Low carb on a low budget

[DaftThoughts]

I'm currently trying to orientate myself into starting a partial low carb diet. I became fully insulin dependent as of a month ago and am still in my adjustment period so I haven't changed my diet yet to get a good idea of what my body does.

As it stands right now, I'm on a fixed income due to disability, and my weekly grocery budget is small. After taking care of necessities like toilet paper, cat litter and food and hygiene products, I average €25 a week that's left for food purchases. No car, only a bicycle for transport which means my store choices and carrying capacity are limited. I'm very dependent on sales and seasonal vegetables and fruits to get me through the week, besides cheap staples like brown rice, potatoes and whole wheat pasta.

Carbs are definitely cheap and I'm not doing poorly on a moderate carb diet, but if I can work 3 days a week into my budget where I low carb, I'd be very happy to try it. I'm just wondering, what sort of low carb recipes work on a small budget? Food for an entire day can't really exceed €3.50 (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) so I'm a bit lost as to how to make this work.

If it matters, I live in the Netherlands.

 

[himtoo]

Hey @DaftThoughts
stir fried veg is a staple on the days I do low carb-- mushroom , onion , broccoli , cauliflower , courgette , carrot , celery
just adding a bit of soy sauce and some Chinese 5 spice makes a really tasty dish and the above ingredients can easily make 3 meals for 1 purchase

 

[lovinglife]

I once did a shop on Tesco online just to see if I could do it for £25 and posted it on here - I got quite a lot for my money - I have no idea how to find the post though - @Brunneria you are ace at searching can you help - lol - I will look but don't hold out much hope

 

[himtoo]

Eggs. Eggs, veg, cheese and more eggs. I love eggs. Cheap and cheerful. But I have no idea how much they are in the Netherlands.

great answer -- add eggs to veg , and along with cheese can make some lovely inexpensive omelettes !!

 

[Brunneria]

I once did a shop on Tesco online just to see if I could do it for £25 and posted it on here - I got quite a lot for my money - I have no idea how to find the post though - @Brunneria you are ace at searching can you help - lol - I will look but don't hold out much hope

I had a quick look, and nothing popped up.
Can you remember any items you put on the list?
I usually end up searching for posts containing key words, by a specific poster.
Try doing that, if you can remember any food items...

 

[Damtov8]

Eggs. Eggs, veg, cheese and more eggs. I love eggs. Cheap and cheerful. But I have no idea how much they are in the Netherlands.[/QUO

I'm currently trying to orientate myself into starting a partial low carb diet. I became fully insulin dependent as of a month ago and am still in my adjustment period so I haven't changed my diet yet to get a good idea of what my body does.

As it stands right now, I'm on a fixed income due to disability, and my weekly grocery budget is small. After taking care of necessities like toilet paper, cat litter and food and hygiene products, I average €25 a week that's left for food purchases. No car, only a bicycle for transport which means my store choices and carrying capacity are limited. I'm very dependent on sales and seasonal vegetables and fruits to get me through the week, besides cheap staples like brown rice, potatoes and whole wheat pasta.

Carbs are definitely cheap and I'm not doing poorly on a moderate carb diet, but if I can work 3 days a week into my budget where I low carb, I'd be very happy to try it. I'm just wondering, what sort of low carb recipes work on a small budget? Food for an entire day can't really exceed €3.50 (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) so I'm a bit lost as to how to make this work.

If it matters, I live in the Netherlands.

Try eating liver, sardines, eggs, pilchards, cheese.
Any green vedge you can afford.
Avoid fruit except for berries. In season try to find wild blackberries, strawberries and raspberries if you can. Also wild dandelion leaves.
No bread, no rice, no flour. Try cauliflour or brocoli when they are cheap. Try the markets just before they close when they are giving things cheaply. Any chicken, fish or meat are low carb. Tree nuts: almonds, walnuts, pecans. Sometimes when almost out of date these are cheaper.
Visit Facebook: Type2 diabetes rebels - they are very helpful. Good luck.

 

[lovinglife]

I had a quick look, and nothing popped up.
Can you remember any items you put on the list?
I usually end up searching for posts containing key words, by a specific poster.
Try doing that, if you can remember any food items...

Errm - I have had a look too can't find it - it had everything on for a full weeks shop for £25 - lots of eggs - veg - chicken. To be honest I wished I'd saved it because it took me a while to do but it was very comprehensive- I had a lot more time on my hands then lol - thanks for your help, I thought it might be a bit of a long shot anyway - is may be on one of the sticky threads in low carb forum - will have a look around when I have more time

 

[chalup]

If you have a slow cooker or can get a used one for free or cheap you can get cheap, fatty cuts of meat and turn them into a nice meal with whatever veg you like. As an added bonus it is easy, quick to throw together, and less dishes to do. One run of the slow cooker can give you multiple meals. Throw in a chunk of meat, your veggies, and a can of broth or tomatoes and some spice and let it simmer all day. The tomatoes will make cheap meat come out very tender.

 

[himtoo]

Errm - I have had a look too can't find it - it had everything on for a full weeks shop for £25 - lots of eggs - veg - chicken. To be honest I wished I'd saved it because it took me a while to do but it was very comprehensive- I had a lot more time on my hands then lol - thanks for your help, I thought it might be a bit of a long shot anyway - is may be on one of the sticky threads in low carb forum - will have a look around when I have more time

Hi there @lovinglife I think this is the post you refer to
hope this helps !!

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/low-carb-on-a-tight-budget.98749/#post-1116149

 

[lovinglife]

That's the one @himtoo - you are my yoda! - thank you

 

[himtoo]

That's the one @himtoo - you are my yoda! - thank you

powerful you are jedi carb master !! follow the force !!

 

[DaftThoughts]

Thanks everyone for the information!

We don't have Tesco over here so I'm dependent on the local supermarkets which, from the list I saw shared, run pricier than what Tesco has to offer (so jealous! How is your peanutbutter THAT cheap?!). But as my plan is to start with 3-4 days a week rather than a full 7 days a week, I think I can manage to do at least that.

(I have issues with a lot of vegs due to stomach problems (e.g. broccoli give me painful cramps where I can't even sit or breathe properly and I can't tolerate a bunch of other greens for the same reason) so I gotta fiddle around a bit with what I can and can't eat without causing myself pain. I also don't eat pork, and beef very rarely, so my main meat is chicken (which is super expensive here) but I always try to buy extra when it's on sale and freeze it. We'll see how that goes.)

If you have a slow cooker or can get a used one for free or cheap you can get cheap, fatty cuts of meat and turn them into a nice meal with whatever veg you like. As an added bonus it is easy, quick to throw together, and less dishes to do. One run of the slow cooker can give you multiple meals. Throw in a chunk of meat, your veggies, and a can of broth or tomatoes and some spice and let it simmer all day. The tomatoes will make cheap meat come out very tender.

I have a slowcooker and I love it. I like making casseroles with it, as well as stews. I wish I was a bigger soup eater because I'd eat that all day if I could.


I'm going to see if I can implement 3 days next week where I don't eat more than 60g/carbs a day to start with and take it from there.

 

[DaftThoughts]

Sorry for the doublepost, I just collected a bunch of low carb recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3-4 days worth of food, all stuff I'll happily eat, no issues with my stomach, with each meal being less than 15g carbs. For 4 days worth of food I already hit my €25 based on the cheapest prices I can find from 3 different stores, and that doesn't include food for the other 3 days. (I calculated based on portions, too.)

I'm still going to do my best with these recipes and put meal plans together, see if I can stretch these meals out with cheap seasonal fillers where possible, but I have no high hopes for being able to go low carb 7 days a week on purely financial reasons. Dang nabbit.

 

[mo53]

@DaftThoughts do you eat fish? Is that any cheaper?

 

[DaftThoughts]

@DaftThoughts do you eat fish? Is that any cheaper?

I rarely eat fish, but the bulk of my money doesn't even go to meat for these plans (only 5 euros). I just don't have access to a wide variety of stores and am limited in what greens I can eat so it cuts into the budget super hard to go for the alternatives. :/

 

[Deespee23]

What about canned tuna & salmon....anchovies etc.? Big part of my diet.....seems to,work OK...just remember you're not on your own...

 

[AndBreathe]

I rarely eat fish, but the bulk of my money doesn't even go to meat for these plans (only 5 euros). I just don't have access to a wide variety of stores and am limited in what greens I can eat so it cuts into the budget super hard to go for the alternatives. :/

DaftThoughts, many people find LC is initially a bit more expensive, because they are buying in "special" ingredients, or spices, such as coconut oil (just an example), but so many of those things last an age, so many subsequent uses of those pantry items are "free". Once in a way of eating, replacing those items just tends to spread themselves out, naturally, by usage. Some folks sometimes forget that when they're eating lower carb, they're not eating (or buying) those carby elements they've given up, so that cash can also go towards their overall food budget.

 

[Jillytee]

If you have or could get hold of a soup maker I bet you'd eat more soup! If you haven't seen one they look like a large upright electric kettle. You can make any kind of soup just chuck everything in and 20 minutes later perfect soup! It makes 4 or 5 cups and freezes really well.

Thanks everyone for the information!

We don't have Tesco over here so I'm dependent on the local supermarkets which, from the list I saw shared, run pricier than what Tesco has to offer (so jealous! How is your peanutbutter THAT cheap?!). But as my plan is to start with 3-4 days a week rather than a full 7 days a week, I think I can manage to do at least that.

(I have issues with a lot of vegs due to stomach problems (e.g. broccoli give me painful cramps where I can't even sit or breathe properly and I can't tolerate a bunch of other greens for the same reason) so I gotta fiddle around a bit with what I can and can't eat without causing myself pain. I also don't eat pork, and beef very rarely, so my main meat is chicken (which is super expensive here) but I always try to buy extra when it's on sale and freeze it. We'll see how that goes.)



I have a slowcooker and I love it. I like making casseroles with it, as well as stews. I wish I was a bigger soup eater because I'd eat that all day if I could.


I'm going to see if I can implement 3 days next week where I don't eat more than 60g/carbs a day to start with and take it from there.

get

Thanks everyone for the information!

We don't have Tesco over here so I'm dependent on the local supermarkets which, from the list I saw shared, run pricier than what Tesco has to offer (so jealous! How is your peanutbutter THAT cheap?!). But as my plan is to start with 3-4 days a week rather than a full 7 days a week, I think I can manage to do at least that.

(I have issues with a lot of vegs due to stomach problems (e.g. broccoli give me painful cramps where I can't even sit or breathe properly and I can't tolerate a bunch of other greens for the same reason) so I gotta fiddle around a bit with what I can and can't eat without causing myself pain. I also don't eat pork, and beef very rarely, so my main meat is chicken (which is super expensive here) but I always try to buy extra when it's on sale and freeze it. We'll see how that goes.)



I have a slowcooker and I love it. I like making casseroles with it, as well as stews. I wish I was a bigger soup eater because I'd eat that all day if I could.


I'm going to see if I can implement 3 days next week where I don't eat more than 60g/carbs a day to start with and take it from there.

 

[AndBreathe]

If you have or could get hold of a soup maker I bet you'd eat more soup! If you haven't seen one they look like a large upright electric kettle. You can make any kind of soup just chuck everything in and 20 minutes later perfect soup! It makes 4 or 5 cups and freezes really well.


get

When I discovered my slow cooker had a crack in the pot, I looked at all sorts of options to replace it, but in the end opted for an electric pressure cooker. It has preset settings for soup, slow cooking, meat, poultry, steam, stew, rice and several others, as well as manual overrides. I have used that far more than my slow cooker in the couple of months I've had it.

On the pressure cooker mode, it turns cheaper cuts into tender concoctions, without being on the hob or in the oven for hours. Sadly, it wasn't too cheap.

@dafthoughts - If you have anything like Freegle or Gumtree in the Netherlands, you may be able to pick up even a manual pressure cooker.

I would never have thought I'd be converted in the way I have.

 

[DaftThoughts]

DaftThoughts, many people find LC is initially a bit more expensive, because they are buying in "special" ingredients, or spices, such as coconut oil (just an example), but so many of those things last an age, so many subsequent uses of those pantry items are "free". Once in a way of eating, replacing those items just tends to spread themselves out, naturally, by usage. Some folks sometimes forget that when they're eating lower carb, they're not eating (or buying) those carby elements they've given up, so that cash can also go towards their overall food budget.

I calculated based on portions, not on things you'll have to have in the house to begin with and then work from there. That already maxed me out of my budget for the first 3 days, so I'd have to spend even more than that on the first go to just get all the ingredients.

I'm in a financial management and debt removal program at the moment so I have literally zero leeway financially wise - new appliances aren't even in the budget, if something breaks down I'm fully dependent on the generosity of others. I'm already signed up in many 'give stuff away for free' groups and these things are usually gone by the time I stumble upon them.

This should be done with in a few years' time, but it also means I just can't follow this diet right now.

I've managed to prep a few meals last weeks that can be considered low carb, but it wasn't more than 3 before my budget ran out. Still, that's 3 low carbs meals.