Low Carb On A Budget?

[TriciaWs]

I am almost vegetarian (chicken only), cannot eat fats as I have uncontrolable lipids, and don’t eat any type of fish. Anybody got any ideas? None of these are through my own making, I just don’t like meat or fish. Pretty difficult to do low carb without getting bored with salads (no dressings allowed due to fat content) or chicken with veggies. HELP!

The lowcarbprogram has meal plans for vegetarians and even a file of recipes for vegans.
As for fats, they link to research showing that lowcarb plus fat does not usually raise lipids instead it can actually reduce this.
Worth checking out? You might even get a prescription from your GP to cover the sign-up fee.

 

[ivan 2]

Just try to recall what we ate before the diagnosis.Actually, we all spent a fortune on carbohydrate rubbish.
When rounding shelves with food to be avoided, remember that was food we spent money on.

 

[Mr_Pot]

Actually, we all spent a fortune on carbohydrate rubbish.

Not necessarily, I used to spend money on very good quality bread potatoes, pasta and rice. They certainly weren't rubbish and they didn't cost a fortune.

 

[QPR4Me]

Is it possible to be low carb on a very small budget? I feel like I’ve lost all the cheap ingredients that turn a small amount of meat into a filling meal (pasta, rice, bread) and while I would love to replace that bulk with more meat, cheese, cream, eggs etc those are all pretty expensive in comparison. Even veg costs quite a bit if you need a lot of it and the filling ones are the carby ones!

Yes it is. It just needs a little effort, such as learning how to cook, avoiding pre-packed or processed food, and making an effort. Once you master it, or get a sense of what you should be doing, it's amazing how much money you can save by ditching all pre-made supermarket/shop goods and learning how to make basic, tasty, wholesome food yourself.
It really is easy!
Sorry, forgot to add. Ditch large spuds, white rice, bread (white or otherwise) and supermarket cereals, yes Alpen included, it's loaded to the mammaries with sugar!
Using sensible ingredients, home made muesli/porridge etc, is a million times better than the garbage that is stacked on supermarket shelves, trying to tempt us to buy the rubbish. It's also far cheaper!

 

[brassyblonde900]

That wasn't the question though, it was do they sell them cheaper

I buy cooking bacon or bacon mishapes
57p per 500grams at Tesco, Asda etc or £1 a Kg at most other places

 

[DCUKMod]

I find it more expensive because:
I don't eat red meat apart from a little bacon/ham occasionally
my other health conditions make it hard for me to cook, I can only stand for a sort time and can't chop veg easily so I have to buy pre-prepared veg (such as onions) and salads
even after my gallbladder was removed I struggle to eat eggs - one a day max.
I end up buying some ready made salads, ready to cook veg and fish - plus occasionally, for a bad week, ready cooked chicken - so even without coconut milk, flour and almond flour that all works out a lot more than my old food list.
So eating low carb can be as cheap, or cheaper, if you have access to decent shops, are a meat eater, can spend time in the kitchen doing extra cooking/clearing up - but that doesn't work for everyone.

TriciaWs - Whilst I am fortunate enough not to have health issues limiting my ability to spend eons of time in the kitchen, sometimes my lifestyle ramps up and I find the time the issue. I don't have hours to slave over a hot stove.

On that basis, I tend to batch cook, ad often, if I have the oven on, I might lob a chicken in there, in whateverrr format takes my fancy - whether a straightforard roast bird, or spatchcoked and spiced, or whatever, it'll mean as well as the meal being cooked, I have several meals from the chicken. When cooked, I'll then cut it up - legs, wings, brasts, for whatever, then reserve the bones to make a delcious meaty stock (a couple of hours of decent ignoring on the hob, or less in the pressuree cooker).

I popped into ASDA yesterday afternoon, just after 3pm and grabbed some diced swede and swede and carrot (which I can tolerate), reeduced to 10p a bag. In the other reduced area there was lamb mince, under £1, pork loin chops, 40p and a lamb chump roasting joint under £2.

Whilst those may not necessarily all be things you eat, I guess I'm suggesting things can be helped by being flexible on batch cooking and being opportunistic with butcherry/fishmonger bargains. Of course, the yellow sticker products shouldn't linger too long in the fridge beforere cooking or freezing, but with a freezer, it adds to the option.

 

[pdmjoker]

The cost of low carb is to some extent the elephant in the room as far as controlling type 2 is concerned.

I think so too, especially when you add magnesium, potassium and psyllium husk powder supplements...

Not to mention the "almond flour, coconut flour" for mug bread, as noted above...

 

[lucylocket61]

I think so too, especially when you add magnesium, potassium and psyllium husk powder supplements...

Not to mention the "almond flour, coconut flour" for mug bread, as noted above...

i dont have any of those things. I have been low carbing for nearly 6 years.

 

[Alexandra100]

Not necessarily, I used to spend money on very good quality bread potatoes, pasta and rice. They certainly weren't rubbish and they didn't cost a fortune.

Yes, I used to buy lots of fruit from the open market. It was wonderful quality and so cheap, it was almost impossible to spend £5 and still be able to carry it all home in my rucsac. Those were the days!

 

[brassyblonde900]

Talking about cost of low carbing, it depends on how you shop and how you are willing to shop.
I scored some really good bargains at the coop this afternoon.
Weekends when I am free around 4pm, I am guaranteed some seriously discounted goodies.

 

[Alexandra100]

when you add magnesium, potassium and psyllium husk powder supplements...

I take potassium because my very LC diet doesn't allow me many vegetables. However I take it in the form of Lo-salt,
http://www.losalt.com/uk/
which is very cheap and lasts ages. Because too much potassium can be dangerous, potassium supplements are obliged to be extremely weak, so that you'd have to swallow lots to make any difference. I also take magnesium. I have the impression I get less cramp in bed when I do. And general vitamin B because of the lack of grains. However I buy the very cheap supplements from Home Bargains. (I used to get them from the £ shop, but no more.) I read a persuasive article saying that the cheap supplements are fine, made by a reputable firm to a high standard (and probably identical with many of the dearer ones, except for the packaging.) The article cited a firm making supplements in Skipton, and as this is local to me, I quite illogically have complete confidence in them!

 

[ghost_whistler]

Lo salt uses salt with chemical additives though

 

[Alexandra100]

Lo salt uses salt with chemical additives though

The alternative would be to ask my GP for potassium supplements, and I doubt she'd be very willing.

 

[LornaFarrell]

Wow everyone, thank you so much for your replies and suggestions.

There are quite a few comments that suggest we are currently over spending on high carb processed rubbish and will save by learning to cook from scratch, shopping reduced items, “making an effort” etc. I’m sure that is true for a lot of people but I would say that we already cook from scratch and buy a lot of yellow sticker foods. We don’t buy pre-chopped veg and already use things like cooking bacon. Basically all the normal money saving things are things I/we already do.

 

[Alexandra100]

Wow everyone, thank you so much for your replies and suggestions.

There are quite a few comments that suggest we are currently over spending on high carb processed rubbish and will save by learning to cook from scratch, shopping reduced items, “making an effort” etc. I’m sure that is true for a lot of people but I would say that we already cook from scratch and buy a lot of yellow sticker foods. We don’t buy pre-chopped veg and already use things like cooking bacon. Basically all the normal money saving things are things I/we already do.

Maybe you could earn some money offering courses in economical eating and then spend it on luxury foods?

 

[Alison Campbell]

There are quite a few comments that suggest we are currently over spending on high carb processed rubbish and will save by learning to cook from scratch, shopping reduced items, “making an effort” etc.

Please don't taking it personally, many members were I'm sure only recalling their own experiences of changing to a new way of eating. On a forum we can't always get a full picture.

 

[LornaFarrell]

Please don't taking it personally, many members were I'm sure only recalling their own experiences of changing to a new way of eating. On a forum we can always get a full picture.

Absolutely, there’s always loads of background that people don’t know!

 

[LornaFarrell]

Maybe you could earn some money offering courses in economical eating and then spend it on luxury foods?

Now wouldn’t that be ironic?

 

[pdmjoker]

Because too much potassium can be dangerous, potassium supplements are obliged to be extremely weak, so that you'd have to swallow lots to make any difference.

It is possible to get eg: potassium citrate in higher doses than 99mg. These ones are 200mg:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0017I25TI/ref=s9_dcacsd_dcoop_bw_c_x_1_w

It is right to be mindful of taking too much potassium as that is v dangerous, but a medium banana has about 400mg (if we were able to eat them!) I tend to take about 400mg daily.

This is v reasonable: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01G5EQCJM/ref=s9_dcacsd_dcoop_bw_c_x_3_w but be VERY wary as 1/4 level teaspoon is 448mg!!!

 

[Mr_Pot]

I would never presume to disagree with so many people who find their local butcher excellent in terms of value and quality. This could be some kind of post code lottery. Even with a family member giving "mates rates" we could never match supermarket prices and would merely be virtue signalling and wasting money buying from local butchers. I am very much in favour of buying local and keeping villages alive but financially it would be madness for us. Even spending £2-300 2-3 times a year e.g. Christmas. Easter and Harvest just leaves them with the "so, some other smuck will pay top dollar" attitude. I ain't driving 50-60 mile round trip for questionable better deal. In my area local butcher = farmers market prices without the quality but you guys are much luckier. Now, visiting my son in Southampton I have found a good butcher - but that is not a viable option.

My local butcher's is by all accounts excellent but extremely expensive, which is why I go to the supermarket, even Waitrose are cheaper. See the price list below and note that their cheapest chickens are about £13 each. All suggestions of being a regular customer and getting cheap meat from your local butcher's are not going to work in my postcode.