This one mum makes 40 dinners at $2.09 a serve (with all the macronutrients your body needs)

Hi – My name is Rhian and as well as being a busy mum of two young boys – I am also the founder of The Healthy Mummy which I am super proud to say is transforming the lives of millions of mums all over the world.

The Healthy Mummy is a health and weight loss program created for busy mums and we started back in 2010 when I was pregnant and wanted to create a supportive and holistic program for mums (you can read my story here) and now millions of mums use our famous 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge and Healthy Mummy Smoothies every day and mums have lost over 3 million kilos with us!

My meal prep day

One of the BIG things I like to do and show mums is that healthy eating doesn’t need to be expensive!

So today, I did a little bit of meal prep! Well quite a lot actually! I made 40 serves of weeknight meals for a family of four for under $2.50 per person.

How you can feed your family 40 weeknight meals for under $85

The Healthy Mummy meals are designed with a holistic approach, with no food group being cut out, everything in moderation and the most importantly, delicious!

This took me three hours to do which means I don’t have to cook again for the week and because I’m cooking in bulk, I’m saving so much money – so although it is hard work  – it is 100% worth it!

The finer details

• I spent $82.47 on food
• I made eight meals enough for a family of four for two weeks
• I made 40 serves of dinners PLUS leftovers
• All food is healthy and yummy and has all the macronutrients you need

What I made

All the food is from the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge and you can see over 4,000 recipes in the challenge when you join.

A few of the recipes are on the blog already so you can check them out straight away (the links are below) AND a few are from the upcoming OCTOBER BUDGET 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.

• cooking oil spray
• 6 free-range eggs, whisked (300 grams)
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat Greek natural yoghurt (130 grams)
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat milk of choice (125 mls)
• 1/2 cup wholemeal self-raising flour (60 grams)
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese, grated (120 grams)
• 2 small zucchini, grated (220 grams)
• 1 brown onion, finely diced (100 grams)
• 1 medium carrot, grated (70 grams)
• 4 bacon rasher, lean & trimmed, diced (108 grams)

• Preheat oven to 180C and spray a large baking dish with cooking oil.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine whisked eggs, yoghurt and milk. Add grated cheese, zucchini, onion, carrot and chopped bacon. Fold in flour. Stir to combine.
• Transfer to the prepared dish and bake for approx. 40-45 minutes (or until golden and a skewer can be removed from the centre clean).
• Serve with a fresh salad or steamed veggies.

• 400 grams chicken breast fillets
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (20 mls)
• 1 tsp dried oregano (1 grams)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (20 mls)
• cooking oil spray
• 4 spring onions, sliced (60 grams)
• 1 red capsicum, sliced (100 grams)
• 1 green capsicum, sliced (100 grams)
• 4 wholemeal tortillas (180 grams)
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat Greek natural yoghurt (86.7 grams)
• 1 medium avocado, mashed (120 grams)
• 2 tomatoes, chopped (200 grams)

• Slice chicken into strips. Whisk together lemon juice, oregano and extra virgin olive oil and place in a zip lock bag with chicken strips and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Lightly spray a non-stick frying pan with cooking oil over a medium heat. Add chicken and cook for about 3-4 minutes before adding the red and green capsicum and spring onions and cook until the vegetables are soft and the chicken is cooked through.
• Serve tortilla topped with chicken and veggie mix, a dollop of yoghurt, a dollop of mashed avocado and tomato pieces. Wrap and enjoy.

What are macronutrients?

Healthy Mummy nutritionist, Cheree says if you’re following a weight loss meal plan and making sure you are eating the right amount of calories for your needs but are still not getting results, then looking at your macro split may be the answer for you!

“Macronutrients are fats, carbohydrates and protein. When you adjust the percentages of each group that you consume across the day, you can target specific goals like weight loss, weight management, or muscle gain.

Looking at the macronutrient balance for health and weight loss a higher protein intake may result in overall body fat loss for some people. Higher fats can help reduce hunger, provide fuel for energy, help brain function and keep hormones balanced.

However, higher fat in other people can result in slowed weight loss, impaired digestion, and if you are not looking at the types of fats you are eating, you can consume too many saturated fats and increase your risk of heart disease.

The carbohydrate percentage of the split will also vary depending on what your body responds to as a fuel source. If you are doing lots of exercise, then leaning towards a higher carb split, may give you better results. Carbs also provide you with fibre, which is essential for health as it regulates digestion, prevents constipation, and balances blood sugar. If you have a low carb split, you might not consume enough fibre.

A lot of people recommend a macro split of 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat, however, for weight loss the split can vary depending on the person, and it should look more like carbs 10-30%, protein 25-50%, fat 25-40%.

Keep in mind that this balance is achieved across the day, for example, if you eat breakfast with higher carbs, then eat a lunch with more protein,” said Cheree.