What can the food-cost planner tell you?
It tells you what the tracked part of a week costs when real people replace hypothetical servings. Choose two people and seven days, for example, and every menu row doubles before it gets repeated. The planner then compares that week with the restaurant scenario from the same study. No vague “save more” speech. You get the dollar gap.
Why are consumed cost and checkout cost different?
Our studies price the amount eaten. If breakfast uses 60 grams from a two-pound bag of oats, only 60 grams count toward consumed cost. The register, being less philosophical, charges for the bag. Use these numbers to compare menu styles and recurring food cost, then leave room in the first week's budget for whole packages.
Where do the fiber and protein numbers come from?
The menus come directly from our public fiber day CSV and protein day CSV. The parent rankings use USDA FoodData Central values matched to recorded shelf prices. You can read the full 30-gram fiber cost study, the 50-gram protein cost study, and our methodology. The spreadsheet is public because “trust me, I divided correctly” isn't a methodology.
How should you use the cheapest days?
Use them as a floor, not a personality. The rock-bottom days prove how little the tracked foods can cost. The realistic mixed days are usually easier to repeat. Build a week that fits your stove, schedule, and tolerance for seeing beans again on Thursday. Our budget eating playbook handles the broader grocery strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What does the weekly food cost planner calculate?
It scales one of our 10 published daily menus by the number of people and days you choose, then totals the tracked food, grams, and consumed cost.
Are these complete meal plans?
No. They price the foods carrying roughly 30 grams of fiber or 50 grams of protein in each study day. Drinks, seasonings, calories, and the rest of your plate may add cost.
Where do the food prices come from?
The grocery prices come from our July 2026 published datasets, matched to USDA FoodData Central nutrition values. Restaurant prices are the recorded orders in each study.
Why is checkout cost different from consumed cost?
A 60-gram portion of oats costs only part of a bag, but the register charges for the whole bag. This planner shows consumed cost because that is what the study measured.
Does the planner save my household information?
No. People, menu choices, and day counts stay in this browser tab. The site records only that the tool was used, not the values you entered.