Without doubt, low carb foods cost a little more than starchy foods. In this article I will discuss eight ways you can find out inexpensive low carb foods.
1. First of all, think about the low carb foods you eat daily, and eat most. There are always two types of foods: staple foods – foods which we eat daily and non-staple foods – those which we eat occasionally. I am sure you remember about the low carb foods that you eat on a daily basis but still it is a good idea to take a look at your refrigerator or pantry to see if you are missing out on anything. Once you have got a list of the most-used food items, purchase large quantities of these food items and store them in your refrigerator. You will see that if you spend money only on staple low carb foods, you will be able to cut down on costs by a huge margin.
2. Your next step is to find suppliers or stores who can provide you large quantities of your most-used staple food items. Apart from day-to-day items, it is a good idea to invest in seasonal food items as well, such as low carb super-star cranberries.
3 It is never a good idea to rely solely on your local stores for your foods. What if these stores get closed down one day? Don’t be short sighted. Walk a little further from your neighborhood and see if you can find other stores which sell large quantities of low carb food items. This way you are assured of a continuous supply of low carb staple foods.
4. Apart from retail stores, it is also a good idea to know the farmers who cultivate your staple food items. You might be aware of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), a scheme under which you can get weekly boxes of the items harvested in that week, all for a reasonable subscription fee. While Farmer’s Markets needn’t be cheaper than ordinary grocery stores, more often than not you can get food items at a price which is cheaper than what is charged by your grocery.
5. Planning is always important, especially when you are on a low carb diet. Plan what foods you will be eating based on the food items currently on sale at a discount (mostly seasonal items), and then buy extra quantities of those items and keep them in a deep freezer.
6. Foods which contain non-meat protein such as eggs, tofu, and other vegetarian foods generally tend to be inexpensive. Use them as frequently as you can.
7. You can buy spices, nuts, and beans in bulk quantities from health stores. As a side note, canned soy beans are generally more expensive than dry black ones.
8. Okay, I understand that farming is not for everybody. Still, if you are passionate about gardening, you can cultivate some of the low carb food items in your garden. It is not all that tough, especially if you have been doing gardening for sometime.
There are many cookbooks and recipe books available that contain low carb meal selections using standard Atkins diet foods. For more information, [adrotate banner=”54″]