My $10-a-day Autumn meal prep is high protein + high fiber

My 1 hour meal prep is $10 a day, using affordable healthy whole food ingredients for high-protein + high-fiber meals!

I recently found out that the average American spends $20 a day on food! Which is much more than I expected (especially since the average American also “apparently” eats a lot of processed food), and it inspired me to make this YouTube video where I tried to eat healthy anti-inflammatory whole foods for just $10 a day (half of what the American average spends!). I didn’t find the challenge very difficult, as I discovered it’s bascially how I usually eat anyway!

So after making that video, I was inspired to go through my book Meal Prep For The Busy Girl and work out the cost (to the cent) of each week of meal prep in there.. to see how much they cost per day to prep. I always try to make my recipes as affordable as possible while using healthy whole food ingredients.. but I was surprised cause they cost less than I thought they would! Most of them were around $10 per day to prep (some even less) – including this week which came to $10 and 7 cents!

All these meals are high-protein, high-fiber and absolutely deliciously perfect for autumn.. since we are making autumn week 2 from my book!

I’ve made the shopping list from this week free, you can download it here: https://guides.liezljayne.com/busygirlmealprep-shoppinglist-autumn2/

Cost breakdown per day

	Four-day total	Per day
Breakfast	$7.11	$1.78
Lunch	$7.09	$1.77
Dinner	$16.00	$4.00
Snack	$10.08	$2.52
Total	$40.91	$10.07

Pantry staples—including oils, cooking spray, salt, pepper, spices, vinegar, cornstarch, sesame seeds and coconut aminos—are not included.

12 more weeks of prep

These recipes are from my book ‘Meal Prep For The Busy Girl’ – if you like this there’s 12 weeks of meal prep in the book.. all using healthy affordable ingredients for high-protein high-fiber meals!

You can use the code ‘FALL20’ to get 20% off: https://guides.liezljayne.com/busygirlmealprep/

You can also download this week’s shopping list for free: https://guides.liezljayne.com/busygirlmealprep-shoppinglist-autumn2/

BREAKFAST: apple sheet pan pancakes

Pancakes

2 cups unsweetened applesauce
8 eggs (or vegan egg replacer)
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 medium apple
1 tsp coconut oil
½ tsp cinnamon
⅛ cup chopped pecans
⅛ cup chopped almonds

Toppings

4 tbsp maple syrup or honey

Breakfast cost breakdown

Ingredient used	Cost used
2 cups applesauce — 16 oz from 23 oz jar	$2.70
8 eggs — 8 from carton of 12	$1.33
1⅓ cups rolled oats — approximately 3.8 oz	$0.83
1 apple — 1 from bag of 8	$0.50
¼ cup almonds — approximately 1.25 oz	$0.75
4 tbsp honey	$1.00
Four-serving breakfast total	$7.11
Cost per breakfast	$1.78

Pantry items not included: baking powder, baking soda, coconut oil and cinnamon.

LUNCH: thai peanut & sweet potato bowls

Bowl main ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa (2/3 cup dry + 1 1/3 cups water)
1 small cucumber (or ½ large)
2 cups sliced purple cabbage
2 cups cilantro
½ cup sliced spring onions
⅛ cup chopped roasted salted peanuts
1 lime

Chickpeas

1 can chickpeas
Spray cooking oil
Salt and pepper

Sweet potatoes

500 g (1 large) sweet potato
Spray cooking oil
½ tsp chili flakes
¼ tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper

Peanut butter sauce

¼ cup peanut butter
2 tbsp coconut aminos
½ tbsp honey / maple syrup
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp onion powder
2 to 3 tbsp water
Salt and pepper
1 minced clove garlic (optional)

Lunch cost breakdown

Ingredient used	Cost used
⅔ cup dry quinoa — approximately 4 oz	$1.25
1 cucumber	$0.79
2 cups shredded whole cabbage — approximately 4 oz	$0.35
2 cups cilantro — approximately 1 bunch	$0.59
½ cup sliced green onions — approximately ¼ of the bunch	$0.20
⅛ cup roasted peanuts — approximately ½ oz	$0.09
1 lime	$0.29
1 can chickpeas	$1.19
1 lb sweet potato	$1.49
¼ cup peanut butter — approximately 2.25 oz	$0.75
½ tbsp honey	$0.12
Four-serving lunch total	$7.09
Cost per lunch	$1.77

Pantry items not included: cooking spray, salt, pepper, chili flakes, chili powder, soy sauce/coconut aminos, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger powder and onion powder.

DINNER: chinese pepper steak stir-fry

Stir-fry

1.1 lb sirloin steak / steak strips (or sub with 1 ½ x 400 g packs firm tofu)
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium onion
1 cup sliced spring onions
1 clove garlic (optional)

Sauce

¼ cup coconut aminos
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp onion powder
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt (or to taste)

Sides/toppings

2 cups cooked white rice (2/3 cup dry + 1 ½ cups water)
Sliced spring onions
Black sesame seeds
Salt and pepper

Dinner cost breakdown

Ingredient used	Cost used
1 lb beef stir-fry strips	$9.99
1 green bell pepper	$0.89
1 red bell pepper	$1.69
1 yellow bell pepper	$1.69
1 onion — 1 from bag of 8	$0.62
Green onions for stir-fry and topping — remaining ¾ bunch	$0.59
⅔ cup dry white rice — approximately 4.2 oz	$0.53
Four-serving dinner total	$16.00
Cost per dinner	$4.00

Pantry items not included: cooking oil, soy sauce/coconut aminos, rice vinegar, cornstarch, ginger powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and black sesame seeds.

SNACK: spiced pear & honey yogurt

Spiced pears

4 pears (I like to use slightly hard Bartlett pears)
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Vanilla extract (1–2 drops per half pear)

Honey yogurt

3 cups plain yogurt (Greek nonfat or unsweetened soy)
1 tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
Cinnamon

Snack cost breakdown

Ingredient used	Cost used
4 small Bartlett pears — 1 lb	$2.59
3 cups soy yogurt — full 24 oz tub	$6.99
2 tbsp honey — 1 tbsp for pears and 1 tbsp for yogurt	$0.50
Four-serving snack total	$10.08
Cost per snack	$2.52

Pantry items not included: coconut oil, cinnamon and vanilla.

Recipes by Liezl Jayne Strydom / Video by Liezl Jayne Strydom and Rob Williams / Photos by Rob Williams

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