Does anyone here eat Low Carb High Fat?

[Just Beachy]

See I don't spend a terrible amount. I mean, I probably spend an obscene amount of money on food to some but not MORE than when we eat any other way.

 

We eat fewer times a day eating this way. My noddle/bread lover is always wanting something, but if I feed him something high fat and protein like eggs, fruit and greek yogurt he's good for hours.

 

We pretty much do some kind of meat thing, some kind of veggie thing. I make a lot of soup. I do not buy all organic though I avoid processed stuff. I buy from bulk and shop at one hundred different stores buying on sale.

 

And Costco. I love Costco. I can buy a half gallon of heavy cream for cheap. And cheese.

 

I agree. If you are going to eat organic and/or grass fed beef, etc, yes, it will be more expensive. However, that is not necessarily lchf specific. It would be more expensive if you were going strict paleo or even simply eating "clean." If you are buying just regular old food though, lchf doesn't have to be more expensive. There is no need to buy lean ground beef or boneless, skinless chicken breat or ground turkey breast, etc. In fact, it is better to buy the ground beef with the higher fat ratio and the ground turkey that has dark meat and breast. You can also buy darker meat chicken and no need to go skinless. The skin adds a good amount of fat. Yumm!!!

 

However, almond and coconut flours are definitely more expensive than all-purpose, and good quality oil is more expensive than Wesson, but hey... we're all worth it, right?

 

:) Beachy

[justLisa]

I agree. If you are going to eat organic and/or grass fed beef, etc, yes, it will be more expensive. However, that is not necessarily lchf specific. It would be more expensive if you were going strict paleo or even simply eating "clean." If you are buying just regular old food though, lchf doesn't have to be more expensive. There is no need to buy lean ground beef or boneless, skinless chicken breat or ground turkey breast, etc. In fact, it is better to buy the ground beef with the higher fat ratio and the ground turkey that has dark meat and breast. You can also buy darker meat chicken and no need to go skinless. The skin adds a good amount of fat. Yumm!!!

 

However, almond and coconut flours are definitely more expensive than all-purpose, and good quality oil is more expensive than Wesson, but hey... we're all worth it, right?

 

:) Beachy

 

Yes we are worth it :D

 

Or you can do what I do and buy the whole turkey then grind it all up! They give out free turkeys around Thanksgiving for spending a lot.

[Stacy in NJ]

Each meal should focus around a source of protein. That protein can be fish, fowl, beef, pork, and shellfish. There's an almost infinite number of ways to prepare protein. Your next focus should be vegetables (no root veggies) - also a plethora of options. Next up is fat - fat in the form of cheese, sour cream, sauces, butter. A meal that includes those elements is usually pretty satisfying. Don't forget soups - beef or chicken vegetable, cream of mushroom, chili (without beans). We also like stir-frys in my home.

 

Lastly, if you need dessert, berries are the way to go - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries. Nuts make a nice crunch snack or garnish.

 

A weekly meal plan might look something like this in my home:

 

Breakfast: Usually eggs, bacon, sausages, and protein smoothies in some combination. Veggies like bell peppers, cauliflower, or mushrooms added into the mix usually in the eggs. We also have corned beef, cheese (cheddar, brie, pepper jack) cold or melted in the eggs.

 

Lunch is a quickly grilled meat (chicken breasts or thighs, inexpensive pork chops, lamb shoulder chops) and either a salad or vegetable. I frequently have a "big salad" for lunch: any type of lettuce, many types of veggies, chopped hardboiled egg, bacon bits, and full fat dressing. I'm very fond of avocado - so that’s usually in the mix.

 

Dinner could be:

 

Italian sweet sausages, onions, and peppers

Chicken curry stir-fry with red peppers, pea pods, and bamboo shoots

Steak with béarnaise sauce and salad

Grilled salmon steaks and sautéed veggies

Baby-back BBQ ribs and a spinach salad

Mushroom soup and grilled lamb chops

Shepard’s pie (topped with mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes)

 

I cook bacon, corned beef, and chicken in advance and leave it in the fridge for quick meals. We snack on hard cheese, pickles, salami, cut veggies and fruit. Soups can be frozen for quick meals.

 

My favorite low-carb cookbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Low-Carb-Gourmet-Delicious-Satisfying-Recipes/dp/157954990X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345339058&sr=1-1&keywords=low+carb+gourmet

 

HTH, Stacy

[AdventureMoms]

So I need to go the store...How do you meal plan for this kind of diet? Do you do chicken one night, pork the next, etc? Does anyone have a rotating meal plan already put together? The idea of this kind of diet is so counter-intuitive to anything I've ever known that meal planning is overwhelming me...

 

I meal plan by picking one or two meals a week, cooking big batches, and using frozen leftover meals the rest of the time. Example:

 

Week 1: Hamburger is on sale. I buy about 10lbs, and make 5 meatloaves. We eat one on monday, freeze the other 4. Tuesday we have a salad, Wednesday we eat the leftover meatloaf, Thursday we have something out of the freezer from a week 4, Friday we have something from week 2, Saturday we have leftovers again, and Sunday we get busy and end up eating eggs for dinner.

 

Week 2: Chicken breasts are on sale. I buy about 20 chicken breasts and make mustard-almond chicken (dip chicken in mustard and honey mixture, then roll in almond flour, bake). We eat 4 breasts for dinner Monday night, freeze the other 16 into 4 portions. Tuesday we have leftovers. Wednesday we have a meatloaf from week 1. Thursday we have a salad. Friday we have something from week 3. Saturday we have leftovers again. Sunday we have something from week 5.

 

Week 3: Pork roast on sale. I buy 2 or 3. Cook it up in the slow cooker and shred for pulled pork. We eat one portion on Monday night, freeze 4 portions. We have meatloaf from week 1 on Tuesday, leftovers Wednesday, mustard-almond chicken from week 2 on Thursday, salad on Friday, go out for dinner on Saturday and eat something else from the freezer on Sunday.

 

Etc. So for shopping I basically shop to make a LARGE (5 family sized servings) batch of one dish, based on what's on sale. Then I get a bunch of veggies and salad stuff and eggs and bacon and other basics. We eat most of our main dishes from the freezer. I do have a handful of dishes that don't freeze well, so on weeks where I feel up to it I'll do that AND a big batch meal.

 

Also, to clarify, I list the meat because I plan around the meat. Almost all meals also come with some form of cooked veggie and some form of salad in summer time. In winter it mgiht be two cooked veggies or a soup or something.

 

We don't really spend an obscene amount on groceries, but it is more than we spent before.

[AdventureMoms]

I agree. If you are going to eat organic and/or grass fed beef, etc, yes, it will be more expensive. However, that is not necessarily lchf specific. It would be more expensive if you were going strict paleo or even simply eating "clean." If you are buying just regular old food though, lchf doesn't have to be more expensive. There is no need to buy lean ground beef or boneless, skinless chicken breat or ground turkey breast, etc. In fact, it is better to buy the ground beef with the higher fat ratio and the ground turkey that has dark meat and breast. You can also buy darker meat chicken and no need to go skinless. The skin adds a good amount of fat. Yumm!!!

 

However, almond and coconut flours are definitely more expensive than all-purpose, and good quality oil is more expensive than Wesson, but hey... we're all worth it, right?

 

:) Beachy

 

True, but I find we really don't end up eating that much almond flour. I buy it 4lbs at a time off amazon. I cancelled my last order because the one I got 2 months ago still has 2lbs left in it. Sure it's like $10/lb but when you only go through a lb or so a month it's not so awful.

 

Oil is expensive though. We use coconut oil and a lot of it. Also (real) butter and olive oil. I go through those much faster than with a high carb diet. It's worth it though. I definitely snack less, which helps some!

[Mom2Es]

We do a little bit. I have cut way down on grains and sugars and starchy veggies for me and the kids, but it's hard to do low-carb with kids when you're used to the days of a sandwich or a baked potato for lunch. So I don't buy bread at the store, but if we happen to be at a restaurant and my kid wants the bread there, I don't sweat it. Also, I feel better when I have some carbs, so I do eat potatoes a couple of times a week. I've never been overweight, so I can't speak to that aspect of it.

 

My DH is an "extreme" low-carber. He eats no grains, no potatoes, next to no sugar. He sweetens his coffee with Ideal. I say "extreme" because he also watches his protein. Apparently, if you get your macronutrient balance off and get too much protein and not enough fat, then your liver ends up converting the protein to glucose anyway. So he's working toward eating a ketogenic diet (high fat, enough but not too much protein, very low carb) until he gets down to the weight he wants to be. The main difference that I have noticed that it used to be that he would get extremely cranky and difficult to be around if a meal was later than usual. It's very rare for him to have that problem anymore.

[Momma4Boys]

I meal plan by picking one or two meals a week, cooking big batches, and using frozen leftover meals the rest of the time. Example:

 

Week 1: Hamburger is on sale. I buy about 10lbs, and make 5 meatloaves. We eat one on monday, freeze the other 4. Tuesday we have a salad, Wednesday we eat the leftover meatloaf, Thursday we have something out of the freezer from a week 4, Friday we have something from week 2, Saturday we have leftovers again, and Sunday we get busy and end up eating eggs for dinner.

 

Week 2: Chicken breasts are on sale. I buy about 20 chicken breasts and make mustard-almond chicken (dip chicken in mustard and honey mixture, then roll in almond flour, bake). We eat 4 breasts for dinner Monday night, freeze the other 16 into 4 portions. Tuesday we have leftovers. Wednesday we have a meatloaf from week 1. Thursday we have a salad. Friday we have something from week 3. Saturday we have leftovers again. Sunday we have something from week 5.

 

Week 3: Pork roast on sale. I buy 2 or 3. Cook it up in the slow cooker and shred for pulled pork. We eat one portion on Monday night, freeze 4 portions. We have meatloaf from week 1 on Tuesday, leftovers Wednesday, mustard-almond chicken from week 2 on Thursday, salad on Friday, go out for dinner on Saturday and eat something else from the freezer on Sunday.

 

Etc. So for shopping I basically shop to make a LARGE (5 family sized servings) batch of one dish, based on what's on sale. Then I get a bunch of veggies and salad stuff and eggs and bacon and other basics. We eat most of our main dishes from the freezer. I do have a handful of dishes that don't freeze well, so on weeks where I feel up to it I'll do that AND a big batch meal.

 

Also, to clarify, I list the meat because I plan around the meat. Almost all meals also come with some form of cooked veggie and some form of salad in summer time. In winter it mgiht be two cooked veggies or a soup or something.

 

We don't really spend an obscene amount on groceries, but it is more than we spent before.

 

This is fabulous!!!! Thank you for everyone's input!