Balance is key. You need to have a healthy amount of everything. And that should be what you should be focusing on first, to create a solid foundation of nutrients so your body has plenty of building blocks to grow with.

Let's begin with meats, as they are the cornerstone of any diet looking to build up muscle and strength. (afterall, you don't want to be as weak as a teenage girl when you're in your mid 30s) Make sure to focus more on chicken and beef, as these two will often have the best meat to fat ratio among the choices at your butcher. You don't necessarily have to be eating both every day, but make sure you're consuming a generous amount of either one of these at least on 4 different days a week.  

Diary? Go for whole cow milk. Contrary to what popular media and your family and friends may tell you, whole milk is better for you than diet or lite milk (whatever they are calling it). It contains all the necessary fats and nutrients that lighter types of milk will likely have lost. Two glasses of whole milk every day (1 in morning, another at night) will be more than enough to satisfy your diary requirements. Speaking of diary, oatmeal (or any form of fiber) is also necessary for healthy bowels and digestion.

Seafood is also important to include, as they're a very efficient source of protein, omega 3, vitamins and minerals. Some of the best (and tastiest) seafood choices you can easily incorporate a couple times a week include tuna, salmon, and sardines. Some more expensive and exotic choices that you probably wouldn't want to be 'shelling' out your wallet for more than once every week would be scallops, oysters and clams. (pun intended, yes)

So now you've got meats, diary and seafood. Let's move on to the most exciting part, you guessed it!

Your greens (and often reds and blues).

So vegetables and fruits, they aren't all created equal. Sure, nearly all of them are beneficial in one way or another and buying a certain produce even by accident, will never be a mistake. However, what are the best ones that you should be prioritising for? Well, they are avocados, blueberries, spinach and broccoli.  They're not exactly hard to implement into a diet, and the taste and benefits you get out of eating them is immense.

So to summarise for anybody reading;

- chicken and beef
- whole milk, along with sources of fibre like oatmeal
- tuna, salmon, sardines
- avocados, blueberries, spinach and broccoli

These will easily make up the foundation of any balanced diet, and best of all, costs under $70 a week, leaving you with plenty of freedom to innovate and explore other produce and ingredients to mix into your diet!