I averaged out my food cost per meal and then per day. It is way cheaper to not buy prepared food and to cook the meat yourself. It takes 5 minutes to prep the vegetables (especially frozen broccoli or asparagus) and 2 minutes to prep the chicken (throw it in a roasting dish with olive oil, S&P, and chicken seasoning) and roast both at 350 for 30 minutes. I do the rice in a rice cooker and brown rice takes 75 minutes so I either time it so they’re all done at once or let my veg and meat cool off since it’s all getting packaged and put in the fridge anyway.

I did not look at the upfront cost for everything on the list and total it, or it would be around $150 which SEEMS super expensive. But $30 can last me 8 weeks with this menu. As we all know, the best way to make Costco worth it is a freezer and a good sized pantry.

Note: frozen asparagus is gross. Use fresh and undercook it (I do about ten minutes). Then when I nuke it it’s not super soggy. I don’t bother steaming the veg as I don’t think it’d hold up to fridge and microwave as well as roasting. Brussels sprouts probably reheat the best. I use boneless, skinless chicken tenders because I think breasts are more expensive and dry out faster.

I also don’t eat like this all the time. This is on a perfect day where I don’t sneak any junk food.