little more effort now but in the long run, it is most definitely worth it.

Now I’m a vegetarian so I’m not buying meat and I cook all meals from scratch so staying within the $40 food budget is pretty doable. I stick to the outside aisles of the store and just buy whole foods, nothing processed or convenience. I eat breakfast at home daily, bring lunch to work 99% of the time and I have never ordered takeout for dinner not once (I know, shocking for living in a metropolitan area), course I do go to restaurants with friends a few times a month.

As a vegetarian I became familiar with the entire spice cabinet. Here’s a picture of my kitchen cabinet


and yes you wouldn’t believe it but there’s probably 5 bottles that I regularly have to refill: cumin, coriander, turmeric, Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Saute (use in my eggs instead of salt), and cinnamon.When you learn to use spices, you don’t have to use salt. I rarely use salt, but I do like to use pepper. In the summer I use a lot of fresh basil in my cooking. I like to experiment with in season produce which keeps my grocery costs down. For instance if eggplant is in season, I will look up recipes for it and build a week around it. Make it a game for you to step out of your comfort zone and try out new veggies! Last summer I challenged myself to cook with swiss chard and kale, which I normally don’t use, and I came up with a bunch of great recipes and really enjoyed eating them not to mention those two veggies have a ton of vitamins!

I also find it simple for myself to eat the same breakfast and lunch for an entire week. My favorite two breakfasts are eggwhites with toast and oatmeal, so I’ll rotate each week eating one or the other. Then every now and then I’ll throw something different in for a change. For instance for awhile I was on a veggie burger kick, so each week I bought a different flavored Morning Star veggie burger and put it on a sandwich thin bun. Other popular breakfasts for me are scrambled tofu and crustless quiche. For lunch at work I make a big batch of something on Sundays, and that will be my lunch for the week. All the food is weighed and separated evenly so I’m eating proper portions. I also tend to eat the same snacks all week as well. It just makes my life simple to know what I’m eating all week. I pre-plan what I’m eating on my handy meal planner and average about 1700 calories a day and aim to eat between 70-80g of protein. My Fitness Pal is a great site to track calories.
If you work outside of your home and regularly buy lunch, you probably spend about $9 on lunch everyday x 5 days a week = $45 a week. That’s more than what I spend on groceries for all my meals per week! If you’re buying coffee and breakfast too, that’s even more money. Take one week and record how much you spend on every bite you’ve eaten and multiple that by 4 weeks. Now subtract just spending $40 a week on food and see what’s left over. That could be money you save for your vacation fund!

Another way to save money is to buy whole foods instead of convenience foods. So for instance don’t buy cut up fruit, buy the whole fruit yourself and cut it - you will save money that way! There’s times of the year where I will eat an entire cantaloupe a week. As soon as a bring it home I wash the outside (because last summer there was a cantaloupe salmonella outbreak) and cut it up immediately and put into tupperware in my fridge at eye level in the front so I can easily access it when I want a snack or dessert. I buy blocks of parmesan cheese and grate it myself, partly to save money and partly because it’s fresher because it has more moisture in it. So try to avoid paying for convenience by doing the chopping yourself.

I do take advantage of some frozen foods if it’s cheaper like frozen berries for my shakeology or frozen broccoli florets which I like to always keep on hand to easily throw into a meal. The things I will splurge on are honeycrisp apples, tangelos, portioned cashews, and organic dairy products.

I also stay out of the snack and juice aisles. My motto is if I don’t have it at home, I can’t eat it.
If you set up a grocery budget and meal plan, not only will you shop smart, but eat a healthier diet! The most important thing is to always have a plan of what you are going to eat and before you go into the grocery store. If you stick to your shopping list based on your meal plan you will only buy what you need. Don’t forget the oldest food is in the front and the fresher is in the back.