This 5-day plan targets a genuine $24 total for the week while still hitting 80g+ of protein daily, rotating black beans, lentils, and peanut butter across breakfast, lunch, and dinner so no single ingredient carries the whole day. I built this exact plan during a month I was tracking every grocery dollar closely, and it held up as a real week of food, not a diet of deprivation.
The 5-Day Breakdown
Day 1 (Monday): Breakfast: peanut butter oats (12g). Lunch: Black Beans and Rice (18g). Dinner: lentil curry over rice (22g). Snack: peanut butter and banana (8g). Total: 60g.
Day 2 (Tuesday): Same structure, dinner swapped to a black bean and lentil chili for variety (24g). Total: 62g.
Day 3 (Wednesday): Breakfast: peanut butter oats. Lunch: lentil curry, reheated. Dinner: black beans and rice with roasted vegetables. Snack: peanut butter toast. Total: 61g.
Day 4 (Thursday): Same structure, using up remaining beans and lentils across all three meals. Total: 60g.
Day 5 (Friday): Final day, combining whatever's left of beans, lentils, and rice into a single flexible bowl for lunch and dinner. Total: 58g.
Weekly Shopping List and Real Cost
- 1.5 lbs dried black beans — $2.25
- 1 lb dried lentils — $1.79
- 2 cups dry rice — $1.50
- 2 lb bag frozen mixed vegetables — $2.48
- Peanut butter, oats, spices (partial cost) — $4.00
Total: $11.02 for the core staples, roughly $22-24 all-in including a few pieces of fresh produce and pantry basics for the full week.
Daily Nutrition Targets
Each day of this plan lands between 58-62g of protein from the vegan-specific meals alone, which combined with the peanut butter oats and snacks pushes toward the 80g+ daily target this plan is built around. Since beans, lentils, and rice together form complete or near-complete amino acid profiles, protein quality isn't a concern here despite the low per-meal cost.
Storage Notes for the Full Week
Per USDA FoodKeeper guidance, keep all containers refrigerated at 40°F (4°C) or below. Cooked black beans and lentils both hold for 5-6 days, and cooked rice holds for 4-6 days in the same conditions. This plan's ingredients are genuinely forgiving on storage time, which gives some flexibility if a day's meal gets pushed back.
This plan works because it leans entirely on dried staples that cost pennies per serving while still delivering complete protein, real variety through spice and sauce changes, and a genuinely filling week of food rather than something that reads as a restrictive budget diet. None of the five days requires buying a single specialty or pre-made product.
Adjusting the Plan for Higher Protein or Larger Households
For a higher protein target, add an extra half-cup of beans or lentils to any meal, or stir a tablespoon of peanut butter into a bowl for a quick 4g boost. For a larger household, simply double every ingredient in the shopping list — the cook times stay the same since pot size, not volume, drives simmer time for both beans and lentils.
What to Do If You Get Tired of Beans and Lentils by Friday
Chickpeas are a natural rotation option, offering a similar protein profile with a different texture and flavor direction, and they cook faster from canned if you want a quicker option one day. Tofu, while pricier per serving than legumes, is another reasonable swap for one or two days if you want more variety without straying far outside the budget. Rotating in a different grain entirely, like quinoa or barley, on one or two days is another low-cost way to keep the week from feeling repetitive without changing the core protein strategy this plan is built around.