It’s no secret: Eating amazing Beyond Keto foods is more expensive than eating unhealthy processed foods. But, if you know a few tricks, you can eat keto on a budget.
Consider that Americans spend an average of $3.6 trillion or $11,172 per person per year on healthcare (1). Much of the healthcare is for chronic diseases which can be prevented with a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight. In fact, it’s estimated that $190.2 billion is spent each year on the health care costs of obesity-related issues alone (2). This is a huge cost for our country and us as individuals.
It’s not always easy to make lifestyle changes. But, since your health is one of your biggest priorities, it is worth the cost and effort. For most, it will save money in the long run.
But who’s got time for the long run, when your grocery budget is out of control now? Here’s how to eat keto without breaking the bank. Here are 12 tips to eat keto on a budget.
12 Tips to Eat Keto on a Budget
1. Start with a Book
With a book as good as Dr. Colbert’s Beyond Keto Book, you can start with a new keto lifestyle right away. There are few things as budget-friendly as books when it comes to self-help. So, get your copy (or check the library) and get started!
From the get-go, you’ll omit all the carbohydrates responsible for your weight gain and many health issues. You’ll also add in healthy fats that will keep you feeling satisfied and full. Most Beyond Keto eaters see results within 2 weeks, and have enough tools for healthy eating to keep moving towards a healthy weight. This is a great start to eating keto on budget.
Another free tool is to ask a friend who’s interested in healthy eating to join you. There’s a lot of power in community, and having an accountability partner can help.
2. Use a Meal Plan Routine
If you take the time to get organized, plan your meals for the week, and cut down your trips to the grocery store to once per week, you can save hundreds.
How?
Grocery stores are designed to entice you to spend extra money every time you go in. In fact, many shoppers spend extra money on foods they don’t need or hadn’t planned on buying.
To start a meal prep routine, you can simply assign a type of cuisine for each day of the week. For example:
- Mondays = bunless burgers
- Tuesdays = taco bowls
- Wednesday = chicken pan sheet meal
- Thursdays = Asian dish with cauliflower rice
- Fridays = out to eat
- Saturdays = grilled meat and veggies
- Sundays = rotisserie (or something similar)
Next, assign a recipe to each meal category and shop once per week accordingly.
If you use a grocery pick-up service and don’t even set foot in the store, you can save even more. For more on how a routine can save you time and money, check out this post.
3. Buy in Bulk
Once you have a routine, it’s much easier to buy in bulk because you can rest assured you know when you will eat each food, and it will not go to waste.
As long as you minimize waste, buying in bulk can save you money.
For example, try to find larger containers of nuts, seeds, coconut flour, coconut oil, and more at discount stores or online in bulk.
4. Skip Specialty Packaged Keto Diet Foods and Make Your Own
Typically, you have to spend either time OR money on your eating plan. If possible, skip some of the time-saving convenience foods and take the time to prep your meals and save money.
For example, meal replacement bars, keto tortillas, keto breads etc. are very expensive and can be made at home or skipped altogether.
If you want a Keto Dessert such as these Keto Zone® Chocolate Chip Cookies, make your own using basic keto ingredients rather than buying a keto cake or cookie.
As a bonus, your diet will always be healthier when it is based on natural real foods rather than pre-packaged commercial foods.
5. Keep Your Beyond Keto Meals Simple
One of the most beautiful things about the Beyond Keto diet is its simplicity. It’s a diet based on healthy high-fat foods, with moderate amounts of nourishing protein and vegetables.
Once you buy your high-fat foods such as healthy olive oils, avocado oils, vegetables, eggs, lean proteins, and fish (yes, these are expensive), you don’t have to spend much on other foods.
For example, while most Americans eat 6-10 ounces of extremely expensive meat each day, you can limit meat to just one meal per day and cut your portion to 4-6 ounces. Then, shop in-season non-starchy vegetables to keep your costs low.
A huge part of many people’s budgets are expensive processed foods. As you focus on non-processed foods, you can save!
6. Reduce Your Restaurant Outings
If you are in the habit of going out to eat for lunches while working, or several times per week for dinner, you can save hundreds by eating at home or packing your lunch.
Eating out can be a fun experience. However, many times we eat out simply out of convenience. If you cut down on restaurant eating and save it for just one fun social outing per week, your keto food bill will be significantly reduced.
7. Choose Low-Costs Proteins
When it comes to proteins, you can spend a lot or a little…and it all depends on your “cut” and preference.
For example, a beef chuck cut costs about half as much as a ribeye.
What’s more, eggs are an extremely inexpensive protein source that fits into the Beyond Keto diet very well.
Seafoods have a very large range of prices, so choose ones that are fished closer to you or those that are budget friendly when you can.
Another favorite? Organic rotisserie chicken is often cost-effective and gives you a break from cooking.
8. Buy Some Frozen Instead of Fresh
Take a few steps from the produce aisle to the frozen foods aisle to save money.
Of course, some foods are simply best when fresh such as herbs, leafy greens, and other favorites. But, you can save a lot by buying berries, green beans, broccoli, and more in the frozen aisle. Interestingly, nutrient retention is typically similar or even higher in frozen versus fresh produce (3).
What’s more, buying some frozen produce can vastly cut down on waste since it doesn’t spoil.
9. Join a Meat Share for the Best Prices on Beef, Pork, and More
Even if you live in a big city, you can likely find local farms or butcher shops that offer the chance to purchase a whole, half, or quarter cow.
While it costs a lot upfront, the total savings can be great. What’s more, you can often save when buying a larger portion, so consider finding another family and splitting it.
Of note, you will likely need extra freezer space.
10. Grow Your Own Veggies and/or Hunt for Your Meat
Depending on where you live, you may be able to grow many of your high-cost groceries. For example, herbs are extremely easy to grow but are expensive in the store. You may also be able to grow greens and lettuce, bell peppers, cucumbers, and more.
Along with delicious, fresh foods, you can boost your health when gardening. It’s a great way to get outside, get exercise, and get your hands dirty!
Of course, if you are a hunter, you can get free-range, amazing meats for protein by hunting it yourself. Even if you use a butcher to process it, the costs are a very small percentage of buying meat at the store.
11. Use Intermittent Fasting
Along with the many advantages of intermittent fasting, which include immune benefits (4), it can cut your food costs! Let’s say you decide to fast from 7 pm to 11 am each day, only drinking Keto Zone® Coffee in the morning before eating again. Then, instead of eating 3 full meals per day, you only eat 2 plus 1-2 snacks.
If your meals usually cost around $3.00 each, you can save this entire cost each day. Your average savings may be $3.00 per day, $21.00 per week, and $90.00 per month.
12. Organize Your Freezer
If you’re like most people, you have meat, frozen leftovers, and more in your freezer. In fact, a large percentage of food waste can be attributed to forgotten frozen foods rather than spoiled fresh ones.
How can you avoid this?
Get organized! Clean out your freezer and organize it so you can easily see what foods are available to use in meals or to reheat.
If you like making extra portions for frozen leftovers for cooking, make sure these are also organized and add a list to the outside of your freezer to keep track of what you have available.
Bottom Line
There’s little doubt that healthy, delicious Beyond Keto meals cost more than eating harmful processed foods. However, with some creativity, work, and organization, you can eat keto on a budget. Follow these tips, and share your own below – how do you eat Beyond Keto on a budget?
