# Feeding a Household on a Tight Budget: A Practical Month's Plan

> The cheapest way to eat well is to make pulses the base of half the week: lentils, fava beans and chickpeas deliver protein at a fraction of the cost of meat. The rest is planning — buying staples in bulk, cooking in batches, and throwing nothing away.

**4 min read**

Advice about saving money on food is usually vague: "plan ahead", "buy in bulk". This is different — it has a specific week and real numbers behind it.

## The founding rule: pulses

Protein is the most expensive thing in any meal, and lentils, fava beans and chickpeas deliver plant protein at a fraction of the cost of meat. Egyptian cooking is built on exactly this principle — **koshari**, **ful medames**, **ta'ameya** and **mujadara** are all filling dishes at a low cost.

Make pulses the base of three or four days a week and the difference in the shopping bill shows immediately, without anyone feeling they're eating "cheap food".

## A week's schedule

  - **Saturday** — **koshari**. It feeds six, keeps two days and reheats well.
  - **Sunday** — **mujadara** with salad and yoghurt.
  - **Monday** — **okra stew** or **mesaqaa** with a small amount of meat for flavour, not as the base.
  - **Tuesday** — **pasta with tomato sauce** and grated cheese.
  - **Wednesday** — **ful and ta'ameya** with salad and bread. The cheapest filling supper there is.
  - **Thursday** — the meal everyone waits for: chicken or meat.
  - **Friday** — the week's leftovers in one dish, or a **soup** from chicken bones.

## Five habits that save more than any recipe

### 1. Cook in batches

Gas and time don't scale with quantity. A large pot of koshari takes about as long as a small one, and saves an entire cooking day.

### 2. The freezer is your partner

Vegetables about to turn get chopped and frozen. Leftover parsley and coriander get chopped into ice cube trays with a little oil. Chicken bones go in the freezer until you make stock.

### 3. Buy in season

Seasonal vegetables cost a fraction of out-of-season ones and taste better. Tomatoes in summer and oranges in winter are not the same price they are out of season.

### 4. Spices save money, they don't cost it

Cheap food that tastes good gets eaten; cheap food that tastes of nothing gets thrown out. **Cumin, coriander and a taqleya** turn lentils from a dull plate into a meal people look forward to.

### 5. Don't shop hungry

An old cliché, but demonstrably true — shopping on an empty stomach measurably raises the bill.

## False economies

  - **"Cheap" ready meals** — one portion costs more than home cooking that feeds four.
  - **Offers on things you won't use** — a discount on something you throw away is not a saving.
  - **Bulk quantities that spoil** — buying in bulk only saves on things that keep: rice, lentils, pasta, pulses.

## Cheap food is not poor food

Koshari, ful and mujadara aren't "food for people who can't afford better" — they're dishes hundreds of years old, eaten in every household. The only difference between a cheap dish that's delicious and one that's dull is the detail: onions browned properly, the acidity balanced, and spices added at the right moment.

## FAQ

### أرخص مصدر بروتين إيه؟
العدس والفول ثم البيض. العدس فيه ٢٥٪ بروتين وسعره جزء بسيط من اللحمة، والبيضة بروتين كامل بأرخص سعر بين المصادر الحيوانية.

### الأكل الرخيص صحي؟
ممكن يكون أصحّ فعلًا. البقول والخضار الموسمي أعلى في الألياف وأقل في الدهون المشبعة من الأكل الجاهز الأغلى منها.

### إزاي أقلّل رمي الأكل؟
خطّطي الأسبوع قبل الشرا، وخلّي يوم للبقايا، وجمّدي أي حاجة قرّبت تخرب فورًا بدل ما تستنى.

### اللحمة مرة كام في الأسبوع؟
مرة أو مرتين كافيين. وحتى فيهم، استخدميها كمكوّن للطعم — ٢٠٠ جرام لحمة مفرومة في صينية بتكفي ٦ أفراد.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/article/eating-well-on-a-budget
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-13