milessmith•21d agoProlific Poster

Just hit $75 on a single week of meal prep, shocked me

I started tracking what I spend on groceries for Sunday meal prep back in January. Last week I added up the receipts and it came to $75 for five days of lunches and dinners for two people. That includes stuff like rice, beans, chicken thighs on sale, and frozen veggies. I used to think meal prep meant fancy ingredients, but sticking to basics really dropped the number. Anyone else track their weekly meal prep cost and get a surprising total?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_anthony15d ago

Yeah, @james_campbell12 that's basically what happened to me too. I was shocked the first time I actually added up my meal prep receipts and it came out way lower than I expected. I think people assume you need all these fancy ingredients when really just rice, beans, and meat on sale can stretch so far. I mean, I've definitely spent more on takeout for one night than I do on a whole week of prepped meals. It's wild how much you can save if you stick to the cheap staples.

james_campbell1221d ago

Honestly I always assumed meal prep would cost more but this actually opened my eyes.

charles44221d ago

I get where you're coming from, but I actually see it the other way. When you said "I always assumed meal prep would cost more," for me it's the opposite - buying all those ingredients at once really adds up quick. Maybe if you're just prepping stuff you already buy anyway, but planning a whole week's menu usually means picking up random spices and sauces that you don't have on hand. Plus if you're not careful, half the produce ends up rotting before you get to it. Just my experience though.