The first week of the plan will be of higher cost around $180-200 for the week due to staples and other foods that can be used throughout the 12 week plan.

The average cost of groceries to follow our menu plan exactly would be approximately $80-120, this would be opting for the lower cost varieties of ingredients. Generally the first week of shopping would be a higher cost, due to some pantry or staple items required.

You may find that you spend less on food overall due to the following reasons:

• Eating less food overall
• Less processed, prepackaged food
• You can choose more economical cuts of lean meat, chicken and seafood
• Minimal food waste, with recipes utilising leftovers later on in the week
• Ability to swap meals and recipes to suit seasons, pantry stock and personal preferences.

In order to help reduce the cost of the diet there are several simple strategies that you can implement: Shop for seasonally available foods (fruit and vegetables) and use cheaper cuts of meat, such as chuck steak for stews. Choose less expensive fish varieties, use eggs as a replacement protein for one protein-unit, add lentils in place of some portions of meat at dinner (eg; 130g beans (cooked weight) or 100g tofu). You also have the ability to amend your menu plan using our meals swap options so you can repeat meals, and therefore buy and cook in bulk.