Dr Oz: Can You Eat Healthy On $4 A Day?
Dr Oz conducted one of the biggest experiments ever, when he asked go-to testers and viewers to try various tasks for 24 hours. Some tried wearing a waist trainer, others followed a strict celebrity diet, and some even gave up sleep for the entire 24 hours. For his biggest challenge of all, he went to his go-to tester, Renata to see if she could survive on just $4 a day while still making healthy eating choices. Wait until you see what she eats for under $4 a day on the next page… and then share your healthy ideas on that budget with #OZCHEAPEATS on social media…
Dr Oz: Breakfast For Under $1

Dr Oz put Renata to the test to see if she could survive on just $4 a day while still following a healthy diet. See her results! (101332430@N03 / Flickr)
Renata is frugal but even she struggled. She had to skip her coffee shop coffee and settle for hot water with lemon and a boiled egg for breakfast. She found a tub of plain Greek yogurt for $2 which means at $0.50 a serving, it’ll last her all week. She specifically bought plain yogurt so that she could flavor it herself with fresh strawberries. That means less added sugar and a total of $0.80 for breakfast.
Dr Oz: $4 a Day Grocery List
With $3.20 left, the rest of Renata’s grocery list included the following food items:
- eggs
- eggplant
- tomato
- ground pork
- can of beans
- frozen broccoli
- whole wheat pasta
With the strawberries and yogurt included, she spent under $19 for the week.
Dr Oz: Pork & Bean Burger Recipe
Using those groceries, Renata was able to put together a healthy lunch. She made ground pork and bean burgers with broccoli on the side. That meal cost her just $1.19.
Dr Oz: Eggplant Pasta Recipe
Then for dinner she made eggplant pasta for dinner. Renata then admitted that with the money she had left, she bought a candy bar, but I suppose the takeaway is that she was able to buy an entire week’s worth of groceries and still have enough left over for a treat.
#OzCheapEats
The good news is that not only did Renata make it work money-wise, but with that $4 a day budget, Renata ate 1,711 calories, 92 grams of fat, 73 grams of protein, and 23 grams of fiber. Dr Oz graded Renata’s diet a B, saying that she could have used the leftover $0.20 per day to add more greens to her diet. But she certainly did well.
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