Low Carb On A Budget?

[ghost_whistler]

Most supermarkets surely selll bacon, chickens & other poultry with skin on, sausages, mince, pork chops....???

Robbity

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

 

[ghost_whistler]

Have you tried a local butcher?

Yes, twice as expensive as the supermarkets

 

[lucylocket61]

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

they are cheaper, per pound/kilo, than the skinless lean parts of the meat.

 

[ghost_whistler]

With the exception of things like salmon or steak I've noticed no difference

 

[lucylocket61]

With the exception of things like salmon or steak I've noticed no difference

rubbish. A whole chicken is around £2.50 a kilo. Chicken thighs with their skins on are around £3 per kilo, skinless breast are around £6 per kilo. Brisket is around £7.50 per kilo, sirloin is around £11 per kilo.

you can use the chicken bones for broth stock so very little is wasted.

 

[Pinkorchid]

The cost of low carb is to some extent the elephant in the room as far as controlling type 2 is concerned. Even in the relatively wealthy UK some people are already buying the cheapest cuts of meat, bulk buying when there are offers, shopping at Aldi or Lidl just to feed themselves, never mind buying more expensive stuff because they can't eat the cheaper carbs. If there was widespread adoption of a low carb diet then the cost of meat, fish, vegetables, salad etc. would increase in price due to demand and put them out of reach of many more people. I am sure that it must be impractical for doctors to suggest to their poorer patients or those with an ethnic high carb diet that they should cut out the carbs and are suggesting higher GI versions as a lower cost but less effective compromise. Those of us who can afford a LCHF diet should realise that we are fortunate that we are able to control our BG with a method not easily available to everyone.

You are so right the more popular low carb becomes the more the price of low carb food will rise probably taking it out of the reach of very many people who even now find cheaper cuts of meat etc are not that affordable on a low income. Our vegetables will be dearer this winter because of the hot summer and lack of rain many crops have failed.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Have you tried a local butcher?

The village where I live and others around us do not have local butchers any more they were priced out by supermarkets a long time ago

 

[Brunneria]

Frozen mince is significantly cheaper than fresh.
The higher fat content (15 or 20%) is cheaper than the lean stuff (5% fat).
When I went carnivore the cost of our weekly shop plummeted - to my astonishment. Meat is so satiating, there was no need to fill the corners with veg or carbs.

Other excellent economies:

Buying special deals at the supermarket
Buying whole chickens and then using the whole chicken, including the carcass for bone broth and wingtips/cartilage for the dogs/cats
Chicken livers (delicious) can be used to flesh out all sorts of meals, including mince, stews, homemade pate. And at 80p/200g frozen, they are brilliant little power houses of nutrition.
Buying belly pork and meaty pork ribs. There can be lot of meat on these, then using the bones for soup afterwards. Great value. This week I spent £6.50 on 1.5 kg of pork ribs, with very little bone in them. I am just eating meat at the mo, and that pork will feed me for 4 huge meals. So big that it will be my only proper meal that day.

Our local butcher does brilliant deals. I tend to get there early on a Saturday morning, when there is no queue, and ask what deals they have. Rabbit sometimes (that goes to the Ma in Law who has a thing for rabbits), then there are chicken carcasses for £2 a carrier bag with enough meat to feed a family of 4, and make soup after. Ham hocks at £1.65 each. BBQ packs. Excellent sausages, gluten free available on request. My favourite are the Lamb Henries and the Shin of Beef. Superb value.

I learned to enjoy the cheap cuts when I was a student, and never lost the taste for them. Mr B used to buy cooked chicken breast and pre-packed salad before we moved in together. Now he asks for pulled pork, cheesy mince and slow cooked beef stews. More flavour, more nutrition and much more satisfaction.

 

[bulkbiker]

The village where I live and others around us do not have local butchers any more they were priced out by supermarkets a long time ago

Thats why I am very happy to drive 20 minutes to use the one I go to rather than rely on supermarkets. If others had done the same maybe the butchers would still be there.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Thats why I am very happy to drive 20 minutes to use the one I go to rather than rely on supermarkets. If others had done the same maybe the butchers would still be there.

Some people mostly older ones did stay loyal to the local butcher but in the end the supermarkets won with their cheaper prices and thats what people with families to feed wanted

 

[bulkbiker]

Some people mostly older ones did stay loyal to the local butcher but in the end the supermarkets won with their cheaper prices and thats what people with families to feed wanted

Interestingly my butcher is cheaper than the supermarket on almost all meats. Some items half the price. I think it was more to do with time and convenience to allow buying everything in one place rather than going to several shops which is rather unfortunate. The queues outside show I think that there may be a resurgence of small shops selling better quality foodstuffs. I certainly hope so.

 

[lucylocket61]

Thats why I am very happy to drive 20 minutes to use the one I go to rather than rely on supermarkets. If others had done the same maybe the butchers would still be there.

I simply dont have the spare cash to support shops in that way, i have to go for the cheapest and best I can afford, wherever that is.

our local butcher, however, is no more expensive than the supermarkets, and lists the local farms where the meat and eggs come from. As he knows his customers, he often throws in a bigger bit for the same price, or a 'spare' bit he has on hand if he knows someone is struggling. I use him most of the time.

 

[Mr_Pot]

It is all very well suggesting cheaper cuts of meat etc, but the biggest cost of low carb comes from replacing staples such as potatoes, rice and pasta. A 1kg bag of long grain rice from Tesco costs 45p so a 100g portion would be 4.5p. However friendly your local butcher and however fatty your cut of meat it would be difficult to replace that for the same price.

 

[lucylocket61]

It is all very well suggesting cheaper cuts of meat etc, but the biggest cost of low carb comes from replacing staples such as potatoes, rice and pasta. A 1kg bag of long grain rice from Tesco costs 45p so a 100g portion would be 4.5p. However friendly your local butcher and however fatty your cut of meat it would be difficult to replace that for the same price.

replacing those staples with what? i get so full from the low carb meals that i eat much less than I used to, and my response seems common across the board.

 

[Pinkorchid]

If you have any Eastern European food shops near you the food there is often quite a bit cheaper than the supermarkets and they do a big variety especially dairy like cheese butter spreads yogurts etc. I buy cream cheese, curd cheese, salami, pickled fish in oil and various dressings, coleslaw, sauerkraut and other mixed vegetable salads some with meat in.

My husband likes the cold cooked belly pork with salad and one of my favourites is cooked pork in savoury jelly in a jar...a bit like brawn..​

 

[DCUKMod]

My OH has a bit of a thing about supermarket meat, but that's about slaughterering techniques, so I'll park that there.

As a result of that, we use the excellent local butcher. He's very much into customer relationships, and once he knows you, will make suggestions, or point out particularly nice cuts.

We are very fortunate to be able to pick up the offers, or if very large piece of meat looks fab, he'll happily butcher it down further for us to appropriately sized joints or portions. Our freezers are usually very well stocked. He also often throws new things in; like new recipe sausages, and asks for feedback. (MrB has to test those as I'm gluten free and not many of the butchers' sausages are - sigh.) He'll also often round down bills.

We cherish our local guy and thank our lucky stars that his core business is selling into the nursing home, restuarant and hotel trades, with the shop just being an avenue to keep cash coming in as the guys are working "in the workshop" butchering all day.

About the only things that are a bit pathy in terms of availability are pork and beef cheeks, because allegedly they're ultra-trendy in the hospitality industry at the moment.

They won't be in fashion forever.

 

[Mr_Pot]

replacing those staples with what? i get so full from the low carb meals that i eat much less than I used to, and my response seems common across the board.

I thought the idea of LCHF was to cut down on the carbs and replace them with fat and protein.

 

[Brunneria]

I thought the idea of LCHF was to cut down on the carbs and replace them with fat and protein.

Well, in my case, once I cut the carbs, the endless ravening hunger that they caused just vaporised, which meant that I didn't really need to 'replace' much at all.

So, as I said before, my weekly food shop is significantly cheaper than it ever was.

We ate the Diet Doctor menus for several months - that was cheaper than when carbs were included.
Then we switched to my own recipes/cooking style of keto - and that was cheaper again.
Now I am carnivore, and Mr B is keto, and we eat even more cheaply.

I think I am more surprised by this than anyone else, but the weekly shopping bill doesn't lie.

 

[carty]

Bones in supermarket this week about £2the butcher either gives them or charges pence for the more expensive lamb ones
Carol

 

[lucylocket61]

I thought the idea of LCHF was to cut down on the carbs and replace them with fat and protein.

not replace, eat until full. which, for me, is a considerable reduction in food - and I didnt eat a lot to begin with. I was never a stuffer. I dont need the quantity I did, and what i do eat nourishes me so completely that I dont feel empty and in search of nutrients, so I eat less due to being properly nourished too.