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Eat Fit for $40 a week

Molly Kimball, registered dietitian, challenged herself to put together a shopping list, a meal plan, and recipes to help you keep fit for $40 a week.  She didn’t quite get there, but she was able to come up with a terrific meal plan for under $45 a week.   Credit and a huge thank-you to Eat Fit NOLA Ambassador Emily Chauvin for her research on this feature.

Grocery List:

  • Walmart:
    • 1 Carton of eggs – $1.68 (12 ct Grade AA) or $1.80 (12 ct Grade A)
    • Carton of Greek yogurt – $3.78 for GV 32 oz
    • Almond milk (Blue Diamond) – $1.94 for 32 oz Almond Breeze
    • 1 bag part-skim mozzarella (Great Value) – $2.22/2 cup bag
    • 1 Lg Cauliflower Head – $2.97 per head (Green Giant)
    • 1 green bell pepper (1/2 lb)- $0.78/ lb → $0.39
    • 2 onions (1 lb) – $0.98 per pound
    • 1 carrot stick (Bulk Carrot Sticks ½ lb) – $0.67/lb → $0.335
    • 1 garlic  (1 piece = ¼ lb) – $3.98/pound → $0.995
    • 1 (or 2) celery stalks  (Green Giant) – $1.34/bag
    • 4.5 cups spinach (Marketside) – $2.98/bag of 8 cups spinach
    • 1 apple (4 oz) – $1.47/lb →  $0.3675
    • 1.5 lbs white beans (Great Value) – $1.56/1 lb bag → $3.12
    • 1 container rolled oats (Great Value) – $1.64/18 oz container
      • Total Estimated Cost: $24.85
  • Langenstein’s
    • Naked Rotisserie Chicken – $6.99
      • Total Estimated Cost: $6.99
  • Farmer’s Market
    • Blueberries – $6.00/2 lbs
    • Okra – $2.00/basket
    • Green Beans – $5.00/container
      • Total Estimated Cost: $13.00 (only spend 6.50 and match that)

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Meal Plan

Day Meal Time Menu Nutrition Facts Ingredients/Description
Monday Breakfast Veggie Omelet + Greek yogurt covered blueberries  

350 calories, 14.5g fat, 4g sat fat, 150 mg sodium, 27g carbs, 5g fiber, 18g sugar, 0 grams added sugar, 27g protein

 2 eggs, ¼ bell pepper, ¼ onion, 1 tsp olive oil + ½ cup Greek yogurt, ½ cup blueberries

 

 
Lunch White Bean Salad  

270 calories, 12g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 270mg sodium, 20g carbs, 6g fiber, 2g sugar, 25g protein

 2 cups spinach, ½ cup white beans, 2 oz rotiss chicken, ½ cup celery, 2 tbsp dressing
Dinner Rotiss Chicken “Bowl”  

230 calories, 4.5g fat, 1g sat fat, 515 mg sodium, 14g carbs, 5g fiber, 4g sugar, 38g protein

 4 oz rotiss chicken, 1 cup veggies, 1 cup cauliflower rice, 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
Tuesday Breakfast Overnight oats w/ Greek yogurt + blueberries  

390 calories, 4.5g fat, 1g sat fat, 90mg sodium, 54g carbs, 8g fiber, 23g sugar, 31g protein

 ½ cup rolled oats, 1 cup Greek yogurt,  1 teaspoon honey, ½ cup blueberries
Lunch Chicken Salad w/ apple slices  

200 calories, 3.5g fat, 1g sat fat, 350mg sodium, 12g carbs, 2g fiber, 10g sugar, 32g protein

 ¼ cup Greek yogurt, salt/pepper to taste, ¼ cup grapes, ½ celery stalk (chopped), 3 oz chicken, 1 apple, sliced
Dinner Crispy Chicken Pizza Crust (makes 4 servings)  

2 slices pizza crust= 120 calories, 2 g fat, 0g sat fat, 400mg sodium, 2g carbs, 0g fiber, 26g protein

 ½ cup packed minced chicken, ½ cup packed shredded mozzarella, ½ tbsp. dried parsley, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic powder topped w/ rotiss chicken + vegs
Wednesday Breakfast Egg Muffins  

100 calories, 5 g fat, 2g sat fat, 6g carbs, 0g fiber, 2g sugar, 12g protein

 1 egg, 1 egg white, 2 oz spinach, ¼ bell pepper, ¼ onion
Lunch Cauliflower Fried Rice  

190 calories, 9g fat, 4g sat fat, 240mg sodium, 18g carbs, 5g fiber, 7g sugar, 11g protein

 ½  tbsp butter, 1 whisked egg, ½ carrot peeled/diced, ¼ onion diced, 1 garlic clove minced, 1 cup cauliflower rice, 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
Dinner White Bean Chili  

370 cals, 6.5g fat, 2.5g sat fat, 930mg sodium, 41g carbs, 9g fiber, 4g sugar, 41g protein

  8 oz beans, 1 tbsp butter, ½ cup chopped yellow onion, ¼ garlic clove minced, 1.5 cups reduced sodium chicken broth, ½ tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper w/ chicken crust to dip
Thursday Breakfast Smoothie  

240 calories, 4g fat, 0g sat fat, 40g carbs, 6g fiber, 10g sugar, 12g protein

 ½ cup rolled oats, ½ cup almond milk, ½ cup blueberries, ¼ cup Greek yogurt
Lunch White Bean Hummus w/ cauliflower thins (makes 6 thins) 600 calories, 47g fat, 9g sat fat, 460 mg sodium, 27g carbs, 9g fiber, 8g sugar, 21g protein ½ lb dried beans, 1 lemon, 1 tsp ground cumin, 2 garlic cloves chopped, ½ cup tahini paste, ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

 

1 lg cauliflower head, 2 eggs, ½  cup Parmesan cheese, 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
Dinner Chicken + Hummus  

785 calories, 25.25g fat, 8g sat fat, 710mg sodium, 57g carbs, 15g fiber, 9g sugar, 44g protein

 2 oz chicken topped w/ 2 tbsp hummus + 1 cauliflower thin over leftover chili
Friday Breakfast Eggs + Oats  

410 calories, 11g fat, 2.5g sat fat, 110mg sodium, 54g carbs, 10g fiber, 2g sugar, 19g protein

 1 egg + 1 cup rolled oats w/ ¼ cup almond milk
Lunch Chicken salad on cauliflower thins  

480 calories, 21.5g fat, 6g sat fat, 960mg sodium, 29g carbs, 7g fiber, 15g sugar, 46g protein

 Leftover chicken salad on 2 cauliflower thins
Dinner Salad Trio: Egg salad, hummus, chicken salad 410 cals, 15g fat, 6.5g sat fat, 140mg sodium, 10g carb, 3g fiber, 3g sugar, 16g protein Egg Salad: 1 boiled eggs, ½ carrot chopped, ¼ cup cheese, 2 tbsp Greek yogurt.

2 tbsp hummus

Leftover chicken salad

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Recipes:

Overnight oats w/ Greek yogurt + blueberries

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ½ cup blueberries

Instructions:

Place the oats and yogurt in a mixing bowl and stir to thoroughly incorporate.  Add honey and stir again until evenly mixed.  (Note: adding the honey after the oats and yogurt are mixed will allow it to stir in more evenly.)  Cover and refrigerate.  Place the frozen berries in a sealable container and add lemon juice.  Cover, shake to mix juice and berries, and refrigerate.

 

Chicken Salad

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 6 ounces rotisserie chicken
  • 1/2 cup red seedless grapes
  • 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine Greek yogurt, salt and pepper.  Refrigerate dressing until ready to make the salad.  This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.

Dice rotisserie chicken into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl.  Stir in grapes, celery, and dressing.  Serve with apple slices.  Makes 2 servings.

 Per serving: 200 calories, 3.5 grams fat, 1 grams saturated fat, 350 milligrams sodium, 11 grams carbohydrate,1 gram fiber, 9 grams sugar, 32 grams protein.

 

Low Carb, Gluten-Free Crispy {Chicken} Pizza Crust

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup cooked, packed minced chicken breast
  • 1/2 cup packed mozzarella, shredded
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine chicken and cheese, mixing until reaches a thick, dense crumb consistency.  Press mixture into a 12-inch round on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Top with parsley, onion and garlic powder and bake for 12 minutes.

Let cool for five minutes, then top with sauce, cheese, and toppings of choice.  Bake for 6-8 minutes more, or until toppings are lightly browned.  Let cool for five minutes, then slice and serve.

Per serving: 60 calories, 3 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat,115 milligrams sodium, 1 gram carbohydrate, less than 1 gram fiber, less than 1 gram sugar, 11 grams protein.

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Want more from Molly?  Click here to sign up for Nutrition Bites, her weekly e-newsletter with links to her Get the Skinny TV segments here on WGNO, and her weekly column in NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune!   And you can follow Molly on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram:  @MollyKimballRD