Top 10 cheap foods for Low Carb diet?

Chlo92x

Hey,

I'm starting a low carb diet as of Monday...
I was wondering if you could share your opinions on the best and most filling, cheap, low carb foods for a student budget!!

P.S, add me as a friend if your doing a similar diet plan, I need motivation!
Thaanks

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Frozen vegetables
Salad stuffs
Eggs
Whole chicken (can be baked, crock pot cooked and then use the carcass to make bone broth for soups and other cooking)
Roasts (provides several meals)
Buying fruits and vegetables that are in season is cheaper


I eat very basic, so that is about all I got.

vytamindi

Frozen vegetables
Salad stuffs
Eggs
Whole chicken (can be baked, crock pot cooked and then use the carcass to make bone broth for soups and other cooking)
Roasts (provides several meals)
Buying fruits and vegetables that are in season is cheaper


I eat very basic, so that is about all I got.

This is a great list!

I make sure to stock up on frozen veggies, eggs, chicken, zucchini, sausage, bell peppers, and I'll be good for a week or two.

One thing I will always keep stocked that is a price indulgence is heavy whipping cream. It makes my coffee taste perfect, even without a sweetener. Of course, I try to buy local/organic as often as possible, but sometimes it just doesn't jive with my budget.

I feel like I have less money since eating healthier... I try to think of it as a health investment!

wellbert

Ground beef 'n cheese. Delicious.

bcattoes

Canned tuna
Eggs
Chicken
Ground turkey
Pork loin roast
White fish - tilapia, pollock, haddock, perch
Frozen vegetables - (frozen greens are the best bargain in the store!)
Fresh vegetables that are on sale
root vegetables (long shelf life)
Low carb wraps (great for portable lunches)

Dayna154

meat and vegtables pickels, peanut butter, eggs, various types of cheese, if you go low carb you need fats. Avacados, nuts I do LOTS of flavored almonds.
Stay away from root vegtables if you can Higher carbs.
Watch your fruit intake

sashab4

I'm on the South Beach diet and I just finished phase 1 (no carbs at all) and I've already lost 9 pounds! Here's some of the foods I eat that are on the cheaper side:

- Eggs (lots of them!)
- Frozen vegetables - add lots of spices and cheese
- Salad with canned chickpeas and other vegetables
- Zucchini "pizzas" and "lasagna" - for the pizzas you slice the zucchini into circles, put some canned chopped tomatoes (NOT tomato sauce because unless you make it yourself the jarred ones you buy at a super market have tons of sugar in it) and then top it with some cheese and bake it at 350 in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until they look golden and ready to eat!
- For the lasagna, you slice the zucchini into long, thin slices and start building your lasgna 1 layer of zucchini slices, chopped tomatoes, cheese and then begin again until your done filling the square tin. Then bake it for around 45 minutes at 350.

- Another great recipe that is cheap is from the south beach book and it's called "Vegetable quiche cups to go" - here's a link to the recipe: http://www.recipelink.com/msgbrd/board_7/2007/MAY/1660.html
I omit the green peppers and hot sauce and add black pepper, garlic sauce. and instead of frozen spinach I use frozen broccoli. These things are seriously delicious!

Just remember that whenever you have cheese make sure it's either fat-free or part-skim. I hope this helps!!

Tony_Brewski

Pretty much any kind of meat is going to be low carb, just buy clean and lean. Fish is over all the best. Love me some tuna and salmon!..fruits and vegies!

triinityz

I live on eggs and cheese. When I was a meat eater, those frozen sausages you get at the cheap grocery store (neither healthy or clean) are SUPER cheap and my stand by snack were pork rinds with salsa or cheese sauce or whatever. Tuna salad mixed with egg salad was awesome too. SO much easier to be low carb and eat meat, good luck!

sarahharmintx

- Zucchini "pizzas" and "lasagna" - for the pizzas you slice the zucchini into circles, put some canned chopped tomatoes (NOT tomato sauce because unless you make it yourself the jarred ones you buy at a super market have tons of sugar in it) and then top it with some cheese and bake it at 350 in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until they look golden and ready to eat!
- For the lasagna, you slice the zucchini into long, thin slices and start building your lasgna 1 layer of zucchini slices, chopped tomatoes, cheese and then begin again until your done filling the square tin. Then bake it for around 45 minutes at 350.

These are great ideas. Im not looking for low carb specifically but it sounds pretty yum.

SRH7

Some great suggestions in here. My other top tip is to find out where the yellow sticker reduced section is in your local supermarket and head there late evening. Meat and fish that is on the use-by date is massively reduced in price and is fine to put straight in the freezer for future use. I always stock up when salmon fillets are on half price or less. Also don't be afraid to ask the staff when the best times to get the yellow label reductions are - they are usually happy to tell you.

Some supermarkets are better than others for this. Funnily enough, while Waitrose is eye-wateringly expensive in general, their reductions are usually massive - particularly on deli meats (ready-cooked ham and beef make a quick breakfast or snack) and veg/salad. I frequently go in and just come out with bags of food to go straight in the freezer when I get home (and their veg and salad keep for days after the best before, anyhow, as they are usually really good quality).

pickledginger

Oh! Mushrooms! They're great, and add lots if flavor.

And TVP is good to have on hand to beef up a sauce (some spaghetti sauces are without added sugar, btw) or thicken a soup, and can even be tasty. (But that's more work)

Flax seed, ground, is another good additive and stars in a lot of low-carb muffin or pancake recipes. Prices vary tremendously.

A crock pot is very helpful. Makes for seasy soups, stews, pulled pork.

cjransom

I use almonds a snack food during the day. Chicken is good or really any type of meet. A lot of places will sell pork loins cheap if they are a thin cut.

If you will cut them up yourself a whole chicken is actually a good buy.

It is really hard to eat low carb without cooking yourself. Depends on what you call low carb but a lot of frozen dinners have 37-52 carbs per serving. Rice and potatoes are good to avoid, although red potatoes aren't too bad.

To do something kind of like mashed potatoes you can use red potatoes and then don't add milk but still do butter... we call buttered potatoes.

Almond milk for frozen smoothies is good, almond milk has less calories and carbs than milk but the sweetened ones can be deceptive.

Any meal that has a combination of veggies/meat is good. I like to do a stir fry dish and just don't do the rice. A package of chicken breasts cut into small chunks with a variety of peppers and carrots or whatever your preferred veggies are spiced to your flavor stores well and is good for a dinner/lunch combo.

krickeyuu

Cottage cheese, Peanut butter, greek yogurt--buy them on sale.

becabean

bump

tiffanyneedstolose

This is awesome! I'm thinking of doing low carb as well

SummerLovesPhil

Added!

I have done the zucchini lasagna thing as well. It was so good that I actually served it to 200 people at a fundraiser. They LOVED it!

These have been some really great posts. Other good ideas include ground turkey or pork (actually turkey and pork in general are usually a good price) and tofu. My latest grocery shopping trick has been to frequent Mexican markets, because for whatever reason their produce is always cheaper, at least in my neighborhood, and they have lots of marinated meats that make dinner easier. In any case, be sure to check the ads every week. I have an app on my phone called Grocery Smarts that lists the sales from all the "regular" groceries in my area (they leave out the Mexican groceries and natural foods stores, which is a bummer), so I can plan my dinners for the week around what's on sale. Also check www.pinchingyourpennies.com and www.hillbillyhousewife.com for some seriously frugal approaches.

fastforlife1

Thanks for the recipes and ideas. I eat a lot of lentils: they have high protein, are low on the glycemic index, filling, and cheap!

coffeegirl1998

Awesome find! Thanks guys!

Rixxy14

Following

hockey7fan

Shrimp - I can get a 1 lb bag of medium sized shrimp at Wal-Mart for $5. I like them stir fried with veggies or just steamed and eaten.

Watch for meats on sale - this week my grocery store had a Boston Butt pork roast for 99 cents a pound. I put in the crock pot with a can of diet Dr. Pepper and cooked it on low for 12 hours. It's really yummy shredded.

Hit up a local farmers market for veggies and they are usually cheaper and better.

Eggs

GettinIT6

dannon light and fit greek yogurt!

Melmade

Costco has big bags of frozen veggies and frozen flounder fillets--very easy to toss in a nonstick skillet with some condiments & oil--cover & steam. The zucchini lasagna lasts in our family for a few days--and we can blend it up to serve for kids over premade pasta for a fast dinner. I also get ricotta & cheese & eggs at Costco for pretty cheap. They always have chicken for .99/lb--about 12 lbs. packages.

DawnieB1977

Hi! I'm doing carb cycling at the moment, so I do 5 low carb days and 2 high carb days. I'm English so I think in general food costs more here, so I'll tell you the kind of things I eat a lot of on low carb days....

Cottage cheese
Almonds
Cod
Tuna
Salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber)
Veggies
Chicken
Eggs
Bacon
Ham
Mini babybel lights
Olives

I also eat protein bars sometimes.