As someone who has lost 100 pounds, healthy eating is important to me, but I also don’t want to spend a fortune doing it. Here is my weekly meal plan – how I can maintain my weight loss with healthy eating on a budget.
It’s just my husband and I eating most nights, so we always have leftover nights planned in and I will be the first person to admit that my meals are only healthy-ish. I try to eat balanced meals with lots of veggies, but I also don’t like feeling deprived. I love to eat a variety of different flavors, proteins, fruits, and veggies and this is what works for me to maintain my weight loss.
I modify recipes all the time to fit my tastes, my budget, and make them healthier, so I include tips for that, as well.
Affordable Healthy Eating
Budget tips for the week:
- Stock up on your staples when they are on sale. Last week Barilla pasta was on sale, so I bought quite a few varieties of whole wheat pasta. I don’t have a big kitchen, so I store the extra boxes on shelves in our garage.
- Buy the meats and veggies that are on sale. You can substitute different proteins and vegetables in most recipes without compromising the taste of the food.
- Shop in your pantry first. As you are thinking about your meal plan for the week, think about the ingredients you already have on-hand and plan around them.
Breakfasts & Lunches
This week’s breakfasts:
- Fit Foodie Finds’ Brownie Batter Overnight Oats (I topped it with strawberries and Adam LOVED this, so I’ll be making it again very soon!)
- Chobani yogurt (a staple of mine!)
- peanut butter toast (on multigrain bread)
- Frugal Mom Eh’s Blueberry Oatmeal Greek Yogurt Muffins
I eat leftovers every day for lunch and so does Adam unless we don’t have them available. In that case, Adam loves eating the Starkist tuna creation pouches on multigrain bread with a little bit of mayo.
The muffins were good, but I’m not sure I’d make them again. I used a frozen berry mix that I had in my freezer instead of using fresh blueberries. I also had to substitute some of the plain Greek yogurt with sweetened because that’s what I had on-hand.
I liked the flavor of these a lot, but I can be a little picky with textures. These are definitely a bit firmer and chewier without the normal crumb of a blueberry muffin.
Monday
Pinch of Yum’s Vegetarian Pad Thai w/ Costco’s Trident Salmon Burgers
This tasted AMAZING! I used Barilla whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles (they were on sale recently at King Soopers for 88 cents a box), I doubled all of the veggies and added snow peas (my sister had just given me some), and I just completely forgot the cilantro.
I cut the vegetables up and made the sauce around lunchtime because I had plans right up to dinnertime that day, so I wanted to be able to throw it all together quickly. It worked!
With that prep work done ahead of time, it really only took a few minutes to get it all sauteed and thrown together.
Tuesday
Costco’s Basil Pesto Tilapia, frozen green beans, and sauteed roasted garlic & herb sweet potato
I had frozen some shredded sweet potato I had leftover after I made a quiche with a sweet potato crust for Mother’s Day, so I pulled that out of the freezer and sautéed it in a little bit of avocado oil and added some of my favorite McCormick Roasted Garlic & Herb seasoning (my favorite!).
Wednesday
Our 4th of July meal was a delicious splurge. When we have family dinners, we split the responsibilities for the meal – the host provides the main dish and sometimes a side, someone else brings a side, and someone else brings the dessert.
That day, I brought a really simple cucumber and cherry tomato veggie tray with a Greek yogurt dill dip.
We had quite the spread with burgers, ribs, homemade baked beans, guacamole, chips, watermelon, veggies, and a delicious cake/Jell-o/whipped cream berry dessert my sister made.
Thursday
Evolving Table’s Slow Cooker Chicken Curry With Coconut Milk over quinoa
This was another winner! I followed the recipe except I doubled the chicken and stirred in two cups of fresh spinach right before I served it.
- How to Cook Quinoa (stovetop)
- Instant Pot Quinoa recipe
Friday
Ribs, Steamfresh Green Beans, and grilled sweet corn
I wouldn’t normally have ribs twice in one week since that cut of meat isn’t exactly lean, so I consider them more of a treat food. But they were on sale for $1.77 a pound and I bought them before I knew my mom was planning on having ribs at our 4th of July dinner, too.
They were absolutely delicious and I savored every single bite and they went great with the fresh corn and green beans.
Saturday
Leftovers
Sunday
Smoked pork loin with sauerkraut & apples, sweet corn, and roasted baby carrots
This is usually our family dinner night, but my family was all out of town this weekend. Some friends from our small group invited us over for dinner and spoiled us with pork from their smoker instead!
I don’t choose to eat sauerkraut very often, but the way these were prepared with the Granny Smith apples tasted absolutely amazing!
Tips For Trying To Eat Healthy As A Guest In Someone Else’s Home
- Offer to bring a healthy dish (that’s why I brought the roasted baby carrots)
- Pay attention to your portion sizes. When you are chatting or standing around snacking on chips, it can be easy to overeat. Try to be a mindful eater.
- Do what you can. Fill your plate with veggies. Drink lots of water. Cut the excess fat off of your meat. Stop when you’re full. Make the healthy choices you can with the options available.
- Relax. Enjoy a good meal with good company. Don’t let guilt creep in and ruin it, even if you’re not following your eating plan exactly. Do what you can and let that be good enough.
Don’t Miss A Meal Plan!
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