Low budget diet - help needed please.

[Deleted member 8431]

Hi

So here I'm trying to determine how to be able to maintain an appropriate diet with a very restricted budget.

I'm sorry as I know I should go around and read the material here and try to figure out myself - which I would gladly do, but the thing is that time is a factor as well as my current access to internet. I'm going to move in a few days and be totoally on my own so I would need at least a good starting point.

I'm heading towards a ketogenic diet.

I do not know exactly how much I'll be able to spend on food so I'll just try to sum up a good starting list of the most possible important/valuable food that I should consume and see how it goes. Also, I'll do my best to get organic/natural foods.

A ketogenic diet consists of mostly animal fat, adequate animal protein and low/very low carbs (as you already know).

So here I'll list some things and I would like some help in trying to determine the best of each categories. I don't mind eating the same stuff regularly as long as it's healthy.

Also, this could perhaps also be helpful for others as well.

MEAT

- Beef
- Chicken
- Fish
- Pork

Here I think that pork and fish could be great sources of fat, cholesterol, protein and fatty acids like omega's. Any parts I should pay attention to? Like liver? This and pork blood pudding are cheap and I like them. Bacon/lard also seems like a good option.

FRUITS/VEGGIES

Here I'm lost a bit in regards to the ketogenic diet. I don't have much time to go through all the material so advise would be greatly appreciated. Any thing in particular that I should aim at? Or will the meat contain enough vitamins/minerals/etc as is? I know I should avoid carbs so I guess I should avoid fruits except maybe for berries that contain low fructose and perhaps antioxidants (if ever good).

DIARY

I will not consume diary (unless some type(s) can be good).

CEREAL/GRAIN

I will not consume cereal/grain (unless some type(s) can be good).

SUBSTITUTES

Any nuts that are good? I love eggs and will probably eat them as they are cheap and seem to be a great source of protein/fat/cholesterol for instance.

SUPPLEMENTS

In any case, would some supplements be recommended? Like vitamins and/or minerals that are necessary and hardly found in the rest?

Thank you guys. I'm sorry to bring such a topic but I need a starting point as time is a factor. From then, once I have moved, I'll have much more time (finally, thank God) to go in-depth and get really up-to-date with all the material.

Peace.

 

[Laura]

It's really simple to do the Ketogenic Diet. It goes like this:

Eat meat and fish and with lots of fat. But limit the amount of protein to the formula in the KD diet thread which matches it to your weight.

Make bone broth and have one or two cups of it every day with added fat.

You can have a couple eggs a day, but no more than that.

Don't eat any veggies, dairy, grains, or anything else at all.

You can drink plain tea.

Get plenty of salt. Drinking a glass of salted water first thing in the morning is helpful.

Take a potassium supplement every other day or so and magnesium malate or taurate or orotate before bed.

That's it.

But obviously, it's not so easy which is why you really do need to read the entire Ketogenic Diet thread. There are tips and tricks and advice for dealing with the fallout that comes when you force your body to revert to its natural fuel burning system after years of burning carbs. Dozens of people are experimenting and sharing their experiences. It is a hugely valuable resource. If you want to succeed, best get on with reading every bit of it.

 

[Deleted member 8431]

Thanks a lot Laura!

I'll follow these simple guidelines to begin with and will seriously get through the whole thread(s) as soon as possible.

I've already started to make changes to my diet which is cutting on diary/carbs/fruits/grains and mainly focusing on meat, fat and protein (will check accoridng to my bodyweight though which is around 170 lbs).

Now I will really need to try to find good meat sources (organic/natural) because eating meat coming from animals that have been fed genetically modified corn/grain, antibiotics, growth hormones and what not dosen't sound appealing at all and rather very dangerous. I just hope it won't be too overpriced.

Also I should check for ways of detoxing my body from all those heavy metals like mercury. I have already read some material here about it and will go back and get all the information.

Anyhow, many thanks again. Moving on my own will deffinately be an opportunity for me to really get to a next level of development just like it has been when I discovered this website/forum and all the crew behind it.

Peace.

 

[LQB]

Search out local farms if possible and talk to the farmer about a volume buy - quarter beef, half hog, etc. The money you save can pay for a simple chest freezer to store it all. If you order a quarter/half, chances are that the farmer can bypass USDA inspection and save you a good chunk of money.

 

[Foxx]

Search out local farms if possible and talk to the farmer about a volume buy - quarter beef, half hog, etc. The money you save can pay for a simple chest freezer to store it all. If you order a quarter/half, chances are that the farmer can bypass USDA inspection and save you a good chunk of money.

I actually would personally recommend against this. The reason is that I think it'd be unlikely to get the right fat to protein ratio by buying a whole or a portion of an animal, so then you'd end up with a huge amount of meat/protein and not enough fat. Plus you need a big freezer or a whole lot of canning work at once.

JayMark, do be sure to read the entire Ketogenic Diet thread if you haven't already, but I'd suggest that buying bones, fat, and organs is incredibly cheap and nutritious. Just this week I spent ~$40 US for ~15lbs of bones (bones in america are really expensive, in my opinion, but still incredibly cheap), which should enable me to can 7 quarts of bone broth at the right fat to protein ratios (since they have some meat and fat on them, though usually not enough fat) and eat for the week with some supplemental fat (maybe 2lbs worth--if I do that all with butter, that's $12 total for the week). I was buying pork fat at $1/lb, liver at maybe $2-3/lb, etc--really, really cheap stuff.

Developing a relationship with the farmer you're buying from can also be helpful--the people I was buying my pork from just gave me 3-4lbs of liver once from a pig they had butchered themselves (I guess they weren't going to eat it and couldn't sell it).

If I'm not mistaken (and I could be) you're in Canada, right? If so, here's the Canada map for eatwild.com (if you haven't heard of it already):

_http://www.eatwild.com/products/canada.html

 

[Deleted member 8431]

I actually would personally recommend against this. The reason is that I think it'd be unlikely to get the right fat to protein ratio by buying a whole or a portion of an animal, so then you'd end up with a huge amount of meat/protein and not enough fat. Plus you need a big freezer or a whole lot of canning work at once.

Yeah well anyways, I won't have much access to farms as I'll live in Montréal (I move on the next week or so) and have no car for the moment. But public transportation can bring me to all needed stores.

JayMark, do be sure to read the entire Ketogenic Diet thread if you haven't already

I am in the process of. Looooots of things to cover (and to understand). But I'll make it. Once I move, I'll have a good week or two before school begins and full access to internet. I will have time to get over it entirely. Once school begins, I'll still have a good access when not in class, doing homwowrk or at work. Well, that dosen't leave so much time now does it? I'll manage it, no worries!

I'd suggest that buying bones, fat, and organs is incredibly cheap and nutritious.

Bones are also cheap here. Liver and chicken hearts as well (organs). Lard is also very cheap and should provide a good fat supply with perhaps chicken flavoured bone broth (mmmm). Would blood pudding be good as well? Not so fat but could contain lots of minerals.

I see you have mentionned butter. Shouldn't it be avoided (diary)?

Now other thing is that I'll be living in a college residence (sort of 'campus') and will only have a small freezer within a small fridge. :(

Perhaps I could try to find a small freezer I could put beside the fridge. I could still buy larger quantities which could be cheaper. Sure thing is I don't mind using their electricity for the price they charge!

If I'm not mistaken (and I could be) you're in Canada, right? If so, here's the Canada map for eatwild.com (if you haven't heard of it already):

_http://www.eatwild.com/products/canada.html

Ahhh, fantastic! Thanks! There are apparently good stores in Montréal then! I'll take the bus/metro!

 

[Lilou]

If you are allowed to have a crock-pot/slow cooker, you could buy bones (in a quantity that you can store in your freezer/fridge) and make bone broth in that. You can keep it on low for several hours and grab a cup thru out the day as needed, although the longer it simmers, the better it gets.

Bone broth should never be put in the fridge while hot, it must cool off to just warm first. It takes an enourmous amount of time to cool off, so its a quick meal, always ready, just add salt as needed.

If you get a slow cooker, I'd advise the type that the crock can be removed from and then you can just put crock and all in the fridge and reheat on high in the unit as needed.

Here in Michigan, bones are selling for about $1.59/pound. Back in the day, butchers would give them away for free. Guess that's another sign of the time regarding economy.

 

[Foxx]

Would blood pudding be good as well? Not so fat but could contain lots of minerals.

I see you have mentionned butter. Shouldn't it be avoided (diary)?

I don't know about the blood pudding--I don't think it has much (if any) fat, but I'm not sure about its protein content. I think the one big concern I'd have with it is getting too much iron if you try to eat it a lot, but I'd say do some research and see what you come up with (I really don't know much about it).

Butter seems to be pretty well tolerated from the results of the Life Without Bread thread and the Ketogenic Diet thread and it should only have trace amounts of casein and lactose, but it also seems to depend on the individual. Right now I'm doing better with it than the pork fat I had been eating (I'm doing an elimination test with pork at the moment--need more data), but your results may vary and if you can do lard, then it's almost certainly a better bet if you can get some quality stuff. If you decide to go the butter route, Kerrygold butter is probably available in Montreal and is good quality, IMHO (from Ireland, so relatively far from Fukushima fallout and is supposed to be 100% grass fed).

Now other thing is that I'll be living in a college residence (sort of 'campus') and will only have a small freezer within a small fridge. :(

Perhaps I could try to find a small freezer I could put beside the fridge. I could still buy larger quantities which could be cheaper. Sure thing is I don't mind using their electricity for the price they charge!

That does sound like it could be a bit of a challenging situation if you were going with broth. I'd probably get a big crockpot (7 Quarts was the biggest I saw) and make broth with that, then put it in mason jars and fit it in the fridge (this is what I do, though I can some also). You could probably fit one run's worth of broth into a mini fridge (I get about 4 quarts of broth from the 7 quart crock pot) and that (probably plus some added fat) could probably last you for the week. You wouldn't need a freezer then, because you'd be cooking the bones when you get them and then should only need refrigeration for the broth.

That's my take, at least :)

Ahhh, fantastic! Thanks! There are apparently good stores in Montréal then! I'll take the bus/metro!

I'd be shocked if Montreal didn't have one or more farmers markets--definitely look around because I bet you'll find at least one!

If you get a slow cooker, I'd advise the type that the crock can be removed from and then you can just put crock and all in the fridge and reheat on high in the unit as needed.

I'm not sure if reheating the whole thing (and cooling again, then reheating again, etc) for just one meal is a good idea either--it's cautioned against often due to bacteria that don't get killed in reheating process (might be dangerous or might just spoil quicker). I'd personally suggest just taking a meal's worth at a time and reheating it, instead of the whole thing.

FWIW.

 

[Lilou]

[quote author=Foxx]
I'm not sure if reheating the whole thing (and cooling again, then reheating again, etc) for just one meal is a good idea either--it's cautioned against often due to bacteria that don't get killed in reheating process (might be dangerous or might just spoil quicker). I'd personally suggest just taking a meal's worth at a time and reheating it, instead of the whole thing.
[/quote]

You may be right about reheating large quantites. I reheat mine in the pan, but it usually only enough for a couple of days. I haven't made really large quantites, but the mason jars would be a good idea, as long as you have a microwave to reheat it in.

 

[curious_richard]

Bones are also cheap here. Liver and chicken hearts as well (organs).

My local store has chicken livers, and the price is pretty good. I think a pound is just over a dollar. I have concerns about the chemicals and hormones, though. The livers are probably from a factory farm. Doesn't the liver collect all the garbage (toxins) in the animal?

Maybe the good from eating the nutrients in the livers is bigger than the bad from the chemicals and hormones? If so, then this looks like a good source of cheap nutrients.

 

[loreta]

My sister in law told me that in Montreal there are some Arab stores that sell very good meat, well treated because Arabs kill themselves their animals and in small quantities. You can check. I can ask her the address if you wanted. I have the intention of going there when I will come back.

Yesterday I did broth with some bones that my butcher gave me, for free. Miam! This is really good. It is like... a liquor from the sky. :)

Good luck in your new surroundings. I envy you! ;)

 

[Gawan]

Hi JayMark,

my budged as a student was and is always not the best, but it should be possible to make it. So I cannot buy organic meat and bones, but I can effort supermarket meat and bones and some high quality butter and that's about almost all I need. Anyway follow the topics suggested to you and if things should get hard, just eat what is allowed (especially during the transition from gluten, milk, sugar it may be a rough rite) and stick to it. And only buy what is allowed to eat, so that you get not tempted eating something else :).

So here I'll list some things and I would like some help in trying to determine the best of each categories. I don't mind eating the same stuff regularly as long as it's healthy.

That will happen, almost every day :). But the body gets used to it, to eat always similar stuff and may sound crazy at the beginning after a standard western diet, but it works.

 

[Keit]

Butter seems to be pretty well tolerated from the results of the Life Without Bread thread and the Ketogenic Diet thread and it should only have trace amounts of casein and lactose, but it also seems to depend on the individual. Right now I'm doing better with it than the pork fat I had been eating (I'm doing an elimination test with pork at the moment--need more data), but your results may vary and if you can do lard, then it's almost certainly a better bet if you can get some quality stuff. If you decide to go the butter route, Kerrygold butter is probably available in Montreal and is good quality, IMHO (from Ireland, so relatively far from Fukushima fallout and is supposed to be 100% grass fed).

I also live in dormitories, and don't have a slow-cooker (very pricey here), so didn't have a chance to make a bone broth, yet. Thought about buying a big pot and cook the bones this way, just not sure how long it would take to get the best results, and also considering the fact that it's a common kitchen that closes at night, and I have studies as well, so probably won't be able to cook it for more than 12 hours tops (and only on Sunday). So if anyone has any ideas how to go about it properly, would appreciate to hear them.

In any case, even if meat and such is usually pricey (fish, for example is very expensive here, but probably not in Canada), it is still possible to get some cheap and fatty cuts. You also mentioned organs. Blood pudding is yummy too! What I also do for now, is cook pig legs or pig foreshank. They are fatty and pretty cheap. Also, you can make liver pate, or maybe make or buy meat rolls (without msg) and eat it with butter. Basically, what I usually do is, if it's a fatty pig cut, then I just add or cook it with extra fat, and if it has more protein, like organs and rolls, then I eat it with butter.

 

[Foxx]

I also live in dormitories, and don't have a slow-cooker (very pricey here), so didn't have a chance to make a bone broth, yet. Thought about buying a big pot and cook the bones this way, just not sure how long it would take to get the best results, and also considering the fact that it's a common kitchen that closes at night, and I have studies as well, so probably won't be able to cook it for more than 12 hours tops (and only on Sunday). So if anyone has any ideas how to go about it properly, would appreciate to hear them.

That's strange that slow cookers are expensive where you are--I bought the 7 Qt one for ~$20 US at walmart.

Laura has talked about pressure cooking bones for 3-4 hours (I think in the KD thread) and that that should be roughly equivalent to 24+ hours in a crockpot.

 

[Keit]

That's strange that slow cookers are expensive where you are--I bought the 7 Qt one for ~$20 US at walmart.

Well, 7 liters one costs around 60$.

Laura has talked about pressure cooking bones for 3-4 hours (I think in the KD thread) and that that should be roughly equivalent to 24+ hours in a crockpot.

Thank you for the reply. I'll see if I'll be able to buy a pressure cooker after all, because there is no chance for 24+ hours cooking here.