Atkins on a budget

[Heidi3]

I see so many people complaining about the cost of eating this way...I am not getting it?.....would anyone want to try to post the daily cost of what they are eating?...or do you want to try an "Atkins for Less than $10 a day" Thread? If you are interested lets do it!!...I thought I would try to keep track of what I ate for a week and see exactly what it is costing...I know my grocery bills are not any higher in general they are probably less due to NEVER buying junk on the fly....eating only planned foods seems to keep more money in my pocket day to day because there are no impulse bagels at work or if I do buy coffee that is all I get....just thought I would toss this one out if you are interested lets start!...

[not2late]

I look for sales and for family packs. Eventhough I just feed me, family packs are terrific. When I get them home, I break the pack up into individual serving sizes, wrap and freeze.

I'm not a big beef eater, but whenever there's a sale on chuck roasts I buy them. I cut them in half. One half I leave for pot roasts. The other half I either cut into strips for stirfries or into chunks for stews. If the roast has bones, I save them in a bag in the freezer. When I collect enough, I rub them with oil and toss them in a roasting pan with chunks of onion and celery. I roast the whole thing until the bones and the veg are brown. Then I toss all of it into a big pot of water. Bring it to a boil and simmer it. After the excess fat and scum are skimmed off, I have beef broth! Beef broth freezes well.

I do the same thing for leg of lamb. Half I'll keep for a roast. The other half I'll cut into chunks for stew or curry.

Chickens I buy whole whenever possible or I buy the leg quarters. If I cook a whole chicken on a weekend, I steam it because I get a 2-for-1 deal. The steamed chicken I can eat as is and use the leftover meat for salads, fajitas, etc. The steaming liquid has all the good chicken flavor. So I save that and freeze it for use as chicken broth!

For pork, I either buy pork chops on sale (they're easy to cook). Or if pork shoulder is on sale, I buy that. I have the supermarket cut it into "steaks", so I can use it however I please.

Ground meat: I buy that on sale. Depending on my freezer storage, I either make them into meatballs and freeze them for later use, or break it up into individual servings and freeze them.

I'm also lucky to have small, "general" stores in my area (they sell liquor in the front and groceries in the back). I've found that the quality of their meats to be very good. They also have an in-house butcher who can grind or carve something to your specifications.

[NulloModo]

Nurselady brought this idea up to me a while ago, and I just started dragging my feet on it . It does seem like a good one though.

I would be interested in participating, but I might personally wait till after the Holidays, as I love to cook rich this time of year, and my grocery bills have certainly been a lot higher than usual lately...

[Heidi3]

Nurselady brought this idea up to me a while ago, and I just started dragging my feet on it . It does seem like a good one though.

I would be interested in participating, but I might personally wait till after the Holidays, as I love to cook rich this time of year, and my grocery bills have certainly been a lot higher than usual lately...

I got bored waiting for you to answer me!... I have attention isssues...

[Origam]

Actually.. I've found Atkins to be CHEAPER than the way I used to eat. Mostly because I'm not doing fast food all the time and I'm not buying crap like chips, candy and hot pockets.

I couldn't tell you what I spend a day.. but my grocery bill for just me would be about $50-60. I spend a lot more because I buy stuff I make for the 'rents and the kids that isn't Atkins friendly.

Let's see.. I'm making Enchilada soup tonight.. thats two nights and a lunch worth of soup so you've got to divide this by three (and it's a rough estimate).

Enchilada sauce, 1 can $1.59
Dice green chilies, 1 small can $0.99
1 can diced no salt tomatos $0.99
1 bag frozen three color pepper strips $1.50
1 onion (chopped) $0.50
2 chicken breasts $2.50
(guessing $2.50 because I buy a bag of them and theres like 8-9 in there and the bag is about $8.00)
1 can chicken broth $.79
(I'm not counting the seasonings because I'd have them on hand anyway?)

That comes to $8.86 for the whole thing divided by 3 is $2.95. So that leaves me what $7.00 for a day?

Breakfast today was scrambled eggs with cheese and salsa
Two eggs $0.40 (a dozen is $2.50 divided by 12 is 20cents an egg.)
Salsa $.0.74 ($2.99 for the jar divided by four uses)
Cheese $0.59 (3.59 divided by 6 uses)
and two slices of bacon $0.29 (I'm guessing there is at least 12 slices of bacon in a pack right? $3.49 divided by 12)

Lunch (The captain treated us today but a typical lunch)
3 turkey breat slices $0.16 (again I don't know how many slices or in a box of turkey lunch meat.. I'm guessing 12? $1.99 divided by 12)
2 oz of cheese $0.76 (the sliced cracker cheese)
1 cup romaine $0.30 (get about 5 servings from the head of romaine and it's $1.50)
(not including the cost of mustard or dressing because it's something I'd normally have!).

Pepperoni to snack on $0.60 (the bag is $3.49 and theres 50 slices or so in it and I do 10 pepperoni chips for snack).

Lets see if I can add this right:
$6.79 for the day (right?)

Lets compare to what I'd normally have pre-Atkins:
Breakfast burrito from carl's Jr plus a large coke $5.67
(lets pick the cheapest lunch...)
an In and Out double double with cheese and a milkshake $5.50
dinner out normally costs between $10-20 we'll say $10 including tax and tip.

Total - $21.17

I think I'll stick to my Atkins plan!

[JeffGuidry]

Now's a great time to introduce the concept of 'false economy'.

False economy is when you buy a cheap item today, but it costs you more in the future. Buy a cheap car, and you will probably have a **** of a time at the repair shop to keep it running. Not only in cash, but in time wasted and aggravation.

Same with food. Your meals cost more today, but what about the hidden cost of health problems associated with your weight? Low self-esteem? Depression?

The money you spend is only worth what it will buy you. Denying yourself good health to save a few dollars is a bad trade off.

[Kent]

Turkey (even better off season) has been a great meal extender for my family of 6. $10 for a nice 15# turkey with enough meat for the next three or four days dinners, depending on what we do with it. I don't necessarily get wrapped in cost of foods because if I want to eat, it had better be good. Turkey, however, meets both criteria.

[Desertthorn]

Great idea. I just read that article about low carb going out of popularity because there was nothing to eat and folks were getting bored with it. :yikes
So how is thing going to work nurseladay. Each of us are going to come up with an under $10.00 daily menu for all three meals and a snack?
Or are we all going to work on it together.
Hum, that should be interesting. Im in regardless

[Heidi3]

Actually.. I've found Atkins to be CHEAPER than the way I used to eat. Mostly because I'm not doing fast food all the time and I'm not buying crap like chips, candy and hot pockets.

I couldn't tell you what I spend a day.. but my grocery bill for just me would be about $50-60. I spend a lot more because I buy stuff I make for the 'rents and the kids that isn't Atkins friendly.

Let's see.. I'm making Enchilada soup tonight.. thats two nights and a lunch worth of soup so you've got to divide this by three (and it's a rough estimate).

Enchilada sauce, 1 can $1.59
Dice green chilies, 1 small can $0.99
1 can diced no salt tomatos $0.99
1 bag frozen three color pepper strips $1.50
1 onion (chopped) $0.50
2 chicken breasts $2.50
(guessing $2.50 because I buy a bag of them and theres like 8-9 in there and the bag is about $8.00)
1 can chicken broth $.79
(I'm not counting the seasonings because I'd have them on hand anyway?)

That comes to $8.86 for the whole thing divided by 3 is $2.95. So that leaves me what $7.00 for a day?

Breakfast today was scrambled eggs with cheese and salsa
Two eggs $0.40 (a dozen is $2.50 divided by 12 is 20cents an egg.)
Salsa $.0.74 ($2.99 for the jar divided by four uses)
Cheese $0.59 (3.59 divided by 6 uses)
and two slices of bacon $0.29 (I'm guessing there is at least 12 slices of bacon in a pack right? $3.49 divided by 12)

Lunch (The captain treated us today but a typical lunch)
3 turkey breat slices $0.16 (again I don't know how many slices or in a box of turkey lunch meat.. I'm guessing 12? $1.99 divided by 12)
2 oz of cheese $0.76 (the sliced cracker cheese)
1 cup romaine $0.30 (get about 5 servings from the head of romaine and it's $1.50)
(not including the cost of mustard or dressing because it's something I'd normally have!).

Pepperoni to snack on $0.60 (the bag is $3.49 and theres 50 slices or so in it and I do 10 pepperoni chips for snack).

Lets see if I can add this right:
$6.79 for the day (right?)

Lets compare to what I'd normally have pre-Atkins:
Breakfast burrito from carl's Jr plus a large coke $5.67
(lets pick the cheapest lunch...)
an In and Out double double with cheese and a milkshake $5.50
dinner out normally costs between $10-20 we'll say $10 including tax and tip.

Total - $21.17

I think I'll stick to my Atkins plan!

[size=18]THIS NEEDED A BUMP! F...ing awesome girl this is a great comparison ...Nullo you are right keeping track now is futal but lets do it for sure after the 1st!!!...I am also back on the rolls here after Xmas....

[not2late]

The thing about food is that some items might seem like a "big" investment inititally, like a pound of butter or a good olive oil. But come on, how long will it take for you to use a pound of butter or 16 ounces of olive oil?

And like I wrote above in my meat strategy, I'm cheap. So I try to squeeze as much out of my food as possible. Heck with those rotissiere chickens I sometimes buy, I save the carcasses in the freezer to boil into soup stock--saves me from buying the stuff in the cans.

[MotherOfGizmo]

TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS FOR A DOZEN EGGS??? YOWZA! I can get 3 dozen for that amount

[Origam]

TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS FOR A DOZEN EGGS??? YOWZA! I can get 3 dozen for that amount

Apparently us San Diegans are dumb enough to pay high prices. It costs us $3.99 for a gallon of milk, $2.50 for a dozen eggs (you can get them at $1.99 if you are brave enough to venture into the less than nice stores).

Course.. you know whats funny? Grapes are $1.99 a lb here and in CO the same grapes (CA grown!) are $0.99 a lb. Explain THAT one to me.

[Origam]

[size=18]THIS NEEDED A BUMP! F...ing awesome girl this is a great comparison ...Nullo you are right keeping track now is futal but lets do it for sure after the 1st!!!...I am also back on the rolls here after Xmas....

I think most people don't bother with how many meals they get out of something. They just see the cost for the whole thing and don't break it down.

Mom loves a bargin and she taught us kids at an early age not to look at the total cost of something, but rather how many uses you get out of it. :nod

I'm betting that a lot of these people who are complaining about the price of Atkins are spending about the same amount on food.. they just don't realize it. I wonder how many of them would run to the store for munchies or a soda or something. In the long run it probably all adds up to the same.. Atkins just hurts because it's comes out of the pocket pretty much all in one shot.

Not2Late, I'm with you on the cheap part! I don't need prime rib or london broil when cubed steak and top sirloin will do. :yes

[Heidi3]

I totally think you can buy top quality food at low prices ..I refuse to settle when it comes to eating good food and I am not cheap but can find a good bargain...soups, stews and curries rock for cost effective meals...
for instance yesterday we took off for the day and had a great time including the beers the most costly thing of the day ...carbs included ..we ate everything out so here you go
I started with DH ordering a bagel with extra lox and veggies on the side he took half the stuff put it on his bagel and I ate the rest as a salad!...total with 2 coffees $6. my half $3..lunch was at a Lebonese joint in Portland I ordered a Curry soup that had nothing but a clear (and wonderful curry broth with chicken and veggies) he and my friend :yikes had ice water tossed in their laps by the waitress so I was the only one who paid for a meal...$4.98 with a beer it was $7.50 and the free entertainment of walking around Portland with two guys with wet spots on the front of their jeans!!! I had a coffee on the street $2.00 for a giant house brew with cream !!!! then dinner was the guts out of a Cuban sandwich I just took them off the roll and ate them with some greens....$5

Food wise my whole day of eating in the city was a $17!!!! Not bad at all if you ask me!!!.......just do not ask me what I spent at the book store!!!

[Origam]

If people would read the ads from grocery stores, check the papers for coupons and such.. they'd save big! At Vons they always discount ehir meats when they are a day or so before expiration. I always stock up on them and freeze them. :nod I got a $10.00 steak for $3.65 yesterday. :joy Each week (except holiday weekends) Ralph's puts coupons in the paper.. sometimes they have some good Atkins Friendly things in it.. you just have to look.

Each week the big four grocery stores here... Food4Less, Vons, Ralphs and Alberstons put out fliers that you get in the mail with the specials and such they always have specials on some kind of meat in them. :nod

$17 eating out all day isn't bad!!! :yes