Carnivore diet on a budget: How to eat cheap on carnivore diet
By Yaseen Sadan
4 years ago
You don’t have to be an Arab prince to start eating like a carnivore. The carnivore diet can be cheaper in the short and long term than eating a Standard American Diet. And in this post, I’ll show you how to do just that. Let’s dive in!
The reason a carnivore diet is cheaper than a Standard American Diet is because of the effects it has on your body.
Mainly, it promotes intermittent fasting while stimulating hormones that tell the brain, “I’m full.”
The average person rarely eats three times a day. They eat countless processed snacks just to satisfy their sugar cravings.
When you avoid sugar and all processed foods, your body will crave it for a while, but then learn to live without it. Once this happens, you don’t need to eat processed foods every 2 hours to satisfy an unhealthy addiction. And just like any addiction, once you quit, you save a ton of money.
Leptin is the hormone that tells your brain, “I’m full.” And guess what hormone prevents leptin from doing his job correctly? Insulin!
When you eat carbs, your body releases insulin to transport those carbs into the cells to be used for energy. Now, if you’re eating carbs every 2 hours, your body’s insulin levels remain sky-high, and your brain doesn’t know it’s time to stop eating because leptin is being blocked.
But when you’re eating like a carnivore, you consume zero carbs. This allows leptin to start working properly again, so you feel full quicker, thus saving you money.
Now that we know how the carnivore diet will save you money and why it’s cheaper than a Standard American Diet, let’s cover some tips on making it even more affordable.
In previous posts, I said you should try and buy grass-fed over grain-fed. But if you’re on a budget, then a grain-fed carnivore diet is still far superior to a Standard American Diet.
Think of it as a scale, you can eat grain-fed animal products all day, and it’ll still be healthier than a Standard American Diet. Now, would grass-fed animal products contain more nutrients? Of course, but 90% of the benefits you experience on the carnivore diet won’t come from switching to grass-fed products. It comes from removing all processed foods.
And that’s a problem most people struggle with. They want to go from eating toxic junk all day to eating nothing but grass-fed meat and eggs. They postpone starting a carnivore diet because they don’t have the money to buy grass-fed animal products but continue eating McDonald’s burgers.
Instead of waiting for that promotion so you can start eating grass-fed animal products, start buying grain-fed since it’s cheaper and way healthier than what you’re probably eating now.
There are two things I love about ground beef. It’s the cheapest beef option per pound, and the fattier it gets, the cheaper it is. This is great for us carnivores since it helps you get into ketosis.
Eggs are nature’s multivitamin. It contains 5 grams of fat and over 10 nutrients in its yolk alone.
If you’re on a tight carnivore budget, start eating more eggs. They’re delicious, and they offer tons of variety like scrambled, fried, poached, and boiled.
Simply throw some eggs in a pan with butter and ground beef, and you’ve got a delicious, nutrient-dense meal.
Other benefits of eggs include;
When you only eat animal products, then cheaper cuts of meat are best.
There’s no need to eat a ribeye steak for every meal.
Try these cuts of meat instead; they’re cheaper and contain adequate amounts of fat.
Introducing these cuts into your diet can significantly reduce costs.
Another pro of eating cheaper cuts of meat is that they typically contain more fat than expensive cuts, which isn’t only tasty, but it’s the fuel we carnivores need to survive. Who needs carbs anyway?
Organ meats are insanely nutritious and cheap. They’re rich in B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, iron, and fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E, and K.
92% of Americans are deficient in at least one nutrient. You likely have a deficiency and don’t even know it. Eating organ meats like liver and kidneys regularly will correct those deficiencies real fast.
To give you an idea of how nutrient-dense organ meats are, let’s look at 100 grams of the liver. It contains;
If you want the most nutrients for the least amount of money, then organ meat is your best friend.
Other benefits include;
Fewer and fewer people are eating meat because of the phobia behind it. But this is a good thing for us carnivores. This can be the reason to get more budget-friendly meat in some areas.
Also, stores are selling meat at discounted rates more than ever before. So while others are avoiding meat, it’s your opportunity to start buying.
I like to go to local stores, butcheries, and supermarkets in my area and ask the manager when they’ll be having a sale. Normally they’ll sell meat that’s close to their sell-by-date for super cheap and you can buy them in bulk and toss it in the freeze. This way, the meat can last for a few more months.
Sometimes stores won’t even have any sales coming up, but if you ask, and tell them you want to buy in bulk, they might phone you when there’s meat close to the sell-by-date and you can buy those.
The fish head is another body part that most people prefer not to eat. But if you’re serious about eating a carnivore diet on a budget, then fish heads are the way to go.
Local fishermen catch and sell fish, but most people don’t want the head. So they have all these fish heads just lying around, and they don’t know what to do with them.
Buy these fish heads from them. They’ll sell it to you for super cheap, typically under 50 cents per head. Toss them in the freezer and when you’re hungry, simply put them in a pan with some butter and spices. Voila! You’ve got yourself a filling, easy-to-make, nutrient-dense meal that only costs 50 cents.
Beef tallow is rendered beef fat that’s slowly cooked over low heat. When it becomes liquid, you can store it in glass containers and use it for cooking.
Beef tallow is affordable and easy to make at home.
For every tablespoon, beef tallow contains;
It’s pure fat.
They’re also a bioavailable source of fat-soluble vitamins and DHA, which are critical to brain growth and neuronal function.
The reason beef tallow is super cheap is that butchers don’t have much use for them and people aren’t queuing up wanting to buy beef tallow. Most butchers just throw it away.
If you can talk to one of these butchers and ask them for some tallow, with which you can cook your food with a super cheap, sometimes free alternative.
To make beef tallow at home, simply put it in a stainless steel pot and cook for 30 minutes while stirring every 10 minutes to avoid burning. After 30 minutes, the chunks will be melted. You can now pour your tallow into a glass container and refrigerate it until your next meal.
Most people think the carnivore diet is expensive, and it can be. Especially if you’re buying grass-fed animal products. But guess what’s more expensive? The cost of leading an unhealthy lifestyle.
If you follow the tips in this post, then eating like a carnivore will cost less than a Standard American Diet.
Yaseen Sadan is a personal trainer turned professional copywriter and founder of Sell Using Words. He helps small businesses increase their leads and sales by writing SEO-friendly blogs, sales emails, landing pages, and lead magnets. Feel free to visit his website, add him on LinkedIn and check him out on Facebook.