Teen Grocery Guide

ATP Field Guide #005

THE BUDGET PROTOCOL

You can eat real food on $50 a week. Here's exactly how.

THE SHOPPING LIST

Protein (spend most of your budget here):

• —Ground beef 80/20 — 2 lbs (~$10)
• —Eggs — 2 dozen (~$6)
• —Canned tuna — 6 cans (~$6)
• —Chicken thighs — 2 lbs (~$6)

Vegetables:

• —Broccoli — 1 large head (~$2)
• —Spinach — 1 bag (~$3)
• —Bell peppers — 3-4 (~$3)
• —Onions — 1 bag (~$2)

Low-carb staples:

• —Cauliflower rice (frozen) — 2 bags (~$4)
• —Avocados — 3-4 (~$4)

Fats:

• —Butter — 1 stick (~$2)
• —Olive oil — small bottle (~$4)
• —Almonds or mixed nuts — small bag (~$4)

Total: ~$58. Adjust quantities to hit your budget.

THE LABEL RULES

Always check the ingredients list, not just the nutrition facts.

Red flags — put it back:

• —Any of these oils: canola, soybean, corn, vegetable, sunflower, safflower
• —High fructose corn syrup
• —Ingredients you can't pronounce
• —More than 5 ingredients in something that should be simple

Green flags — good to go:

• —Short ingredient lists
• —Ingredients you recognize
• —No seed oils
• —No added sugar

THE SEED OIL PROBLEM

Seed oils (canola, soybean, corn, vegetable oil) are in almost every processed food. They're cheap, they're everywhere, and they're damaging your mitochondria.

The MetFix framework identifies seed oils as one of the primary drivers of metabolic dysfunction. They're high in omega-6 fatty acids, which promote inflammation when consumed in excess. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the modern diet is 15:1 or higher. It should be closer to 4:1.

What to cook with instead: Butter, olive oil, coconut oil, beef tallow, lard. These are the fats humans have used for thousands of years. They're stable at high heat and they don't damage your mitochondria.

THE MEAL FORMULA

Every meal should have:

1. 1.**A protein source** (palm-sized portion)
2. 2.**A vegetable** (half your plate)
3. 3.**A fat** (already in the protein or added during cooking)
4. 4.**Optional: a small starch** (sweet potato only, and only immediately after your hardest workouts — skip it on rest days)

That's it. You don't need a recipe. You need a formula.

THE SUNDAY PREP

Spend 45 minutes on Sunday:

1. 1.Cook 2 lbs ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder
2. 2.Roast a sheet pan of vegetables (broccoli, peppers, onion) at 400°F for 20 min
3. 3.Hard-boil 6-8 eggs
4. 4.Slice and portion avocados or nuts for grab-and-go snacks

Portion into containers. You have lunch and dinner for 3-4 days. This is the single most powerful nutrition habit you can build.

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