7 days of healthy meals on a budget

If you’re trying to keep food costs down, planning your meals in advance can help you make healthier choices, save money and reduce waste.

In this article, we’ve planned a week of dietitian-approved meals for:

• around £29 for 1 person
• around £58 for 2 people
• around £116 for 4 people.

This is just under the average weekly cost of nearly £31 per person for food and non-alcoholic drinks in the UK, according to Office of National Statistics’ figures for April 2023 to March 2024.

Below we have set out 7 days of affordable breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks, as well as a shopping list with all the ingredients you’ll need.

This meal plan is designed for 1 person, but you can also easily double, triple or quadruple this meal plan if you live with other people, or you want to freeze meals for later.

Some of the recipes we link to in the meal plan serve 2 or more, so you may need to divide or multiply the quantities of the recipes' listed ingredients depending on how many people you’re serving.

• Want to try something different? Find hundreds of heart-healthy and affordable recipes with our recipe finder.

Healthy eating meal plan

This week of meals is designed to give you an idea of how a balanced, budget-friendly week could look.

The full plan meets the UK Government’s Eatwell Guide's recommended proportions of fruit and vegetables, starchy carbohydrates, protein, dairy, and healthy fats, based on the nutritional analysis of each recipe where available, typical portion sizes and UK food composition data.

Each day includes the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, as well as more than the daily fibre target of 30g.

This meal plan provides around 1,500 calories per day, which may be appropriate for some people, particularly those aiming to lose weight. However, this is only a short-term example and not intended as a long-term eating plan.

The number of calories you need a day will depend on your age, activity level and health. For personalised advice, speak to your GP or practice nurse, who can refer you to a registered dietitian.

• Read more about how many calories you should eat a day.

Weekly shopping list

Fresh foods 

Cupboard staples 

Spice cupboard

• Black pepper
• Ground cumin
• Ground coriander
• Ground turmeric
• Chilli flakes
• Italian herb seasoning
• Cinnamon stick
• Grated nutmeg

Fresh herbs

• Fresh dill
• Basil leaves

You can swap out the herbs and spices in our recipes for similar ingredients depending on what you like or already have in your cupboard – just make sure not to add extra salt.

Monday

Breakfast: Porridge made with semi-skimmed milk and topped with a sliced banana.

Lunch: Spicy carrot and lentil soup and 2 slices of wholemeal bread with spread based on vegetable, olive or sunflower oil. Make an extra portion of soup per person for leftovers tomorrow.

Dinner: A medium-sized jacket potato (cooked in the microwave or oven) with a half a 120g tin of sardines in tomato sauce, served with 3 heaped tablespoons of peas.

Snacks:

• 2 satsumas or easy peelers
• 1 apple
• a small handful (30g) of unsalted peanuts
• 1 serving (125g) of fat-free Greek-style yogurt.

Approximate cost per day: £2.70

Tuesday

Breakfast: No-added-sugar muesli with semi-skimmed milk, topped with a sliced banana.

Lunch: Leftovers from Monday’s carrot and lentil soup recipe, with 2 slices of wholemeal bread with spread.

Dinner: ‘Marry Me’ chicken – chicken in creamy sauce, served with green beans and 220g new potatoes.

Snacks:

• 2 oatcakes with spread
• 1 pear
• 2 plums.

Approximate cost per day: £3.95

Wednesday

Breakfast: A boiled egg and sliced medium tomato on 2 slices of wholegrain toast with spread.

Lunch: A medium jacket potato with around 200g of reduced-sugar-and-salt baked beans and a portion of salad.

Dinner: Our beetroot barley risotto, served with 3 heaped tablespoons of peas.

Snacks:

• 1 carrot cut into sticks
• a small handful (30g) of unsalted peanuts
• 2 satsumas.

Approximate cost per day: £3.90

Thursday

Breakfast: A sliced or mashed banana on 2 slices of wholegrain toast with spread, and a serving of fat-free Greek-style yogurt.

Lunch: An egg, tomato and cucumber sandwich on wholemeal bread with spread.

Dinner: Wholewheat spaghetti with sardines and cherry tomatoes served with salad.

Snacks:

• 2 plums
• 2 oatcakes with reduced-fat soft cheese
• 1 pear.

Approximate cost per day: £3.49

Friday

Breakfast: No-added-sugar muesli with semi-skimmed milk and a banana.

Lunch: A cheese sandwich with 30g reduced-fat Cheddar, salad, 2 slices of wholegrain bread and spread.

Dinner: Mushroom and cauliflower frittata served with peas, carrots and a 220g portion of new salad potatoes.

Snacks:

• 2 plums
• a small handful (30g) of unsalted peanuts
• 1 pear.

Approximate cost per day: £3.94

Saturday

Breakfast: Porridge made with semi-skimmed milk and 1 banana.

Lunch: Indian-spiced scrambled eggs on 2 slices of wholemeal bread with spread.

Dinner: Tuna and sweetcorn pasta bake served with cauliflower and broccoli.

Snacks:

• a small handful (30g) of unsalted peanuts.
• 1 apple
• 1 pear.

Approximate cost per day: £4.14

Sunday

Breakfast: A poached egg and a portion of cooked chestnut mushrooms on 2 slices of wholemeal bread.

Lunch: Chicken and vegetable traybake – make an extra portion per person for leftovers.

Dessert: Baked citrus pears and apples served with low-fat custard or homemade custard with low-fat milk.

Dinner: A sandwich using leftover chicken and vegetables from lunch with cucumber, tomato, wholemeal bread and spread.

Snacks:

• a small handful (30g) of unsalted peanuts
• 1 carrot cut into sticks
• 2 satsumas.

Approximate cost per day: £6.81

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