City Life: 20 dollars a week meal plan | Diet for health and wellness on a budget |
Health and Wellness Diet Planning on a Budget
Creating a healthy diet plan on a budget of £20 a week can be challenging, but it's definitely achievable, especially with versatile cooking methods like a hot pot, steamer, and microwave. Below is an easy two week plan that focuses on affordable, nutritious ingredients and simple recipes. Each week includes a shopping list and meal ideas for budget minded singletons in London.
General Guidelines for Success
- Focus on Whole Foods - Prioritise vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and legumes.
- Batch Cooking: Prepare larger quantities of grains and proteins to use throughout the week.
- Seasoning: Use herbs and spices to enhance flavour. The cost per tsp is about ten cents.
Weekly Shopping List (Approximately $20 shopping for groceries in Feb 2025)
- Grains: Rice or Udon noodles or rice noodles
- Proteins: Eggs (1 dozen), canned beans (2 cans), tofu (1 block)
- Vegetables: Fresh seasonal vegetables (Spinach & lettuce) frozen pumpkin slices
- Fruit - A bag of Apples - 3 to 7 apples
- Dairy/Alternative: PlainYogurt for breakfast
- Drink: Generic store coffee, instant coffee, teas and juice.
- Condiments: Soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, salt, pepper, and any preferred spices. Keep it simple if your budget is low.
Sample Weekly Meal Plan
Week 1
- Breakfast: Overnight oats (oats, water/milk, apple)
- Lunch: Rice salad (Rice, canned beans, mixed veggies, sesame oil, rice vinegar)
- Dinner: Rice, steamed vegetables with tofu (seasoned with soy sauce)
- Snacks: No Snacking. There isn't money in the budget. If you are hungry have a coffee or tea. For the first three days of this budget plan, you may feel a bit of hunger because of the size of your stomach. Drink tea, coffee to help get you to the next meal.
Week 2
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach in a cup
- Lunch: Rice with pumpkin slice and soy sauce
- Dinner: Hot pot with tofu and bok choy w/ dessert of a piece of dark chocolate.
- Snacks: No Snacking. There isn't money in the budget. If you are hungry have a coffee or tea.
Repeat
You can rotate meals ingredients based on seasonal produce and personal preferences. Here are some additional ideas to incorporate:
- Soups: Use the hot pot to make simple soups. You can purchase healthy cup of soups and add ingredients.
- Wraps: Use large lettuce leaves to wrap up vegetables that are cooked or uncooked.
- Casseroles: If you have access to a microwave-safe you can make a quick meal combining ingredients into a one pot dish.
Tips for Success
- Plan Ahead: Create a shopping list before going to the store to avoid impulse buys order from an online store to avoid buying extra ingredients. Shop at stores like Aldi and Lidl for staple grocery items, coffees and teas.
-Keep breakfast simple and save your calories for a larger lunch or dinner.
- Use Leftovers: Minimise waste by purchasing only ingredients that you like. Avoid trying new things until your budget can afford a meal failure.
- Budget one take away a month.
- Treat yourself to dark chocolate. There are brands where the chocolate pieces are wrapped so the chocolate Bar lasts the week.
By following this plan, you can maintain a healthy diet while staying within your budget. Adjust the meals based on your preferences and local prices, and enjoy the process of cooking with your hot pot, steamer, and microwave.
Good Luck!
