Muscle growth gets a lot easier once you start treating protein like it’s part of your workout routine. If you’re a student lifter (or just a busy person who trains) and you’re trying to hit a high daily protein target without rinsing your rent money, you’re in the right place.
The good news is: eating high-protein on a student budget is way more doable than it seems. Aiming for under ~£4 a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner can work out at under ~£28 a week, as long as you shop smart (cheap protein, repeat meals, and not buying five different “high protein” snacks that are literally just expensive air and only count towards 1% of your daily protein goals). Realistically, you’ll usually do a bigger “bulk” shop, spend more in a week, utilize your limited accommodation freezer space to its maximum, and if you buy the right ingredients, that can cover two weeks or even longer.
In this guide, we’ll go through exactly how to organize a weekly or bi-weekly grocery list, what budget-friendly foods actually help you hit your macros, and which high-protein supermarket products are worth buying on repeat.
Rule #1: Buy protein in bulk (and freeze it).
Rule #2: Compare price per kg, not price per pack.
Rule #3: Build meals around 2–3 cheap products, repeat them, and MEAL PLAN.
Rule #4: Don’t let ‘high-protein’ packaging scam you.
Rule #1: Buy Protein in Bulk (and freeze)
Buying 1kg of chicken instead of 300g usually works out cheaper per kg, and it means fewer “top-up” shops (aka the trips where you accidentally spend £18 on nothing). Portion it into freezer bags, label it, and you’ve basically future-proofed your next 3 weeks. Most packaging will have the price per kg written in fine print, so look out for that. Also:
- freeze in 150–200g portions
- write date + grams
- rotate older packs to the front
#Rule 2: Compare Price Per kg, Not Price Per Pack
If pack A is £3 for 300g and pack B is £8 for 1kg, pack B looks more expensive… until you realize pack A is ~£10/kg and pack B is £8/kg. Pack B will last longer if you freeze it, so you save a lot of money per month by buying the seemingly “more” expensive pack.
#Rule 3: Build Meals Around 2–3 Cheap Products, and MEAL PLAN
Frozen chicken thighs/fillets — Your classic high-protein gym bro necessity that’s freezer-friendly for bulk buying (less waste + easier meal prep) and provides useful micros like selenium + niacin.
Turkey mince / chicken mince — Lean, high-protein option that’s easy to batch-cook (chilli, pasta, bowls) and a good source of B vitamins + minerals like selenium (varies by product).
Eggs (bigger packs) — Convenient protein with key micros like vitamin D and a broad mix of vitamins/minerals; easy “add-on” protein for any meal (for instance, instead of having regular rice, try egg-fried rice for some added protein).
Tinned tuna / sardines / mackerel — High-protein and pantry-stable; oily fish like mackerel/sardines also provide omega-3s, and canned fish is a classic budget-friendly protein move. Of course, be careful with eating too much tuna due to the high mercury content.
Milk, Greek yogurt / skyr — Easy protein top-up (shakes, cereal, sauces) plus dairy micros like calcium and vitamin B12.
Cottage cheese — High-protein, easy to use in sweet/savoury meals, and provides minerals like calcium, selenium, phosphorus.
Red lentils, split peas, chickpeas, beans — Pulses are widely recognised as cheap to buy, high in protein + fibre, and good micros (e.g., folate/iron depending on the pulse); great for stretching meals.
Tofu (sometimes great value) — Plant protein that’s easy to prep (air fryer/stir fry) and can contribute micros like calcium/iron (especially calcium-set tofu, but make sure to check the label).
If you would like to see a full spreadsheet breakdown how different products compare, check out our other blog post where we ranked the top 12 cheapest high protein staples based on cost of protein per gram.
Meal planning also ensures you are not spending money on ingredients you won’t use and will go off and have to be thrown away. I recommend making or downloading a meal plan spreadsheet with ingredients you need to make each meal. We will be uploading a spreadsheet on our digital products page soon, so stay tuned for that, but there are also many good ones you can find online, too.
#Rule 4: Don’t Let “High-Protein” Packaging Scam You
Always check the label for grams of of protein per serving. The overpriced protein bars are usually not worth it for the micro-dosage of protein they provide.
How Much Protein Should You Eat a Day?
A simple range most lifters use is 1.6–2.2g of protein per kg of body weight per day.
~2g * (your body weight in kg) = protein (g)/day
- 60kg → 96–132g/day
- 70kg → 112–154g/day
- 80kg → 128–176g/day
We’re also dropping a simple protein + budget tracker spreadsheet (auto-adds your daily protein, weekly totals, and costs) on our Digital Products page soon, so stay tuned for that. 🙂
If you liked this blog post, have an inquiry, or would like to give us suggestions of what you would like to see next, let us know by contacting twogirlsonekitchenblog@gmail.com.
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