On various forums around the internet I've noticed a lot of people whining about how expensive it is eating keto.
Maybe it's just because I was on paleo before this, but I really don't think it's unreasonable. Here's what I eat to stay on budget:
Necessities:
1. Eggs - Seriously, a shit-ton of eggs. I buy 5.5 dozen at a time at Walmart for less than $7. I usually eat two a day whether it be for breakfast or hard boiled for lunch (usually in a salad, not alone).
2. Heavy Whipping Cream - It's awesome and I use it in everything. I quit drinking milk, so this has replaced it. Given how thick and rich heavy whipping cream is, I generally don't drink it.
3. Spinach - I buy spinach in giant bags from Costco. I think it's a five pound bag. I eat all of it, by myself, before it goes bad. When it's fresh I take salads to lunch (just spinach, no lettuce), have it in breakfast burritos, and in omelets. As it becomes slimy and wilted I make creamed spinach, saute it and put it in my scrambled eggs, or dice it and put it in my mini-quiches (recipe to come soon!).
4. Beef - Right now, beef is cheap where I live. I'll pick up a beef roast at 60-75% off, hack it into reasonable sized chunks, freeze the pieces in separate bags, and throw them in the slow cooker. I live on the border, so I always make mine spicy and instead of doing the traditional potatoes and carrots, I use canned tomatoes, canned jalapenos, and salsa. I then throw it in breakfast/regular burritos, salads, or low carb tacos made of cheese.
5.Chicken - Now since I cook for John, and he doesn't care for cheap chicken like drumsticks (not a dark meat man), I only buy breasts. If you don't mind dark meat, by all means buy what's cheapest. When it comes to chicken breast, I only buy it if it's less than $1.89 per pound.
6. Rotisserie Chicken - It's summer right now, which means my kitchen is 90 degrees before I turn on the oven, so I buy the cheap $5 pre-cooked chicken at Walmart. During the winter I'll likely roast my own, but for now whatever. One word of caution, find out what your chicken is coated in. Some have added sugar. I usually stretch the chicken out over a couple days between the two of us. Low carb burritos (with spinach!), on salads, in low carb tacos, etc. If I were eating it alone one chicken would easily last me a week. Be sure to eat the skin!
7. Folgers instant coffee - Don't buy the Walmart brand. It's awful. The reason coffee is on my list as a basic necessity is because coffee often replaces breakfast for me on the days that I work (because my lunch is early). Drinking coffee for breakfast is cheap, and with the added fat that makes it
bullet proof coffee, and a handy meal replacement.
8. Coconut oil - I buy the cheap Louisiana brand refined coconut oil. Why do I use coconut oil? Well, I think olive oil can be expensive, and it goes rancid pretty quickly in my hot kitchen. In addition, I like to fry, and coconut oil is stable at high temperatures, and third, it's cheaper than butter, so I use that in my bullet proof coffee.
9. Bacon grease/quality lard (no hydrogenated oils!). Personally, I think butter is a bit expensive for greasing a pan or putting over vegetables, plus, butter doesn't taste like bacon! In addition, I save my bacon grease in a big jar next to the stove and use it for pan frying.I find it lends the chicken more flavor than coconut oil alone, and I tend to eat less chicken when I fry it in bacon fat.
10. Cheese - It's cheapest to buy a 5 pound brick and shred it yourself. It's time consuming, but if you're worried about money, just suck it up and devote 20 minutes of your life to grating cheese. Plus, if you shred it yourself you don't have to worry about hidden anti-caking agents that have carbs. Walmart brand is usually around $9 for 5 pounds and 5 pounds of shredded cheese goes a long way.
11. Tea Bags - I buy green tea bags and brew my own tea in a giant pickle jar. For me, tea is necessary because I don't like the way water tastes in my neighborhood and I refuse to buy water in a jug. I use the tea to cover the taste. Green tea is great because it doesn't make me jittery like black tea does and some reports state that it promotes weight loss. Even if it doesn't support weight loss, too much black tea gave me anxiety.
12. Parchment paper - I don't care how much it costs, parchment paper makes low carb eating easier. Just buy it. I reuse mine three or four times before I throw it out (is that gross?).
13. Parmesan Cheese- I buy the cheap Walmart brand tub of powdered parmesan cheese. It lasts forever in the fridge and I add it to cream sauces because it's cheaper than shredded cheese without sacrificing cheese flavor. If I'm making alfredo sauce I'll use equal amounts parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella. I can't taste a difference.
Non-necessities:
1. Sour Cream - I love sour cream and will use it all the time if I have it on hand. For instance, many of the salads I bring to work have spicy meat on it. Rather than using ranch and salsa (mexi-ranch), I'll use sour cream and salsa. Fewer carbs, fewer mystery ingredients, no soy bean oil, no added sugars, and I like the consistency better. Sour cream is also great as a thickening agent in cream sauces. If you have a Mexican grocer near you (do they have them everywhere?) sour cream is cheapest there, and Mexican sour cream usually has a higher fat content.
2. Cream Cheese - I debated putting this on the necessities list because of cream cheese pancakes, and fat head pizza, and low carb mousse, and home made alfredo sauce, and all sorts of wonderful things. Cream cheese is sour cream's more popular brother. The taste is milder and it can be used more diversely. Personally, if I could only afford one thing off this list, I'd buy cream cheese.
3. Butter - I'm not saying that butter isn't a necessity simply because margarin is available (NO, no margarin), but I say it's not a necessity because you don't
need it. Think about it, what does the average person use butter for? On bread or toast (which keto doesn't eat), on veggies (but why use butter when your veggies can taste like bacon?!), what else? Almost any instance where butter can be used, I think coconut oil or grease could be used instead. I do like the flavor of butter, and sometimes I do want it just because it's butter and it tastes like butter, but it isn't necessary to have it for a keto diet. Oh, the cheapest place to get it? Costco.
4. Bacon - This almost made it to the luxury list, but the one thing I like about bacon that helps to justify the price is the grease! Seriously, I'm crazy about bacon grease. Anyway, the other great thing about bacon is that it is relatively easy to cook and is great as strips, or as bacon bits (which I personally feel makes it go farther).
5. Veggies - I'm not a huge vegetable eater to start with, which is why vegetables, for me at least, are pretty low down on the list. They're great and everyone should eat them, but many vegetables have sneaky carbs in them. If you like veggies, buy in season and on sale, or frozen. Personally I think cauliflower and broccoli are great (veggies au gratin!), as well as zucchini if you have a spiral slicer.
6. Lunch meat - Although some are full of mystery ingredients and all have some carbs, I like lunch meat. It's diverse and can be used in enchiladas, as a wrap, in my mini-quiches, and as a quick snack. I keep salami and sliced cheese in the fridge at work in case I forget to pack a lunch. It's not my first choice for lunches, but it's better than trying to find something decent at a fast food place.
7. Low Carb Tortillas - For
me, these are really a staple if I can afford it. Again, I live on the border. I live for Mexican food. My family also goes out for Mexican often enough that I get sick of taco salads (without the shell, of course). The awesome thing about these is that I smuggle them in my purse and scrape the meat out of my burrito and into the low carb tortilla. Yeah, I get some funny looks, but I like these because although they're smaller than restaurant burritos (built in portion control!), they have a pretty similar taste and texture. They're not authentic homemade tortillas, but they're better than the doughy Mission brand tortillas. I use these for quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas, cheese crisp, and taco salad bowls. I buy La Banderita. They're hands down the BEST low carb tortillas, better than Mission (which are better as wraps because they're thick and doughy) and better than Trader Joe's brand (which taste too fiber-y to be anywhere near authentic). They're about $4.75 (at Super Walmart, not available at Neighborhood Market Walmarts in my area) for 8 eight inch tortillas, and 5 net carbs. A little pricey and only worth eating in moderation, but this is worth it to me because I feel like it greatly increases my food options and keeps me from feeling deprived. As a side note, these are NOT gluten free and some people do stall eating low carb wheat products.
8. Pork Rinds- Pork rinds are great for two reasons. 1.) They are great in place of crackers. I have a dip recipe that calls for crushed Ritz crackers on top, I use pork rinds. Lost of recipes that just need that extra crunch can benefit from pork rinds. 2.) NACHOS. Pork rinds are pretty decent chips, so I use them for nachos. I'm not a big snack person, and I never ate many chips but nachos are a fantastic low carb dinner option once you throw on some cheese, whatever meat you've got lying around, hot sauce or salsa, and sour cream. The reason these are on the non-necessity list is because they're a little pricey ($2 for 3 servings of nachos), they don't keep well and go stale quickly (use them within a few days of opening them or they get too hard), plus they're basically chips. Chips aren't necessary when you're cutting costs, but they're sometimes nice to have. It's that simple.
Luxuries:
1. Almond flour - One thing that was really hard for me to give up was pizza. Thanks to almond flour and Fat Head Pizza (recipe coming soon!), I don't have to. The catch? Almond flour is $5 per pound where I live. Luckily you don't use almond flour in the same volume as white flour, but it's still an investment.
2. Sugar Free syrups and candies - Many people swear by sugar free syrup for coffee. Personally, I was disappointed by the sugar free syrup I tried. I just put coco powder and sweetener in my coffee instead. It's cheaper. Now, sugar free candy is totally different. I love sugar free dark chocolate. Sometimes I want a chocolate bar and the only fix is a chocolate bar, and sugar free does the trick.
3. Artificial sweeteners - Personally, since I have a sweet tooth, I really like having artificial sweetener around (I use truvia, but everyone has a different opinion) for my coffee, desserts, etc. Given that I use it in such moderation, I feel it's worth it.
4. Coconut flour - For me, coconut flour is not worth it. At a price very similar to almond flour, it's expensive. The thing about coconut flour is that I haven't found a recipe that is worth the price that I can't use almond flour for instead. Some people disagree and love it. To each their own.
6. Diet soda - I love diet soda, but when money is tight I have to wave my love goodbye.
7. Low Carb Mixers - I love liquor: margaritas, daquiris, screwdrivers, you name it. There are a lot of good low carb mixes out there, but if budget is an issue, you probably can't afford the booze anyway, right?
8. Avocados - high fat, high fiber, and can be eaten as a meal by themselves? I love avocados but they're expensive. Again, check Mexican grocery stores. Many times they're three for a $1 where I shop.
9. Stick Blender - I didn't own a blender, so making Bullet Proof Coffee was impossible without a stick blender. Even if you do own a regular blender, a stick blender is super simple to clean, takes up a lot less space, and they even make portable battery powered ones in case you want to take it to work and make bullet proof coffee on the go. The other nice thing about stick blenders is it's super easy to whip up home made whipped cream and blend cream cheese for recipes.
10.. Spiral Slicer - Whether it be a mandolin, or a cheap vegetti, this investment is great because it makes your veggies into noodles! I'm not a huge noodle person, and no, veggie noodles don't taste like real noodles, but they're close enough they'd fill a craving.
Okay, I think this pretty much covers what I typically eat. What about you, do you disagree? Did I forget one of your favorites?
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