Is the LCHF diet costing you more money?

[frankbegbie]

I'm pretty sure it is but I haven't worked it out yet.
Just wondered.

 

[Kristin251]

Not at all. Carbs are expensive. I do bulk buy proteins as it's much cheaper. I cook ahead and freeze in portions. Shopping list is much smaller.

 

[serenity648]

much the same, if not cheaper as i no longer buy snacking food, and eat far less than i used to.

 

[DCUKMod]

I'm pretty sure it is but I haven't worked it out yet.
Just wondered.

I would say that initially you may find you're spending more shopping, but that could be new/different ingredients, which once bought are in the store cupboard for some time. That obviously gets better as these ingredients/spices or whatever build up.

Low Carb eating needn't be expensive. I have set myself various challenges over the almost 4 years since I started eating reduced carbs and ensure that we experiment with cheaper cuts of meat very regularly.

One of my latest finds have been pork and beef cheeks, which pressure cook, or slow cook beautifully, with the connective tissue making for a gelatinous sauce The last pork cheeks I bout were under £2 for six, from my local butcher. That was plenty for three portions.

 

[Brunneria]

I don't think so.
I'm certainly astonished nowadays when I look at the prices of processed carbs like crisps, desserts and so on. They always seem shockingly expensive to me.

In fact, my food shopping seems to be dropping in cost while the gaps between shops are increasing
- but that is probably down to me playing with my new Instant Pot pressure cooker which uses cheaper cuts of meat
- and also much more efficient use of the freezer
- also using DietDoctor recipes and portion sizes cut the bill down significantly, while I was doing thaT

Mind you, Intermittent Fasting is the biggest cost reduction. I mean, I used to eat 3 meals plus the odd snack. Now I eat maybe 2, with a couple of squares of 70% choc. That saves a lot of money, just because not eating is free.

 

[AM1874]

Much less spent on current LCHF/Keto than previously on rubbish foods (now there's an oxymoron for you), take-aways and beer. Plus, because of the massive improvements in my health, fitmess and overall well-being, cost is hardly a factor worth considering
Note: this is the same comment that I posted on the similar thread "How much do you spend on Keto diet" less than four hours ago .. and, for the life of me, I can't see why there are two posts asking the same question

 

[miahara]

Not at all. The previous junk and expensive sugary stuff is a thing of the past and replaced by healthy veggies and fruit much of which I grow myself for several months of the year. Food shopping does take a bit more time though as we now pay attention to the labels rather than just chuck what I might like to eat into the trolley.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

Our fortnightly shopping bill is around the same.

The only thing different that I can think of is we buy more eggs than before, we get four dozen now instead of one.

 

[frankbegbie]

much the same, if not cheaper as i no longer buy snacking food, and eat far less than i used to.

Yeah, I hadn't factored in the snacks I no longer buy.
Was spending a small fortune on crisps alone.
Also stopped drinking fruit juice.

I expect it'll work out pretty similar.

 

[miahara]

Our fortnightly shopping bill is around the same.

The only thing different that I can think of is we buy more eggs than before, we get four dozen now instead of one.

Yes, our egg consumption has about doubled.

 

[frankbegbie]

I don't think so.
I'm certainly astonished nowadays when I look at the prices of processed carbs like crisps, desserts and so on. They always seem shockingly expensive to me.

In fact, my food shopping seems to be dropping in cost while the gaps between shops are increasing
- but that is probably down to me playing with my new Instant Pot pressure cooker which uses cheaper cuts of meat
- and also much more efficient use of the freezer
- also using DietDoctor recipes and portion sizes cut the bill down significantly, while I was doing thaT

Mind you, Intermittent Fasting is the biggest cost reduction. I mean, I used to eat 3 meals plus the odd snack. Now I eat maybe 2, with a couple of squares of 70% choc. That saves a lot of money, just because not eating is free.

Pressure cookers are great been using one for years.

You can cook a load of braising steak in about an hour instead of about 5 hours.

 

[miszu]

For me it does cost a lot more. But its not really just the LCHF, I also have other things involved. I had to go full vegan because of allergies, not because Im actually vegan in mind...if that makes sense.
But for the LCHF only, I never really had snacks before diabetes either, so cutting those out doesnt help much. I switched rice to bulgur etc, I found many other healthier alternatives for carb loaded foods and those cost more to me. I also found a type of pasta thats very low carb and didnt bother my BG. But that pasta costs x4 more than normal one. Well, recently to help on that I started making my own home made pasta. This manual pasta cutter machine or what costs about $40. I had one at home already so that made it easy. Homemade pasta tastes a lot better and takes me what...15mins to make a big portion. So yea, that doesnt cost much anymore, I dont feel like its wasted time either since I enjoy cooking, but still many other ingredients like bulgur or veggies cost quite much here...

I would be happy to hear tho how others are keeping their budget low.. ? Maybe I could get some good idea to cut mine down. Have a good evening everyone ! X

 

[frankbegbie]

Much less spent on current LCHF/Keto than previously on rubbish foods (now there's an oxymoron for you), take-aways and beer. Plus, because of the massive improvements in my health, fitmess and overall well-being, cost is hardly a factor worth considering
Note: this is the same comment that I posted on the similar thread "How much do you spend on Keto diet" less than four hours ago .. and, for the life of me, I can't see why there are two posts asking the same question

I just typed in 'Diet Cost' when I did a quick search.

 

[frankbegbie]

Not at all. The previous junk and expensive sugary stuff is a thing of the past and replaced by healthy veggies and fruit much of which I grow myself for several months of the year. Food shopping does take a bit more time though as we now pay attention to the labels rather than just chuck what I might like to eat into the trolley.

Another one I just thought of is Cereals.
Must have been getting through about 3 boxes of different ones per week.

 

[frankbegbie]

For me it does cost a lot more. But its not really just the LCHF, I also have other things involved. I had to go full vegan because of allergies, not because Im actually vegan in mind...if that makes sense.
But for the LCHF only, I never really had snacks before diabetes either, so cutting those out doesnt help much. I switched rice to bulgur etc, I found many other healthier alternatives for carb loaded foods and those cost more to me. I also found a type of pasta thats very low carb and didnt bother my BG. But that pasta costs x4 more than normal one. Well, recently to help on that I started making my own home made pasta. This manual pasta cutter machine or what costs about $40. I had one at home already so that made it easy. Homemade pasta tastes a lot better and takes me what...15mins to make a big portion. So yea, that doesnt cost much anymore, I dont feel like its wasted time either since I enjoy cooking, but still many other ingredients like bulgur or veggies cost quite much here...

I would be happy to hear tho how others are keeping their budget low.. ? Maybe I could get some good idea to cut mine down. Have a good evening everyone ! X

Interesting; what's your recipe for the pasta?

I may have a go.

 

[Guzzler]

The biggest change I have seen really is that I have to shop for fresh veggies about three sometimes four times per week but this is down to the fact that veg does not keep as long as it used to. I researched this a while back and was surprised to find the reason is how the veg is transported then stored by the supermarkets. It is no big drama to shop more frequently but I know a lot of people these days who are time poor.
I started buying frozen veggies but I much prefer to eat fresh and keep frozen for emergencies. As for the cost, there hasn't been much of a difference.

 

[frankbegbie]

The biggest change I have seen really is that I have to shop for fresh veggies about three sometimes four times per week but this is down to the fact that veg does not keep as long as it used to. I researched this a while back and was surprised to find the reason is how the veg is transported then stored by the supermarkets. It is no big drama to shop more frequently but I know a lot of people these days who are time poor.
I started buying frozen veggies but I much prefer to eat fresh and keep frozen for emergencies. As for the cost, there hasn't been much of a difference.

Yes, I've noticed this myself.
Always prefer fresh to frozen also.
My favourite roasted Parsnips have had to bite the dust though.

 

[miszu]

@frankbegbie I use oat flakes flour. I tried many kind of flours, but oat flakes are the closest to wheat flour. Other flours can be just so different in taste, consistency etc..

Recipe:
500g oat flakes flour
5 eggs

Thats all, oat flakes can absorb more fluid, so u might need a little water as well, but Im not mentioning it in the ingredients list, because it really needs just so little or not at all. I put it all in a mixer then. If u dont have a mixer then it ll take a bit longer, but same result. Just put the flour on the counter or on a board, make a little hole in it and crack the eggs in there so it doesnt go everywhere. Mix them until its not sticky anymore.
U can use ur pasta right away after cutting or u can dry it and use later.

X

 

[DCUKMod]

Pressure cookers are great been using one for years.

You can cook a load of braising steak in about an hour instead of about 5 hours.

Frank, there are some great low carb, pressure cooker site on the interweb.

I'm a relatively new covert to pressure cooker (IP) cooking (my OH has used a pressure cooker since before I knew him, but it scared me - all that hissing!), having bought an Instant Pot last Black Friday (and evangelised so much @Brunneria bought one), so I tend to look out for bloggers/recipes using the IP. Fortunately, one of my favourite food bloggers is a massive IP user/IP cookery book author. Her food is largely LC.

https://twosleevers.com/facet-recipe/

I also like I Breathe I'm Hungry, who is a strong low carber, but also has an IP, so some of her recipes utilise it. Of course, having been using a pressure cooker for years, you can probably convert your recipes without too much guidance.

https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/recipes

 

[frankbegbie]

@frankbegbie I use oat flakes flour. I tried many kind of flours, but oat flakes are the closest to wheat flour. Other flours can be just so different in taste, consistency etc..

Recipe:
500g oat flakes flour
5 eggs

Thats all, oat flakes can absorb more fluid, so u might need a little water as well, but Im not mentioning it in the ingredients list, because it really needs just so little or not at all. I put it all in a mixer then. If u dont have a mixer then it ll take a bit longer, but same result. Just put the flour on the counter or on a board, make a little hole in it and crack the eggs in there so it doesnt go everywhere. Mix them until its not sticky anymore.
U can use ur pasta right away after cutting or u can dry it and use later.

X

Thanks for that I just need the flour and the little pasta machine.
Suppose you can just roll it out thin and make shapes out of it?

I'll give it a go whatever soon.