The ketogenic diet most commonly known as keto diet has gained a lot of popularity in recent times. This is mainly because it helps to lose weight and also has many other benefits for the body and health. Ketogenic diet puts your body on a metabolic process known as ketosis. During ketosis, fat is converted into compounds known as ketones which is then used as the main source of energy.
The keto diet focuses on reducing the calorie intake and controlling the ratios of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. The best part about the keto diet is that it focuses on eating whole natural foods.
Keto diet is also very popular for being too expensive because of pricey supplements, shakes, and bars, as well as high-cost food substitutes. However, it is perfectly possible to follow the keto diet without taking a huge hit on your pocket. In fact, this diet can help you save some money if you ditch the processed food and go for whole natural foods.
Following are the tips for following a budget keto diet:
Avoid the pricey supplements
Although health gurus and marketers try to push supplements such as multivitamins, protein shakes and bars, electrolytes powder etc to meet the nutritional requirements, these products are often unnecessary. These supplements are very expensive and are not needed during keto diet.
Keto Diet itself is capable of giving your body all the required nutrients and hence there is no need to shell out huge bucks on pills and powders. Low carb vegetables are packed up with nutrients. Eggs as well are full of proteins and other nutrients.
DIY your meals
Avoid buying prepackaged keto foods like bars, brownies, and breads as they are really expensive. Instead by putting in some time and effort, you can make you own keto food at home and at a much cheaper price. You can look out for the recipes of various keto foods online and try to make them at home. This will not only help to save money but also give you a variety of different food options.
Avoid substitutions
For a keto diet, it is usually advised to find substitutes for your favorite high carbs food. These substitute foods are quite expensive. The fact is that substitutions aren’t necessary for following the keto diet. The best idea is to eat a diet rich with vegetables, protein sources and high-quality fats like olive oil.
Stick to recipes with basic ingredients
When preparing our keto food at home lookout for the recipe with the basic ingredients. If you wish to bake keto bread then you will find more than 6 different recipes calling for 6 different types of flours. Pick the one with the most basic and least expensive recipe, doing so will help you save a lot of money.
Cook in bulk and freeze
Once you realize that you like a particular dish, get all the ingredients required to cook that dish in bulk. Bulk buying will help you save a lot of money and you can simply cook and freeze at once. This will also save time and you will get a ready meal whenever you feel hungry.
Rely more on whole foods
When you are planning your keto meals, simply stick to recipes with fewer ingredients and mainly focus on whole foods. This will help you save significantly. For example, a dozen eggs that could feed you a couple of meals cost much less than a supplement bar which is not even a complete meal.
Look for cheaper ingredients
Make sure that your keto meal plans and recipes use more of cheaper ingredients like ground beef, chicken and eggs. Ground beef is one of the cheapest meats available. When it comes to keto diet it is perfect for it due to its high-fat content. Higher the fat content the cheaper it is. Chicken is another best and low-cost meat. It’s easy to buy it in bulk and store it in the freezer. Buying a whole chicken is much cheaper than buying pieces. Eggs are one of the best whole foods. For a very little price, you get proteins, vitamins, fats, and almost zero carbs. They are the best food for keto breakfast.
Shop during sales
The best way to save money is to shop during the sales and offer period. You can bulk buy the stuff which you can store for a long period to get additional benefits. You can bulk buy eggs, chickens, flours, vegetables, etc. you can also cook in bulk at once and store it in the freezer.
The above tips will help you to follow a budget keto diet that will not empty your pockets. Avoiding packed food and expensive supplements will only help you save a lot.
