I need a way to eat low carb for cheap. gonna be low on cash for the next few months and need to eat cheap, preferably low carb. I don't know what to do or eat. I need some suggestions and help. Oh, and I don't know if this matters or not... but i don't have a microwave! >_<

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We shop the sales, and eat a lot of chicken and hamburger and frozen vegetables. Avoid prepared foods (bag salad and the like) as much as possible, and you'll save a lot more money. I can shop for a family of 3 for less than $100 a week.

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Katie
275/238/150
Restarted 01/08/2007
37 pounds lost!
http://justanotherfatgirl.blogspot.com

Well, having been in your situation, with no cash, and no microwave, these are some of the things I ate and still stayed low carb:

vienna sausages (or generic version....$.39 per can at Save-A-Lot)
cottage cheese
canned tuna
canned chicken
canned jack mackerel (just like salmon, but waaayy cheaper)
canned green beans (eaten straight from the can)
canned mushrooms
head lettuce ($.69 per head at Save-A-Lot here)
boiled eggs
hard cheeses (again....cheap at Save-A-Lot)
Slim Jims (or generic version)

If you've got a Save-A-Lot grocery around, shop there. VERY cheap. Keep in mind that I'm not advocating living off of lunchmeats and vienna sausages, but when there's no cash and no microwave, eating these things are better than spending your money at a fast food joint.

Hope this helps...

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April

The face of a child can say a lot -- especially the mouth part of the face.

My Blog

Good suggestions so far. One tip I can add may or may not be of help. If you have an ALDI's food store anywhere near you, go there to shop. They're half the price of the supermarkets for things like salad ingredients. And there are significant savings on most products. For example last week I bought a 3 pack of romaine lettuce hearts for $1.59 and can sof green beans and diced tomatoes for 39 cents.

I don't know where you live Achilles but here's a link to their store locator. Good luck! Many years ago I was young and struggling too!

Store Locator

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my blog

Good idea, Rob! Here's a store locator for Save A Lot food stores.

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April

The face of a child can say a lot -- especially the mouth part of the face.

My Blog

I buy chicken thighs when they go on sale for 69 cents a pound. You can either bake them, grill them...or my personal favorite...I boil them with soy sauce, white vinegar, and some spices until all the water boils out. I usually cook a large potful at a time. Easy to take with for lunches. I can pull the meat off the bone to use in salads or just eat them right off the bone. I've found that LC eating can be very affordable if you stay away from the processed "specialty" LC foods.

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Vickie

Achilles, cheap is one of those comparative words. I eat what I regard as "cheaply". My average cost of meals is usually less than $5.00 a day per month. I don't know what your budget looks like, where you are located, or how many different grocery stores you have at which to shop. I could reduce my costs further, however the variety I can enjoy would also be reduced. Here are some of the ways I try to keep the cost of meals "cheap".
1. Don't eat out. It is cheaper to fix your own meals.
2. Plan your meals around what is "on sale" at a good price. This means planning ahead. My planning starts each Wednesday when the grocery ads for the next week are published. I then plan for a weeks meals beginning the coming Saturday and work my menus around items that are on sale at a "good price". (If it is a really good price, I will buy extra for the freezer or pantry, which is another way to save money.) For example, this week at the stores that are available to me, split chicken breasts are $.68/pound, pork roast is $.99/pound, ground turkey is $.99/pound, eggs are $.49 a dozen, lettuce is $.49/head, and brussel sprouts are $.88/pound. I may have to go to 3 or more different stores, but they are all in close proximity to where I live. The bottom line is you can save money on meals if you can shop around. I can't emphasize shopping around enough. You have to know where you can get what you need cheapest. It may be more convenient to just go to 1 store, but you will pay for that convenience in higher total costs.
3. Use left-overs. This includes fixing enough of a cheap item to use in later meals that week. It also includes adding different ingredients to left-overs to make a new dish, so you won't get bored eating the same thing. A corollary is to fix dishes you like, so you won't mind having them more than once.
4. Fresh vegetables can be more expensive, so you may need to consider using canned or frozen vegetables to reduce cost.
5. Canned fish, like tuna or makerel can be inexpensive sources of protein. In addition, so are eggs, usually. Look for recipes in on-line data bases that use cheap ingredients.

HTH

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Henry

1. whole turkeys and whole chickens are less than a dollar a pound

2. buy the fattiest ground beef in bulk packaging

3. Albertson's 10 for $10 sales often include packages of 2 tilapia filets

4. spinach (fresh) is usually a good buy

5. cabbage, too. and it's very versatile.

6. balogna and hot dogs. (check carb count)

7. tuna melt: tuna, cheese, maybe some lettuce: voila! a meal!

8. meatloaf. stretch it with pork rinds (wuite cheap), chopped veggies, etc.

9. soup is filling, can be made from anything, and you can make several meals out of one pot. use water that had been used to boil some chicken for "free" broth.

10. type "frugal cooking" into your favorite search engine. you'll be amazed at how many web sites pop up. Check them out for meals that are low in carbs. (will take some searching)

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Michelle
209 / 187 / 150




DH's R&R Goal:
209 / 187 / 165
(2 months to go!)

Pork rinds.


I'm not a big fan, but they are cheap.

Achilles, like Rob, I don't know where you live but if you have a Costco nearby - that's a great way to make a single investment (one big shopping trip per month) and get a lot of what you need for a month - at one time...

The day of the trip buy 2 fresh roasted chickens ? when you get home, have one for dinner, break the other one down ? drumsticks, wings and thighs for snacks and lunches ? the breast meat chopped into a homemade chicken salad.

Other things:
bacon - freeze all except one package and take them out of the freezer as needed.
pork tenderloin (they come in two two-tenderloin packs). Again freeze what you don't need immediately, cook the other(s) for dinner the night after your shopping trip
Ground beef, get it home, separate it into 1 pound piles and freeze - removing a pound at a time
bulk chicken breasts - separate into bags of two or four depending on your family size, freeze all, remove as needed.


Other things you can freeze include butter, big bags of shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Good non perishables to get at the wholesale warehouse places include: mayonnaise, blue cheese and ranch dressings, dill (not sweet) relish, mustard, splenda, and any spices

On repeat trips to Costco buy only the fresh things: broccoli, the big bags of baby spinach, the big bags of mixed organic greens, the big bag of romaine lettuce, etc.. the peppers, the mushrooms, whatever you like and will eat.

eggs - can't be frozen - but they go faster than you imagine - especially if you are eating them every morning on induction!

Anyway, I discovered I was halving our grocery bill by eating low carb - with the huge help from Costco. Just have to plan a little!

Remember - if you eat only real whole foods (meats, fish, veggies, dairy) you are spending way less than if you are eating any form of prepared foods - and especially any "low carb" speciality items...

Good Luck!

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Hugs, Rachel







(the horn is in honor of DH!)
Quien canta, sus males espanta... ("She who sings fightens away her ills") Miguel de Cervantes

Hey Achilles,

I have to agree with what everyone said. I have Price Rite near me. Great for meat, and cheap produce too. Planning ahead is definately the key, especially when dealing with fresh foods, you don't want your veggies going bad before you can eat them.

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~ Super Julie



175/165/125