Objective: Promotion of healthy eating can no longer be postponed as a priority, given the alarming growth rate of chronic degenerative diseases in Western countries. We elaborated a nutrieconomic model to assess and identify the most nutritious and affordable food choices. Design: Seventy-one food items representing the main food categories were included and their nationally representative prices monitored. Food composition was determined using CRA-NUT (Centro di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione) and IEO (Istituto Europeo di Oncologia) databases. To define food nutritional quality, the mean adequacy ratio and mean excess ratio were combined. Both prices and nutritional quality were normalised for the edible food content and for the recommended serving sizes for the Italian adult population. Setting: Stores located in different provinces throughout Italy. Subjects: Not applicable. Results: Cereals and legumes presented very similar nutritional qualities and prices per serving. Seasonal fruits and vegetables presented differentiated nutritional qualities and almost equal prices. Products of animal origin showed similar nutritional qualities and varied prices: the best nutrieconomic choices were milk, oily fish and poultry for the dairy products, fish and meat groups, respectively. Conclusions: Analysing two balanced weekly menus, our nutrieconomic model was able to note a significant decrease in cost of approximately 30 % by varying animal-protein sources without affecting nutritional quality. Healthy eating does not necessarily imply spending large amounts of money but rather being able to make nutritionally optimal choices. The nutrieconomic model is an innovative and practical way to help consumers make correct food choices and nutritionists increase the compliance of their patients. Keywords Diet cost Food analysis Nutrient profiling Nutrieconomic analysisAdoption and promotion of a healthy diet is a priority for reducing chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, CVD and several cancers. For example, the broad scientific literature demonstrates that greater adherence to a healthy diet, like the Mediterranean diet, is associated with a significant reduction in overall mortality (9 %), mortality from CVD (9 %), incidence of or mortality from cancer (6 %) and incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease (13 %) (1) . These data are of major interest. To cite an instance, in the last two decades obesity has more than tripled in Europe, causing more than 1 million deaths and 12 million life-years of illness each year. Moreover, obesity is associated with increased medical costs, premature death, less healthy lifestyle choices, psychological problems and poor quality of life (2) . Many governments have taken this problem to heart and developed strategies (i.e. websites improving consumer nutrition knowledge) that can promote food choices that are not only healthy but also economical. Perhaps the most well-known example of these efforts is represented by the US Department of Agriculture's nutr...