Registered dietitian nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein absolutely loves food, second helpings, and feeling full. Growing up a dangerously obese child and teenager, she attended “fat camp”—a weight loss summer camp where portion sizes and exercise programs were closely monitored—from when she was 8 years old to her preteens. Constantly yo-yo-ing between shedding pounds and gaining it all back, she learned first-hand that fad diets and disordered eating do not work to sustain a healthy body and mind.
When she was 13, she realized she needed to take control of her own health. She lost 100 pounds through high school and college, became a registered dietitian, and earned a master’s degree in nutrition. She began leading weight loss seminars at UCLA, which she subsequently turned into a digital program, allowing her to help thousands of clients around the world. She brings an attitude of excitement and abundance to her consulting, hoping to help others see weight loss as a self-empowering journey of discovery.
Ms. Muhlstein lives in Los Angeles, Calif., and is the mother of three young, growing children with voracious appetites. She told us how she plans weekly meals and shops for the foods that keep her family happy, healthy, and full—without breaking her tight grocery budget.
By Ilana Muhlstein, as told to Hazel Atkins
I’m a mom of three, so I’m always shopping for five people. It’s a lot of food, and I’m definitely always on a tight budget. My kids are ages 3, 6, and 9, and we have no allergies, thankfully.
Click to Buy
I like to grocery shop online, which is also great for saving money because you’re less emotional and less distracted by everything, and you can be much more organized. You can also use that button “buy again,” which saves a ton of time. When I place an order, I compare prices everywhere: There are some things I get from Costco, some things I get from Trader Joe’s, for instance.Planning Is Key
If you’re on a budget, the planning piece is key. When you plan, you spend a lot less money. If there’s zero plan, you end up buying more snacks and fewer things that are meal-focused, which is not only less healthy, but also more expensive.I like to think about every three to four days in advance, so I’ll do one shop to get us through Monday to Thursday, and then another shop for Friday to Monday. We tend to eat our weekly meals on rotation, which makes planning easier and more efficient.
Monday: We usually have some sort of ground meat, such as hamburger or meatballs. Ground beef is super budget-friendly; you can trade it out for ground chicken or turkey.
Through healthy eating, Ms. Muhlstein realized she did not need to go hungry to lose 100 pounds. (Beachbody LLC)
Tuesday: It’s super simple to do Taco Tuesday, and we do it vegetarian-style. As a veggie lover, I’ll do a taco salad, and the kids are very happy with either a hard or soft shell tortilla. It’s a great way to get them to eat more veggies because they’ll put in shredded lettuce, tomato slices, and so on.
Wednesday: We always do fish. We love salmon, and it’s excellent for omega-3s and great for mental and heart health as well.
Thursday: This is make-your-own-pizza night. I have a great countertop pizza oven that the kids are really interested in. I always add a protein, because I find that if we only do pizza, we’re all overeating the refined carbohydrates. Sometimes I’ll do scrambled eggs or leftover salmon.
Friday: I love to do a roast chicken. It’s simple and easy, and gets the job done.
Essential Buys: Vegetables
I’m someone who likes large portions of food, and I don’t like to count calories. At “fat camp,” veggies were never a punishment—they were the food you were allowed to get seconds of, and I like having seconds.My slogan is “water first, veggies most.” I recommend people eat way more veggies because they are high-volume and low-calorie, fill up our meals, and are also the best food group for us.
When I’m buying veggies, I’m always thinking about how to repurpose them in multiple meals.
Carrots, celery, and onions: These three are the base for so many things like soup, spaghetti sauce, and so much more. Baby carrots can be dipped in hummus or guacamole; they’ll go under the roasted chicken; I can shred it into a meatball mix, muffins, or a salad. With celery, my kids will do ants on a log as a snack, it also goes under the roast chicken, and it gets chopped small and added to the mix for taco night. Onions add flavor and moisture to everything.
Broccoli: I love to get frozen broccoli. The kids don’t like it as much texture-wise, but it’s so budget-friendly. At Costco, you can get this huge, huge pack of frozen organic broccoli florets for $9, and as a busy mom, I love that it’s already prewashed and precut. I’ll roast that at a high heat to try to get a bit of crunch.
Green beans: I also love frozen green beans. I'll put them on a big sheet pan and roast them at high heat with olive oil and salt, and a drizzle of soy sauce and honey.
Zucchini: Zucchini is a passion vegetable of mine. I stock up in the summer when they’re at their peak nutritional value and less expensive, and I slice, freeze, and throw them into smoothies all year round. You cannot taste zucchini in a smoothie, but it makes your smoothie creamy—like a banana but without the sugar and carbs of a banana. It also adds fiber, which will keep you feeling fuller for longer.
When I make meatballs or hamburgers, I grate in one zucchini, one onion, and one carrot. The veggies add more flavor, more moisture, more fiber, and more vitamins and minerals. Also, the cost of one zucchini, one carrot, and one onion is maybe $2, compared to $10 for the ground beef, and instead of making 12 meatballs, now you’re able to get 18 or 19.
Ms. Muhlstein incorporates vegetables into her meatball recipe for more fiber, vitamins, and minerals. (Beachbody LLC)
Essential Buys: Snacks
I always buy fruits and veggies first for snacks. Some people will complain to me that healthy snacks are more expensive, but when you’re thinking about an apple and peanut butter, that’s not expensive. Bananas are super cheap; so are mini Persian cucumbers and homemade hummus.Seasonal fruits: I’ll buy fruits based on what’s the best price, which tends to be what’s in season, and that likewise tends to be more nutritious. We might have mango in the summer and the kids won’t see that all the rest of the year. That’s healthy for them—it gets them excited for specific fruits, seeing them as a special treat.
Frozen fruits: I really recommend buying frozen fruit as well. Buying fresh strawberries in the winter when they’re not in season means they’re very expensive, usually flavorless, and much lower in nutritional value. Frozen strawberries were picked at peak ripeness when they were in season, and they’re much more cost-effective.
Popcorn kernels: Making your own popcorn is pennies. If you air-pop popcorn once a week, you can put it into a big bag and siphon it out into smaller portions for snacks. You control the salt and oil, and you’re talking a whole-grain, high-fiber snack with antioxidants that’s very low cost. It’s great for anyone like me who likes to eat a lot of food because it’s a high-volume food. You can have three cups for about 100 calories, as compared to one handful of potato chips for 100 calories.
And for Dessert
If my kids go to a birthday party, of course they will eat cake! But lots of cake, cookies, and candy is not something I like to spend money on or keep in my house.If I want a special treat for my family, I always aim for a dessert that has fiber and protein. I love to make homemade things: peach pie or peach cobbler in the summer, cookie bars with a bit of protein powder added, and chocolate chip muffins that throw in a zucchini if possible.
It’s good for their portion control because they’ll actually feel full. It’s also good for the budget: If your kids are overeating fiberless and proteinless treats, you’re going to have to buy so much more.
Some of Ms. Muhlstein's go-to healthy dessert recipes include homemade peach cobbler and chocolate chip cookie bars with a boost of protein powder. (Beachbody LLC, Shutterstock)
The Problem With Processed Foods
A big issue I see is that people on a tight budget spend so much on nutritionally empty foods. I’d rather spend more on a $2 bag of protein chips that I know is going to make the kids fuller than a $0.75 bag of processed chips, because that feels like I’m lighting money on fire.Ultra-processed foods drive hunger. It might seem like it’s cheaper in the store, but you’re paying more for it in the long term—and not just the health consequences. If you’re not eating foods that activate your body’s feeling of fullness, you’re going to be eating so much more, which means you’re going to be buying so much more.
Be Adaptable
While meal planning is key to shopping, it’s fun to be adaptable, too. It’s healthy to change things up and get excited about having a special treat. All of my kids love steak and they want to eat a lot of it—that’s not so easy on a budget, but every now and then, I love to give them steak as a treat.I like to adapt what I buy according to what’s available, so sometimes I’ll make guacamole instead of hummus, or I’ll buy frozen green beans instead of broccoli. The key is to have fun and focus on foods that give you the most bang for your buck: What’s going to fill you up, feed your body nutritionally, and make you happy? That’s the way to shop!
RECIPE: Meatballs and Cauliflower Mash
RECIPE: Healthy Chocolate Cream Rolls
