Shopping for a 7-day weight loss meal plan at 5 grocery stores: Which is cheaper?

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Shopping for a 7-day weight loss meal plan at 5 grocery stores: Which is cheaper?

Planning home-cooked meals can help you reach your health and weight loss goals. In fact, research supports that eating at home more versus going out may help you naturally consume fewer daily calories and eat a healthier diet.

That’s why Hers created a seven-day meal plan for weight loss full of delicious meals packed with protein, fiber, and even some treats to nourish you all week. The plan also includes a grocery shopping list, which removes all guesswork from meal-planning.

The best part? The seven-day meal plan for weight loss proves that healthy eating at home doesn’t have to kill your budget — especially when you shop strategically. Hers took this grocery list and compared prices at five of the country’s largest grocery chains: Albertsons, Food Lion, Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods.

Ready to lose weight and save money at the same time? Use these findings to identify the cheapest grocery store in your area so you can affordably follow the Hers shopping list.

Key Findings

• Walmart has the cheapest healthy grocery prices overall, dominating six of seven individual food categories.
• Food Lion also has affordable groceries, with the Hers shopping list costing just 7% more there than at Walmart.
• Whole Foods stands out as a budget-friendly place for nuts and seeds, trailing behind Walmart by less than 20 cents. 

Cheapest Grocery Stores for the Hers 7-Day Weight Loss Meal Plan

1. Walmart ($162.08)
2. Food Lion ($173.48)
3. Kroger ($182.24)
4. Albertsons ($206.24)
5. Whole Foods ($240.04)

Get the data.

Cheap Grocery Store Meal Planning: Trends and Insights

Curious how each grocery store stacks up in individual food categories? Here are the rankings, plus each store’s base prices for the items in the Hers weight loss meal plan. Note that these prices don’t reflect the final cost — for many items, we used price-per-ounce or -pound to ensure we accounted for different packaging sizes. That means you could spend more or less in total, depending on the quantities you purchase.

The cheapest grocery stores for fruit

The Hers shopping list includes blueberries, apples, strawberries, kiwis, bananas, raspberries, medjool dates, pineapple, cantaloupe, pears, clementines, apricots, raisins, cranberries, and mangos.

1. Walmart ($33.73)
2. Food Lion ($34.50)
3. Kroger ($41.28)
4. Albertsons ($43.55)
5. Whole Foods ($47.07)

The cheapest grocery stores for vegetables

The vegetable shopping list includes bell peppers, avocado, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, spinach, onions, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, asparagus, edamame, eggplant, sweet corn, kale, zucchini, bok choy, celery, cauliflower, and cabbage.

1. Walmart ($36.75)
2. Food Lion ($36.97)
3. Kroger ($37.11)
4. Albertsons ($52.17)
5. Whole Foods ($56.47)

The cheapest grocery stores for nuts, seeds, and nut butters

The Hers shopping list includes almonds, cashews, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, peanut butter, almond butter, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds.

1. Walmart ($26.01)
2. Whole Foods ($26.19)
3. Food Lion ($27.17)
4. Albertsons ($28.01)
5. Kroger ($28.71) 

The cheapest grocery stores for legumes

The list of vegetarian-friendly legumes includes lentils, chickpeas, black beans, great northern beans, and kidney beans.

1. Food Lion ($5.33)
2. Walmart ($5.60)
3. Albertsons ($5.95)
4. Kroger ($6.49)
5. Whole Foods ($7.95)

The cheapest grocery stores for proteins

This Hers list of proteins includes boneless skinless chicken breast, Greek yogurt, eggs, hummus, salmon, cottage cheese, mozzarella, milk, tofu, shrimp, tuna, and ground turkey.

1. Walmart ($42.65)
2. Kroger ($48.23)
3. Albertsons ($51.04)
4. Food Lion ($50.58)
5. Whole Foods ($77.28)

The cheapest grocery stores for whole grains

This meal plan encourages you to stock your pantry with quinoa, brown rice, popcorn kernels, whole-wheat wraps, pita, and bread.

1. Walmart ($9.62)
2. Kroger ($10.15)
3. Food Lion ($10.66)
4. Albertsons ($12.75)
5. Whole Foods ($13.31)

The cheapest grocery stores for extra items

To round out the Hers shopping list, you'll need dark chocolate, honey, and salsa.

1. Walmart ($7.72)
2. Food Lion ($8.27)
3. Kroger ($10.27)
4. Whole Foods ($11.77)
5. Albertsons ($12.77)

Methodology: How the Scores Were Calculated

Hers analyzed 71 grocery items from a seven-day weight loss meal plan at five of the largest grocery stores across the U.S.: Albertsons, Food Lion, Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods. Some pantry staples (like olive oil and spices) and a few specialty items not available at all the stores (like goji berries, tempeh, and rye crackers) were removed from the grocery list.

From there, Hers found online prices for each grocery item using zip codes in Virginia or Idaho, which have Cost of Living Index scores on par with the national average. This included findingthe price-per-ounce or price-per-pound for items in different package sizes to ensure each grocery store was weighted equally. Hers then ranked the five stores based on overall affordability and calculated sub-rankings for each type of food product.

Three Ways To Stretch Your Grocery Budget While Eating Healthy

Don’t believe any myths about eating healthy on a budget being impossible. On top of picking the cheapest grocery store in your area, you can save money with these three tips:

1. Make cost-effective swaps: Try getting creative with healthy recipes by substituting expensive ingredients with more affordable options. For instance, if your burrito bowl calls for ground beef, buy ground turkey instead.
2. Reuse ingredients: Stocking your pantry with lots of healthy ingredients, like various nuts and seeds, can take time. Instead of buying all ingredients at once, start with just a few items each week. As you build out your pantry, you’ll have more options to choose from while sticking to your budget.
3. Be strategic with organic items: It can be expensive to buy all-organic groceries. Avoid sticker shock at the checkout line by prioritizing which items you buy organic. Hers suggests starting with the Environmental Working Group’s list of “Dirty Dozen” produce items.

This story was produced by Hers and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.