Carnivore can get expensive, but it don't hafta be

(Fiddlestix H. McWhiskers) #1

I just saw a post that Dr. Shawn Baker made about an hour ago.

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I looked up the prices of those “Flying Dutchman” burgers from In N Out and they’re about $5.00 each, so I did a bit of math and here’s how I responded to his post:

Okay, let’s break this down, because this makes the carnivore diet ridiculously expensive.

He bought 4 “Flying Dutchman” burgers (FD) at In N Out Burger.
Those cost about $5.00 each.
That’s $20.00 for 4 FDs.

Each patty is 2 oz. and each FD is 2 patties.
Each slice of American cheese is about .75 oz. and each FD has 2 slices.
Each FD is 4 oz. of beef and 1.5 oz of American cheese.
So, 4 FDs contain 16 oz. (1 lb) of ground beef and 6 oz of American cheese.
That’s 1 lb of beef and 6 oz of cheese for $20.00.

So, if I want to make that same thing at home, how much would it cost me?
I’m a reluctant Walmart shopper, but here are their prices:
(I usually get 73/27 ground beef (4.39 lb), but let’s splurge and get 80/20.)

80/20 ground beef = $4.48 lb.
24 oz package of 32 American Cheese slices = $3.48
That works out to be about 11 cents per slice. 88 cents for 8 slices.
So, I can make those same 4 Flying Duchmen at home for $5.36.

$5.36 vs $20.00. Eating at In N Out is nearly four times as expensive as home cooking. Depending on how much the cheese actually costs, that’s around $16.50 lb. for ground beef!

But I don’t just buy one pound of ground beef at a time; I buy 5 lb. logs. So, if 1 lb. of beef makes 4 FDs, then 5 lbs. of beef will make 20 FDs. Sticking to $4.48 lb. for the beef and .11c per slice for the American Cheese, that’s:

$22.40 for the beef.
$4.40 for the cheese.
Totals $26.80 for 20 Flying Dutchmen at home.
Dr. Baker would be spending $100.00 for 20 Flying Dutchmen.
So, for what would pay if he bought 6 FDs at In N Out, I’m getting 20 of them by making them at home.

I cannot stress how important it is to tell people about stuff like this. The carnivore diet is not a cheap diet and ground beef is one of the cheapest ways to make this diet more affordable. The average person needs to see how affordable it can be.

The “Flying Dutchman” burgers my be a carnivore friendly convenience when out on the road, but it’s just throwing massive amounts of money out the window. Paying nearly four times as much just for convenience should make one spend a bit of time planning ahead.

Here’s the link to his post on FB:

(John) #2

True, but…
When you’re on the road and in a pinch, it’s pretty tough to find a pound of beef for less than $20.

(Fiddlestix H. McWhiskers) #3

That’s part of my point. Anyone on a carnivore diet knows that finding real carni-friendly food, out on the road, is next to impossible. So, it’s important that we prepare things at home and bring them with us if we’re going to be out for so long that we can’t wait until we return home. If you know that you’re going to be walking through the desert, you bring your own water with you. You don’t just pay whatever the Bedouins want to milk you out of.

(John) #4

Fair point and I’m frequently prepared. And sometimes it’s a choice between the inconvenience of prepping and carrying, and knowing I’ll be spending more for the convenience.

(Joey) #5

Ha! When I “splurge” it’s for the extra fat content… and wind up paying less as a result. Let’s agree not to tell SAD folks about the saturated fat myth. :crossed_fingers:

Besides, whatever that orange plastic seat covering is, it’s not likely actual cheese.

(Fiddlestix H. McWhiskers) #6

I agree. I was just choosing the higher priced leaner stuff to make the point that choosing the more expensive stuff is still cheaper than In N Out. I always choose the higher fat option as well. SAD eaters tell me that I’m not getting that good of a deal when I buy the higher fat content because it cooks down and you’re left with less meat. You should see the look on their faces when I tell them that I save all of the fat and eat that, too.

(KM) #7

Someone else is making your food for you and serving it to you. It should cost more, unless you’re about six.

That said, you’re right, there are ways to make keto and carnivore a lot less expensive, and preparing your own food is top of the list.

(Fiddlestix H. McWhiskers) #8

Yes, I’m aware that having someone else prepare your food is more expensive, and that is entirely my point. Many people today, especially younger generations, say that the cost of living is so high that they have a difficult time financially. Well, I just provided one example of something that adds to their difficulties.

When I was young, I hardly knew, or knew of, anyone who ate out on a regular basis (fast food, restaurants, &c.). When we went to McDonald’s in the 70’s, it was a special occasion. Now, I hardly know anyone who even knows how to cook, much less does it on a regular basis.

Eating ultra processed, high sugar, high carb foods destroys our bodies. Relying on convenience and not cooking at home destroys our bank accounts.

(Cathy) #9

Ditto!!! A meal out is still a special occasion or because of travelling for me. Happily, I prefer my own cooking.

#10

It always was very obvious to me, I never understood people (who aren’t even choosy and eat everything) who can’t even prepare food for 1-2 meals, complaining about insane prices at a festival or something (it’s not like the stuff is anything special so it could worth a lot of money…)…
Making my own food has so many advantages (and no downsides really as I like cooking, not if it takes forever but carni food is almost no work to make, usually. I overcomplicate it sometimes but that’s fun to me): home cooking is the cheapest by far (no idea why so many people thinks it’s not true… whatever. again, it’s not for carnivore just for non-choosy folks who eat everything but it’s false for them too. at least here), I have great control on choosing my ingredients so making almost the same can be varied and anyway, I finetune it to my actual preferences… Less package too, I hate too much garbage with a passion.

Carnivore diet is the most affordable diet for me but I can’t really buy expensive items like ground beef (not like I ever would buy ground anything. it’s the same price as slabs here, by the way). It’s fine, my body and tastebuds love pork. Pork is pretty cheap, the lean and the fat options alike. I need to eat as lean as I comfortably can and pork is much better for that than chicken (except breast but it’s tricky for me due to the texture). So it’s quite fine.

That’s rare for me as fat should be cheap, the protein is the costly one. If the fatty stuff suits my tastes better, I can make an exception though :wink: Just adding fat isn’t the same, after all.

I would say the same - for myself. If the higher fat thing is super fatty. And if I already have plenty of rendered out fat… Eating the fat is obvious to me who never throws out any food but I can get fat for cheap, I want meat that keeps most of its fat. As it’s very different when something is super fatty and the fat stays in. It’s fabulous. I often make bigger roasts, there isn’t a ton of rendered out fat there, usually. It’s for pork but why would beef act differently…? Even when I make scratchings from tiny pieces, unless I fry the hell out of the pieces, making them super crunchy, they retain plenty of fat! And that’s very, very nice to eat.

Wow. Meanwhile it’s the norm here. All my family members cooked and they did it well - except my aunt who was a doctor and barely ever was at home but she had others to cook for her.
People even bake wonderfully here… Okay, I live in a very rural area. But cooking is normal in Hungary, I don’t even know how anyone could live without that… :thinking: Eating out more than 1-2 times a week sounds torture to me personally, of course people are very different. And basic carnivore cooking is just tossing some protein into a pan or oven pan… (Some don’t even do that but raw carnivore is quite special.)

Too bad people eat like that even with home cooking… It’s probably still a bit better but not enough :frowning:

Me too :slight_smile: Even on a holiday, I like to have a kitchen and cook for myself. I still go to restaurants but not all the time! I wouldn’t enjoy that at all.