Meal Plan Examples

Budget Low-Carb Meal Plan Example

An example of a full day of budget-friendly low-carb eating at about 2,000 calories, with every food, serving and number listed.

Written by Somatics · Updated Oct 22, 2026

This budget-friendly lower-carb day has about 163 grams of protein, 80 grams of carbs and 117 grams of fat. Most of its protein comes from ground turkey, chicken thigh and eggs. Our free Macro, TDEE & BMR Calculator estimates your own number, so you can see the example closest to it.

Daily totals

Calories2,001 cal

Carbs80 g

Protein163 g

Fat117 g

Fiber: 27 g

Breakfast

435 cal · 29 g protein

Food	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Eggs, scrambled4 large (244 g)	364	24 g	4 g	27 g
Spinach2 cups (60 g)	14	2 g	2 g	0 g
Cheddar cheese½ oz (14 g)	57	3 g	0 g	5 g

Lunch

450 cal · 46 g protein

Food	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Chicken thigh, skinless, roasted6 oz (170 g)	304	42 g	0 g	14 g
Green beans, cooked1½ cups (188 g)	66	4 g	15 g	1 g
Olive oil2 tsp (10 ml)	80	0 g	0 g	9 g

Snack

187 cal · 15 g protein

Food	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Cottage cheese, 2%½ cup (113 g)	92	12 g	5 g	3 g
Peanut butter1 tbsp (16 g)	96	4 g	4 g	8 g

Dinner

608 cal · 53 g protein

Food	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Ground turkey, cooked5½ oz (156 g)	317	43 g	0 g	16 g
Mixed vegetables, cooked1½ cups (273 g)	177	8 g	36 g	0 g
Cauliflower, cooked1 cup (180 g)	34	3 g	7 g	0 g
Olive oil2 tsp (10 ml)	80	0 g	0 g	9 g

Evening snack

321 cal · 19 g protein

Food	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Eggs, hard-boiled2 large (100 g)	155	13 g	1 g	11 g
Peanuts, dry-roasted1 oz (28 g)	166	7 g	6 g	14 g

Numbers come from the USDA's FoodData Central database for the serving shown. We've rounded them, so meals may not add up to the exact daily totals. Packaged foods vary by brand.

This is an example of what a day of eating can look like, not a prescription or medical advice. If you have a food allergy, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a health condition, go with what your doctor or dietitian recommends.

Need an app to track your meals?

Somatics keeps your calories, carbs, protein and fat in one place, so you can see how close you are to your targets every day.

Using this example

You can swap any food for a similar one you like better, like another lean protein for the ground turkey or another carb you enjoy for the mixed vegetables. Our low-carb foods list lists everyday foods with their numbers, so swaps are easy to check.

Common questions

Where does the protein in this budget low-carb example come from?

Most of it comes from ground turkey (43 g), chicken thigh (42 g) and eggs (37 g), about 75% of the day's 163 g.

How are the calories split in this budget low-carb example?

Breakfast has about 435 calories, then lunch 450, the snack 187, dinner 608 and the evening snack 321. Dinner is the biggest meal, at about 30% of the day.

How much fiber does this budget low-carb example have?

About 27 g, mostly from mixed vegetables and green beans. That's close to the Dietary Guidelines' 14 g per 1,000 calories, which works out to about 28 g at this calorie level.