Keeping costs down?

idocdlw

I am a full-time RV'r so freezer space is very limited. I try to shop sales for meat, buy family packs then break down to freeze. Big, big change from how I grew up...on a beef farm. A t-bone was a typical after school snack for me...just grab one out of the freezer the night before so it was ready to cook up as soon as I got home. Any additional tips that would help keep cost down?

**I retired at an early age (49) and decided I didn't want to go back to work. To make living the remainder of my life off of my pension possible, I sold everything and moved into a motorhome. I now live where I want when I want and can take my furry children with me on every "vacation". Any work I do now is volunteer (Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, local food pantries).

kpk54

Oh cool! I'm watching Tiny House Living as I type! My weight loss (via non keto) and my weight maintenance (keto) experience is that I needed zero "specialty" foods to be successful. I did buy coconut oil but it is not essential IMO. In fact, I'm currently out. I also bought magnesium supplements that were needed initally for me to quit getting night leg cramps. I switched to Stevia but that was a personal choice. Otherwise no big change except fewer perishable vegetables and more meat, dairy, eggs. I buy whatever is on sale. Perhaps I'm "killing" myself but I'm 62 and I "ain't" dead yet. Welcome!

Gallowmere1984

Eggs are about the cheapest keto food in existence. I can roll through about four dozen or more per week.

RalfLott

Dr. Steve Phinney (in an A+ three-part video, part 1 below), notes that extra virgin olive oil at Costco (yep, the real McCoy - he had it tested by a chemist friend) is under $.60 per 1000 kcal.

(Discussion starts around 35:00)

He said he blends it with coconut oil and spices, puts in somewhere cool, and smears it on his steak, salmon etc. Also makes his own mayo with egg yolks & olive oil (in place of soybean oil.

https://youtu.be/8NvFyGGXYiI

idocdlw

Thanks guys! I can handle all of the staples (shop mostly at Aldi's & WalMart, Hy-Vee for anything I can't get at the former)...but as a born and bred farm girl, while eating this way, I NEED my beef! I've cut WAY down on my wine consumption to shift those $$ to nice fatty steak. AND...I would really like to shift some of those $$ to grass-fed beef.

Keep the suggestions coming...we can all benefit from each others' tricks to stretch the $$.

MKknits

With a family that does not eat keto I try to keep what I buy in a smaller budget as well. I buy a lot of eggs, some cheese, capicola, salami, macadamia nuts, heavy cream and once a week I buy a value pack of some type of meat, precook it and make up my meals for lunches and quick suppers. For veg I buy frozen broccoli and frozen riced cauliflower, and one large carton of baby spinach. I don't freeze much because then I forget I have it. This week the family pack of bone in porkchops was $1.29 a lb and the pack I found had 7 in it so that will be my main meat for the week. We did find some porterhouse steaks on clearance so those are a special treat supper for all of us. The meat varies by what is on sale/clearance when I go. Last week it was burgers with grass fed beef I found on sale. The week before bone in skin on chicken thighs I found on sale. I'm actually finding that the fattier cuts that I eat go on sale/clearance a lot. I do buy stevia but with just me using it, it lasts awhile.

bametels

Ask the butcher/meat dept. staff at the stores you frequent when they typically mark down meat that is approaching the sell by date. At my local store, the best bargains are commonly found on Tuesday afternoon/evening because the new sales circular goes into effect on Wednesday. You can often get sale items at a further discount at that time because they need to make room for the next week's sale times. Also, Sunday mornings are a good time to pick up reduced price meats in my store. They don't open the fresh butcher/fish section until 10:00 a.m. but the staff come in earlier to set up for the day and discount the meat nearing the sell by date that is already in the cases.

Also, if you are near a farmer's market or farms that have stands and sell directly to consumers, you can commonly pick up bargains shortly before closing time. And, some sell veggies or fruits that are less than perfect in looks but fresh and nutritionally sound at bargain prices.

40DayFit

The least expensive cuts of beef tend to be the tougher varieties that need more of a stewing/braising/cooking with liquids approach to break down the fibers to a pleasant texture. Beef is totally doable on a budget, but you won't get many fatty steaks with limited funds. Top round/London Broil is my "steak" most of the times, though I do love a good ribeye. I slice it across the grain, season w/salt, pepper, garlic, whathaveyou, and cook quickly in butter. Want more of a "steaky" taste? Cook in part tallow, if you have it. Aldi's a great place to get these kinds of cuts.

I have also cooked top round in the larger London Broil cut in a more steak-like manner. Cast iron skillet, dry, in 500 degree F. oven; meanwhile LIGHTLY wipe meat w/oil, season w/salt & pepper. When skillet is ridiculously hot, place beef in pan and sear both sides for (I think, can't recall) ~5 min or less if you prefer. If the cut is thick, you may want a little more time in the oven. Basically, cook until just before the doneness you prefer, then remove from oven and pan, and rest the beef as it completes cooking as it cools. Again, you'll need to add your own fats--great time for an herbed garlic butter!

carlsoda

idocdlw wrote: »

I am a full-time RV'r so freezer space is very limited. I try to shop sales for meat, buy family packs then break down to freeze. Big, big change from how I grew up...on a beef farm. A t-bone was a typical after school snack for me...just grab one out of the freezer the night before so it was ready to cook up as soon as I got home. Any additional tips that would help keep cost down?

**I retired at an early age (49) and decided I didn't want to go back to work. To make living the remainder of my life off of my pension possible, I sold everything and moved into a motorhome. I now live where I want when I want and can take my furry children with me on every "vacation". Any work I do now is volunteer (Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, local food pantries).

Amazing life!! We want to get there too, but not likely until we are 67. Spent our youth raising children and now building up the 401k and paying off the house. What a blessing to retire so early in life!

emaline2210

I get through my entire day with eggs, peanut butter, pickles and sometimes some lunch meat and cheese. For dinner, I don't eat any more meat than I used to, so I do the same as you with family packs and sales. For my family of 3, stocking a small kitchen size freezer is probably fairly comparable to an rv freezer.

I also will purchase a big roast and throw it in the crockpot on Sunday, and we eat off of it for a week (whole chickens, beef or pork). I find that I eat way less volume now than when I was a carbivore.