If you are broke but you still need to eat, this is the place to be. Here is exactly what to buy and how to use it to stretch your money to last for 2 weeks of meals for one person. Keep in mind, I live in the second most expensive state for groceries so unless you live in Hawaii, these prices might be cheaper in your area. If you’re looking for an even cheaper meal plan, check out my $10 meal plan.
This is not necessarily a healthy meal plan, but it will keep you going. To keep the cost as low as possible, all prices are from Walmart. I’m assuming that no sauces or seasonings exist in your kitchen, if you have lots of staple items there are a lot more things you can make for very cheap.
Related: Family Of 4 Meal Plan For Under $75
What to buy
- Eggs- 36 $2.75
- Pinto beans- dried 1 lb $1.24
- Hot dogs – bar S 12 oz $1.14
- Tuna- 5 oz $.90
- Rice- 80 oz $3.34
- Bread- 2 loaf $3.96
- Oats- 42 oz $3.52
- Milk- 1/2 gallon $2.33
- Butter/ margarine- imperial $1.24
- Apples- 5 gala apples $4.45 ($1.78 per lb)
- Banana- 5 banana $1.70 (.84 per lb)
- Carrots- fresh 1 lb $1.06
- Peas- frozen 32 oz $2.78
- Potatoes- 5 lb $2.97
- Pasta sauce- prego 24 oz $2.50
- Cream of mushroom or chicken- 4 $2.32
- Mayonnaise- reduced fat 30 oz $1.96
- Peanut butter- 64 oz $4.94
- Ramen-chicken, beef, or shrimp 12 pack $3.44
- Cinnamon- $.98
Total: $49.52
Related: Camping Meal Plan
Breakfast
Oatmeal– oats & water is all it takes. You can add milk, peanut butter, sugar (if you have it), and cinnamon.
Rice pudding– 1/2 a cup of cooked rice with 1 cup of milk. Top it with cinnamon or bananas.
Omelet– cook an egg or two with whatever veggies you can mix inside.
Eggs & toast– toast a piece of bread and make eggs however you like them, fried scrambled, over easy etc. Top your toast with whatever you have, jam, peanut butter butter, or the yolk of the eggs.
French toast- mix milk and eggs together and seep your bread in the mixture. If you have cinnamon add it to the mixture. Brown each side of each piece of bread.
Apple & PB- spread some peanut butter over a sliced up apple. This is great if you want something light.
Banana & PB toast– spread some peanut butter on a slice of toast and top with banana.
Lunch
Ramen– eat it with veggies as you can afford. You can drain the water and add cream of mushroom or chicken soup as well.
PB or PB & banana– make a sandwich using peanut butter and jam or bananas or just plain peanut butter.
Egg salad sandwiches– hard boil some eggs. Smash and mix with mayonnaise and stick it on bread.
Tuna sandwich- spread tuna and Mayo between bread. If you can afford cheese you can make a tuna melt- which is a grilled cheese and tuna sandwich combined into one.
Dinner
“Spaghetti”– cook some rice with a can of cream of mushroom and pasta sauce mixed throughout. Add veggies or use pasta or ground beef as you can afford.
Ramen- add ground beef, an egg, or veggies. Or you can always just eat it by itself.
Related: Ramen 99 Ways
Rice & veggies– cook some rice and eat with vegetables as you can afford.
Sheet pan meal– bake chicken or hot dogs at 400 with potatoes and any other veggies you have with some savory seasonings if you have any for 30-45 minutes.
Creamy rice & veggies– cook rice and top with cream of mushroom and veggies as you can afford. If you can afford it, make pasta and add tuna or chicken.
Baked potatoes- bake some potatoes then top with butter, gravy, ground beef, or cream of mushroom, and veggies.
Snacks
Apple & cinnamon– sauté an apple with cinnamon and butter.
Banana & cinnamon– sauté a banana until caramelized with cinnamon and butter.
Apple & PB- slice up an apple and smear pb on it.
Banana & PB– smear some peanut butter onto the banana.
Hard boiled eggs– boil eggs for 7 minutes then remove and immediately place in ice cold water.
Example week
Sunday– Oatmeal, Ramen, Rice & veggies
Monday– Omelet, PB & banana, Creamy rice & veggies
Tuesday– French toast, Ramen, Baked potatoes
Wednesday- Apple & PB, Egg salad sandwich, Ramen
Thursday– Eggs & toast, Tuna sandwich, “Spaghetti”
Friday– Oatmeal, Ramen, Sheet pan meal
Saturday– Banana & PB, Egg salad sandwich, Rice & veggies
Related: Meal Plan Without Conventional Cooking
If you can afford more
If you have the ability to spend more money, you can purchase the following items and make a wider variety of items. You can probably make this plan last closer to a month, with much healthier meals. You don’t have to purchase all of the below items, but you can purchase one or two if that’s all you can afford. Adding more vegetables will make the meal plan healthier and more balanced.
- Broccoli- frozen 12 oz $1.24
- Spinach- frozen 12 oz $1.24
- Corn- frozen 32 oz $2.78
- Cabbage- 1 lb $1.58
- Celery- $2.48
- Onion- $.78
- Mushrooms- canned 6.5 oz 2 $2.16
- Cheese- shredded fiesta mix 32 oz $7.97
- Garlic powder- $.98
- Onion powder- $.98
- Gravy-$.72
- Soy sauce- $1.37
- Jelly- grape 30 oz $2.36
- Alfredo- $1.88
- Pasta- elbow 32 oz $1.94
- Mac & cheese- $.60
- Chicken- 3 lbs frozen breasts $8.93
- Ground beef- 1 lb roll $4.56
- Yogurt- 1 qt $2.40
- Cereal- 40 oz $5.98 note: if you buy this you should get a gallon of milk as it will be cheaper.
- Toaster pastries- chocolate fudge 22 oz $1.50
Total: $54.43
Related: 19 Money Saving Tips
If you can afford more meal ideas
Breakfast
Cereal- have a bowl with milk.
Yogurt– eat a portion with a side of toast
Lunch/Dinner
Garlic pasta & broccoli– cook pasta and top with garlic butter and vegetables as you can afford.
Grilled cheese– bread and cheese is all it takes to make this. Make it as fancy as you can afford, add apples, hotdogs, chicken, spinach, veggies, beans, or any combination you want.
Broccoli & cheese- cook pasta or rice and serve with broccoli and melted cheese on top. Add sliced hotdogs if you can afford it.
Loco moco– cook rice. Cook ground beef. Fry an egg and top with gravy.
Mac & cheese– cook as directed and serve with veggies as you can afford. You can also add ground beef or hot dogs to make it a complete meal.
Alfredo– pasta and Alfredo sauce with veggies. Add chicken if you can.
Chicken salad sandwiches– mix cooked chicken and mayo together and eat in bread. These taste amazing with tiny bits of apple added in.
Chicken noodle soup– you will need a broth or bullion to make this. Chop celery, onion, and carrots. Add them to a pot with broth and noodles. Cook until soft. If you have basil, parsley, and thyme they taste great in it. Add in cooked chicken and serve warm.
Fried rice– cook some rice. Put in a pan with soy sauce , scrambled eggs, and veggies. Chop hotdogs very small and add them near the end of cooking.
Stir Fry– cook any variety of veggies with soy sauce and any protein you have, serve over rice.
Snacks
Pb & celery– spread them together and enjoy.
Toaster pastries– not nutritionally dense, but a tasty snack that’s cheap.
If you already have these staples
These staples are great for some versatile foods and recipes. If you already happen to have them on hand, then your meal plan can be expanded.
- Flour
- Sugar
- Brown sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Yeast
- Vegetable oil
Cheap meal ideas if you have some of the baking staples
- Pancakes/waffles
- Toast with butter and brown sugar
- Muffins
- Bread
- Pizza
- Sugar cookies
So there you have it, two weeks of meals for under $50, along with some alterations as you can afford. Remember these prices are for my expensive area, your prices could possibly be cheaper. If you need more tips on how to save money on groceries, check out this post.
