Meal Prep on $50 a Week: Eat Clean Without Going Broke

Every time someone tells me eating healthy is expensive, I ask them what they spent on takeout last week. The silence says everything. Eating clean on $50 a week isn't a hack — it's a strategy. And it starts at the grocery store, not in the kitchen. ## The $50 Shopping List **Proteins ($18)** - 1 dozen eggs — $3 - 2 lbs chicken thighs — $6 - 1 lb ground turkey — $5 - 1 large tub Greek yogurt — $4 **Carbs ($10)** - 5 lb bag of rice — $4 - 1 bag sweet potatoes — $3 - 1 loaf whole wheat bread — $3 **Veggies & Fruit ($14)** - 2 bags frozen mixed vegetables — $4 - 1 bag spinach — $3 - 3 bananas — $1.50 - 1 bag apples — $4 - 1 onion, 1 garlic — $1.50 **Pantry basics ($8)** - Olive oil, salt, pepper, hot sauce — you probably have these. If not, they're one-time buys. ## The Weekly Menu **Breakfast:** Scrambled eggs (2) with spinach + 1 slice toast. Greek yogurt with apple. **Lunch:** Rice + chicken thighs + frozen veggies. Cook 4 portions at once. **Dinner:** Ground turkey with sweet potatoes and onions. Cook 3 portions. **Snacks:** Banana, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt. ## The Method Sunday afternoon — 90 minutes. That's it. 1. Cook all the rice at once. 2. Bake chicken thighs on a sheet pan (400°F, 25 min). 3. Brown the ground turkey with onions and garlic. 4. Bake sweet potatoes (400°F, 45 min). 5. Hard-boil 6 eggs. Portion into containers. You now have meals for 5 days. ## Why This Works The secret isn't fancy recipes. It's buying raw ingredients instead of prepared food, and cooking in batches instead of one meal at a time. A $12 restaurant burrito has $2.50 of food in it. You're paying $9.50 for someone else to roll it. Roll your own. Keep the $9.50.