ADVICE

Menu plan for singles

Author: Rose Carr - MSc (Hons), Senior Nutritionist

Favs List PRINT

It can be difficult trying to cut your food bill spending and getting all the nutrition you need. But it doesn’t have to be! We’ve done the sums and prepared this weekly singles menu plan to show how you can save on your food shopping – and keep a healthy diet as well.

This menu is based on the energy and nutritional needs of a woman in her 20s. For men, add some extra snacks and increase the portion sizes in the meals.

Nutritionist Rose Carr says: “Eating healthily when there’s just one of you to cook for can seem like too much bother. But it’s worth it when you consider you’re getting all the nutrition you need for a whole week, and saving money as well. You can spread the snacks out however you like – include them in meals if it suits you better.”

How our menus are made

This menu plan covers every meal and snack for the week, and includes all the nutrition every member of the household needs – all the energy, nutrients, vitamins and minerals we need to be healthy (based on guidelines from the Ministry of Health). Using recipes from our archive, we’ve created menus that are also significantly cheaper than the average food costs for different households.

How we shopped

We’ve priced this menu based on an average budget-friendly supermarket. We followed these rules:

we bought things on special whenever possible
we used as much seasonal produce as possible
we chose supermarket ‘own brand’ products when they were the cheapest option available
we bought bulk packs of staple items and allowed for storage in pantry and freezer
we included homemade versions of pre-packaged products such as hummus and pesto.
we made our own yoghurt (using bought mixes – save even more by doing it from scratch).

NOTE: Some ingredients on the shopping lists are things you need for the recipes in the menus, that you won’t need to buy every week. This means your initial shopping trip may cost slightly more, but in future, your shopping will be cheaper.

You can achieve even bigger savings by

checking out the specials at specialty butchers and fruit and vege shops
checking all the bulk bins for dry goods
shopping at Asian supermarkets for specialty Asian ingredients
shopping at roadside stalls and farmers’ markets for fruit and veges
buying items in bulk then freezing them, such as meat and cheese on special
planting your own herbs, salad mix, spinach, silver beet and other veges.

Shopping list: Basics

Buy once a month (or as needed): These pantry basics are things you may not buy every week. We recommend buying in bulk and storing.

canned chickpeas
canned lentils
canned tomatoes
coffee
cooking oil spray
dried chickpeas
dried herbs
dried lentils
flour (white, wholemeal)
garlic
honey
Marmite/Vegemite
Milo
onions (red, brown, as required)

Shopping list: Luxuries

Buy occasionally: These occasional purchases are not included in the main shopping lists. Buy these as budget allows, when on special.

bacon
balsamic vinegar
beer
chocolate
herb paste
nut oils such as walnut and sesame
olive oil
parmesan cheese
wine

Weekly menu plans

Menu plan for singles (see DOWNLOAD link at bottom of page)
Menu plan for couples (links to article)
Menu plan for families (links to article)