This week I cooked six recipes covering seven days of lunches and dinners for two adults, and I did it without going to the shops at all. Everything came from ingredients I already had at home.
The point is not that you need to have a fully stocked pantry to make this work. The point is that when you plan your meals and shop with intention, you build up the kind of kitchen where a week like this becomes possible. You stop buying random things and start buying ingredients that actually turn into meals. To give you a practical sense of the cost, I have priced up the ingredients used across these six recipes at both Aldi and Woolworths.
Recipes in this budget challenge
- Crusty bread: Four (or 5) ingredients, no special equipment, and it freezes well so you can slice it up and pull out portions as you need them through the week.
- Omelet: Eggs are one of the best value proteins you can buy and an omelet is one of the most flexible meals in your repertoire. Use whatever vegetables or leftovers you have on hand. We had these for quick lunches throughout the week.
- Taco soup: (incl. homemade taco seasoning) Thick, warming, and the kind of meal that people go back for seconds on. It reheats well so it is great for lunches the next day, and it freezes brilliantly if you want to make a big batch and put some away. Recipe from RecipeTin Eats.
- Keema curry: A minced meat curry with a lot of flavour for not a lot of effort. It comes together faster than you would expect and tastes even better the next day once everything has had time to settle. Serve it over rice and it goes a long way. Recipe from Brian Lagerstrom.
- Chicken peanut noodles: This one sounds more involved than it is. The flavour is really good and it holds up well in the fridge, which makes it a solid choice if you want to prep a portion in advance and grab it for lunch during the week. Recipe from RecipeTin Eats.
Cost breakdown of ingredients used
Here is how the ingredient costs for this week’s six recipes compare across the two supermarkets:
- Aldi: $42.36 total / $1.51 per portion / $3.03 per person per day
- Woolworths: $44.00 total / $1.57 per portion / $3.14 per person per day
- Here is the detailed breakdown of all main ingredients used this week. Note: this does not include basic oils and seasonings.
The Google Sheet above has the full line-by-line breakdown so you can see exactly which ingredients were used and what they cost at each store.
Under $45 worth of ingredients for a full week of home-cooked lunches and dinners is genuinely achievable. And the more consistently you meal plan, the more of these ingredients you will already have sitting in your pantry, fridge, or freezer.
Need some help?
- Recreate my $5/day budget meal challenge
- Download my free meal planning & grocery budgeting templates here