Low Carb on a budget
After some discussion in an IF thread on the War Zone about how IF naturally leads to saving money on the food budget, there was some discussion about how to do LC on a budget.
Here's some of the posts concerning ways to save money on LC foods: Quote:
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Here is a good one....
The price per pound for potato chips is equal to the price per pound for Filet Mignon!! |
I don't think this needs to be a "$20 for LC groceries the week" thread, because prices have definitely gone up in the approximate decade since the thread was started on the now defunct forum, and I don't think $20 is still realistic in most areas of the US. But you can certainly still do things to control costs, and often spend far less than you did on LF diets or SAD.
So share your best hints - I'll be back later on to post some low cost LC grocery lists, based on current local grocery ads. |
What you buy will depend on your carb level, but here's some current prices in my area:
At a regular grocery chain with thousands of weekly price changes, these are some of their loss leaders: Green cabbage - 17 cents/pound with coupon and $25 order (limit 4 lbs) - or 69 cents/lb without coupon Point Cut Corned Beef Brisket - $1.67/lb [Flat cut $2.47/lb] 80/20 ground beef value pack (approx 4-6 lb package) $1.77/lb with coupon and $25 order (limit one package) - or $2.99/lb without coupon Green, Red, Yellow, or Orange bell peppers -$1 each Chicken legs or thighs (value pack: 4-6 lbs - NOT boneless/skinless) 99 cents/lb At a cut rate grocery chain: 8 oz basic chunk cheese (cheddars, mozarella, monterey jack, swiss, etc): $1.99 large eggs: $1.35/dozen Deli sliced cheese (provolone, swiss, mozarella, etc) $1.99/8 oz package Heavy cream - 1 pint $1.59 Cream cheese - 8 oz 79 cents seedless european type cucumber - $1.25 broccoli crowns 1 lb - $1.85 Fresh flat leaf spinach 10 oz - $1.19 Zucchini 24 oz package - $1.69 garlic 3 head package - 95 cents green peppers 3 pack - $2.69 Romaine hearts 3 pack jumbo - $1.99 yellow onions: $1.19/3 lb bag Tomatoes on the vine 1 lb package - $1.99 Store brand mayo 32 oz - $1.89 Jarred salsa - $1.19 Canned mushrooms 4 oz - 55 cents canned tomato sauce (no sugar on ingredients list) 4 oz - 25 cents Pork rinds 3.25 oz - 79 cents green olives - 99 cents frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or mixed berries) 12 oz bag - $1.95 There are some organics available at that store too - prices are a bit higher for those, but still less expensive than at a regular grocery chain. |
The "Manager's Special" discount to move items before the sell by date varies widely from one grocery store to the next. One nearby grocery store likes to season up and repackage meat to extend the date. Yuck. I won't make that mistake again. Another local store will discount meat about 10% on the "sell by" date. Not much of a savings nor is it very convenient. But one local grocery store earns most of my business by discounting fresh meats and deli meats & cheeses by 40% up to 3 days before the sell by date. If the meat was on sale, the 40% is taken from the sale price. There is rarely a time that I go there where there is nothing discounted that I buy. Often there is quite a selection. Brisket to chicken livers, ground beef or pork chops... when I can get good LC meats cheap I will load up the freezer. I've even found grass feed beef clearance priced.
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Awesome new thread :thup:
There are dozens of old "LC on a Budget" threads here at Active Low-Carber. That being said .. I believe it's good to have a new thread which reflects up-to-date LC food trends, food availability, etc ... I mean, 10 years ago bullet proof coffee wasn't even a thing, and coconut oil was hard to find except online. Oh how things have changed ;) :thup: If I could offer a suggestion .. please indicate your general location when making shopping recommendations. Stores .. and brands .. in the US are generally not available in Canada, UK, EU or Australia. And vice versa. Just sayin' ;) |
Per Doreen's request, I'm in the lower Susquehanna Valley, Pa, USA. Other parts of Pa may have very different prices.
The cut rate store I used in the example list is Aldi - most of their prices are pretty consistent, and they don't put many items on sale from week to week. I was there today though, and... eggs $1.25 block cheese $1.69 packages of deli sliced cheese $1.79 Heavy cream $1.50. While I was there, I also bought whole milk plain greek yogurt - $3.49/quart 2 lb bag of frozen tilapia $5.49 ($2.25/lb) head of cauliflower (about 8" in diameter) $2.39 Deluxe American Slices (NOT the individually wrapped junk - these are the old fashioned slices that you peel off the stack - it's real cheese, melts nicely) $2.79 green onions (at least 15 in the package) 95 cents |
I know at my local Dollar Tree they pretty regularly have eggs at 99 cents per dozen. If I had a tighter budget I’d certainly stock up on those. Eggs are great for so many things.
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One way to save on pork - wait for sales on whole pork loins. Each one weighs between 7 and 11 lbs. I consider anything under $2/lb to be a fairly good price, so if you can find it for even less, so much the better!
I buy a loin with as much fat on it as I can find, even though they trim them pretty close these days, and the meat is not marbled because they keep the pigs on a reduced carb diet to keep the meat more lean. I cut the whole pork loin into recipe/meal sized chunks (about 1 or 1-1/2 lbs each), wrap each chunk with plastic wrap, and freeze in zipper bags. Even if you don't have a big freezer, it might be worth it to wait for the pork loins to go on sale, as you can usually fit all of the chunks from a whole loin in 2 gallon sized zipper bags, which doesn't take up that much room in the freezer. (After all, you don't need room in the freezer for sugary ice cream any more, right?) |
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Oh yes, the Dollar Tree ("Where Everything's $1!") is a good place to pick up some LC foods too. The Dollar Trees in my area (Pa) don't carry any fresh produce, but from what I understand, they do in some other parts of the country. We do have the refrigerated/frozen cases, and you can find some LC friendly foods in those from time to time - usually cheese, eggs, and the occasional frozen veggies or berries. They usually also have some small packages of nuts and sunflower seeds in the snack aisle. If your stomach can tolerate maltitol, they often have some sugar free candies. |
I'm primarily a carnivore and a bulk shopper. I'm in SE PA. If I were just feeding myself, I would go to the grocery store once per month, which (for me) would save a good bit of money as I often fall prey to in-store promotions. As it is, I try to limit myself to once per week to feed my family. Just last week I was at Costco and I ended up buying uncured Canadian bacon - something not on my list but the darned free sample sucked me in. Most of my shopping is done at BJ's warehouse club. I'm heading there this morning and will check prices and report back.
As I've gotten older, I've become a bit of a snob with certain foods - eggs and chicken being my two most obvious indulgences. I don't really like the cheapest eggs or chicken anymore. Check the circulars - there are often coupons for Eggland's Best eggs and Perdue Chicken (I prefer the Harvestland). Edited to Add: I'm not certain, but I'd bet if I'm eating completely on plan my weekly food budget for myself alone is about $30 to $35. |
Here's what I found at BJ's (Philadelphia area) that works with low carb eating:
Ground beef 2.89 per pound 4 lbs Shredded whole milk mozzarella 9.99 2 lbs cheddar block 4.99 Perdue whole chicken .99 per pound Perdue drumsticks and thighs .99 per pound Perdue split chicken breasts 1.99 per pound no name brand boneless skinless breasts 1.99 per pound Perdue oven stuffer 1.29 per pound Harvestland drumsticks 1.89 pork loin chops 2.09 per pound beef eye round 3.99 per pound beef mock tender steaks 4.29 per pound Wellesley Farms butter 4 lbs 9.99 Eggland's Best eggs 4.29 for 2dozen Fairlife Milk 3.27 Atkins bars ($4 off) 15.99 for 16 Atkins Shakes ($4 off) 14.99 for 15 Raos marinara 40 ounces 6.99 Deli ham 5.99 pound Liverwurst 4.99 pound London Broil deli roast beef 8.99 per pound Bubba Burgers 19.99 for a dozen I forgot to check the price of bacon but I think I generally pay ~4/pound. Unless I noted otherwise, all prices are BJ's regular prices. Perdue is actually on sale right now, but these prices are the regular ones. Chicken and eggs seem to be on sale at BJ's as often as not so I'd rarely pay full price Also, I know there's a ton of food in this list that is overly processed, but I tried to be honest in the types of low carb foods my family and I eat. My husband's two favorite snacks are sticks of mozzarella wrapped in pepperoni and Atkins bars. As a family, our food is much less processed than it used to be. |
So here's what I eat in a typical week:
Ground beef ~11.00 marinara sauce ~2.00 cheese ~2.00 chicken ~5.00 eggs ~~2.00 Beef (other than ground) ~4.00 bacon ~2.00? butter ~2.00 Tea ~2.00 Based on full prices, these amounts are averages - for instance, many weeks I'd be double the cheese but zero eggs. And when I'm in maintenance mode, there will be Atkins type bars in the mix for me, but beef and chicken costs would go down accordingly. Other than what I've listed, I also eat ranch dressing, a little mayo, a teeny bit of ketchup (1/2 tsp on a burger), and will sometimes use olive oil instead of butter to sautee chicken and fry eggs. Since I use jarred sauce, my only spice is salt, of which I use a fair amount. Looks like I'm right in where I thought I'd be between 30 and 35 dollars per week. Probably normally a little bit less, considering beef, cheese, and tea are the only on plan items for which I regularly pay full price. I actually think I spent more when I was eating whole wheat bread and drinking diet coke. :lol: Full disclosure - we typically eat out two meals on the weekends. Lunch on Saturdays is normally Chick-fil-a (grilled chicken club sans bun) and one dinner on Saturday or Sunday (usually cheeseburger or steak). |
I just looked up the food benefits on my state's website. The benefits are calculated for people no matter where they live and there's a significant urban/rural divide, depending on which side of the state you live in, and a related cost of living difference.
I made a household of one with zero income and zero expenses like childcare, etc. Basically, just a single adult with a low/mid-range rent. The allotment for EBT was $194/month. Assuming a 30 day month, that would give you about $45 to spend every 7 days. For three people (they don't differentiate between adults and children), the allotment was $511/month, which works out to $119/week. So that's what the state thinks it costs to eat a basic healthy diet. (This doesn't necessarily extrapolate to what people actually might have to spend on food: The allotment drops off quite rapidly when you have any income at all. I tried again with the amount I got for unemployment last year and put in my actual rent amount. The unemployment $$ barely covered my rent, but the allotment for EBT would have been zero. Luckily I didn't need it.) That $194 is surprisingly close to what I think is a reasonable amount to spend every month--and I'm a person with a decent income. I typically target about $250/month and that includes wine and booze, expensive things like nuts, salmon, ribeyes, some organic veggies, and whatever treats I want. If I'm working in an office and running around more (straight out after work to evening events, lunches out) I might add $75 to that for those types of meals. But I think with less extravagance (more canned tuna, less salmon, more ground beef, fewer ribeyes, no booze), $45 would be easily do-able. |
Reading Dr. Lisa Mosconi's 2018 book Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power and came upon a Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list of produce that are likely, and least likely to be contaminated by pesticides, respectively.
There is an Environmental Working Group (EWG) / Dr. Axe article on it too. EWG's links: Dirty Dozen Clean Fifteen A good way to save if you don't have to buy organic. Lots of items that are not LC friendly lol, but you don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. ;) |
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