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By Tiffany Published • Last Updated: April 21, 2021 91 Comments
$50 a week meal plan for a family of four includes a real food menu for breakfast, lunches, and dinners, plus a downloadable shopping list! It’s a perfect plan for when money is tight, or use it to increase your savings.
Some people truly believe that the only way to eat healthy real food is to shop at high-end health food grocery stores like Whole Foods or Central Market.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth!
Real food is all around us and whatever the financial hardship you may have, I assure you that it’s possible to feed your family real food on a tight budget!
To help you make this possible, I made you a $50 a week meal plan!
For the family who is trying to make healthy food work with a small budget, but aren’t sure where to begin, it’s exactly what you need! Whether you’re saving for something big, working on a smaller income, or overspent in previous weeks and need to scale back, this meal plan can help get you (back) on track!
Here is how this week meal plan can work for you..
- This menu was created to feed the average family of four. If you’re feeding more or less people, feel free to halve or double the recipes.
- Snacks and desserts are not included. If you MUST have snacks or desserts, I encourage you to use what you already have on hand.
- Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning) are not included. Most people have basic spices already, however, you can include them in your budget if you don’t. The dollar store sells garlic powder, a salt/pepper combo for $1 and you can make your own Italian seasoning. Alternatively, leave them out of your meals.
- There is a meal planned for every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but eating leftovers should be a priority. Not eating food you’ve already paid for and cooked is a waste of money. In order to stay within budget, you can’t afford to waste anything.
- This menu is seasonal, for this reason, you have to adjust produce as necessary to fit the season you’re in. Don’t rule out frozen if it’s less expensive.
Note
This menu is 100% real food, but it was not written to include organic, grass-fed, or any other qualities of real food. Of course, these things are great, but they’re not required for a real food diet. If your budget is only $50 for the week, these qualities need to be momentarily set aside until your financial situation is more stable.
FAQs
How do I plan meals for a week?
Here’s my meal planning process, and I’m also including my best tips to stick to the meal plan. For a sample of how I plan out my entire month of meals, check out this budget-friendly monthly meal plan.
Do you have the recipes?
Most recipes aren’t linked because they are either very basic (i.e. peanut butter and jelly) OR the recipe can be found on the container (i.e. oatmeal). I’ve linked to recipes where they would be helpful. If you like to follow meal plans where every meal has a recipe, I think you would like this meal plan.
What meals can I prepare for the week?
Some of these meals can be prepared ahead of time, for instance, oatmeal, hummus and baked chicken. I recommend cutting fruit and veggies the day of, but sandwiches can be made ahead of time and frozen!
Weekly Meal Plan
Day 1
- (B) Oatmeal with fruit (you can use the slow cooker or the Instant Pot recipe)
- (L) Hummus with fruit and veggie sticks (carrot, apple, celery, and cucumber)
- (D) Baked chicken (it doesn’t have to be chicken breast), corn on the cob, baked potatoes
Day 2
- (B) Potato (or sweet potato) and egg hash (or scrambled eggs)
- (L) Tuna salad with homemade crackers
- (D) Savory bacon, onion and greens pasta skillet
Day 3
- (B) Oatmeal with apples
- (L) Peanut butter sandwiches and grapes
- (D) Garden salad topped with chicken and bacon with buttered bread
Day 4
- (B) Oatmeal with fruit
- (L) Hummus with fruit and veggie sticks (carrot, apple, celery, and cucumber)
- (D) Minestrone soup with dinner rolls
Day 5
- (B) Potato and egg hash
- (L) Tuna salad with homemade crackers
- (D) Chicken sandwiches, roasted potato wedges, carrots
Day 6
- (B) Oatmeal with apples
- (L) Peanut butter sandwiches and grapes
- (D) Simple spaghetti (try my 15 minute homemade spaghetti sauce) and garden salad
Day 7
- (B) Oatmeal with fruit
- (L) Egg salad with dinner rolls
- (D) Veggie fried rice (you can also use brown rice)
I wanted to emphasize, if you’re craving for dessert, try my homemade yellow cake mix. It’s a simple dessert made with pantry staples and it’s SO good!
Overall, I was able to buy everything needed for this real food menu for just $49.80 when I shopped my local circulars and Walmart.
It’s important to realize, real food doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t matter how small your grocery budget is – you can do this!!
This is one of the principles I teach in Grocery Budget Bootcamp that’s helping families save hundreds on their groceries every month. Enrollment is currently closed, but you can join my FREE 5-day Crush Inflation Challenge and start saving money on groceries tomorrow!
More Tips for Meal Planning on a Budget
- Eating Real Food on a Budget
- How to Meal Plan and Make it Work
- The Secret to a Healthy Grocery Budget
- How to Make a Frugal Grocery Budget
- 25+ Cheap Healthy Meals (for under $10) | Don’t Waste the Crumbs
$50 Weekly Meal Plan
Sign up to get instant access to my $50 Weekly Meal Plan, complete with recipes and shopping list!
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Reader Interactions
91 Comments
Angela SchaeferThese recipes sound amazing. My husband and I are empty nesters. Our son Joshua is 25 years old. He and his fiancé have our beautiful granddaughter Everly. My husband doesn’t want to do all of our shopping at Aldi. We could eat more fruits and vegetables. If we did and my son and his fiancé are eating a lot of take out. With Everly I want to make sure she has balanced diet. She does have fruit and vegetables . Just not as much as Mimi would like.
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- Ginger
Recipes are indeed easy and tasty. However here in the 2020s, “shopping circulars” may be anti-cost effective because gas mileage may vary.
In my case, most of my shopping is at local $general/family$. with 1 trip down the mountain a month (make that zero in 2022) Nearest grocery is 25 mi and Walmart is 22.
Not including special item consideration for inherited health conditions that affect my choices, the ingredient selections seem dependent on being within or reasonably near a metro area ;_;Reply to this comment
- Angela
Yes that does make it much more difficult. We live in small town there are two grocery stores. But the prices are high. So we have to drive 30 minutes. Too stores that are cheaper, You living in the mountains makes that impossible.
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- Lydia D
The Day 3 salad you linked doesn’t match- Garden salad links to Buffalo Chicken.
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- Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Lydia,
Thanks for you thoughts. 🙂 The buffalo chicken salad recipe on the blog is the closest recipe we have to an affordable garden salad with chicken and bacon, and that is why it’s linked. It is written in the post as ‘garden salad with chicken and bacon,’ as a cost-effective and protein packed dinner salad. However, in case it’s in the budget for a buffalo chicken salad, we linked it for another option. Hope this helps. 🙂
Reply to this comment
- Vanessa
Do you have the recipe for that beautiful salad with the blueberries?
- Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Vanessa!
So sorry for the delay in responding. The recipe is this one: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/kale-salad-blueberries-walnuts-feta/. I hope you enjoy it!
- Lillie
I love this! Thank you so much for sharing. I can easily adjust to something like this. However, because I have such a picky eater (6yr old) we always have spend a little more money. This does give me an idea on how to work a much better budget.
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- Christina Kelley
Hi! I have a 10 month old at home. If it wasn’t for WIC I wouldn’t know where to begin affording to feed her. She is prescribed Nutramigen formula…which is $40 per small can. Needless to say, it is a life saver! But…I just got a raise of .10¢ per hour. Which puts me over by $6 per month for food stamps. So, I am really losing $350 per month by getting a raise. $50 per week might even be too much. But I am going to try as hard as I can. Any words of advice and encouragement would be wonderful. I need it.
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- Angela
I know it is really hard when you don’t have enough money to eat. My husband and I plus our son Joshua were on food stamps. When we just over the income level it was hard. The thing we used to do was lots of soup and grilled cheese. The canned soup at Aldi is cheap not the healthiest but add some canned fruit. Buy some Pancake mix we did lots of breakfast for dinner. Sending strength and hugs to you and your family.
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- Roxanne
Ask your boss to take the raise back or get off an hour early a few days a week.
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- Kate
I just lost my food stamps due to a raise. (single mom 4 kids).
I need to do $50/week… but with the raise in grocery cost its become $100/wk.Trying to budget lower.
I do recommend using lentils though! I found a great recipe for a Lentil Tortilla soup (like chicken tortilla but with lentils, literally tastes the same and is so filling!).
Also, home made tomato soup is SUPER EASY! (and you can make big batches and freeze them for later).Reply to this comment
- Gina
Hi Kate, hope this will help Steph over at Cheapskatecook.com and Beth at Budget Bytes.com have wonderful inexpensive recipes Merissa at Little House Living as well. We have Farm Share that comes to our area no qualifying also food banks and local churches. Sending lots of positive thoughts and prayers your way.
Gina - Angela
That sounds really good. Such A good mom to think of such healthy things. To feed your kids.
- Jon
Living off $50 a week is extremely easy for a family of 4. There are four grocery stores within a few miles of my house. The sales get very predictable after a while.
Here are some examples. A large container of Quacker Oats goes on sale at one of the grocery stores for $2.99 every month. Whole grain noodles are always available somewhere for $0.99. Brown rice ranges from $0.89 a pound to $0.66 a pound. Boneless and skinless chicken breast is available every two weeks for about $0.99 a pond. The list of cheap foods goes on forever.
I do not purchase snack food, soft drinks, or deserts for health reasons.
My foods always tastes good because I rarely rush to cook a meal. I take my time to make sure that I get every detail as perfect as possible. Attention to details can make anything including oatmeal taste great.
Here is another example. Put your glasses in the freezer about an hour before super. At the last minute put refrigerated water in the glasses and serve. I get lots of compliments from my family because I make water seem special with white frost on the glass. This is plain ordinary tap water.
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- Angela
That is great idea with the water glasses. I am not terribly excited when it is just plain glass of water. Thank you so much!
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- Jennifer
This is fantastic!! And as a base set up for you to go on to feed your family, SPOT ON!! I buy any meat on sale.. we at in the backwoods so we hunt and fish frequently so those meats are used prior to buying more. This has saved us a ton!! Also with a garden I don’t have to wonder where my food is coming from! These particular meals wouldn’t be ok with my hubby and kid however the practices used to make it in under budget with these meals I will be using!!!
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- Rosa
Thank you so much! This is for real life! My friends keep encouraging me to try meal plans that will RAISE my food budget. This looks doable and would LOWER the food budget! I can’t wait to try it!
Reply to this comment
- Tiffany
You’re so welcome Rosa! It’s not a fancy menu by any means, but it gets the job done without spending a lot of money! 🙂
Reply to this comment
- Lanesha
Thankyou for posting this. We are a family of 7 and find it really hard right now to feed our kids. Our budget was 100/w now we had to cut it to 60/w. It’s not fun at all.
Reply to this comment
- Tiffany
Hang in there Lanesha – we’ve found that the times of famine are what helps us grow most as a family. It’s not fun, but God holds lessons in everything. You can make it through!
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- Diana
I signed up for the download a total of three times and no link appeared or did I receive anything in my email.
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- Heather (contributing author)
Hi Diana! Sorry the link didn’t work! Send me an email here: tiffany (at) dontwastethecrumbs (dot) com and I can get it sorted out for you!
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- Jo
I give you my heartfelt and biggest thank you ever imaginable! you are a lifesaver. thank you!
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- Tiffany
You’re welcome Jo!
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- Mary
I literally cried when I read this. Thank you so much for posting! I had to quit my job because my Lupus was getting too bad to work, and then my husband had his hours cut. My son just turned 3 this month and I felt like a total failure because I couldn’t afford a birthday party for him, all I could do was get him one thing he really wanted. I am trying to put a happy face on for him, but with rent at 1500 and me locked into a lease, and my husband barely working, I feel like I’m drowning. I knew I had to make some major cuts, and this article makes me feel much better and much more motivated. I can do this! God bless you and thank you again xoxox
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- Breann
I have a family of 5. 2 adults 11 yr old 2 yr old and a 9 mo old we have a budget of $80 for two weeks I’m in desperate need of help to plan our meals!! I found this very helpful but fear that everyone would get tired of the same stuff all the time/
Reply to this comment
- Tiffany
This meal plan isn’t designed to be an all the time menu Breann, but rather a short-term option to free up funds. When money is as tight as it is, variety sometimes isn’t an option.
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- Melissa
Stealing from another meal plan that I am combining to incorporate different ideas, hard boiled eggs for lunch is a good protein and also filling. My two three year olds even peel them by themselves. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper and even my daughter who won’t eat scrambled eggs will eat hard boiled eggs. Surprises me every time. I get mine at Aldi’s and buy about four dozen for two weeks. You can pair this with a fruit and go to town.
I use some to make a quiche. I use frozen spinach ($1) and cheese to make it. It is a protein, great veggie, and a dairy with calcium. You can add toast if you can afford the extra bread. Adding eggs does not increase your budget a lot and they can go very far. This is definitely a way I would add variety. For breakfast, consider cinnamon toast (a little butter and some cinnamon). Also, mine like to have yogurt and dip apples in it. To beef up the protein content in this, I use vanilla greek yogurt that I buy by the tub. This lasts a long time. Lastly, a box of pancake mix and smash bananas up in your pancakes. This makes them include a little something extra and even oatmeal tastes good in these if you have it from your other breakfasts. I have taught mine to like pancakes without syrup. I cut it up into strips so they eat it with their hands that way. It was something new and different and was an easy transition away from sugary syrup. Pancake mix will last a long time so if you get a decent, but cheap box you can use it for a few weeks. Lastly, carrots are pretty cheap. I buy the petite ones, a few bags at aldis. I boil them or steam them. My kids still prefer their carrots soft. Your nine month old could probably eat them too. They are a great vegetable and are incorporated in some of the other meals she mentions so just another option with them if your littles don’t love them. Mine will eat half a bag if they are soft and I am not watching them.Reply to this comment
- michell
i live in NJ, not sure if the food price is lower here. im able to get alot more with $50 a week while including snacks and i am feeding a family of 4.
i think the price of the foods play such a big role in this. i only buy the things that go on sale also or shop at walmart only.
i usually get a little lost when it comes to lunch time lol so thank you so much for this post. these are awesome lunch ideas that i can totally include in my $50 budgetReply to this comment
- Tiffany
You’re absolutely right Michell – the cost of food in your area is the biggest unknown when it comes to eating well within a budget. That’s why I try to stress strategy more than money itself, because prices will be different everywhere!
Reply to this comment
- Alex
I can’t seem the find the link. Also do you have downloadable recipes anywhere? My husband is in medical school and we just moved to a new state so I stay home with our three month old until I can find a job and someone to watch her. We have a very low monthly grocery budget and I need help!
Reply to this comment
- Tiffany
Hi Alex! The link to download appears towards the end, a few seconds after the page loads. I don’t have recipes for this meal plan, but I do for a similar plan I wrote in October: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2015/10/one-week-50-meal-plan-family-four-number-2/
Reply to this comment
- Cory
Thanks for providing a real food menu: We’ve cut down our grocery budget by cooking meals that stretch for multiple meals. Like a simple roasted chicken, that can be made into multiple meals like chicken salad, or chicken enchiladas and chicken stock! Homemade soups/stews to use up produce that might otherwise go bad. Freezing veggie cut offs from celery, onions, carrots etc and making stock.
Using basic pantry ingredients to make sauces, soups, marinades, and dressings. Also, much healthier!
I have a vitamix blender that I use and while it’s an upfront expense but, I near 0 food waste. I can whip up smoothies, sorbets, ice creams, and most anything using up scrapsReply to this comment
- Tiffany
You’re welcome Cory! I agree with everything you said, including the blender. I’d be so lost without my Blendtec and although it was an upfront investment, I use it almost every day to save!
Reply to this comment
- Shelly
I wish my family could live off of this much food. My husband is training for an ultra marathon and needs a lot of calories and protein. I personally eat gluten free and vegetarian (I do eat seafood, fresh eggs and cheese). My youngest has allergies to soy bean oil, corn syrup and oil and cooked tomatoes. My oldest has allergies to red 40. Do you have any ideas? Even if I could get my groceries under $100 I will be happy. I usually spend $50 just on fruits and veggies. Please help?
Reply to this comment
- Tiffany
Hi Shelly – this is a bare bones, absolutely minimum meal plan. It is in no way representative of what we eat on a weekly basis, nor what I’d recommend. The intention was to provide ideas for those who are truly struggling to make ends meat and still need to eat.
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- Amy
I am on a limited budget also. We have a family of 5 regulars, every other week my grandson lives here, plus my older sons come over on the weekend with their wives for laundry and dinner (total of 8). I feel strained at $200 per week. I shop mainly Aldi. I need to try some of this at their prices.
Reply to this comment
- Kimberly
Do you have the recipes?
Reply to this comment
- Tiffany
Hi Kimberly! This one does not have the recipes, but I did another plan in October that does:
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2015/10/one-week-50-meal-plan-family-four-number-2/Reply to this comment
- Nikki
You can get spices at Woodman’s where I live (Oak Creek, Wisconsin) for 75 cents. It’s a good size jar, not a mini one.
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