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Lifestyle

How to Make a Week’s Worth of Dinners for Under $30 at Whole Foods

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at Vandy chapter.

Why go grocery shopping every day when you can plan out your meals for the week and save money and time? At Whole Foods especially, it’s easy to blow your money on a few items. It’s time to get smart. Don’t waste the ingredients that you buy to make one dish. Get creative and make another meal with your leftovers.

Keep in mind these 5 hacks while shopping at Whole Foods because these can really help you save those extra few dollars and not exceed your budget.

Read on to discover five different recipes that are simple to make and, of course, extremely delish costing you less than $30 at the Whole Foods checkout.

Ingredients you will need for the entire week costing you approximately $29.30:

  • Ground beef
  • Garlic powder
  • A medley of frozen veggies
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Penne pasta
  • An egg
  • Breadcrumbs
  • An onion
  • Already made pizza dough
  • Pesto
  • Goat cheese
  • Arugula
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Lemon
  • Garlic

There are a few basic ingredients we expect you to already have in your pantry such as salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Let’s get cookin’!

Monday: Bunless Burger

Whole Foods

Photo by Kelda Baljon

Start your week off with a juicy hamburger for dinner. It’s always fun to break out the at-home barbecue in the summertime and grill some burgers. To make it a bit of a lighter meal, forget the bun and enjoy a bunless patty and add whatever condiments you have on hand. This is sure to keep you satisfied all night! Recipe here.

Tuesday: Pasta Primavera

Whole Foods

Photo courtesy of hiddenvalley.com

Get your veggie fix with this easy-to-make pasta dish. This meal will not only be delicious, but healthy and filling. To add extra texture and flavor, grate some parmesan cheese over your pasta to enhance it with a nice salty flavor. Recipe here.

Wednesday: Pesto Beef Meatballs

Whole Foods

Photo by Amanda Shulman

Because you only need to make one trip to Whole Foods for the entire week, use that extra ground beef from Monday’s dinner to make some mouth-watering pesto beef meatballs. These will not disappoint. Check out how to make this here.

Thursday: Goat Cheese and Arugula Pizza

Whole Foods

Photo by Marci Green

This goat cheese and arugula covered pizza looks dank. Switch up your meals a bit and try this recipe out. The goat cheese gives it a creamy texture while the cherry tomatoes provide that little crunch at first bite. This is nice twist on the classic Margherita pizza, using different ingredients with already prepared dough making it easy to cook at home.

Friday: Arugula and Parmesan Salad

Whole Foods

Photo by Mackenzie Barth

Who doesn’t love a refreshing summer salad? If you’re in a rush to eat dinner before your Friday night out, use the leftover arugula and cherry tomatoes from your pizza the night before and toss it with a light lemon and olive oil vinaigrette. Then, grate some parmesan over the top and voila, you’re done! Recipe here.

Jen is a junior at Vanderbilt and served as the 2016-2017 Editorial Director for Spoon Vandy. She lives in San Francisco, California and loves spending time outdoors with her friends, traveling, and exploring the culture and delicious food that each city she goes to has to offer.