A cheap meal plan for a week on a tight budget
When money is tight, food is often the only flexible part of the budget. This prompt gets your todo.is agent to plan a week of filling meals from low-cost staples like beans, lentils, eggs, oats and seasonal vegetables, check typical prices at your store online and keep the grocery total under your limit.
The prompt
- Plan a cheap 7-day meal plan for [PEOPLE] with a total grocery budget of [BUDGET]. I shop at [STORE] in [CITY OR COUNTRY]; look up typical prices there and estimate the cost of each item. Use cheap staples (dried beans, lentils, rice, oats, eggs, frozen vegetables, seasonal produce, chicken thighs) and plan meals so leftovers become lunches. I already have [WHAT I HAVE]. Plan breakfast, lunch and dinner. Show cost per meal and per day, and a grocery list with estimated prices adding up to under my budget. Send it as a PDF by email and the grocery list as a WhatsApp message.
What to change
- [PEOPLE]: E.g. "1 student", or "2 adults and 2 kids".
- [BUDGET]: E.g. "$40 for the week" or "£30".
- [STORE]: Your usual supermarket, e.g. "Aldi", "Lidl", "Walmart". Prices are estimates from the web.
- [CITY OR COUNTRY]: E.g. "Manchester, UK". Prices change a lot by country.
- [WHAT I HAVE]: Pantry items to use up, e.g. "rice, pasta, spices, half a bag of frozen peas".
Example result
- Cheap meal plan: 1 adult, £30 budget, shopping at Lidl (Manchester)
- Already have: rice, pasta, spices, frozen peas · prices are estimates, check in store
- Grocery list (estimated £28.10)
- • Porridge oats 1 kg · £0.85
- • Eggs, 15 · £2.65
- • Red lentils 500 g · £1.20
- • Chickpeas, 3 cans · £1.35
- • Chopped tomatoes, 4 cans · £1.60
- • Chicken thighs, 1 kg · £3.50
- • Frozen mixed vegetables 1 kg · £1.30
- • Potatoes 2.5 kg · £1.40
- • Carrots 1 kg · £0.55 · Onions 1 kg · £0.80 · Garlic · £0.40
- • Cabbage 1 · £0.60 · Bananas 5 · £0.75 · Apples 6 · £1.20
- • Wholemeal bread · £0.95 · Tortilla wraps 8 · £1.10
- • Cheddar 400 g · £2.40 · Milk 2 L · £1.50 · Plain yogurt 500 g · £0.90
- • Peanut butter · £1.50 · Stock cubes · £0.60
- The week
- • Breakfast every day: porridge with banana or apple, peanut butter on two days (about £0.35)
- • Mon dinner: Red lentil and carrot dal with rice (makes 4 portions: lunch Tue and Wed, 1 to freeze)
- • Tue dinner: Chicken thigh traybake with potatoes and onions (makes 3: lunch Thu)
- • Wed dinner: Spanish omelette with potatoes and peas, cabbage slaw
- • Thu dinner: Chickpea and tomato curry with rice (makes 3: lunch Fri and Sat)
- • Fri dinner: Pasta with tomato sauce, frozen veg and grated cheddar
- • Sat dinner: Chicken and vegetable wraps with yogurt sauce
- • Sun dinner: Leftover chicken soup with potatoes, carrots and cabbage
- Cost per day
- • About £4.00 a day, £1.33 per meal on average
- Ways this plan saves money
- • Dried lentils and canned chickpeas replace meat on four days
- • Chicken thighs are cheaper than breast and work in three meals
- • Frozen vegetables cost less and don't go off
- • One onion, carrot and garlic base is used in five dinners
- • Store's own brand on every item
How to do it with todo.is
- Fill in how many people, your budget, your store and city, and what's already in your cupboards.
- Paste it in todo.is on the Today screen, or text it to your agent on WhatsApp.
- Your agent checks typical prices online and sends a PDF plan with costs, plus the list on WhatsApp.
- Make it weekly ("every Friday, new cheap plan, same budget") and ask it to reuse leftovers from last week.
Tips for a better result
- Tell your agent what's already in the cupboard. Using what you have is the easiest saving.
- Ask for a plan built around this week's offers: your agent can read your store's promotions page.
- Cook dried beans in bulk and freeze them in portions. They cost a fraction of canned.
- Prices online are estimates and differ by branch. Keep a few pounds or dollars spare in the budget.
cheap meal plan: FAQ
- What are the cheapest healthy foods? Dried beans and lentils, oats, rice, eggs, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions, bananas, frozen vegetables and canned fish or tomatoes are among the cheapest nutritious foods in most countries.
- Are the prices in the plan exact? No. Your agent estimates them from prices it can find online for your store and area. Prices change and differ by branch.
- How can I eat for $30 or £30 a week? Build most meals around beans, lentils, eggs and grains, cook in batches, eat leftovers for lunch and buy store brands. The prompt does this for you.
- Can todo.is order the groceries for me? No. It gives you the list and the plan, and you shop or add items to your grocery app yourself.
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