This stuff is getting too expensive for me. I'm basically spending $20-$25 every 2 days on chicken because its what I eat the most.. ($15 if its on sale though!! )

Is this about average or are you guys spending any less?

Oh yea and are there any brands of hotdogs that are OK? Because they're cheap and I like em. Probably not, but just thought I'd ask

Hebrew National Reduced Fat have "0" Carbs. They're a little more expensive than other brands but are worth it for the taste and lack of carbs.

Brenda

I think you should just relax and have a regular hot dog once in a while. Some have more carbs than others, so read the labels carefully. Chicken weiners are very low in carbs. The key is moderation. You should be weary of too much nitrates in these dogs more than the carbs. Bacon has the same nitrate issue, but most people in this forum seem to eat lots of it.

As for the price issue, try to buy in bulk at Costco or somewhere. Chicken is not expensive if you compare it too what you used to eat, I'm sure. If you buy LC products from Health stores or on the web, it can cost you an arm an a leg. One LC bar could be 3 - 5 bucks!

G'luck

shutt22

Are you buying boneless, skinless pre cut up chicken?

I know I don't pay near that for whole chickens. I buy them whole and then cut them up myself. You pay for processing.

Get a good low carb cookbook and diversify ! Buy whatever is on sale that day and learn a new recipe.

There was a good book I bought recently called low-carb meals in minutes. It's really well designed with complete menus, a convenient shopping list and of course the recipes themselves which are always quick and don't require a zillion ingredients.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...g=2#reader-link

Learn to love fish. Fish is often pretty cheap I find in the supermarket. And there are a million and one way to prepare it. Also it's really good for you.

Ground beef is pretty cheap too and can make a lot of different things.

Eggs are great. They are really cheap. Make frittatas, deviled eggs, crustless quiches, there are a ton of ways to prepare them.

Make a bit extra and keep the leftovers for another meal. Always seem cheaper this way to me.

When it's on sale, buy extra meat to freeze.

But I know what you mean. My first monthly grocery bill while lowcarbing cost me 500$. And I didn't have to stock up or anything. It was all just meal ingredients. I'm working on trying to cut that down. This is when you realize why the poor is often overweight, and why there is so much crap served in restaurants. It's EXPENSIVE to eat well.

I buy all my meat when it is on sale and only when on sale. I will go to any store in the area if the meat I want is on sale. When I get there, I buy a lot.

Chicken legs and thighs were recently on sale for 39 cents a pound. tyson chicken. I'd buy as much as my freezer had room for and I bag them up in one meal servings before they go in the freezer.

Chicken breasts, boneless: $2 a pound is about as low as they go here but when it goes that low I buy the maximum allowed at the sale price, usually five pounds. Again, I freeze in one meal servings (I live alone)

If I want to cook more than one serving, I defrost more than one. Maybe I want to take one serving for my lunch the next day.

Tuna in cans: one store or another is always running a super sale, sometimes .39 I buy a LOT at that price.

At first, it seemed like a lot but now my freezer is always stocked and my purchasing has evened out.

Pork: lately whole pork loins have been on sale for $2 and even a bit less. A whole pork loin might be seven pounds. I slice it into individual servings, maybe make one small roast. And freezer it.

Fresh produce and dairy is hard to bargain shop. And I buy the same produce all the time when it is on sale and when it isn't. I'm not going to give up fresh spinach when it isn't on sale.

if you are into canned vegies, which I am not, you can get awesome bargains.

fish: I have not found any rock bottom fresh fish. I'd love to eat it daily and I do indulge at least twice a month and only when there is a sale. . .

I don't eat hot dogs but do any turkey ones come low carb?

The prices where I live are outrageous (So. Cal). Chicken breasts - boneless/skinless or NOT are over $5. The kind I like, which I can just throw on my Foreman grill, are over $6. On rare occasions at the "cheap" store (where you bag your own groceries) I can get it for $5/lb.

I hate fish, always have. The only kind I've ever been able to eat is frozen, breaded fish sticks - only with LOTS of tartar sauce. This obviously isn't LC, and it's not something I'd want to eat often anyway.

I find I've been eating a heck of a lot of steak and hamburger. Steaks are cheaper than chicken - go figure - and sitr fry meat is usually cheaper still (on sale a lot). I can get a bag of frozen veggies and just over a pound of that, cook it in the wok and I have dinner for me & dh for around $7-8.

Add in the heavy cream, butter, mayo, oil, salad dressings, club soda, diet tonic water, cream cheese, "natural" pb, etc - it all adds up quickly.

Last month we spent $1000 at the grocery store. That includes some baby food and diapers (but not all of it). We can't afford to eat this well on a regular basis! And this IS looking in the ads for the best deals around, too. One would think I eat filet mignon 3 times a day! Fresh veggies are also really pricey. Oh well, the cost of being healthy. Maybe I'll switch to 100% hamburgers, every day. At least I'd save 30-60/month. Ooh. Wow. Then my bill would only be 900-something. Joy.

I, like the others above shop for sales.

Actually, Wed. is the day all the grocery sale ads come out and I sit down and make a list of the super great buys and where they are.... then.... I take my list to Wal-Mart and they match all the prices. Here's some samples of super prices...

Ribeye - $2.99/lb (reg. $5.99/lb)
Chicken Leg and Thighs - $.19/lb
Whole Fryer Chickens - $.49/lb
Ground Chuck - $.99/lb
Pork Ribs - $.99/lb
Eggs - $.50/dz.

Sams/Cosco is good for butter, tuna, Crystal Light, 100% Sirloin Patties and eggs when they aren't found on sale.

As far as veggies: I buy what's in season. Right now cabbage and spagetti squash are cheap since it's headed into falltime.

I've also started a fall garden with Spinach, Okra, Collards, cucumbers and pole beans (I live in FL, so that may not work for some of you folks)

Getting good deals is kind of like a challenge to me now. It occupies the part of my brain that used to be fogged up from sugar rushes and crashes.

Luck to ya!
Casey

BTW: Winn Dixie's store brand of mayo is $.99 this week - I've stocked up.

My brother worked for a turkey processing plant for a while. After hearing his stories, I will never eat anything other than whole turkey ever again! Let's just say they weren't too particular about what pieces parts went into those turkey franks and sausages.
You pay a LOT for convenience. It's always cheaper to buy whole chickens and cut them up yourself, although sometimes I can get a 10 lb. bag of chicken leg quarters for $2.50. This week, chicken wings, thighs and drumsticks were on sale for 59 cents a pound. I bought a bunch and put them in the freezer. Same thing goes for most other meats. I also shop what's on sale and base my meals around that. In my area, it seems like cheese is on sale every couple of weeks, so I get enough for a couple of weeks and then wait for it to go on sale again. In case you didn't know, most hard cheeses freeze pretty well.
Fish is insanely expensive around here which is just as well. I'm not a big fan of most fish (except tuna, which I can usually find on sale somewhere).

I try to buy on sale, if I have the money at the time. Obviously it makes more sense too. There haven't been any good sales on chicken since I restarted lowcarbing. I just bought 2 small packages for $15 =( And yea, I do eat the boneless, skinless kind because I only eat the white meat. I tried buying the boned kind which was a little cheaper. But I didn't get that much out of it because I don't eat the dark meat near the bone.. So it was a waste for that kind of money. I have the same problem with Tuna, I'll pick the white parts out...And split the rest between the 3 cats lol. I've never seen a can of tuna thats all white..

Thanks for the shopping ideas and I guess I'll be shopping around some more.

Wampler makes Turkey and Chicken franks. 0 sugar 0 carbs, just meat, water and spices. And it only costs about $1.00 for a package.

You can buy big packages of chicken drumsticks or thighs, enough to feed a family with leftovers for about $6 too. It's too bad you don't eat the dark meat, it's very juicy and flavorful. I've heard you can get extra calcium out of the meat near the bones.

I had a friend that would only eat white tuna...so you must be able to get it. As I recall, it is more expensive than light tuna.

Beth

I love chicken thighs! Very inexpensive and are very tasty on the grill! My new low-cost love, however, is muscles! I can get them for about $3.25 lb (northern California); 2 lbs is an enormous dinner for two people. I love to cook, however, never did much with shellfish previously. It is so easy to prepare them! Ground turkey can also be a good buy in the family size packages.

Costso has really good prices for meat and other things we eat. But when steak is on sale at Safeway I buy there

I do most of my shopping at Costco except for odd's and end's at Safeway that way it keep's the bill down.

Candice

The local Sam's club has Tyson chicken breasts, thighs, and wings frozen in 5-6 lb bags very reasonable. Cheese is also very cheap i.e. 5 lbs of shredded cheddar for less than 8 bucks. Bacon is usually under $2 per lb. If you have one of these places near enough to you, they can be a real budget bonus. Hope this helps.