How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

[Anguissette]

Like many people out there my family is having some tight financial times and facing possible further income reductions. We are trying to find a way to lower our grocery budget (since it is one of the few places we can squeeze some $$). When we were on weight watchers I got our budget down to $100/wk for a family of 4 (34, 23, 9 and 2 yrs). Last week we spent $250! OMG my husband (who is doing Atkins with me) and I almost passed out. Now yes it was diapers, dogfood, catfood and kitty little week and that added maybe $50……BUT almost $100 more?!

We need some ideas folks! What are some inexpensive Atkins meals you fix for your families?



Thanks!

[Elizellen]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

Are you buying any 'low carb products'? Like the Atkins bars or shakes or 'sugarfree treats'? If so then you can save a lot of cash by dropping them from your shopping list.

We found we were saving money on the snacks we were not buying - like potato crisps (chips in USA) and corn snacks and cakes, so didn't see much of an increase when switching to buying more vegetables. We tend to eat about the same amount of meat as before but perhaps more cheese and eggs.

If you have a slowcooker/crockpot you can get the cheaper cuts of meats which taste great after long cooking. You can use chicken thighs and leg quarters rather than skinless breasts in recipes which should save money too.

[liv]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

I always look through flyers and use all the sales to buy proteins and vegetables. Buying in bulk is also a good idea. In my area some grocery stores sell off produce, meat and cheese when they are about to go out of date and I know who they are and when they do it so I can take advantage of this.

[Anguissette]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

Nope, no low carb products.

I loath dark meat....and I wish I didn't because it would save tons of money! I just filled our crockpot with chicken breasts for our lunch salads next week though. I bought a big frozen pack which was the cheapest they had. We tried canned tuna last week but it costs the same and my hubby prefers chicken.

It seems like meat and veggies are just a ton more expensive than crappy frozen meals and macaroni and cheese.

[Anguissette]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

In my area some grocery stores sell off produce, meat and cheese when they are about to go out of date and I know who they are and when they do it so I can take advantage of this.

Can you just call them up and ask to find this out?

[stephbob]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

I buy a lot of what's on offer. With the meats, you may be a little short of choice if you don't eat dark, but aside from that I buy big buys of meat or chicken and freeze it to go along.

Vegetables I try to buy while they are on offer too, otherwise again, I buy as much as i can and freeze it, or buy already frozen veggies. I spend about $90 a week for two of us on food and other essentials, which isn't too bad!

[OzLover]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

Do you have a place where you can plant a garden when the time comes? If not maybe your town has a community garden spot. You can freeze & can the extra veggies.
I also shop the sales as people have stated. Today I got split chicken breast for $1.19 per pound. I'll go back before the sale ends & pick up a few more packages. I also got pork loin for $1.89 per pound. DH slices it up into chops. Again I'll get another before the sale ends. We also eat alot of frozen veggies as they seem to go on sale & fresh veggies don't.

Don't give up!

[Anguissette]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

My Dad actually plants a garden every year........thank god for the 72 quarts of green beans he gave us from last year or we would be spending even more!....lol. We live in the forest with very poor soil and little light for planting so we just help him. Living where we do though planting doesn't commence until May.

In any case I see from several posts that one of our mistakes may be a preplanned list. We write out menus and what we need for each meal for a week at home and then do not deviate from the list......maybe not the best thing for budgeting?

[Peej]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

I plan my dinners for the week based on ads! I almost never buy anything full price. Even with the sales, it can be expensive for sure. Meat and veggies are certainly more expensive than pasta. You can save some money sometimes by grabbing frozen veggies over fresh too. I save money on seasonings from my indoor herb garden and for the summer we're growing a few things. Every penny counts.

[SunnySmile501]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

I hated dark meat before Atkins, too. If I mistook a fried chicken thigh for a breast, I would gag. Shortly after starting Atkins, they had leg quarters on sale for 39¢ a pound. I got 10 pounds for $3.99 and it was too good of a deal to pass up. I cut them into thighs and drumsticks and froze them individually.

I thought maybe I could eat them if they were grilled well done, so I soaked thighs overnight in salt water to get as much blood out (that's what I didn't like about dark meat) and grilled them until they were very crispy. They were delicious! Much more taste than breast. I was so excited I had to take pictures. I have found that I love to boil a whole chicken slowly and again the dark meat is my favorite.



Truly, since I got stocked up, the only expensive thing for me is buying way more dish detergent. When I got to nearly 300 pounds by being almost fat free, I didn't need much detergent to get my dishes clean.

[kibskix]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

I spend about 150 for two weeks worth of food. Shop somewhere cheaper? If i go to the grocery store down the street, -everything- is overpriced. So I drive an extra 20 minutes to the closest HEB and get my food there. It definately adds up. buy frozen veggies and frozen chicken etc, and not name brand either. I can get a bag of steam-in-the-microwave veggies for 99 cents at HEB for their brand, or almost 3 bucks for name brand. always buy cheap! btw if you have those around, i highly suggest em. takes 5 minutes, and there are 4 servings a bag.

[ikilledrafe]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

i get a lot of my veggies from markets and such. sprouts and fresh and easy are very good as well. SUPER cheap veggies. : p

[soon2bslim]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

Where we live fresh veggies are cheap and very flavorful, the frozen vegetables are expensive!

i buy mostly chicken > if u can get dark meat for less money but prefer light meat, take out all the bones of the leg and thigh (or have the buthcer do it if possible) and use it as a cutlet or cut into small pieces and place on skewers for the grill. It will seem alot like white meat and it won't dry out like white meat does sometimes (don't forget your favorite seasonings). Really succulent!

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

NOTE - I'm posting this without reading anyone else's replies as I need to get off the boards and get to work since there's only 2 of us here today...

I know, for my fiance and I - our grocery bill has dropped DRAMATICALLY since I've started atkins...when I was "low-fatting" it - I spent so much money on low-calorie junk food - but since I no longer buy ANY processed boxed foods - and practically just by meat, vegees and some other things needed (cottage cheese, mayo, etc...) for the most part, literally our bill at wally world on a weekly basis went from about $125/week to $75/week.

One thing I do is go to Linda's website and plan out what we're making for the week. Buy chicken when it's on sale - now that i no longer have to buy the most expensive 97%FF meat - buying the 93% is a bit cheaper...

If you have a costco or a sam's club - buy in bulk! We buy fresh broccoli in bulk there and use the ziplock steamer bags.

tuna's always cheap for lunches. there are a few things you should buy that may be a bit expensive to start off - such as bob's red mill almond flour (great for "breading" instead of flour when needed)...and bob's red mill ground flax mill...
but those things aren't absolutely necessary to do this woe - but they help.

i wish you luck!!!

[widget246k]

Re: How to Low Carb on a Budget!?

I also plan our weekly meals based on the 2 grocery stores ads in my area. I only buy what is on sale. For example, boneless, skinless, chicken breast has not been on sale here in 3 weeks, so we haven't had any. Instead, I've bought boneless center cut pork chops, fish, shrimp, and beef. Chicken went on sale Saturday, so I went and bought 4 packs to last us a while.