Lower carb on a shoestring
EatingAndKnitting
Posts: 531 Member
Hi, I'm new! I'm still doing research into this WOE. Currently doing CICO. Type 2 diabetic, no gallbladder (but no trouble with fat). I have a ridiculously low budget for groceries a month: $175 USD for two people. I live in Texas, near Dallas.
I'm also mostly vegetarian. My husband is vegetarian, and I don't buy much meat because it's expensive just for me.
I'm planning on going lower carb, about 150 or so. Maybe lower as time goes by, we'll see.
I'm looking for inexpensive recipes and tips. I know I need to do meal plans, but I'm so out of my depth. I have no idea where to begin, and most recipes I've found assume you have money for expensive dairy and things.
I'm also mostly vegetarian. My husband is vegetarian, and I don't buy much meat because it's expensive just for me.
I'm planning on going lower carb, about 150 or so. Maybe lower as time goes by, we'll see.
I'm looking for inexpensive recipes and tips. I know I need to do meal plans, but I'm so out of my depth. I have no idea where to begin, and most recipes I've found assume you have money for expensive dairy and things.
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https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes/low-carb-budget
Here's a link with some recipes and in the comments people share ideas!3 -
When I first started, I found this site helpful for recipes.
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/1 -
low carb doesn't cost me much. I make lunches for the whole week for about $10 - usually some chicken breast or similar, some coleslaw, tomato, cucumber etc. Dinners are also cheap, for example a packet of kransky sausages ($3.80) and a few stirfried mushrooms and zucchini. Like maybe $5.50 for a meal for two people. But you don't eat much meat so you'll have to figure out what you can buy in your area I guess. Eggs are great, and cheap. You could make a whole zucchini slice which would feed you all week for only a few dollars.1
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Those links are great! Diet doctor is new, I'd had the other one in my bookmarks, just forgot about it. Thanks!3
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I am also in the Dallas area. Check out Aldi's if you haven't already. If/when you do eat meat, it is not unusual for Aldi's to have things like pork shoulder on sale. If you have a crockpot, making a week's worth of lunches using that with some veggies, seasoning and water is super easy and cheap.
Eggs are my go to meal - hard boiled on salad, poached, scrambled, etc. they are cheap and quite versatile. I even have a microwave omelette maker at work that I got for about $3. I used it today, actually. It is not unusual for me to eat 18-20 eggs in a week.3 -
I've found that adopting this WOE has saved me grocery money. I don't buy junk food anymore, which can be expensive. Ice cream, candy, chips, etc. add up. I also save money because I just don't eat as much and for the most part have given up snacking. I'm so much more satiated that far fewer calories sustain me. In addition, I don't eat out as much because I find I prefer making my own low carb meals.
Eggs are an inexpensive, yummy staple in my diet - and they're not just for breakfast in my house! Another cost saver is that most fatty cuts of meat and poultry with bones and skin are typically much less expensive than lower fat and skinless meats and poultry. Plus, the bones are great for making broth and soup. In addition, I do much more food planning since adopting this WOE and so I'm better about scouring the weekly sale ads for bargains and planning meals around them.4 -
You will see all kinds of things saying to buy grass fed butter, but if it's not in your budget, don't even give it a second thought. I buy cheap stuff when I need to without hesitation.
Buy the store brand stuff. If you do decide to eat any meat, go for the cheap ground beef.
If a recipe calls for heavy whipping cream but you don't actually need to whip it up, you can probably use half n half which costs less.
You should find that in general, you tend to eat less food than before, so that should help with the budget. Personally, I get better satiety from eating fatty meat and would require a lot more food volume if I ate vegetarian, so if you aren't completely opposed to eating it, it might actually help to reduce how much food you need in the first place.
Frozen veggies are perfectly ok too if you spot a good sale you can stock up on.5 -
@KnitOrMiss, any tips for our OP?0
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I make more vegetarian meals now as I'm trying to keep my protein down lower - I'm T2 diabetic and heavy protein meals send my BG up higher than I'd like.
Cauliflower soup is my favourite lunch, it costs about £.50 serving ($0.65-ish). One head of cauli, one stock cube, one clove garlic, salt, pepper, 2 litres water, 100 ml double cream and 100 g cheddar cheese. It makes 4 servings.
I make a lot of egg scrambles for breakfast with various veg and often skip the meat, it's super cheap.
And one of my favourite options for dinner is a Greek salad with some yummy chunks of feta or a pan fried goat cheese salad. Even with the fancier cheeses, it still works out to under £1 each for a meal.3 -
@KnitOrMiss, any tips for our OP?
@jesslla
Nothing really that hasn't been said. Eggs, mayo, tuna/tinned fish/sardines/etc., bulk broccoli, etc.
I very much second the suggestion made by @cstehansen. Right now in Oklahoma, my Aldi has avocados for 39 cents each...they're mostly unripe, but you can ripen them in the oven/in aluminum foil, on the counter in a paper bag, or just with patience. This past week, they had mini sweet peppers for $1.39 per bag. I use that with Braunschweiger spread - I love the pairing! Eggs are $0.69 per dozen limit 6 regularly. Most of the meats on sale this week are "cook out" related - brats, dogs, ground beef, etc. Guacamole and hummus are on sale, sadly accompanied by a boatload of garbage.
There is nearly always a manager's special of meat each week based on what is getting close to date. Some produce like celery, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, etc. are on sale most weeks. They have some great deals on cheeses often... And a range of gluten free products, though I haven't tried many myself. They do also have bulk grain type specials, but going lower carb things like rice won't be a staple, but dried beans might be... Their frozen fishes/meats get good ratings, too. Their frozen organic fruits and veggies are great, too...
Heavy cream, butter, sour cream, hard cheese, and even yogurt - I love Aldi's for all of these - remember to get unsalted butter where possible, as the milkfat percentage and grade is generally higher than salted, as they can't hid imperfections behind salt as 95% of butter brands do...
The main thing is to think outside the box and focus on whole nutrition. Incorporate what meat sources you can for nutrient/tolerance/cost purchases.
P.S. I'm still trying to figure out how to make 75-100 grams work for me... Keto was easier - as it had less options for me, personally...
But, don't rule out things like the sales at Sprouts. I can get chicken breasts, antibiotic and non GMO for less than $2 per pound when on sale. I stock up and freeze them. Same with ground beef sometimes. And their yogurt selection is fabulous, as well as things like almond creamer and sugar-free/non-diet sodas like Zevia. If you watch the sales, you can pick up a few things dirt cheap each week to supplement your plan.
I'm not much above you on food budget, and my guy is an omnivore, with a huge appetite so I still get things like noodles and rice at dirt cheap at Aldi...but I find that I feel more satisfied without the bulk once I'm getting enough healthy fats...3 -
I am mostly vegetarian and my diary is open, so feel free to browse around if it doesn't bore you
eggs are totally a go-to food for me, I get them straight off the farm, sometimes free because one of my husband's friends has chickens but his family can't eat all the eggs so they GIVE them to us, not sure if getting friendly with a local farm is an option for where you are, but even buying them straight off the farm they are a cheap food
salads are probably my favorite lunch food, I do put tuna in them sometimes, plus I try to put sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds or pine nuts and always avocado...and I LOVE bleu cheese dressing and will totally fork over the money for a good one if I don't have time to make my own (equal parts bleu cheese, sour cream or mayo, and buttermilk if you do have time to make your own)...nuts can be pricey in individual packages, but I buy them in bulk and they are much more reasonable per pound that way, plus they last a long time particularly if you keep them in the freezer.
Soups are another good easy cheap filler food...I love to hit whatever produce is about to go bad and is marked down, then just throw it in a pot with either a cheese (velveeta + veg broth) or tomato (crushed tomato + veg broth or crushed tomato + diced tomato) soup base.
If you want to get meats just for you, you can try buying them in bulk and then splitting them into single serving packages for freezing...then they won't go bad and you still won't be spending a fortune.3 -
I agree with an earlier post: going LC, done right, is a money saver not a budget buster. Processed grocery items, junk foods, restaurant meals, fast food: all add up in a frightening way compared to inexpensive cuts of meat and fresh/frozen vegetables. It requires more planning and effort than mindless munching but not necessarily more expense.
And, as mentioned, your slow cooker and your freezer can be your two best friends if you let them.4 -
One thing I forgot about Aldi's is the frozen wild caught salmon for under $4/lb. Wild caught salmon - salmon in general- didn't used to be on my menu much due to cost. This makes it totally affordable to at least do occasionally. Also frozen for those of us far from the coast is actually fresher than the fresh stuff because it is frozen on site generally.1
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Try this website: https://authoritynutrition.com/low-carb-as-a-vegetarian/2
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I love Aldi and I just discovered WinCo recently for bulk nuts and they seem to have good prices on cheeses too. I'll read through the links everyone posted and see what all kinds of plans I can come up with for meals, I do like eggs (buy them a five dozen box at a time!) and nuts. It's just quite a switch from pasta and rice, both of which are cheap and what I've lived on for years, I'll have to do some research, but I'm good at that. Thanks!
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If you are used to lots of pasta, then make zoodles (zucchini noodles). You can cut them by hand, but buying a spiralizer is worth it. You can use it on other veggies as well.
Also spaghetti squash is a great option and easy to make in the oven.
Both of these taste as good or better than regular pasta once you add sauce of choice (be careful about carbs/sugars in sauce).
In the produce section at Walmart, there are shirataki noodles that are very cheap and have 0 net carbs. The brand is Pasta Zero. The texture is not the same as regular pasta, but I think it is a good option. There is a more expensive option called Miracle Noodles, but I don't see the point in spending the extra $ for those.0 -
Zoodles and cauliflower rice are really good.
I am a fan of leafy greens like collards, turnip greens, etc. When you take the carbs and subtract fiber to get the net, they are very low carb and satisfying. Here we can get them in giant bags that are prewashed for a reasonable price.0 -
Oil is the cheapest calorie per dollar you're going to find. Pick your poison: olive, coconut, even avocado at Costco.2
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Oil is the cheapest calorie per dollar you're going to find. Pick your poison: olive, coconut, even avocado at Costco.
Good point! Imagine good oil being cheaper per calorie than Twinkies.....
Speaking of Costco, the wonderful organic extra virgin olive oil at Costco even puts a nice, healthy, peppery kick in the back of your throat (the "bruciore in gola" Italian's seek in their EVOO).1 -
What is OP?
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40footalfa wrote: »What is OP?
Ah, the gentle original poster. Please 4gv the vlgr use of abbrvtns!2 -
cstehansen wrote: »If you are used to lots of pasta, then make zoodles (zucchini noodles). You can cut them by hand, but buying a spiralizer is worth it. You can use it on other veggies as well.
Also spaghetti squash is a great option and easy to make in the oven.
Both of these taste as good or better than regular pasta once you add sauce of choice (be careful about carbs/sugars in sauce).
In the produce section at Walmart, there are shirataki noodles that are very cheap and have 0 net carbs. The brand is Pasta Zero. The texture is not the same as regular pasta, but I think it is a good option. There is a more expensive option called Miracle Noodles, but I don't see the point in spending the extra $ for those.
Oh I love the pasta zero! But 1 tip after you rinse them. Before you cook them cut them up. I make "chicken noodle soup" with them and fight with the noodles being in a knot.1 -
I feed my family of 5 for less than $100 a week by shopping at Aldi and meal planning. We are meat eaters (and the kids and hubby are carbivores), so I try to do meal planning and focus on one type of meat each week and buy it in bulk. For example, one week I made all ground beef dinners, the next week I made all chicken dinners, etc. Tuna salad, chicken salad made from canned chunk chicken breast, and egg salad all make great lunches, with some pickles, celery, or lettuce for crunch. Eggs are super versatile too! I love the egg fast diet meal plan recipes on the I Breathe I'm Hungry food blog! You can also do some cheaper swaps. For example, if I'm making a recipe that calls for ground beef, I can sub ground turkey, which is cheaper at my local Aldi. Or if a recipe calls for shallots and all I have are onions, there you go. I substitute a lot. There are some awesome soups like Chile Relleno soup (which has chicken but could be just as delicious without it) or Jalapeno Popper soup (which could be made without the bacon). Also, I know it's not super cheap, but some veggie burgers aren't too bad on carbs if you like them and can find them locally. I'm in Texas too (Houston area), and groceries are so much cheaper here than other parts of the country, so I'm grateful for that! I find that meal planning and carefully constructing my grocery list to maximize everything I purchase saves me quite a bit of money.1
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cstehansen wrote: »One thing I forgot about Aldi's is the frozen wild caught salmon for under $4/lb. Wild caught salmon - salmon in general- didn't used to be on my menu much due to cost. This makes it totally affordable to at least do occasionally. Also frozen for those of us far from the coast is actually fresher than the fresh stuff because it is frozen on site generally.
I had some wild caught salmon from Aldi's for dinner tonight. I poached it in Kerrygold butter with garlic and ate it with a side of broccoli (over which I poured some of the garlic butter). It's such a delicious bargain!2 -
I've lived off of cabbage, EVOO, & whole eggs as a broke college student nearing the end of the semester. Keep protein to a minimal for cutting expenses (also more traditional keto); whey concentrate could be a cheap alternative to use as well based on what type of vegetarian you define yourself as (lacto-, pesca-, ova-, combo, etc.)0
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....I had some wild caught salmon from Aldi's for dinner tonight. I poached it in Kerrygold butter with garlic and ate it with a side of broccoli (over which I poured some of the garlic butter). It's such a delicious bargain!
Just as an aside, we used to have an advertising campaign here in the UK, for Kerrygold butter, the last line of which, ran, "Please don't cook with Kerrygold..." Still makes me smile!
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AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »....I had some wild caught salmon from Aldi's for dinner tonight. I poached it in Kerrygold butter with garlic and ate it with a side of broccoli (over which I poured some of the garlic butter). It's such a delicious bargain!
Just as an aside, we used to have an advertising campaign here in the UK, for Kerrygold butter, the last line of which, ran, "Please don't cook with Kerrygold..." Still makes me smile!
Why would you not want to cook with Kerrygold? How are my omelets supposed to taste good if there isn't some Kerrygold in the pan?0 -
I Know, right...?!0
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