Healthy Dinner Ideas On a Budget
A week’s worth of healthy dinners on a budget
My family and I like to eat healthy but we also are on a budget! I know a lot of people want to budget for their New Year’s resolution. So I thought I would help out. I know there are plenty of foods you can eat that are super cheap but they might not be the healthiest.
My goal is to spend less than $60 for this week’s meals for my family of four and I want them to be healthier options. I will be shopping for deals, which to me means I may end up going to a few different stores. I am looking at Walmart and Fresh Thyme. Fresh Thyme always has great deals on meat and my family LOVES meat!
Best day to shop!
Wednesdays are my favorite days to shop because Fresh Thyme runs double ads! So you can shop the ads from the week before and the week coming up. YES!! I bought most of what we needed from Walmart and then the chicken and pork from Fresh Thyme.
I like a variety of foods. But I also I wanted to make sure I found things that my kids would eat and we stay on a budget. They tend to be picky about trying new things but I know some of these they will love! If not, then more for me and Jacob, right?
Here is my shopping list for the week. Some of the ingredients I already had in my pantry so I did not need to purchase them. I ended up spending $52.69 total which I am excited about! I did end up changing some of the recipes because I wanted to make use of everything for at least two meals! These prices are based on Walmart and Fresh Thyme pricing for the week. I like to get certain meats (chicken and pork) when they are on a really good sale!
Shopping List:
Mini Sweet Peppers $2.48
Tomatoes $1.15
Spinach $1.98
Iceburg Lettuce $1.48
Onion $0.86
Mushrooms $1.78
Eggs $1.97
Plain Greek yogurt $0.76
Feta $2.12
Mozzarella cheese $4.22
Ricotta cheese $1.88
Parmesan cheese $2.44
Pasta sauce $1.98
Tomato sauce $1.56
Chicken broth $2
Franks Red Hot $1.18
Medium Salsa $1.98
Taco seasoning $0.88
Lasagna Noodles $1.48
Whole Wheat Tortillas $2.47
Tortilla Chips $2
Brown Rice $1.50
Pork $2.21
Chicken $3.82
Italian sausage $2.78
Ground turkey $1.50
Stir fry veggies $2.24
My meal plan is as follows:
Monday: Spinach and Feta Quiche
Tuesday: Taco Salad
Wednesday: Pork Stir Fry
Thursday: Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Friday: Fajita Quesadilla
Saturday: Easy Meat Lasagna
Sunday: Pizza Soup
Spinach and Feta Quiche
SUPER easy to make and the prep is quick! Which is nice on a busy week night! This would also make a great brunch item! And let me tell you, this is worth the $5.27 for an 8 serving quiche. It is SO good. I would add ham to it because I love ham and eggs! But definitely a winner! And Jackson and Marley liked it SO MAJOR win!!! And the leftovers were lunch the next day for Jacob and I!
Taco Salad
We love Taco Salad in this family. Taco Tuesdays happen ALMOST every Tuesday! I mean, it quick its easy and its delicious! So I definitely needed to add this to our budget meals! It is definitely healthy when you portion it out. And we use ground turkey which has less fat than beef and is cheaper! We spent a total of $7.84 on this meal AND there is a TON of left overs! Yay, lunch tomorrow!! I am not a huge fan of sour cream so I kept that out of this recipes.
Pork Stir fry
I used Fit Foodie Finds sauce for my pork and stir fry. I got stir fry veggies and brown rice with quinoa to eat with it. $5.95 for this LARGE meal with TONS of leftovers! While tons of veggies left over! All of the ingredients for the sauce, I had in my pantry which was nice. Asian food is some of my favorite meals to have and I love spending only $6 to feed my family of 4!! I will state that the sauce is spicy. So, I only used ¼ cup of Sriracha instead of ½ cup and it still had a bit of a kick! BUT IT WAS SO GOOD! Definitely making again, probably weekly, or at least when pork and/or chicken is so cheap!
Fajita Quesadilla
Why have I not thought of this before!? I love fajitas and quesadillas are amazing so putting them together was GREAT!! I added chicken because I bought 3 lbs from Fresh Thyme and planned on using it for this recipe and the Buffalo Chicken. AND IT WAS SO GOOD! I love chicken fajitas! These were only $4.53 and I did have Cheddar cheese in the fridge so I used that. Perfect for a meal and a half! I only used half the peppers I bought and half the tortillas. This recipe is PERFECT if you are on a budget!
Buffalo Chicken and Wraps
The rest of the chicken I used for this buffalo chicken! This 3 ingredient recipe was so easy and delicious. I made the chicken before hand and then just had to mix the Franks and Greek Yogurt! It is so good and not too spicy! Perfect for a lunch wrap or sandwich! AND it only cost $3.86 for the chicken. If you make it into 4 wraps, it would cost about $7.06; that would be for tortillas, spinach, and the chicken. So good and so EASY to make! AND CHEAP and healthy! This recipe would be great for a meal prep in the beginning of the week!
Easy Meat Lasagna
This is definitely an easy meal to make! I left out the mushrooms because I made it for a family Christmas get together and some of my family doesn’t like mushrooms. I did add a bit more peppers because of that. And it turned out so well! Everyone loved it. Best part it only cost $12.66 and it served 6 adults!! YES!
Pizza Soup
Ok, simple and delicious tomato soup that tastes like pizza! YUM! I love pizza so an easy and healthy way to eat it is always a plus for me! And on a cold winter day, soup is AMAZING! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a hearty tomato soup AND pizza! Best part, this cost me $7.26! I did add a bit of Italian Seasoning because it added a bit more of a rounded Italian flavor.
These are great and healthier ideas for lunches or dinners. If you are looking to stay on budget, these options for you. I am in Green Bay, WI so the pricing is based on my local pricing when I went shopping. I do shop sales and by the store brand at times to save money.
What are you favorite ways to save money when grocery shopping?
Hi there! I’m Amanda! I founded Fueled by Coffee and Fitness to guide you on your fitness journey with short but sweet workouts, easy food ideas, fitness fashion and family friendly fun!
Okay, pizza soup is genius!! I love this post and how you break down the grocery list with prices, and the recipes with total cost! So helpful!! Thank you!
🙂 Thanks!
I needed this post! And the shopping list makes it all easier, thank you!
Yay! Awesome!
How helpful!!! Thank you for posting the prices too! Loved that.
No problem! 🙂
Great list of healthy dinner ideas on a budget. Love how you created a grocery list too! So many people go to the grocery and over spend or end up buying bad stuff when they don’t head with a list! Love how you mixed up different ethnic styles of food too! Nothing worse than eating the same style over and over again!
I ALWAYS over spend if I do not have my list!! And I love a variety in foods. 🙂
I love this. I love that it’s on a budget and only one day out shopping. With two little kids, the less I need to drag them to the grocery store, the better it is.
SAME! 2 young kids make “quick trips” a lot longer!
Great tips! Knowing what day to shop is an awesome trick, I’m going to have to check our local spots to see if there are any days that are of benefit! Quesadillas are life for my daughter at the moment, so I’m going to have to try this yummy recipe. 🙂
Quesadillas are so yummy! 🙂
This is a really helpful post. I find that I am not very effective when it comes to grocery shopping for the week. This will certainly help me out a lot. Thanks for sharing <3
Those are such good ideas! Can’t believe this can be achieved on a budget!
The pork stir fry looks really good. My husband likes to have an Asian inspired meal once a week!
that buffalo chicken looks AMAZING! as a student, i’m always looking for cheap and healthy meals, so this post is incredibly helpful for me! thanks for sharing.
The buffalo chicken was so good and SO easy to make!
All this looks delicious! Definitely gonna save for future
You had me at quiche! We’ve got like 15 hens (they’re fast-movers… hard to count!) so I’m always looking for more ways to use eggs. I love quiche and can’t believe I always forget about that option. Thanks!
I didn’t like quiche growing up but after making this one my mind has changed! SO GOOD and so easy!!
I never thought of mixing fajitas and quesadillas either, but it’s a great idea. And pizza soup sounds delicious! We are working on healthy budget meals, too. It’s not always easy, especially with my boys being picky eaters.
My kids are picky too! There are a few things that they didn’t like but they did try them which is nice.
Omg! These all look so amazing. I will definitely be trying out all of these amazing recipes. Thank you so much for posting.
You are AMAZING! Adding several of these to my meal plan. Can’t wait to try some new dishes!
This is a great list!
I can’t wait to try some of these recipes!
My favorite day to go shopping is Mondays because our local store has marked down meats.
The only bad thing about that is it’s hard to meal plan that way.
I definitely get it! You never know what will be marked down!
Wow! I am impressed Amanda. I always shop with a list and plan my meals for the week. I love to cook and love trying new recipes. Winter Sundays are always soup days. An easy meal to make and leftovers for lunch. You are amazing girl.
Thanks Grandma! I love Sunday Soup days, I may need to incorporate that more!
Those dishes look heavenly. but the thing with meal planning is I can’t seem to stick to them, no matter what I do. Not because we can’t eat what’s been planned or I can’t keep up with the schedule, but there are times when I’ve already planned to cook, but nobody wants to eat, nobody’s hungry, then it ends up as a leftover, which will be eaten on the next meal – this has already disrupted the plan.
That has happened to me before!
These are great healthy meal ideas… will have to give some of these a try as I could do with saving some money this month!
Being healthy and on a budget can be a trying task! This list makes it possible. Thank you!!!
Double-ad Wednesdays? No way! Because my hubby loves to cook as much as I do, and who’s going to cook that night is usually a decision we can’t make til that AM (depending on his workload/meetings that day), we can’t do a proper meal plan. So what I usually do is a) shop mid-morning, when all the “must sell today” things go on the stores’ clearance piles, b) plan that night’s meal around what is on the clearance pile (and stock up on things that will keep a few days that I can use for lunches/other days (e.g. lettuce hearts that they put on clearance after stripping off the wilted outer leaves) c) if it’s meat on clearance, buy whatever we can use and pop into the freezer if we won’t use it that day, and d) always make plenty of what I’m cooking (soup, pot pie, etc.) and freeze half. Then if it’s my turn to cook and MY work schedule really doesn’t have time for it, I just go to the freezer in the morning instead of the store!
That is a great idea! I like to shop the “must use by today or freeze” bin as well!
This is a great list of dinner ideas. looks like the kind of meals we eat here at our house, good to know they’re healthy meals lol.
This looks delicious 😋 I really want to try it out
Yummy I love this ❤️
Glad to see that you vary your meals and keep them balanced. That is so important even on a budget.
Great job. I am impressed Amanda.I always shop with a list and plan my meals for the week. I love to cook and love trying new recipes. Thank you for the list. It was very helpful. Many are acclaimed..
What great ideas. I am always cooking and always looking for new healthy dinner ideas to try. Thanks!