5 Simple Healthy Meals – $50

Need ideas for family-friendly dinners on a budget? These simple healthy meals will make quick dinners for the family. Keep reading for easy healthy recipes and meal planning ideas.

Is it possible to only pay $50 (plus tax) for a week of 5 simple healthy dinners for two people? Absolutely! The key is to keep the menu simple. Continue reading to find a simple healthy week of dinners that are quick and easy to make!

Now, all of the prices listed below are based on Kroger prices. Many items are Kroger-brand. I opted for frozen vegetables instead of fresh to save some money and also some prep time. My favorite way to make vegetables is to roast them in the oven with some avocado oil and seasonings (typically salt, pepper, garlic powder). You can do this with frozen vegetables as well!

Shopping List for Simple Healthy Meals

Produce

• 2 Sweet Onions, 1.00
• 1 Green Pepper, 0.79
• 1 Head of Lettuce, 1.79
• 1 lb Roma Tomatoes, 1.59
• 1.5 lb Red Potatoes, 1.94

Meat/Chicken

• 1 lb Ground Beef, 5.49
• 2 lbs Ground Turkey, 7.98
• 1 lb Chicken Breast, 7.69

Dry Ingredients

• 2 15 oz. cans of Kidney Beans, 1.58
• 1 46 oz. can of Tomato Juice, 2.19
• 1 Taco Seasoning Packet, 0.78
• 1 Chilli Seasoning Packet, 0.49
• Honey Mustard, 1.25
• Tortilla Chips, 1.39
• Naan (2 ct), 2.50
• Pizza Sauce, 1.29
• Tortillas, 1.79
• Salsa, 1.39

Frozen Ingredients

• Frozen Green Beans, 1.00
• Frozen Corn, 1.00

Cold Ingredients

• Shredded Mexican Cheese, 2.29
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, 2.29

In total, this gets us to $49.50, before tax, for 5 meals that will feed AT LEAST 2 people. You will likely also have leftovers (especially with the Chili!) that you can eat for lunch or freeze for later. These are simple healthy dinners that take under 30 minutes to make. Some may even take you 10 minutes (Naan pizzas!). You can do a lot of the prep work on Sunday by chopping up all of the produce to save time during the week.

Now, let’s get into the simple healthy meals!

Simple Healthy Meals – #1 Chili ($11.04 Total)

1. Chili (11.04 Total)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Ground Beef, 5.49
• 2 15 oz cans Kidney Beans, 1.58
• 46 oz can of Tomato Juice, 2.19
• 1 Sweet Onion (diced), 0.50
• 1 Green Pepper (diced), 0.79
• Chilli Seasoning Packet, 0.49

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef, onion, green pepper, in a skillet on medium-high heat.
2. Once cooked through, drain the fat and return to skillet.
3. Add in tomato juice, kidney beans, chilli seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
5. Enjoy with tortilla chips and shredded cheese on top!

Simple Healthy Meals – #2 Honey Mustard Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans ($11.88 Total*)

Ingredients

• 1 lb Chicken Breast, 7.69
• Mayonnaise (2 tbsp)
• Bread crumbs (2 tbsp)
• Honey Mustard, 1.25
• Frozen Green Beans, 1.00
• Olive Oil
• 1.5 lb Red Potatoes (quartered), 1.94

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Pat chicken breasts dry. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Spread a small amount of mayonnaise on the top of each chicken breast.
4. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the mayonnaise.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.
6. After chicken is in the oven, spread green beans on half of a cookie sheet (spray cookie sheet with cooking spray).
7. Wash and quarter red potatoes, adding them to the other half of the cookie sheet. 
8. Drizzle green beans and red potatoes with olive oil (or avocado oil).
9. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss to coat.
10. Bake for 15 minutes (or until potatoes/green beans are cooked to your liking!) Note: you’ll want to wait until the chicken has about 15 minutes left before adding the green beans and potatoes to the oven.
11. Once chicken is cooked through, remove from oven. Drizzle with honey mustard.
12. Serve with green beans and potatoes.

*Note: Mayonnaise, bread crumbs and olive oil excluded from price as these are typically items people have on hand.

Simple Healthy Meals – #3 Taco Salads ($11.94 Total)

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Turkey, 3.99
• Taco Seasoning packet, 0.39
• Head of Lettuce, 1.79
• 1 lb Roma Tomatoes, 1.59
• 1 Sweet Onion, 0.50
• Tortilla Chips, 1.39
• Shredded Mexican Cheese, 2.29

Directions:

1. Brown turkey in a skillet over medium-high heat.
   1. Note: I’d go ahead and brown the turkey for the tacos that you’ll have later in the week as well!
2. While turkey is browning, cut up produce (lettuce, roma tomatoes, onions).
3. Add taco seasoning to turkey, cook according to instructions on packet.
4. Combine into taco salads and top with cheese and tortilla chips.

Simple Healthy Meal #4 – Naan Pizzas ($6.08 Total)

Ingredients:

• Naan (2 ct), 2.50
• Pizza Sauce, 1.29
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, 2.29

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Top Naan with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.
3. Bake in oven for 8 minutes.

*Note: You can also use leftover tomatoes, green pepper, and/or onion as toppings!

Simple Healthy Meal #5 – Turkey Tacos and Frozen Corn

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb Ground Turkey, 3.99
• Taco Seasoning packet, 0.39
• Tortillas, 1.79
• Salsa, 1.39
• Frozen Corn, 1.00

Directions:

1. Brown turkey in a skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add in taco seasoning, according to instructions on packet.
3. Serve with warmed tortillas, topped with cheese, salsa and corn on the side. 

And that’s it! Hopefully this helps give you some meal planning ideas and inspiration. For more ideas, check out this post for 10 nut-free toddler lunch ideas!