Putting it all together: a 5,000-calorie day for less than $10
The point of this example is not to show you have to eat 5,000 calories to gain weight (which often is excessive), it’s to show that even with an extreme intake, eating for <$10 is still quite possible.
Target Macros: Fat – 180g, Carbs – 625g, Protein – 220g, Calories – 5,000
Here’s a sample day of eating that gets pretty damn close to these macros with calories and price included.
Breakfast (1,530 calories): Cheese Omelette and peanut butter toast
> 4 egg omelette with 2/3 cup shredded cheese and 2 cups spinach
> 3 slices of multigrain toast covered in 4 tbsp natural peanut butter
> 2 cups whole milk
Lunch (1,750 calories): Chicken and rice burritos
> 1 cup rice (dry measure) with 2 tbsp coconut oil mixed in
> 8 oz. grilled chicken breast, chopped
> 3 large flour tortillas
Dinner (1,330 calories): Pasta with meat sauce
> 8 oz. whole grain pasta
> 15 oz. tomato sauce
> 6oz ground beef, 85% lean
Anytime Snack (380 calories): 2 granola bars
Final macros: Fat – 178g, Carbs – 613g, Protein – 228g, Calories – 4,990
Price Breakdown:
$0.67 for 4 eggs
$0.70 for 4 tbsp natural peanut butter
$0.30 for 3 slice of multigrain bread
$0.28 for 2/3 cup of shredded cheese
$0.25 for 2 cups whole milk
$0.22 for 2 cups spinach (raw measure)
$0.56 for 1 cup of rice
$0.42 for 2 tbsp coconut oil
$1.00 for 8oz chicken breast
$0.84 for 3 tortillas
$0.69 for 8oz pasta
$0.50 for half can of tomato sauce
$1.45 for 6 oz. ground beef
$0.84 for 2 granola bar servings
Grand Total: $8.72
The best part about this is that there’s still wiggle some room left over for basic supplementation, additional veggies, etc., or eating out for 8 bucks 5 times per month, all while still staying around the $10/day mark.
Ingredients / Shopping List:
> Rice – a
is about 45 cups of rice (dry measure) and ranges from $17-$30. We picked $25 for this estimate.
> Coconut oil – I found 54 oz. (107 tbsp) for about 22 bucks
> Eggs – $2/dozen is realistic price if you buy in bulk.
> Peanut Butter –
, you can get 75 2 tbsp servings for about 25 bucks.
> Multigrain Bread – Under
Pick higher calorie bread (>100 calories per slice).
> Shredded Cheese – under
for a 2-pound bag of shredded cheese.
> Whole milk –
isn’t too hard to find.
> Whole Grain Pasta –
is cheap. Regular pasta can dip well below $1 to save even more.
> Tomato Sauce – 29 ounces for
. Can’t beat that.
> Large Flour Tortillas – 16 large tortillas for $4.38
> Ground Beef – under $4/lb isn’t too hard to find.
> Chicken Breast –
in bulk makes this one of the cheapest protein options.
> Granola Bar –
(2 pars per pack).
> Spinach – under
, which gives you about 7 2-cup servings.