Need Low Carb Recipes for the Jobless Poor!

[Blood Sugar 101]

Hi folks,

Some of us eat low carb to lose weight. Others do it to keep from going blind or facing amputation because they have diabetes.

Unfortunately, most low carb foods are a lot more expensive than starchy high carb foods. So when times get tough it can become very tough to eat low carb.

I have been getting heartrending emails from people with severe diabetes who have lost their jobs and are struggling to feed their families. Food pantry food is almost entirely carbs.

So I am posting this to ask you to suggest low carb menus and recipes that might be helpful to someone on a very restricted food budget. I will be passing these ideas on to people with diabetes who are facing a budget crisis.

[chewiegand]

MY biggest hint is to put protein over salads. That stretches it and fills you up with healthy fiber too. One other way to stretch the protein with cabbage or other veggies, make some soups as htey are filling too.

[nonstickpam107]

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ma...e-lowcarb.html

I have a job right now, but didn't for four years of maintenance lowcarb...and this thread came in quite handy a lot.

Pam

Pam

[RealFoodLiving]

There are several of these threads with great ideas and recipes already there.

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ma...e-lowcarb.html

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ma...t-wealthy.html

[hadenuff]

Try the

3 ingrediant recepes thread

[Jayelgee]

I just made something off of the 3 ingredient thread:

1 pkg smoked sausage
1 can rotel
1 head of cabbage

Throw it in the crockpot

That was the recipe but I added 1 can of diced tomatoes to it and cooked it on the stove in a stock pot. It's so good and I'm going to have enough left over to last for a couple of days (just me eating it)

[dawna]

In California, we have 99-cent-only stores (that is the name of the store). I have been to several, and all have had refrigerator/freezer sections as well as fresh vegetables, in addition to a lot of canned and packaged goods. They can be a good source for eggs, cheese, cream, fresh and frozen vegetables, and some meats (various sausage, bacon, lunch meats). Not a huge variety of meats, but for a buck, a ring of kielbasa can go a long way.

[JoniBGoode]

Some suggestions for low-carbers on a budget:

My biggest suggestion is to shop a limited-service grocery store. In the Chicago area we have Aldi. They don't carry all the name brands, but they do carry all the basics, at extremely reasonable prices. Often the regular price at Aldi is the "loss leader special sale price" at larger stores.

And, buy cheaper cuts of meat, especially on sale. Remember that when you do low carb, you can buy the cuts with more fat, that cost less.

I'm sure you've already thought of most of these, but here are some ideas.

1) Eggs! While not dirt cheap, they are excellent protein and still the perfect breakfast. But they also make teriffic lunches and dinners: egg salad, omelets, quiche, egg crepes, blintzes and even bacon or sausage and eggs for dinner.

2) Hamburger. Low carbers can eat cheaper grades of hamburger, even 80% or 85% lean. These are excellent for burger patties, meat loaf, "Joe", sloppy joes on oopsies, etc.

3) Chuck roast, especially on sale. Throw it in the crock pot with half an onion, some garlic and cook on low for 12 hours. Make gravy with the drippings, a can or two of beef broth thickened with xanthan or guar gum. Serve over smashed cauli. Add some celery and a can of veg-all to the gravy for low-carb stew the second day. Then add a can of green beans, including liquid, any low carb veggies you like and at least one can of beef broth the third day, for low carb soup.

I also like to cook chuck roast in the crockpot with taco seasonings or bbq seasonings.

4) Oopsies. These are basically just eggs, but they are a great way to stretch the meat in a low-carb meal. I was amazed how much more filling a ham and egg oopsie sandwich was, with just one egg.

5) Chicken thighs. Almost any part of the chicken except the boneless, skinless breast is a bargain.

6) Stir-fry turns a small amount of meat and a bunch of low carb veggies (celery, shredded cabbage, greeen onion, bell pepper, broccoli, a few baby carrots) into a great meal. Season with soy sauce, a little vinegar and just a touch of splenda.

7) Tuna and salmon are often cheap on sale. Tuna salad, tuna or salmon patties, even tuna or salmon cassaroles.

8) Cheese will really stretch any leftover meat. Just melt it on top. Or make faux macaroni & cheese with cauliflower, and add cooked ground beef, sliced hotdogs, tuna or leftover meat for a great cassarole.

9) Hotdogs, sausage and smoked sausage. Watch the carbs, but often the cheap brand is one of the lowest in carbs. I make chili sauce with one lb. of cheap hamburger. It tops at least 12 hotdogs. Put 'em in a bowl with a little chili sauce, cheese & onion on top.

10) Soup. Any broth-based soup with protein and low-carb veggies is going to be cheap and healthy. It's a great way to use leftovers.

11) Carolyn's homemade Calorie Countdown instead of store-bought milk substitutes. You can also add 1 to 1.5 TBSP of cocoa, plus splenda to taste, for chocolate milk -- delicious hot or cold.

12) Black bean brownies. Making your own treats at home is cheaper, especially when you can avoid expensive specialized ingredients. You can also use great northern beans for spice cake. Homemade cheesecake (esp. with cottage cheese) is in this category. I suspect floopsies are, too although I haven't tried them yet.

13) If you use splenda, Walmart has a house brand that is almost half the price. They also have great prices on a lot of items, including sugar-free pancake syrup to turn oopsies into dinner.

14) If you have a Trader Joe's market in your area, they have good prices on some items, like salad or baby spinach in a bag, and nuts.

[My_Sharona]

Many hunters donate game meat, maybe they can check out some programs in their area.
Crockpot moose meat is so delicious!

[SassyMe818]

Originally Posted by JoniBGoode

Some suggestions for low-carbers on a budget:

My biggest suggestion is to shop a limited-service grocery store. In the Chicago area we have Aldi. They don't carry all the name brands, but they do carry all the basics, at extremely reasonable prices. Often the regular price at Aldi is the "loss leader special sale price" at larger stores.

And, buy cheaper cuts of meat, especially on sale. Remember that when you do low carb, you can buy the cuts with more fat, that cost less.

I'm sure you've already thought of most of these, but here are some ideas.

1) Eggs! While not dirt cheap, they are excellent protein and still the perfect breakfast. But they also make teriffic lunches and dinners: egg salad, omelets, quiche, egg crepes, blintzes and even bacon or sausage and eggs for dinner.

2) Hamburger. Low carbers can eat cheaper grades of hamburger, even 80% or 85% lean. These are excellent for burger patties, meat loaf, "Joe", sloppy joes on oopsies, etc.

3) Chuck roast, especially on sale. Throw it in the crock pot with half an onion, some garlic and cook on low for 12 hours. Make gravy with the drippings, a can or two of beef broth thickened with xanthan or guar gum. Serve over smashed cauli. Add some celery and a can of veg-all to the gravy for low-carb stew the second day. Then add a can of green beans, including liquid, any low carb veggies you like and at least one can of beef broth the third day, for low carb soup.

I also like to cook chuck roast in the crockpot with taco seasonings or bbq seasonings.

4) Oopsies. These are basically just eggs, but they are a great way to stretch the meat in a low-carb meal. I was amazed how much more filling a ham and egg oopsie sandwich was, with just one egg.

5) Chicken thighs. Almost any part of the chicken except the boneless, skinless breast is a bargain.

6) Stir-fry turns a small amount of meat and a bunch of low carb veggies (celery, shredded cabbage, greeen onion, bell pepper, broccoli, a few baby carrots) into a great meal. Season with soy sauce, a little vinegar and just a touch of splenda.

7) Tuna and salmon are often cheap on sale. Tuna salad, tuna or salmon patties, even tuna or salmon cassaroles.

8) Cheese will really stretch any leftover meat. Just melt it on top. Or make faux macaroni & cheese with cauliflower, and add cooked ground beef, sliced hotdogs, tuna or leftover meat for a great cassarole.

9) Hotdogs, sausage and smoked sausage. Watch the carbs, but often the cheap brand is one of the lowest in carbs. I make chili sauce with one lb. of cheap hamburger. It tops at least 12 hotdogs. Put 'em in a bowl with a little chili sauce, cheese & onion on top.

10) Soup. Any broth-based soup with protein and low-carb veggies is going to be cheap and healthy. It's a great way to use leftovers.

11) Carolyn's homemade Calorie Countdown instead of store-bought milk substitutes. You can also add 1 to 1.5 TBSP of cocoa, plus splenda to taste, for chocolate milk -- delicious hot or cold.

12) Black bean brownies. Making your own treats at home is cheaper, especially when you can avoid expensive specialized ingredients. You can also use great northern beans for spice cake. Homemade cheesecake (esp. with cottage cheese) is in this category. I suspect floopsies are, too although I haven't tried them yet.

13) If you use splenda, Walmart has a house brand that is almost half the price. They also have great prices on a lot of items, including sugar-free pancake syrup to turn oopsies into dinner.

14) If you have a Trader Joe's market in your area, they have good prices on some items, like salad or baby spinach in a bag, and nuts.

Thank you so much for this post!!

[bwylde]

Frozen veggies are generally way cheaper and there is less waste because they are already prepped for eating and you don't have to worry about it going bad in the fridge if you don't get around to eating them. When on sale, I load up on frozen cauliflower as it's waaaaaay cheaper and I'm always glad when I see cauliflower for $8 a head and I'm wanting cauliflower pizza , Cabbage and turnip are always good buys. Price point things like salad to make sure you are getting the best buy for your money; heads of lettuce aren't always the best buy. Reduced racks can also be a god-send.

I learn where to shop to get the best buys, the cheapest and have learned to plan ahead (ie to buy a side of pork). Butcher shops and small locally owned grocery stores have been my salvation for cheap meat. I also put the word out to friends to let me know when they hear of sales and I return the favor. Hit up hunting friends for some of their meat if they are generous (or hunt yourself if you're so inclined). My dad got a deer and shared some of his meat; it was the best meat I had in so long!!

Oh yeah and fat is good . The great thing about low carb is you don't have to waste the drippings from your meat, you can reuse them or just dump it on your veggies to fill you up a bit more.

I can't work and DH only works part time at a grocery store and can't find better work so it can be a struggle to feed our family of 4 big eaters. My big thing is I plan ahead and stockpile when we can afford it so we are always eating very cheaply in the long run and don't have to worry about going hungry (I know planning ahead doesn't help when you are suddenly in this situation and I really feel for them. It was after this happened to us, losing jobs, that I started planning ahead).

We don't get food stamps or WIC up here, but that is an option for US residents who qualify.

[BikerAng]

The least expensive meal I make is a baked chicken. A lot of stores have sales on whole chickens (just watch the weekly ads) for $.60 a lb. You can buy a whole chicken for $2 - 3 (whenever the stores have a sale I stock up on them and put them in the freezer)! I bake the chicken and have baked chicken one night. The next night I pull off all the meat and make a casserole. The third day I cook the carcass in a big pot filled with water and make soup. You can make 3 large meals for 2 people extremely inexpensively.

[mac24312]

Subbing...

HUGS!

[cjack1]

Salmon Patties

1 can salmon (~$1.59)
1 egg
1/8 cup soy flour or pork rinds

Mix. Make patties and fry in oil. Makes 6 to 8 patties for the cost of a can of salmon.

These are good, easy and cheap. Also, canned salmon has more of the healthy oils because it is all wild as opposed to the fancy, expensive stuff in the seafood section that is farm raised.

[cjack1]

Saurkraut and polish sausage is good and cheap.

[Nigel]

If diabetics can have beans, they are a great source of protein and you can sub half beans and half hamburger in lots of recipes. Soups really go a long way too and a hearty soup is butternut squash.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Blood Sugar 101

So I am posting this to ask you to suggest low carb menus and recipes that might be helpful to someone on a very restricted food budget. I will be passing these ideas on to people with diabetes who are facing a budget crisis.

This is a great thread, and I pray it will help many.


Out of curiosity, Blood Sugar, how many people with severe diabetes have emailed you in desperation?

[Blood Sugar 101]

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this post. Very useful ideas that should be very helpful to many people.

[JoniBGoode]

Originally Posted by SassyMe818

Thank you so much for this post!!

You are very, very welcome!

I will add, it's counter-intuitive, but oftentimes buying the big, huge chunk of meat is cheaper in the long run than buying smaller pieces. Example: this week my local market has bottom round on sale for $2.49 per lb. But if you buy the family pack, it's $1.69 per lb.

I can't use 6 lbs. or so of meat all at once, so I take it home and divide it up into 1 to 1.5 lb. pieces. If you wrap them in plastic wrap and then in foil, they will keep well. When it's time to cook them, you can just take off the foil, and microwave the meat in the plastic wrap until thawed. (You can reuse the foil.) You don't have to do this if you can remember to thaw the meat ahead of time. But I never can.

Turkeys are some of the cheapest meat around, especially on sale. Get the biggest one, because there is a better meat-to-bone ratio on the larger ones. Make Roast Turkey and Gravy, Hot Turkey Sandwiches (on oopsies, lc bread or on top of smashed cauli), and Turkey pot pie (no crust or oopsie crust).

Cut the dark meat off the bone and freeze for later. It makes great stir-fries, and is also great for turkey chili.

Linda Sue's site also has a ton of great recipes, often with very inexpensive ingredients.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by JoniBGoode

You are very, very welcome!

I will add, it's counter-intuitive, but oftentimes buying the big, huge chunk of meat is cheaper in the long run than buying smaller pieces. Example: this week my local market has bottom round on sale for $2.49 per lb. But if you buy the family pack, it's $1.69 per lb.

Very true - I bought a pork loin today that I will have to cut into chops myself, but it saved me 60 cents a pound.

[cyberus]

I survived (and still do to some extent) on eggs, canned tuna, ground turkey (99 cents a pound at Save-A-Lot frozen) and canned greens like turnip and collard, which made for more "filling". Bacon ends for flavoring.
A can of black soybeans plus a lb of ground turkey with a pkt of mex mix makes multiple taco salads.
Whole turkeys are fairly cheap (.99/lb or less in places), roasted and chopped for turkey salad when taco and tuna gets tiring.
Any of the above in eggs ... eggs are the lifesaver, high quality protein for the price.

[malibu2008]

eggs i second are a lifesaver... you can add so much fat and cheap meat to them or stetch them with cheese, you can get a LOT of collards or turnips, both very healthy for about a 1.50 anywhere and cook them in butter or bacon, high cals, healthy and last about 2 weeks!

you really gotta check papers... like my local rameys hhas turkey breasts on sale for .98/lb all week... needless to say ill be eatting turkey for a while! last week they had an excellent price on ground beef... and that stuff is so easy to stretch in meals

[StephanieK]

Follow the sales, stick to real foods, plan ahead and use portion control in order to get the most bang for your buck.

Also if the money is truly tight and there aren't as many low carb options available then exercise is a must to help control those blood sugars.

[The Chicken Lady]

I have found over the years that one of the biggest saving on my food budget is a backyard garden.

In the summer time when you have way too many veggies...pick them... cook them up and put them into single serving containers and put them in the freezer.

Once the garden is gone for the winter you will have a freezer full of ready to eat veggies....just thaw, heat and eat.

Even then there are things like collards and broccoli that will produce all winter long...at least they do here in the South. I guess that may not be true farther North.

[bekki1]

My local Fred Meyers has a discounted area for meats. Not sure people know about it because I found it by accident,its tucked in a corner. I can find wings, chops, pork steaks very cheap. When I do find a great sale I take it home and freeze immediately or cook that day.
I buy cheese only on sale. For instance, today I used a coupon for string cheese. I bought 4 packages, regular price 5.99. Minus $2.00 coupon each and a bigger packeage had $1.00 off so I snagged it. This makes $5.99 minus $3.00 = $2.99 for each package. Cant go wrong there.
tuna
casseroles
salads
frozen vegetables
eggs
hamburger patties with a variety of toppings
cook big meals so you have enough for a few days and it will save on your electric bill too

[Its me - WENDALINA]

just wanted to bump this thread.... great ideas

[Ginaaaaaa]

Originally Posted by StephanieK

Follow the sales, stick to real foods, plan ahead and use portion control in order to get the most bang for your buck.

Also if the money is truly tight and there aren't as many low carb options available then exercise is a must to help control those blood sugars.

I just wanted to let people that don't know this, exercise doesn't always work to control BS's, and actually for some make them go higher. Diabetics are not like regular people that way and really the only way to control it is to lower carbs and take meds if needed. I know this because that's how it is for me, and my BS's will rise if I am stressed or even if something upsets me or makes me mad.

I just wanted to add that I didn't mean if you have diabetes you shouldn't exercise at all...lol I was just saying that no matter how much you exercise, if you are eating too man carbs your BS's will not go down...well at least mine won't

This is a great thread with lots of good ideas!

[tulipsandroses]

Although I don't like them. Chicken thighs tend to be cheaper than everything else


Soups.

[jlatislaw]

Last year I joined a group of people who cook for the local soup kitchen. I had never considered using hamburger for veg/beef soup, but some of the ladies do and it's actually pretty good. The hamburger is donated by the local food bank as well as a lot of veggies. And sometimes we buy the ingredients ourselves - so cheaper is better. Worth trying if thats all you have!

[pooticus]

Love these threads! They are so useful and helpful!