"Eating healthy is expensive" is the most common reason people give up before they start. This plan is the counter-argument: a full week of weight-loss eating - about 1,500 calories and 100-140 grams of protein a day - from a 13-item grocery list that costs around $40 at a mainstream supermarket.
The week was built by our free meal plan generator in budget mode, which ranks every food by the price of its protein - not by the price on the shelf. If your calorie target is different, generate your own plan: budget mode shows exactly how much it saves you against a regular plan.
Not sure what your target should be? Check it with the daily calorie calculator. This week is sized roughly for a woman with light activity; most men and active people need more - see the 1,800-calorie plan or build your own.
Cheap protein is a math problem, not a compromise
The expensive part of any weight-loss diet is protein. But price per pound and price per gram of protein are different numbers. A dozen eggs, a tub of cottage cheese, dry lentils, and chicken breast on sale all deliver protein at a fraction of what salmon or ground beef charge for it. This plan is built from the cheap end of that list - the protein target doesn't drop, only the bill does.
All calorie counts are based on USDA data. Weights are for raw/uncooked ingredients unless noted otherwise.
Two tools that make this easier
A kitchen scale (~$10) takes the guesswork out of portions - weigh raw, use raw calorie values. And an oil sprayer (~$10) replaces pouring oil from the bottle: one tablespoon of oil is 120 calories, one spray is about 5.
Breakfast - the same every day
One breakfast for the whole week isn't a limitation, it's an anchor: no decisions before coffee.
Peanut butter oatmeal - 379 cal
- Rolled oats, 50g dry (185 cal)
- Milk 2%, ¾ cup / 200 ml (98 cal)
- Peanut butter, 15g / 1 level tbsp (96 cal)
Lunches and dinners - five proteins on rotation
The structure never changes: lunch is a protein + white rice + cabbage-carrot slaw, dinner is a protein + red lentils + cucumber-tomato salad. Only the protein rotates. Portion sizes differ between proteins on purpose - the generator equalizes protein grams, not meat grams.
Day 1 - ~1,540 cal | ~141g protein
- Lunch (633 cal): chicken breast, 9 oz / 250g raw + white rice, 40g dry + cabbage & carrot slaw + 2 tsp olive oil
- Dinner (524 cal): pork tenderloin, 8.5 oz / 240g raw + red lentils, 40g dry + cucumber & tomato salad + 2 tsp olive oil
Day 2 - ~1,540 cal | ~128g protein
- Lunch (650 cal): pork tenderloin, 10 oz / 290g raw + white rice, 40g dry + slaw + 2 tsp olive oil
- Dinner (506 cal): cottage cheese 2%, 1¼ cups / 300g + red lentils, 40g dry + salad + olive oil
Day 3 - ~1,510 cal | ~106g protein
- Lunch (614 cal): cottage cheese 2%, 1¼ cups / 300g + white rice, 60g dry + slaw + 1 tsp olive oil
- Dinner (518 cal): chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), 7 oz / 200g raw + red lentils, 40g dry + salad + 1 tsp olive oil
Day 4 - ~1,520 cal | ~137g protein
- Lunch (622 cal): chicken thighs, 8 oz / 230g raw + white rice, 40g dry + slaw + 1 tsp olive oil
- Dinner (515 cal): tilapia fillets, 10.5 oz / 300g + red lentils, 40g dry + salad + 1 tsp olive oil
Day 5 - ~1,530 cal | ~143g protein
- Lunch (601 cal): tilapia fillets, 9.5 oz / 270g + white rice, 40g dry + slaw + 2 tsp olive oil
- Dinner (553 cal): chicken breast, 8.5 oz / 240g raw + red lentils, 40g dry + salad + 2 tsp olive oil
Days 6 and 7 - repeat days 1 and 2
The week loops: Saturday repeats Monday, Sunday repeats Tuesday. That's not laziness - fewer decisions is exactly what makes a plan you can actually live on.
The grocery list - with prices
Protein
- Pork tenderloin - 2.4 lb (1.1 kg) - ≈$8.80
- Tilapia fillets - 1.25 lb (570g) - ≈$5.60
- Chicken breast - 1.6 lb (740g) - ≈$4.90
- Cottage cheese 2% - 2 lb (900g) - ≈$3.80
- Chicken thighs, boneless skinless - 1 lb (430g) - ≈$3.20
Grains, legumes & breakfast
- Rolled oats - 350g - ≈$1.25
- White rice - 300g - ≈$0.45
- Red lentils - 280g - ≈$1.35
- Milk 2% - 1.5 quarts (1.4 L) - ≈$1.10
- Peanut butter - 105g - ≈$0.35
Vegetables
- Green cabbage + carrots - 4.5 lb (2.1 kg) - ≈$3.75
- Cucumbers + tomatoes - 4.5 lb (2.1 kg) - ≈$4.25
Pantry
- Olive oil - ≈$1.50 for the week
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika - from the pantry
The whole basket - about $40 for the week (mainstream US supermarket shelf prices - Walmart/Kroger/Aldi level, August 2026). Prices are for the amounts you'll actually eat; the first shopping trip runs a little higher because oats, rice, lentils and oil come in bigger packages that last for weeks.
Tips
- Cook the protein ahead. Bake all the chicken and pork in one session on Sunday - one sheet pan, 40 minutes, and half the week's protein is done.
- Weigh your food. A $10 kitchen scale eliminates guesswork. Weigh raw ingredients, use raw calorie values.
- Red lentils are the sleeper hit. They cook in 15 minutes, cost almost nothing, and carry both carbs and extra protein - that's why the generator keeps picking them.
- The vegetables are swappable. Cabbage, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes are the cheap-per-pound picks, but any vegetables in the same amounts work - frozen included.
- Swap days freely. Don't like Tuesday's lunch? Eat Monday's again. The daily total is what matters, not the specific plate.
- Canned tuna can sub one day a week. It's one of the cheapest proteins per gram, but keep it to one day - that's the FDA guidance for regular canned tuna.
This menu is one worked example. Your calorie target is almost certainly different: get your number from the daily calorie calculator, then build your own budget plan - the generator rescales every portion to your target and shows what budget mode saves you.
If budget isn't your main constraint, the regular meal plans have more variety for a few dollars more: 1,200, 1,500 and 1,800 calories.
