Archie: I found I, too, made a lot of expensive mistakes when we first started this WOE. (The Atkins PBCs are something I spent WAY too much on and ate like Reese's pieces...wonderful but not teaching me anything about the proper way of eating.)

Oddly enough, as we finish up our second month of Atkins, we don't eat very differently than we did many years ago...chicken, fish, meat and two vegtables and salad. The only thing missing is bread and potatoes, and rice, which we didn't have at every meal, anyway. I think I let the entire thing get too complicated, when eating simply was really the answer. I cook extra chicken and make chicken salad, egg salad, ham salad and tuna salad and keep it on hand all the time. An omelet with deli turkey or ham and American cheese and fresh spinach is breakfast, and on a busy day, it will do for dinner as well.

I see a lot of complaints about eggs on this board and wonder why so many eat so many!! There are lots of alternatives, as I mentioned above. And the more mayo, the more satiating it is...throw in some chopped dill gerkins and a tiny bit of red bell pepper and it really perks it all these salads up. Very occasionally I will fix H some of the Atkins Hot Cakes, which he likes, but doesn't love, but weekends are fried eggs and sausage and bacon. Being southerners, though, we DO miss our grits!

I think simplicity is as much the answer to the expense issue as anything else.

This is an extremely interesting topic. When I first started eating low carb I went out and bought loads of expensive steak, roasts and all sorts of expensive goodies. Then I started buying loads of low carb goodies over the internet which cost me a small fortune (especially when getting them shipped over to the United kingdom as at that time there were few suppliers here). I too thought it was going to cost loads more money but then I soon realised that the low carb syrups and low carb pancake mixes didn't taste half as nice as my own low carb ones with a little melted butter and splenda and vanilla essence as a topping. I now make everything I need from bread, pasta, crackers etc and my food bill has come right down.

On the other hand I am now spending a fortune on supplements and nutrients instead. However my health has improved so much I am sure it will be worth it in the end.

Can I please ask a question about something mention earlier in this thread. As a person from the UK I am intrigued to ask what on earth are Corn Dogs?

Basically, it's a hotdog (weiner, frankfurter) covered with a cornmeal batter then deep fried. Usually it's on a stick so you can eat it with your fingers.



I used to love those things when I was a kid. Had a bite of one recently and .. well, it did NOT live up to the memory.


Doreen

I agree that it is not really an expensive way to eat, since I'm not buying cookies ($3 a bag) cakes & pies ($5 each) candy ($2-3 a bag) and those packaged side dishes ($2-3 each.) I am buying more meat, but I watch for sales (2 for 1 bacon quite often, and pork chops seem to go on sale every week) so I've found our food bill to be the same, or a little less. And everything I buy is FOOD. So I'm getting more bang for my buck.

I LOVE corn dogs and miss them terribly! So this is what I do now. I take a weiner and roll it up in a low-carb tortilla with mustard and nuke it for about 45 seconds. Not a traditional corn dog but does the trick!

Mmmm... corn dogs...

My favorite LC on a budget advice comes from Dana Carpender in this FAQ.

My grocery bill was probably about the same. It's easy to point out the cheapness of potatoes and pasta, but in reality, I spent *big bucks* in my pre-LC days. $3 on a box of Snackwells that would last a whole 15 minutes. $5 for a box of cereal that lasted three mornings. All the snack food... and it just makes you hungrier. To paraphrase the above FAQ, "what could be cheap about food that makes you hungrier?"

Oh, this is something I've been thinking about for a while now! Like many have said, I do believe we are spending more right now than before, but I know we'll adjust and things will get better. I was doing some mental price comparisons earlier today with things we used to buy and things we buy now. Keep in mind, I'm a stay-at-home mom (with a 5-year-old not on Atkins but eating better, nevertheless), so I've always shopped on a budget, so some of my regular costs may be pretty low.

Then (monthly): Now:
10 boxes of cereal, $20-$30 10 dozen eggs, $10
16 gallons of milk, $32 2 gallons milk, $4
10 bags of chips, $15 5 bags pork skins, $10
15 loaves of bread, $20 1 loaf of bread, $1.50

(And this doesn't even begin to count all of the tortillas, refried beans, canned chili and other high carb foods we were using.)

One thing I don't think anyone mentioned about shopping cheaply, is to make sure you check outlet stores, like the $1 stores in your area. I usually get super bargains on good mustards, salad dressings, etc.

Also, find out if you're eligible for some type of employee stores. We have a major food producer in our area, and all employee family members are eligible. I buy frozen berries and frozen vegetables from that store quite frequently. I don't save much on the frozen veggies, but the quality is way better than from the store, and I do save gobs on the frozen berries and such.

I found Jenny Craig a lot more expensive than low carb. Here in Canada, it's about $125-130 per week, plus you have to go to the grocery store to buy your own veggies, fruits, bread ( if you are allowed it ) crackers etc.

I found myself spending nearly $200 a week on food in total - OUCH!

I agree that if you only shop at your regular grocery store it can get expensive -- especially if you but a lot of prepackaged LC products. I stick to natural foods -- meat, veggies, cheese, condiments, etc. and find it quite inexpensive. I think our trick is we buy our staples at Costco and Aldi's (don't know if Aldi's is all over the US -- it's an inexpensive store that sells only generic products). We only do a run of the mill supermarket (like Jewel, Dominick's, Albertsons, Safeway, etc.) for the few things we either use very little of or for certain brands we can't live without (Like Marie's Super Blue Cheese dressing-- Yum!). We also order out much less so that saves a lot right there. I haven't specifically costed it out but I'm pretty sure we are spending less (at worst it's about the same). It's amazing how much you save in less snacking alone -- no chips, donuts, trips to Starbucks, etc.

I'd say it costs much less but requires more shopping time to find the good deals.

Hmm... someone could describe the cost in terms of the money supply... that things with protein and fat are of real value like a hard currency... whereas carbs, so plentiful here in this grain-producing giant of a country we have... are kind of a "we can print more!" currency. Ie, value's in the protein/fat content.

This is just a spurious analogy... but it came to mind while reading the thread title... feel free to run with it if you must!

I agree. The bill at the grocery store may be bigger but I'm definitely saving on lunches....no eating out during the week because I'm taking my lunch every day. That alone is 50-75 a week saved.

I dont' find it expensive at all! In fact, my grocery bill has gone way down. I am a single mom, so every penny counts. The trick is to shop around for bargains, stock up and let's face it, we all probably spent a small fortune in the "old days" on junk food, restaruant meals, etc...I love this, it is forcing me to cook regularily, and I have cut way down on the "food treats" my daughter was getting as we are both leading much healthier lifestyles. I also stay far away from the low carb stuff as well, the lc icecream, syrups etc, aren't necessary, and are a nice splurge once in a while...

there are lots of ways to keep the bills down, and stay on this lifestyle.

My grocery bill is much, much, much less since I began low-carbing... Before I was a big fruit freak... And fruit, my regular low-fat/high-carb snack, can get quite expensive here in Belgium... And I would devour it in huge quantities and still feel hungry (2 kg of aplles a day/$4)... In fact, I was never satisfied with carby stuff... I could devour a whole pack of Swedish knäckebröd (about 250 g) with jam or Nutella... And ten minutes later I would be craving a new snack... And what would I turn to??? Yes, Belgian chocolate!!! Lots of it!!! Cote D'Or, Leonidas.... mmmmmmmmmmm

Anyway, since I am no longer consuming any unhealthy carby foods, I can save a lot buying meat and veggies, occasionally fish... In fact, being a student with a tight budget, I can now live (not survive) on about 20 euros ($25) per week!!! I do get most of my meats in bulk on sale and just freeze it... Chicken breasts, chicken wings, pork chops, sausage...I am not a big beef eater (especially after all the news about the mad cow disease ) and it saves me a lot... Veggies, even not so cheap, can last me a whole while now... A zuccini can last me about 1 week now, instead of 15 minutes, in addition to other vegetables of course... I don't eat lots of eggs, but I eat a good amount of cheese, since it's cheap here and we have all different kinds from France, Holland, Germany, Denmark, etc... In fact, low-carbing diet is the only one that allows me to eat well and never be hungry...

And, oh, i don't buy any of the special low-carb products since they are just not available here... Not that I think I would get them even if we had them in stores. I also try to get most of my food from cheap stores, such as Aldi or Lidl, and only visit expensive ones when I absolutely need to... That can save a lot too... And quite often their products are better than the ones from expensive places

Sure... My grocery bill is MUCH larger. But I look at it this way. With it being me,dh and 4 children just think of how much our "FAST FOOD BILL" was. OUCH!!!! So when averaged out I am saving a bundle now.No more fast food trips,caving in to junk foods in the stores,etc...


Angel

I figure we are actually saving money, as far as money spent for eating out and alcoholic beverages. I go to Priceclub and buy bulk meat and cans of tuna or I buy meat on sale. It's nice to have a chest freezer to stock up.
Check out the recipe forums or the web for new recipes. I try to use 1 new recipe a week, so things don't get boring. I have gotten some really yummy recipies from this community!