Lunch for Less Than $1 Day

Everyone thinks that eating healthy is expensive. I actually think that the expensive part comes from buying too much and not really using it.

Before starting the 21 Day Fix, I always bought lunch out and usually spent $11-$12 every day. Actually making my food at home and bringing it with me to work was a totally new concept for me. Now that I've completed 5 rounds of the 21 Day Fix I'm starting to get a better handle on what food works for me.

For example, a staple of my day is having a huge salad at lunch. My view on veggies comes from reading Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Basically, the more veggies and the more varied the colors the better.

I'm also an "easier is better" type when it comes to food. Some of the things I eat every day are Siggi's yogurt (which counts as a "red" container, ie. protein), Shakeology after my workouts (another red container), berries (purple), and some kind of a snack. This week for my snack I'll have a turkey and cheese wrap. After that, it comes down to having a few good things around like apples, peanut butter, almonds and nuts, and having a healthy dinner.

Now that I have some of the basics down with meal prep, I'm working on getting more efficient at the grocery store. I have a running contest with myself to spend as little as possible. The ground rules are to buy only what we are going to consume that week.

Keep in mind, I'm not counting dinner out, my dunkin donuts coffee that I have every morning, etc. Each week is different because sometimes there are left overs and sometimes we have to restock on basics. My first week I spent $120 and today I spend $114.

Here's what's crazy, I found that my lunch costs less than $1 a day.

Lunch Total $4.89 = less than $1 / day
- large bag of pre cut kale $2.50
- shredded carrots $1.89
- chickpeas $.67

I do put other things in my salad including olive oil to massage the kale, balsamic, and shredded almonds... but those are all things that you buy once and they last a while so I'm not including them in the total.

So what the heck else did I buy for the other $109? First, the rest of my own daily items:

- 5 siggi's yogurts (I eat one a day)
- strawberries and blackberries (I cut and divide and create 5 containers which I bring to work)
- turkey and cheese wraps (a great late afternoon snack)

Dinner
- meatloaf and baked beans
- grilled chicken and rice pilaf
- quesadillas with mushroom, onion, peppers and refried beans

My original goal was to cut the weekly grocery list to about $100 per week. I think I've done pretty well at $114. It will be interesting to continue to track this since I know it'll change each week. Wish me luck!

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