Might it be nice to have a thread dedicated to tips on economizing with this way of eating? How do you save money shopping? What are tasty, yet frugal meals?

And I don't mean just saving money, but also saving time...

great question!

buy veggies/ fruits in bulk when they are in season- freeze them
buy meat/ poultry when they are on sale- freeze them
don't dismiss the store brands- they often have the same ingriedients, nutrition info as the name brands- and i suspect are the same thing in a different package

start an herb garden
start a veggy garden

dont buy frankenfoods!

cant wait to hear others suggestions!

I don't spend a much larger amount food shopping than before LC...actually, I probably save now because I am not buying so many junk food items for the family.

The thing is to buy Family Packs of meat (usually lower priced per pound); stay away from convenience foods (i.e. LC specialty foods) and look for sales on produce and when there is a sale on a food item you use...stock up... For instance, I got salad dressing for 69 cents a bottle (1/2 price) so I bought 4. It should last me a bit. With produce its harder...but with meat you can do the same...buy lots and freeze.

The only LC specialty food I buy are my Shakes. But since I am not going out to eat for lunch/breakfast, its actually cheaper than if I was!

Make your own frozen dinners by pre-planning and creating the combination of things you want.

Plan for leftovers that you can take for lunch through the week (like, cook a large roast or turkey or two of something instead of one - takes just as much time and electricity, and you have a meal already planned for you).

Don't make a habit of going to restaurants, but make a habit of being your own chef.

Like others have said - buy in bulk.

Buy prepackaged lettuce/greens combinations for interesting salads.

Buy prepared broccoli or cauliflower if you'd rather not prepare it yourself.

Frozen fresh veggies (cauliflower, green beans, broccoli) can be just as good a choice, and are already prepared for your use.

If you like fresh berries, and are not on OWL yet, freeze them in appropriate size portions - next winter you'll be happy with their availability.

Don't bother wasting your budget on all the prepackaged low carb choices out there - they are not necessary for this meal plan. Whole foods are a better choice nutritionally and give better satisfaction when eaten.

Eggs, eggs and more eggs. Cheap (even the organic ones, relatively speaking), versatile and fast. Also spinach, fresh or frozen. Canned tuna, especially when it's on sale (this week it's two cans for a dollar- but make sure the only ingredients listed are tuna, water and maybe salt. "Broth" or "vegetable broth" often is code for glutamates) Cucumbers and "greens" in season. Beef or pork roasts when they're on sale- they freeze great and are easy to cook in a slow cooker. Hamburger when it's on sale- I cook up five pounds at a time, divide it into 5 one-pound containters and freeze it like that. Makes mealtime a snap.
I guess reading this you can tell I'm interested in being able to cook and eat in a hurry-- Cathy

Check out some of these links!
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...0693#post340693
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=39472
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=23152

Now that summer is here it is Farmers Market season. Stock up on loads of veggies and berries at a cheaper price than the stores. The stuff is usually fresher and better tasting than anything you could buy in a supermarket.
I always wash and dry all my lettuce and have it bagged and ready to go. This makes it so easy to throw together a salad in record time.

ground meat (beef & turkey) & frozen vegetables

We dine out much less. Frozen veggies are new on our list and most can be microwaved for 5 or 6 minutes in a bowl with 1 or 2 T of water and covered with plastic wrap. When the water is drained, melted butter with garlic, nuts, or other seasonings can be poured over. I LOVE green beans prepared this way! We no longer like canned veggies.

Romain lettuce lasts a long time in the fridge. Peanut butter is another inexpensive food that is fairly low carb. For a treat, the 3 Minute Devil's Food cake is inexpensive, good, and very fast.

Great ideas-- I think I am going to need to get a bigger freezer!

buying my deep freezer was one of the best investments i have ever made. wherever meat is on sale you will find me stocking up to the hilt! and watch me grab every packet of frozen cauli and broccolli in the supermarket when the price is low. cream? freeze it. butter? you bet. cheese? no worries.

i also have a great assortment of already cooked meals in my freezer (curries, casseroles etc) for those times that i am bereft of inspiration or just too tired or hot to cook.

i love my deep freeze!

Plan, plan, and plan! I plan a week's worth of meals at a time, so I know when the leftovers will get eaten, and veggies never get forgotten and wasted in the drawer any more. It also lets me balance out more complicated and expensive meals with cheaper ones and avoid time-consuming dinners on rushed evenings. Build a rotation of one to two weeks' worth of meals you know well; add in a new recipe every now and then so you don't get bored, but not so many that you're having to buy all kinds of weird ingredients.

As for actual meals, our "budget" meals are omelets, meat/egg/veggie scrambles, pork shoulder roasts, salmon or tuna patties and fried cabbage, or roasted chicken leg quarters. All of these are tasty enough that we don't feel like we're eating on the cheap, and easy to prepare as well.

Practically every meal we eat is a budget meal because, well, because we just can't afford not to!

We eat mainly pork and chicken, beef in limited quantities because of the price. Sometimes burger's pretty cheap, but I would think considering the cattle they butcher for it eating it less frequently's probably a good idea.

I'm also a big fan of freezers. I've had a chest-type for years and last summer we picked up an upright as well. They're usually both full, and a freezer will pay for itself in six months, easily, with savings and less trips to the grocery store.

We cook a lot of simple meals because that's the way I like to eat. Since I measure or weigh everything I eat, meat and veggies/salad make it a whole lot easier. We do pork steaks with veggies on the side, or bake up pork roast with cabbage thrown in toward the end of it, or do the same with a roast chicken. Sometimes we have fish.

We also use ground turkey for stir-fries and sausage meat (it makes horrid meatloaf, though!).

The thing I've noticed about LCing is that meal prep isn't nearly what it was before. NO peeling spuds, NO peeling carrots, NO making pasta and boiling water for it, NO boiling water and taking 20 minutes to cook rice. The time-consuming things like salad, we do in the food processor (I have few teeth so this makes it easier to chew anyway ).

It also helps to shop at dollar and outlet stores. I pick up the really good mustards and some seasonings real cheap that way. Some spices we use so much of that it doesn't make sense to get the more expensive stuff.

Some of my favorite brands of things are store brands, too, although something I like certain brands better, but if I can save a buck here or there I'm going to.

Oh, make sure you check the labels of LC products before you buy them. Some of them aren't fit to eat (bad ingredients so they end up pitched), and others cost way more than a non-LC product when the non-LC version was LC to begin with! I don't buy much in the line of LC products, but there are a few we use.

As much as I have issues with Sam Walton and his family's business practices....I have to say, Sam's Club has the best price I've seen on bulk Splenda packets -- I think $12 for a box of 700. That certainly beats the $8 for 200 you pay at Jewel or Dominicks (which works out to $28 for 700).

(My parents have a Sam's membership and bought me a box.)