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Comment by Fenrisulfr | Hacker News Reader

I love this type of list. I'm frugal, super busy (read: lazy), and powerlift so I try to make a minimum-cost, high-protein, easy meal-prep every week. Having a high protein / calorie ratio is primary, but keeping it low-cost is a close second. I normally use a pressure cooker, 5-6 lbs of chicken breast, brown rice, and lots of veggies. It may sound boring, but it's great when you add stuff like chickpeas, delicious sauces / salsas, and try out different regional styles of cuisine. Check out the author's protein / dollar list - it's very helpful for the protein-obsessed.

https://efficiencyiseverything.com/applying-protein-per-doll...

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If you can tolerate lactose, milk is the cheapest way to eat a good balance of high quality protein, fat, and carbs. 2400 calories for less than $3 at most grocery stores.

Then chicken is the lowest cost per calorie meat, so you're good there. May I also suggest large quantities of cheddar cheese and heavy whipping cream from Costco? Amazing value per dollar spent. Cheddar cheese (we have Tillamook at Costco out here on the west coast) is basically entirely protein and fat and then whipping cream is all fat.

I love the Costco Tillamook cheddar and my girlfriend loves the whipped cream we get from there. I used to drink 2-4 cups of whole milk / day when paying off my student loans and bulking but it seemed to affect my stomach poorly. So I switched to almond milk for my protein shakes.

Some of my favorite ways to make tasty chicken + rice dishes from Costco is the Maya Kaimal simmer sauce the frozen stir fry vegetable mix. The simmer sauce isn't the cheapest option, but I pay extra to make my normally boring/cheap food taste good enough to eat for 5+ days straight. I use my pressure cooker and end up with super tasty Indian meals without the chicken being overcooked.

Kirkland Signature unsalted mixed nuts are also a lifesaver and a part of my daily breakfast. Decent calories / dollar (400 ish depending on the price) but great nutrition density.

I love people who geek out about optimizing their diet.

> The simmer sauce isn't the cheapest option, but I pay extra to make my normally boring/cheap food taste good enough to eat for 5+ days straight

This is a great example of something that is more expensive in theory, but probably cheaper in practice, since it increases overall adherence to your diet plan.

> I love the Costco Tillamook cheddar

If you can't do lactose, then the pricing on Tillamook cheddar is basically the protein & fat portion of milk, without the very cheap carb calories. Carbs are always cheap to add via other sources anyway...

Have you tried lactose-free milk and/or lactase pills? I've tried various types of plant milks, but I'm never satisfied by the taste.

You may want to substitute lentils, beans, or chickpeas for the rice. More nutrition and better for the climate.

I don't understand the protein/dollar column. Flour has protein listed as "3" and price as 1.68 but I can't see how to get 134 protein/dollar from these numbers. The calorie/dollar column works the way you would expect.

Good question. There's data missing in the table to determine how that column is calculated. Essentially, it's how much protein you would get in that total amount of calories while "protein" is how much protein you would get in a single serving. I looked at eggs and that's how things made sense.

Chicken thighs are much cheaper than breasts, are much more forgiving of over-cooking, and (IMO) taste better too. They presumably have a higher fat:protein ratio than breasts, but I imagine not enough to make a tangible difference.

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