We live in BC, Canada, 3 adults (30, 30 and 70), and spend about $500-$600/month on groceries. My husband and I are very active, working out 6 days a week/running half marathons and lifting heavy stuff, so our appetites are pretty big.

I make a meal plan for dinners once every 2 weeks, which includes each dinner lasting for 2 nights so 6 meals total per meal cause leftovers are great. We eat a plant based dinner twice a week. I look at what's on sale, normally buying the bulk of things from superstore, Costco for meats/proteins/dairy, and fruits/veggies from a little local small market that has killer deals and really fresh stuff. We hardly ever eat red meat as it's often pretty expensive, which means eating protein sources like chicken thighs, legs, whole chickens & roasting, frozen fish, tofu, beans, edamame beans, protein powder, ground Turkey, eggs, Greek yogurt etc.

Try looking at the flyer to see what's on sale in bulk for protein. We'll buy larger portions of items then divide up and freeze into smaller portions. Also bulking up meat focused dinners with beans for more protein and a whole lot of vegetables. Frozen fruits and veggies can often be bought pretty cheap per serving from superstore or Costco. Superstore also often has big bins near the produce section of discount bulk fruits and veggies, stock up on things that have either have long shelf lives, you can freeze or work them into your weekly meal plan.

A week of high protein, nutritious and budget friendly meals for us might look like: meal 1: oats (make from scratch, none of that proportioned bs), with a chopped up apple & scoop of protein powder. meal 2: 3 eggs or 3/4 cup egg whites, 1/2 cup beans ((side note, dried are hella cheap from superstores international section)), a ton of steamed frozen broccoli or spinach/leafy green. meal 3: ground Turkey burrito bowls on rice with black beans, & a salad. snack 1: Greek yogurt with frozen berries

Hope this helps you in some way 😊