I recently found out that the average American spends about $20 a day on food, which is much higher than I thought it would be! (Especially since the average American apparently also eats a lot of processed fast food.)
And it got me thinking that maybe I could make a day of delicious meals (I’m talking breakfast lunch dinner and snacks) with healthy anti-inflammatory whole foods – for half of that (for just $10!)
I decided not to try to find the cheapest of everything, I wanted to put this together in a way that’s how I usually eat.. so I added a lot of high-quality, often organic ingredients to my Instacart (no an ad) to work out the cost (just from my regular grocery store) to get exactly $10.41 for the whole day!
P.s It’s also 100g+ protein 🙂
Here’s what’s on the menu:
- Coffee: Easy protein coffee
- Breakfast: Apple cinnamon oatmeal
- Lunch: Classic tuna sandwich
- Snack: Strawberry ginger glow smoothie
- Dinner: Spicy tomato chicken with crispy sweet potato wedges
Coffee
Easy protein coffee
- 1 + 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 1-2 tsp instant freeze-dried coffee
- 1 tsp raw honey
- Pinch cinnamon
(Serves 1)
Cost breakdown for coffee
| Ingredient | Item cost | Portion cost |
| 1½ cups soy milk | $2.39 / 4 cups | $0.90 |
| 1 tsp honey | $5.99 / 12 oz | $0.08 |
| Coffee and cinnamon | Pantry items | — |
| Coffee total | $0.98 |
Breakfast
Apple cinnamon oatmeal
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 + 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1 apple
- 2 tbsp unsweteend peanut butter
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
(Serves 1)
Cost breakdown for breakfast
| Ingredient | Full item cost | Portion cost |
| ½ cup rolled oats | $3.99 / 18 oz | $0.31 |
| 1 tbsp ground flaxseed | $3.99 / 16 oz | $0.06 |
| 1 apple | $3.99 / 3 lb | $0.50 |
| 2 tbsp peanut butter | $4.99 / 15 oz | $0.38 |
| 1 tsp honey | $5.99 / 12 oz | $0.08 |
| Cinnamon | Pantry item | — |
| Breakfast total | $1.34 |
Lunch
Classic tuna sandwich
- 2 slices 100% whole grain bread (wheat or gluten free)
- 1 can wild-caught skipjack tuna (in water)
- 1 small tomato
- Handful baby spinach
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- Salt and pepper
- Optional: 1 tbsp light mayonnaise (or 1 tbsp plain greek yogurt)
- Optional: 1 tsp dijon mustard
(Serves 1)
Cost breakdown for lunch
| Ingredient | Item cost | Portion cost |
| 2 slices Ezekiel Sesame bread | $7.99 / 20 slices | $0.80 |
| 1 can tuna | $1.69 | $1.69 |
| 1 Roma tomato | $0.23 | $0.23 |
| Small handful spinach, about 10 g | $3.99 / 5 oz | $0.28 |
| Juice from ½ lemon | $0.59 each | $0.30 |
| Mayonnaise and Dijon | Optional items | — |
| Lunch total | $3.30 |
Snack
Strawberry ginger glow smoothie
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup frozen strawberry slices
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 to 3 tsp fresh grated ginger
- Ice
(Serves 1)
Cost breakdown for smoothie
| Ingredient | Item cost | Portion cost |
| 1 banana | $1.77 / 6 | $0.25 |
| ½ cup frozen strawberry slices | $12.99 / 48 oz | $0.65 |
| 1 cup soy milk | $2.39 / 4 cups | $0.60 |
| 1 tbsp peanut butter | $4.99 / 15 oz | $0.19 |
| 1 tbsp ground flaxseed | $3.99 / 16 oz | $0.06 |
| 1 to 3 tsp grated fresh ginger | $0.01 | |
| Smoothie total | $1.75 |
Dinner
Spicy tomato chicken with crispy sweet potato wedges
- Potato wedges
- 1 lbs sweet potatoes
- Spray of cooking oil
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Salt and pepper
- Spicy tomato chicken *with anti-inflammatory super mix*
- 1 lbs chicken breast meat strips (or tenders)
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp raw honey
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper
- Veg
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 purple onion
- 300g green beans
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
(Serves 4)
Cost breakdown for dinner
| Ingredient | Batch cost | Cost per serving |
| 1 lb sweet potatoes | $1.49 | $0.37 |
| 1 lb chicken tenders | $6.99 | $1.75 |
| 1 tbsp honey | $0.24 | $0.06 |
| ¼ cup tomato paste | $0.33 | $0.08 |
| 1 green bell pepper | $0.89 | $0.22 |
| 1 medium red onion | $0.62 | $0.16 |
| 300 g green beans | $1.32 | $0.33 |
| Juice from ½ lemon | $0.30 | $0.07 |
| Oils and seasonings | Pantry items | — |
| 1 tbsp grated ginger | $0.05 | $0.01 |
| Dinner total | $12.23 | $3.06 |
Total cost for day
| Meal | Cost |
| Coffee | $0.98 |
| Breakfast | $1.34 |
| Lunch | $3.30 |
| Smoothie | $1.75 |
| Dinner | $3.06 |
| Total for the day | $10.41 |
Grocery list
*includes ingredients for 4 dinners (meal prep), 1 lunch, 1 snack smoothie, 1 breakfast and 1 coffee
Proteins
- 1 lb chicken breast meat or chicken tenders
- 1 can skipjack tuna in water
- 2½ cups unsweetened soy milk
Starches and grains
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 2 slices 100% whole grain bread (wheat or gluten-free)
- 1 lb sweet potatoes
Fruits and vegetables
- 1 apple
- 1 banana
- ½ cup frozen strawberry slices
- 1 small tomato
- 1 handful baby spinach
- 1 lemon
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 purple/red onion
- 300 g green beans
- Fresh ginger: 1 tbsp plus 1-3 tsp, grated
Pantry items
- 3 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp raw honey
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tbsp light mayonnaise (optional)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- cooking-oil spray (I use avocado)
- 1–2 tsp instant freeze-dried coffee
- 1½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp cinnamon, plus an additional pinch
- Salt and pepper
Recipes by Liezl Jayne Strydom / Video by Liezl Jayne Strydom and Rob Williams / Photos by Rob Williams