Low Carb - On a budget??

[JBinKC]

I would bone up on the glycemic load index and make my purchases accordingly to what is on special at the time. The South beach diet book is an excellent reference to familiarize yourself on the better carb choices.

[LISA178]

Soup is oe of my all time favorites and I know your saying soup in summer??

I take

one jar of Ragu No Sugar Added tomato sauce (I'm a Type2 Diabetic)

I large can of fat free/low sodium broth

a few onions sliced

2 bags of frozen vegetables with beans(Rancho Fiesta is the type and Stop&Shop the brand)

Throw it all in a pot,cover and simmer till onions are soft. I don't add too much seasoning to any food. I like to taste what I'm eating.

It makes a big pot and I eat this for lunch all week with a slice of bread.
It's good cold or hot.

I purchase most of the items on sale and with coupons.The whole thing can cost as little as $5.00.

Depending on what my blood sugar is before lunch I might add a small piece of left over chicken or fish.

[LISA178]

I don't follow any certain plans as far as diet anymore.

I am a compulsive person and in being so it can be really screw with your head. I've kept food logs only to get nuts because of bad days,having to rip out the page. Feeling like one bad moment is the end.

I now try and make better choices.

I eat more chicken and fish instead of beef. Chicken breast are always on sale, I mostly buy with the skin on and remove it after cooking or skin and bone it myself if needed. Every market has it's cheaper brand.

I no longer look for the biggest piece of anything !!!!! Buy the smallest pieces of fruit,meat,fish,produce,I find this helps with portion control and sometimes gives you more for
your money in that I tend to waste less.It also helps keep you close to the right serving size.

Don't over buy on produce,just because you can get 10lbs of potatoes for .99 cents if you end up toss 1/2 because they grow eyes and get soft you've wasted money. We always use to over buy on fruit,now we limit it to no more than 4 pieces of something.


I highly recommend frozen vegetables
,they can't take the place of fresh but are close and convienent. They also way less then cans(LOL)I live on the third floor.

Don't go down any isle in the market you don't have too,avoid temptation.

Look for sales that correspond with coupons. The coupons in the sunday paper always mirror what seems to be on sale that week.

Always have a list of what you need and try not to stray from it.

We've gone from supersized everything to 100 calorie snack packs. It's ceaper to buy the regular size bag and split it into servings yourself.I buy small generic brand ziplocs and fill with single servings to have them ready when I want so I don't dive into the whole bag.

I have a small list of recipes we live buy and we basically spend the same every week.

It's different for everyone and you have to find what works best for you. Reading the forums and finding ideas you can live with is a good start.

[lgslgs]

We buy wheat gluten in bulk at Bulkfoods.com and make a lot of Seitan (recipes are all over the web - also called "wheat meat"). Also use a lot of TVP from the same supplier.

Dinner tonight was a bunch of low carb vegetables and seitan in a seasoned sauce. Very craving calming.

Lynda

[Saving in So Cal]

I have seen many coupons for low carb/whole grain pastas, brown rice, etc. You should be able to combine coupons with sales to get these at a good price.

Dairy products, such as eggs, cheese, butter, and sour cream are also frequently on sale. Cheese can be grated and frozen. In addition, there may be ways to extend the life of the others things so you can stockpile them when there are deals. I don't know if buttermilk is low carb, but I have read recently that this can be made at home relatively easily. (In fact, there is a recipe for it on the back of my nonfat dry milk box - Albertson's brand.) I have read the same thing about yogurt; however, I see yogurt coupons and sales all the time so I am not sure it is worth the time.

Chicken (all iterations), ground beef, and ground turkey go on sale on a regular basis by me. I don't know much about fish because I don't eat it. It seems like I have seen some good prices in Trader Joes' frozen food section. Like other posters, I buy meat in bulk when it is on sale and repackage it in smaller amounts to avoid waste. Plastic freezer bags do the job for me, but my brother swears by his foodsaver.

Fruits and vegetables are more of challenge. I buy whatever is on sale in a given week, which may or may not fit within a low carb plan. Based on the circulars, Henry's seems to be very competitive on these items and tends to have higher quality than the regular grocery stores. As the other posters have said, you will undoubtedly need to rely on frozen to be sure you are well stocked with staples all year long. The good news is that frozen foods go on sale all the time and you can also find coupons for certain brands. (I see C&W a lot.)

I see Splenda coupons all the time, but I cannot recall seeing a sale on low sugar condiments (ketchup, salad dressing, etc.) any time recently. For the lowest cost, you'll probably want to make most of your condiments yourself. I am sure low carb cookbooks or recipe sites will have recipes.

Lastly, I believe the Hillbilly Housewife also suffers from the same condition. You may want to checkout her website, hillbillyhousewife.com, for possible recipes and menus. Good luck!