Broke & Buff Data Desk builds high-protein recipes around two numbers that get published with every one of them: grams of protein per serving, and cost per serving. Both are calculated, both are shown, and neither is rounded to look better than it is.
Protein is a math problem before it is a cooking problem. Solve the math and the cooking gets easy. The thing nobody says when money is tight is that hitting a protein target is cheap — it is the convenience that costs. Chicken, eggs, oats, canned fish, dry beans, Greek yogurt, whey: none of that is expensive. Pre-portioned everything and delivery are what wreck a grocery budget.
How the desk works
Macro figures are calculated per ingredient from public nutrition databases, not copied from another blog. Costs are priced from published Aldi, Kroger and Walmart shelf prices, per pound and per serving, so the arithmetic can be checked line by line. Recipe instructions are standardized into one format: same order, same units, same equipment names.
Prices move by region and by season. Where a figure is a national average rather than the price in your store, the page says so.
What you actually get here
- Grams of protein per serving – calculated from database values for each ingredient, with the serving size stated.
- Cost per serving – built from published shelf prices at budget chains, not specialty stores.
- The grocery math out loud – price per pound, total cost, cost per serving, so you can redo it with your own prices.
- Where a cheap swap breaks – documented trade-offs, like thighs beating breast on price and losing on leanness.
What this desk does not do
Broke & Buff Data Desk does not cook, taste or eat the recipes it publishes, and makes no claim about how anything turns out on flavour or texture. It has no gym results to report and no weight-loss story to sell you.
Nothing here is medical or individualized nutrition advice. Protein targets in the guides come from published general recommendations; what is right for your body is a question for a doctor or a registered dietitian.
Questions, or a cost figure that does not match your store? Use the contact form. Corrections are applied on the page.