How the money works
Three rules make a cheap week taste like a normal one.
- One protein bought in bulk, used three ways. A whole chicken, or a family pack of thighs, costs less per pound than any single-meal portion and gives you roast, leftovers and stock.
- Two dinners are "free". They're built from the parts you've already paid for: the second half of a roast, the pot of beans, the rice you cooked double.
- Flavour comes from the cupboard. Garlic, lemon, soy, vinegar, spices. They're on the list once and they last months, so this week is more expensive than the next one will be.
The shopping list, priced
| Item | Amount | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken thighs, bone-in, family pack | 3 lb | $7.50 |
| Eggs | 1 dozen | $3.20 |
| Dried red lentils | 1 lb | $1.80 |
| Chickpeas, canned | 2 × 15 oz | $1.90 |
| Black beans, canned | 2 × 15 oz | $1.90 |
| Diced tomatoes, canned | 3 × 14 oz | $2.90 |
| Long-grain rice | 2 lb | $2.20 |
| Spaghetti | 1 lb | $1.30 |
| Flour tortillas | 10 | $2.40 |
| Onions | 3 lb bag | $2.50 |
| Carrots | 2 lb bag | $1.80 |
| Potatoes | 5 lb bag | $3.90 |
| Cabbage | 1 head | $1.90 |
| Frozen peas | 1 lb | $1.50 |
| Frozen spinach | 1 lb | $1.70 |
| Garlic | 1 head | $0.70 |
| Lemons | 2 | $1.20 |
| Cheddar block | 8 oz | $2.90 |
| Plain yoghurt | 32 oz | $2.80 |
| Curry powder, cumin, smoked paprika | 1 jar each | $4.20 |
| Soy sauce | 1 bottle | $1.90 |
| Total | $52.10 | |
| Of which spices and soy sauce (last 3+ months) | −$6.10 | |
| This week's food | $46.00 | |
Assumed already in the kitchen: cooking oil, salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar. If you don't have those, add about $5 and you're still under $52.
The seven dinners
Monday · Roast chicken thighs with potatoes and cabbage
Toss 6 thighs with oil, salt, smoked paprika and a sliced onion on a tray; add 1 lb of potatoes cut in chunks. Roast at 425°F / 220°C for 40 minutes. Shred a quarter of the cabbage, fry hard in a little oil with salt and a squeeze of lemon for the last 5 minutes. Eat two thighs tonight. Pull the meat off the other four and keep it; save the bones.
Tuesday · Red lentil dal with rice and yoghurt
Simmer 1½ cups of red lentils in 4 cups of water for 20 minutes. Fry an onion and 3 cloves of garlic in oil with 1½ tbsp curry powder and 1 tsp cumin until golden, stir into the lentils with salt and lemon. Cook 2 cups of rice; cook 4 cups' worth and chill the rest for Friday. Serve with a spoon of yoghurt.
Wednesday · Chicken, black bean and cheddar tacos
Warm half the pulled chicken in a pan with a can of black beans, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika, a chopped garlic clove and a splash of water; mash a few beans to thicken. Shred cabbage, toss with lemon and salt. Fill warm tortillas with the chicken, cabbage and grated cheddar. Yoghurt stands in for sour cream.
Thursday · Dal, round two, with a fried egg and spinach
Reheat Tuesday's dal with a handful of frozen spinach stirred through until wilted. Fry two eggs crisp at the edges in a hot pan. Dal in a bowl, egg on top, chilli or lemon over. A different dinner from the same pot.
Friday · Egg fried rice with peas and chicken
Scramble 3 eggs in oil, set aside. Fry 2 cloves of garlic and a cup of frozen peas for a minute, add the cold rice and press it into the pan to crisp. Add the remaining chicken, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp vinegar, then the eggs. Toss over high heat for 2 minutes.
Saturday · Chickpea and tomato stew with garlic toast
Soften an onion, add 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika and a pinch of chilli. Add 2 cans of chickpeas, 2 cans of tomatoes and a cup of stock made from Monday's bones (or water). Simmer 15 minutes, crushing some chickpeas to thicken, and finish with lemon. Toast the last tortillas or any bread rubbed with garlic.
Sunday · Spaghetti with tomato, spinach and a cheddar crumb
Fry 3 cloves of garlic in oil with chilli, add the last can of tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes with salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook the spaghetti; stir frozen spinach into the sauce for the last 3 minutes. Toss together with a splash of pasta water. Top with grated cheddar and black pepper. Not parmesan, and still good.
| Day | Dinner | Per serving | For two |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Roast chicken, potatoes, cabbage | $2.95 | $5.90 |
| Tue | Red lentil dal, rice, yoghurt | $1.10 | $2.20 |
| Wed | Chicken and black bean tacos | $2.40 | $4.80 |
| Thu | Dal with fried egg and spinach | $1.45 | $2.90 |
| Fri | Egg fried rice with chicken | $1.85 | $3.70 |
| Sat | Chickpea and tomato stew | $1.60 | $3.20 |
| Sun | Spaghetti, tomato and spinach | $1.50 | $3.00 |
| Seven dinners for two | $1.84 avg | $25.70 |
The dinners use about $26 of the $46. The rest is what's left over on Sunday night: half the rice, potatoes and onions, most of the carrots, the yoghurt, half the cheese, a can of beans, the second half of the spices. That's the base of next week, which is why week two of a budget like this is cheaper than week one.
Having the plan built for you
This plan took an afternoon to balance: the bulk protein, which dinners feed the next ones, what's left on Sunday. That juggling is the part an app should do, and it's the specific thing Your Way Kitchen's planner is built around.
Set a budget per serving. Every meal shows what it costs.
In Preferences, enter a budget per serving, say $2, along with your diet, dislikes and the equipment you own. Then open the Planner, choose up to seven days, and the app generates a week that fits the number, with leftovers planned across days. Every recipe shows an estimated cost per serving and for the whole dish, so you see where the money goes before you shop.
The shopping list is built from the plan and leaves off anything you've marked as a staple. On the web, Build list from this week's calendar does it in one click; the phone's Shopping List tab does the same.
Plan a week on the webScaling the number
- $35 for two: drop the chicken for a second bag of lentils and a dozen more eggs, and make Monday a frittata with potatoes and cheese. Everything else stays.
- $75 for two: add a whole chicken instead of thighs, a bag of apples, a second cheese and fresh herbs. Same plan, noticeably nicer.
- For four: double the proteins and starches; the vegetables, spices and sauces mostly stretch. Expect about $80, not $100, because the bulk packs get cheaper per pound.
If the week's cooking is the obstacle rather than the money, the pantry staple dinners guide is twelve more meals from the same cupboard.