🌎 Country / Pricing
AU/NZ $🇺🇸 US $
Free Budget Nutrition Guide
Evidence-based nutrition for Americans on a real budget — covering every life stage, every common deficiency, and every meal type.
Budget Basics
The cheapest nutrient-dense foods in the US. How to eat well for $4.75–12/day.
Nutrient Gaps
60% calcium, 48% zinc, 47% iron, 31% magnesium, 21% Vit D. Full food tables with costs.
Deficiency Symptoms
What falling short actually does — the 3-stage iron progression, Vit D and depression, DHA and postpartum.
Pre-Conception
Both partners need to prepare. Zinc for sperm, folate for neural tubes, DHA for brain. 6 months before.
Pregnancy Nutrition
Folate, iron, iodine and DHA needs — and the cheapest foods to meet them.
Hidden Hunger
Ultra-processed foods and children — the 2.57× deficiency risk, dopamine hijacking, ARFID, and what it does to developing brains.
Kids & Toddlers
Iron for brain development, calcium for bones, omega-3 for focus. Practical meals kids eat.
NRV Reference Tables
Complete NIH ODS reference tables for all demographics — children through elderly, pregnancy and lactation.
Budget Arsenal
Tier 1/2/3 ranked system — the most nutrient-dense affordable foods in American supermarkets.
Batch Cooking
Cook once, eat all week. Freezer meals that slash your food bill without sacrificing nutrition.
Smart Shopping
Unit pricing, frozen vs fresh, Aldi vs Kroger, and what’s never worth buying.
World Cuisines
Mediterranean, Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern meals that are naturally cheap and nutritious.
106 Recipes
All 106 budget-optimized recipes — filterable by meal type, dietary preference and nutritional focus.
Which Foods Fill Gaps
A food-to-nutrient lookup table. Find the cheapest whole foods for every major gap: iron, calcium, zinc, B12, folate, omega-3 and more.
Macronutrients
AMDR ranges, energy requirements, protein RDA by age and sex, fiber and water targets. Complete reference tables from NIH ODS and NASEM.
5 Daily Habits
Five daily habits that cover the most common American deficiencies — on a $32/week food budget. Plus weekly habits for the rest.
Absorption Tips
Iron + Vitamin C, fat-soluble vitamins and fat, calcium timing, tea and coffee blocking, phytates and oxalates. Absorption rules that double what you get.
Sleep & Nutrition
Magnesium, iron, Vitamin D and B vitamins all directly affect sleep. The nutritional causes of poor sleep — and what to eat about it.
Weston A. Price
Dr Price documented traditional diet communities in the 1930s. Vitamin K2, Activator X, pre-conception nutrition — and what modern science confirms.
Nutrient Gaps by Life Stage
Children, teenagers, adult women, adult men, and older adults each miss different nutrients. Includes the protein synthesis problem that affects everyone over 65.
Vegan & Plant-Based
B12 is mandatory. Iron, zinc and omega-3 need active strategies. Calcium and iodine need specific choices. The complete plant-based nutrient guide.
Exercise & Nutrition
How being active changes what you need to eat. Protein timing, iron losses, magnesium in sweat, sarcopenia, and fuelling activity on a real budget.
Cheapest Iron-Rich Foods
Iron deficiency affects roughly 1 in 4 American women (NHANES) — vs 1 in 3 in Australia. Ranked list of the cheapest iron-rich foods per dollar — plus absorption rules that can double your uptake.
Vitamin D in the US
~1 in 5 Americans are at risk of deficiency (NHANES), worse in northern states. Best food sources, the mushroom trick, sun exposure guidelines, and symptoms to watch for.
Bison Meat Nutrition
Leaner than regular beef with more iron per serve. America's most underrated red meat — full nutrition comparison, cooking tips, and where to find it at Walmart, Kroger & Costco.
Cheapest Calcium-Rich Foods
Roughly 1 in 5 American adults falls short on calcium (NHANES EAR-based) — Australia's ABS reports a higher 60% using a different standard. Sardines with bones beat milk on calcium per dollar — full ranked list with absorption tips.
Iodine Deficiency in the US
Iodine deficiency is re-emerging in the US — and 50%+ of pregnant women are falling short. The cheapest food fixes, with seaweed safety warnings.
Choline — The Forgotten Nutrient
~90%+ of Americans don't reach their choline target either (NHANES) — one of the few nutrient gaps where the US and Australia match almost exactly. Eggs and liver are the answer.
Eat Healthy on $34 a Week
A complete 7-day meal plan with shopping list — full nutritional coverage for one adult for under $34, plus a vegetarian option. Real foods, real prices, no supplements needed.
Disclaimer
About the author, sources used (NIH ODS, NHANES, USDA), methodology, and why this is general information — not medical advice.
🎙️ NOW AVAILABLE — OPTIMISEDEATS PODCAST
The science of eating well, in plain English
New episodes weekly on Spotify and Apple Podcasts — covering everything in these guides, in audio form.
🇺🇸 Built for American prices
All food costs use current Walmart / Kroger / Aldi pricing. Our free app lets you build a full week’s meal plan for your family’s exact ages, sex, and dietary needs — and tracks all 17 nutrients automatically.
⬇ Download the complete guide — free
All 26 topics in one file. Print it, read it offline, or load it on your e-reader. Free forever.