5 Ways to Eat Low Carb High Fat on a Budget

I generally eat a diet that is low in carbohydrates and high in fat, otherwise known as LCHF or Keto. Sixty percent of my calories come from fat, thirty-five percent come from protein, and five percent come from carbohydrates. This ratio is commonly referred to as your “macros”. I eat this way both for weight loss and also to improve my health. A lot of the ways we usually stretch food farther involve carbohydrates like bread, rice or pasta. So when you cut these out of a meal, it can feel expensive to put a meal together. Here are 5 ways to eat low carb, high fat on a budget!

1. Brinner!

   Eat breakfast for dinner. This is an easy way to get a lot of meat on your plate without breaking the bank and breakfast meat is usually a lot higher in fat so it’s easier to hit your macros. Eggs scrambled in butter with bacon and sausage on the side is cheap, fast and delicious.

2. Start experimenting with compound butters –room-temperature butter with seasonings added.

   Eating butter with your meal helps you feel full longer and helps you hit your macros. It also imparts a lot of flavor to whatever you are eating. Tommy of EatLowCarbHighFat is the king of making easy compound butters and I regularly make his tasty versions. Check out his post on how to make garlic butter step by step. One of my favorites is to get a tub of whipped butter (not margarine!) and mix in 4 ounces of goat cheese. Snap the lid back on and you have a great compound butter ready to scoop and serve with meals. The butter is eaten at room temperature, not melted, like this: Orange Roasted Salmon with Broccoli Florets and Tomato Butter.

3. Take a break from eating replica food –food that is similar to high-carb versions of things.

   A lot of those kinds of recipes call for ingredients that can be expensive, like almond flour, xanthan gum, and flaxseed meal. You can play around a lot within the confines of meats, vegetables, eggs, cheese, butter and seasonings.

4. Save that bacon grease!

   Butter and olive oil can get pricey when you are eating low carb, high fat. Help yourself out by saving your bacon grease in a trapper or empty coffee can after straining it. Use that grease to saute vegetables or meat. An added bonus is that it also kicks up the flavor of what you are making!

5. Step up your wings game!

   Wings are cheap. It’s easy easy to make a lot of them at one time. You can drastically improve the flavor of them with just a few spices. Check out my Old Bay Wings and my Chile Lime Wings for a start. Dunk them in full fat dressings for more flavor and to improve your macros.

I hope you’ve found this helpful!