Single Mum of 2 feeds family for just $150 a week

Super-saver single mum of 2 manages to feed her family on $150 a week with help from The Healthy Mummy app. Find out how you can too!

It only took Mel a total of 2 hours to prep 71 meals all under $2.50 per serve to help make her life so much easier, because like she said herself, if she doesn’t do it no one else will!

Mel Timmer’s is a busy single mum of two who has lost a whopping 40 kilos with The Healthy Mummy, and maintained her healthy weight loss for over 7 years.

Mel knows she doesn’t have anyone else to fall back on as a single parent so she can’t afford to get sick. She has to do what she needs to be the best version for her two children.

Mel credits her inspirational changes to using The Healthy Mummy App which allows her to enjoy a healthy balanced lifestyle never feeling deprived of the foods she loves.

It’s all about planning and knowing that you have to be the best version you can be for your family.

This February Budget Challenge The Healthy Mummy app is sharing budget meal plans from REAL mums like Mel to help other families budget and save money too.

Find out below how you can feed your family on just $150 a week.

Budget meal plan

We know that many Aussie families have been feeling the pinch financially lately, as everything from groceries to petrol seems to be on the rise! But despite all these price hikes, eating healthily doesn’t have to break the budget! We can teach you how.

The Healthy Mummy Budget Meal Plan contains COST EFFECTIVE and DELICIOUS recipes to save you money.

We have even worked out the exact cost of each recipe on the Ultimate Budget Meal Plan using current supermarket prices and all recipes are under $2.50 per serve! That’s pretty good value.

How Mel stuck to $150 for a week of shopping

Planning, planning, planning is the key to Mel’s savvy savings.

To save money and to ensure she is feeding her family healthy meals and snacks all the time, Mel sticks to the Healthy Mummy app meal plans and likes to meal prep a week worth of meals in advance to keep her from snacking on the wrong foods and spending even more money.

Mel also knows that if she doesn’t meal prep in advance she will get very “hangry” and snack on the wrong foods.

“I get hangry (hungry/angry) so having the meals prepped and ready to go is so convenient and keeps me sane! Plus I don’t find myself eating unnecessary foods,” she says.

“Meal prepping helps me reach my goals for a number of reasons, the main thing is it stopped me from splurging out on bad foods, the other reason is that it has taught me how to cook and prepare healthy but yummy meals.”

The Healthy Mummy recipes Mel prepped for under $2.50 per serve

Mel managed to spend just $150 on her weekly shop which also included fresh fruit and vegetables plus a couple of loaves of bread for the kids lunches.

She whipped up a total of 71 serves costing just $123.44, including breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinners. That’s pretty impressive Mel!

A typical week worth of meals for Mel and her family includes:

18 Breakfast meals cost Mel just over $50.

Healthy Mummy Smoothie 5 serves ($4.66 per serve)

Biscoff Overnight Weetbix – 7 serves ($2.18 per serve)

Blueberry, Banana and Coconut Muffins – 6 serves ($1.98 per serve)

Total breakfast cost $50.44

20 snack serves cost Mel just over $12.

White Chocolate and Apricot Slice –  16 serves ($0.28 per serve)

Fresh yoghurt and berries – 4 serves ($1.90)

Fresh fruit

Total snacks cost $12.08 (plus fresh fruit)

15 lunch meals cost Mel just over $28.

Rice cakes with ham and cheese – 5 serves ($2.50 per serve)

Tuna Melt – 6 serves ($1.46 per serve)

Zucchini and Bacon Slice – 4 serves ($1.71 per serve)

Total lunch cost $28.10

18 dinner meals cost Mel just over $32 in total.

Slow Cooker Beef Nachos – 6 serves ($2.04 per serve)

Easy Fried Rice – 6 serves ($1.05 per serve)

Homemade Beef Burgers – 6 serves ($2.38 per serve)

Total dinner cost $32.82

That’s a total of 71 serves of Healthy Mummy meals that cost Mel a total of $123.44 for the week.

Tips from a dietitian

Dietitian Kirby Sorenson says setting small goals can make eating healthy, even on a tight budget, very achievable.

“Single mums, the average family and even larger families just need to start off small. By setting small goals you will soon find they turn into big goals and achievements at the end of the day. It’s not one size fits all!“

Mel adds, just making better choices every day is also the best way to not put too much pressure on yourself and feel overwhelmed.

Mel’s top 12 tips for meal prepping on a budget

1. Plan. Plan. Plan. At the start of the week write out all your meals for the week, do one big shop of everything you will need that way you won’t find yourself purchasing unexpected things when you make your way to the shop during the week for items you have forgotten to buy.

2. You can always replace a few of the ingredients with something similar. For example if you don’t have carrot use zucchini. I’m always replacing certain ingredients with similar foods, so I’m not running to the shop every time I don’t have something.

3. Add extra veggies to your meals to make the meals go further.

4. When you come across fresh produce that is on sale, stock up and freeze it.

5. Keep your fridge and pantry organised so that way when you have leftovers you will remember to use them and nothing gets wasted.

6. Explore your taste buds and experiment with cheaper foods. Mexican is full of flavour and does not cost an arm and a leg to make, think beans and tomatoes.

7. If you can buy in bulk, it’s usually cheaper.

8. Online shopping is a great way of purchasing groceries there is no temptation there, you type in what you need and buy the one you like best.

PLUS you can filter the supermarket app to the discounts for the week and grab some great bargains.

9. Consider shopping at local markets. If you’re lucky enough to have these, usually you can find produce much cheaper than the stores.

10. Don’t be afraid to buy the store brand or homebrand items as well, majority of the time it’s the same thing but in cheaper packaging.

11. Shop produce that is in season. Check local road stalls and farmers for fresh fruit and veg.

12. Freeze any extra supplies like a loaf bread, and even leftover fruits. They are great to add to smoothies or yoghurt.

Mel’s weight loss tips

Mel lost 40 kgs with The Healthy Mummy and has been maintaining her weight for over 7 years.

‘It really has changed my life and I don’t feel like I’m on a diet, this is just normal for me and it’s how I choose to live my best life. I make good choices and I am committed to my health and fitness.’

“When I started back in March 2017, my goal was just to lose weight, I couldn’t see past that point. The first few months felt like they were dragging!

“I knew I was doing all the right things, but I felt like it wasn’t happening as quickly as I would like. As I didn’t own scales, I would only weigh in once every 6 – 8 weeks. I thought this would help me from feeling deflated, as I didn’t want to measure my success by what the numbers said.”

If you feel like you’re stuck, and things have stopped moving, here are a few things you can try to get your body going again!

1. Filter your recipes on the Healthy Mummy app to be on the table in under 15 minutes, then you won’t feel too overwhelmed when trying to stick to your healthy eating plan.
2. Challenge yourself to do more in your workouts. Attempt something new that you haven’t previously tried. This could exercise and tone muscles you haven’t yet worked.
3.  Reassess your calorie intake. You may not be eating enough, or you may be eating too much.
4.  Have you stopped tracking your food?  Start tracking again.
5.  Check your water intake. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep and try your best to not stress! These things can have an impact on your results.
6.  Give your body enough rest to recover from workouts, as that’s when the body builds its muscle. Overtraining can be a bad thing and can leave you feeling lethargic and will affect your ability to give it your all.

Read more great budget tips:

How to meal prep for a family of 6 on a budget

Fiona made 232 snacks for just over $70 thanks to her top meal prep tip!

Jess tests the pantry basics meal plan

Busy mum of 3 made 330 back-to-school snacks for just $220

Meal Prep Ideas And Guide For Busy Mums

We compare the prices of back-to-school snacks to save you time and MONEY!