As I'm sure you all know buying meat is expensive, and I hate cooking it! But I'm on a low-carb diet, so I eat a lot of chicken and stuff. Does anyone have any tips for making this a lot less expensive? I usually end up breaking the diet, because I am just not in the mood to pay for or cook meat.
This is a difficult one because carbs are generally much cheaper than protein. You could eat lots of fruits and vegetables, though. Bananas are incredibly cheap.
On the contrary, sticking to a carb diet is the cheapest, if you ask me! Rice, wheat, millet and other grains contain carbohydrates, and so do potatoes and beans. All of these are low cost foods and easy to find.
You can stretch meat out by doing stir fry or making soups. You can always get a cheap cut of beef, and semi-freeze it then cut off really thin slices to use in stir fry. I will look like a lot when it's really not. Lunch meat isn't a bad option either, especially if you're in a hurry. You can pick up some low carb tortillas and make a wrap sandwich pretty quickly. Or try some make ahead items that reheat easily such as stews or chili.
Like someone else said above, making stir-fry is healthy and low carb. Pork is often cheap and works great in a stir-fry. I also like to make taco salads (without shells or chips) and you can sparingly use the ground hamburger meat or turkey burger. Try to purchase bigger packs and separate. Buy meat that is on sale, such as leg quarters and whole chickens. You can find these for under a dollar per pound. I like to buy whole chickens, put a spice rub on them, and throw in the crockpot. The meat is extra tender and beats a rotisserie any day!
I, too, love low carb, but it can be expensive if you don't find meat that's not on sale. Do buy it in bulk when it is, cut in the portions you want and freeze them. I love turkey legs and they are usually pretty inexpensive and easy to prepare. Same with pork. You don't have to buy a lot or red meat, which is generally the most expensive. Also there are tons of dishes you can make with eggs, too.
Stretch out ground beef by adding smoked bacon lardons. You can also use these as the basis for soups and stews, and add chick peas for the protein. Canned tuna is also an economical protein source, which can be served with a jacket potato, or made into a speedy pasta bake with wholewheat pasta. As someone else has said, eggs are a cheap source of protein, as well as chick peas and lentils. Bulk out curries and casseroles with extra vegetables to make your meat go further, and buy cheaper cuts of meat and cook in a crockpot. If you like offal, liver and kidney is usually cheap, and very nutritious. There are ways to eat high protein and low cost if you look for them.
Thanks for all of the tips. I guess the main issue is affording chicken! Anyone have any ideas for that?
You can also swap out certain ingredients for lower carb ones if you're craving some starches. I've had mashed cauliflower (instead of mashed potatoes) and was really impressed with how good they were. Also, instead of potato or corn chips, you can fry up some jicama chips or celery root chips, and make like a nachos plate with mexican seasoned ground beef, homemade guac, pico, sour cream, cheese and other toppings. With regards to chicken, a couple of ways I would purchase it cheaper is to not buy it fresh, get it frozen. Preferably in bulk. And I would opt for frozen chicken tenders instead of frozen chicken breasts, since they are sometimes cheaper. Another way I've found to get chicken relatively cheap is at farmers markets or open markets, if you have any in your area. There is an open market near me that will sell a huge back of fresh 6oz chicken breasts for $20. I couldn't even buy 3 packs of chicken in the grocery store and gotten as much as I get out of this bag. And the portion sizes are perfect, the chicken breast in the grocery store are usually way too huge.
I love eating low carb. Feel so much better doing it, but you are very right in saying it's not easy to get the meat for less. Shop meat sales. They do have those at my local store. Also, look for discounted meats that are close to their expiration date. Take them home and freeze them right away and they'll be fine. Another thing my local store does is sell the butt ends of deli meat wrapped up in a pack together. You can get some nice ham, turkey and such that are perfect for salads and omelets and such.
We like it the way it is. We heat it on top of the stove. You could add a small among of pepper if you wish. Some people slice up a boiled egg and put it on top of the spinach. The "good" taste comes with the brand you buy. We always buy the top brand. If you are only serving yourself, buy the small cans.
It really depends on why you are on a low-carb diet; is this for health reasons (blood sugar management) or for weight loss? The best thing to do is eat a lot of vegetables - like 75% of your food choices. You'll get plenty of nutrition and avoid certain health problems. A pound of carrots is only $0.99 at Whole Foods, but if you have to watch your sugar, carrots may have too many carbs for you. Rice is a cheap way to get carbs, but all rice is not created equal. Also, it isn't just about the carbs, but the way your body processes them. What you need to do is find out which foods are the best for you to eat in your situation and which are the worst. You may also need to expand your palate and learn to eat new foods that are not currently part of your diet. Probably the cheapest way to eat low-carb is to eat a lot of soup. You can use just a few fresh ingredients and get a high volume of food as a return. Buy stuff in season and on sale, make soups and stews, and freeze the excess for later.
Eat a lot of eggs.. the best form of protein and ease to tease into a quick disk for an time of the day. They are cheap too.. can you ask for more? Fish is another easy think to cook.. but is a little on the expensive side. However, it is pretty healthy. Try and catch them when they are on a sale. Cook in bulk and freeze it when you are in a mood for cooking.. you could eat this later. I always add a couple of things to change the taste and flavor of the food each time, so it is not boring to eat the same stuff. Change fry to curry, soup, or stuffing for a tortillas. Adding a spoonful of coconut cream or chilly peppers can do the job for you. Experiment with your food .. you will enjoy it.
Pardon my frankness, but you can't do a low carb diet without wanting to cook or buy meat. That's pretty much a stable in every low carb diet. A friend a mine just went low-carb and she actually saves money doing this. Carbs can add up both in the wallet and on the hips. Low carb diets force you to cook more, meaning you'll save money through larger portions and left-overs. Look for specials on meat. If you like organic meats, try to buy them frozen. Whole Foods has a pretty good deal on bags of frozen chicken. You can get a bag of frozen chicken for about 8 bucks (same as a bag of Tyson's chicken). All you have to do is put it in the oven and wait. Sausage is a pretty easy meat to handle and I always see Italian sausage on sale. Fish is very easy to prepare. Tilapia is a cheap fish. Really, it doesn't sound like low-carb is the thing for you.
Eat a lot of eggs in place of meats. Eggs are cheap, and they are simple and quick to prepare. You can even keep a dozen boiled eggs in the fridge and pop one out when you want it. I also try to buy meat on sale, cook some up, and put it in the freezer. Then, I don't have to cook constantly. It's already ready. Tuna is good, cheap, and easy too. I also keep string cheese handy. I cut one in half, and wrap each half in a thin slice of turkey breast. Have one for a snack or both in place of a sandwich for lunch.
Eggs, as mentioned are great. Low carb veggies are filling and most of them, like whole heads of lettuces and celery are not expensive. If you want broccoli or cauliflower, get it as heads and be willing to cut it yourself. For carrots (if you eat them), buy whole large carrots instead of baby carrots. Same with pretty much any veggie. The more prep work it needs, the cheaper it will be. Get nuts from the bulk-bins instead of buying small bags. Shell on is cheaper. Cheese in large chunks to shred or cut it yourself is cheaper than pre cut or shredded varieties. Buy your meats with bone in and be willing to spend the time picking the meat off of them. Throw them in the crockpot to cook them. Pull them out, pick off most of the meat, and then throw the carcass back in the crockpot for another 12 hours. Strain it and then use the broth for soups with low-carb veggies or flavoring in stirfry or freeze it until you can use it. Bone broth is very dense in nutrition. You can buy other meats in bulk. Don't forget organs! They're often inexpensive and have a lot of nutrition. Dollar tree stores have canned tuna and chicken for a dollar a can. They also have meats in the freezer section. I don't eat those personally but I do trust the canned tuna. They also have pork rinds, which you can use as a snack, to dip in tuna salad, or to make meatloaf (in place of bread crumbs). Get a fishing license and go fishing. You exchange time (fishing) for very cheap protein in the form of fresh fish. Some store bought fish is less expensive too. In most cases, the trick to spending less money on food (low carb or high carb) is to buy foods that require more work.
I would say potatoes and beans would be the best idea. Maybe some pasta. You could also mix it up, make a rice-beans dish, or pasta with sauce made out of baked beans and some spices, stuff liek that. All of those ingredients are really cheap, so that shouldn't be a problem.
Potatoes, beans and pasta are all high carb foods.Whilst they are definitely cheap, the OP is looking for low-carb meal solutions.
Fruits are actually very high in carbs and sugars and while they're good carbs and sugars, its generally suggested to avoid mass amounts of fruits when trying to drop weight. I guess the best solution would be to keep an eye out for the specials that grocery stores will run on meats. I know for a fact that Safeway runs promotional deals on chicken breasts all the time that are very reasonable. There's unfortunately no easy way around eating foods that are good for you; just have to make it a part of your budget.
