I am beginning to think this is impossible for me

#6

You might be better off surfing the net for some recipe ideas and meal plans. Have a look in the budget section on the forum…

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/c/food/budget

as well as Recipes of course…

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/c/food/recipes-recipes-recipes

A lot of the ketofied recipes for things you miss can get complicated with a big list of ingredients but the mainstay of keto, the day to day stuff, can be as simple as you want it to be. Don’t panic!

Have a look also at this post to see what people eat…

(eat more) #7

what works for me is super super simple
i pick a protein and add fat. (sometimes i add a vegetable too)

deviled eggs with mayo and bacon
salami and cheese (sometimes with cucumbers or a pickle to “lighten” it up a little)
rotisserie chicken and avocado
beef, brussels sprouts, and bleu cheese
egg cups/muffins

^^^ wouldn’t sell very many books but works for me
i just use basic ingredients…
nothing fancy…i’m fancy in other ways :joy:

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #8

@RandyH
Poke me anytime, I’ll help! I’ve been doing this three years and it’s EASY for me now!!

I remember how overwhelmed I would get at times.

It CAN be overwhelming at first.

TL;DR all the comments here but saw @richard’s.
Do that.

It’s how I started.
YOU GOT THIS

(Bacon for the Win) #9

@RandyH

keep it simple. Cook a steak on the stove top. Cook fish in the oven. Eggs. Cook and eat all. the. eggs. And bacon. Enjoy the bacon. Look online for simple recipes that don’t have lots of ingedients. There’s plenty out there. Look through the recipes here, lots of good ones.

#10

I don’t really like to cook, so I keep my meals very simple. I only have a handful of dishes that I eat most of the time. Monotony reduces overeating. I only venture into more elaborate recipes if I really get bored (which isn’t often). But I do really, really enjoy the things I make (mostly eggs plus vegetables).

At this point, you don’t know what you’re going to like, so start with a few simple meals (with common ingredients) and gradually expand from there.

(I want abs... olutely all the bacon) #11

I have 3 of Maria’s cookbooks, luv them, but wouldn’t recommend them as a starter unless I knew the person already cooked a lot of their foods. She has great basics and varying amounts of complexity for the rest of the recipes. Keep the book for when you’re ready to try your own mayo (not required) or explore cooking options. Her references to recipes within recipes is about things like making your own mayo to avoid oils high in Omega 6. You can worry about your oils once you have the basics of the ketogenic way of eating well in-hand.

Keep it simple and cook plain (chops, steaks, chicken) choosing the fattest cuts your palate can take (some require time to adjust to fat), and buy the convenience food (rotisserie chicken, avocado mayo, pre-cut cauliflower, spinach dip (careful some are high carb). If you like buttet put it on or in anything you can. Once you’re through the carb withdrawal and have clearer thinking evaluate what matters to you and fits in your budget.

When you’re ready there’s a video that takes you through a week with shopping and cooking, balancing convenience and budget. If you like this there are many more YouTube channels to explore.

(Jaidann) #12

It’s okay! Honestly I kind of felt the same way. I went out and bought all this stuff … and it was pricey. I knew I couldn’t afford this stuff so I took a step back and thought about it.

We can’t afford grass fed stuff unless it’s on a really good sale. I have also found that in my area, grass fed has very little fat. So my compromise is if the sale is really good, I’ll buy it, otherwise I’m in the cheap section of the grocery store meat department finding all the fatty things that they are selling dirt cheap because everyone wants the lean stuff. Get yourself some Old Bay Seasoning … it goes well on almost ANY meat. I buy frozen veggies. Much easier on the budget. Since I save money that way … I have a bit more leeway when it comes to cheeses and fats, so I’ll buy some Kerrygold butter ON SALE and more expensive cheeses because they just taste better.

Tonight I had a pork chop cooked in coconut oil and Old Bay seasoning with steamed cabbage slathered in butter. This meal is a go-to meal for me that I make very often because it’s fast, easy and I don’t have to think! Lots of times I’ll add in @Brenda’s cheesy bisquits! Really easy to make and delicious!

(Newbie in Kansas. ) #13

WOW…everyone…you blow me away.

What super advice…thanks to you all.

You are giving me hope again…Keep it simple…I will keep telling myself that.

(Nathan Hall) #14

And while you’re on YouTube, check out “Butter Bob”. His advice, and I concur, is keep it simple.
I often eat things I didn’t have to cook. Blocks of cheese, pork rinds with sour cream or guacamole, pepperoni,and other fatty deli meats, sardines in olive oil, macadamia nuts, pecans, and so on.
When I do cook, it’s relatively simple things like hamburger patties, pork chops, or steaks, paired with simple side items (keto friendly veggies with plenty of butter).

It also helps that I have a high tolerance for repetitive meals. (Thank you US Army) :smiley:

(Siobhan) #15

When I started I kept it VERY simple because I didn’t want to think of what I can and can’t eat… I just wanted to eat.
I made stuff like bunless burgers (ground meat, egg, pepper, salt) with cheese, avocado or guac on top, maybe a bit of onion, or fried egg.
I also ate spinach with indian spices and cream cheese.
Eggs and bacon, eggs and sausage, omelettes…
Sometimes I would get stuck on one recipe and just eat that until I got bored of it.

I would definitely avoid the special items for now. Just stick with meat, eggs, some low carb veggies (there are charts we can provide if you need them), butter, cream, cheese, etc
A meat (or fish) dish with a side of veggies cooked in butter is extremely simple and satisfying!
After a while, you can branch out to more complicated or involved recipes… if you want to. But you don’t have to.

Edit: I’ll also note that our food budget (for 3 people) has been cut nearly in half via keto. If we wanted we could probably get it lower. You eat a LOT less on keto, and that saves you money. Plus the cost of preparing your own (simple) meals versus prepackaged food… keto wins every time.

(Daniel) #16

when I feel overwhelmed, I just go to wendys. Get a baconator meal, plain, no bun, and a caesar salad. And an unsweetened iced tea. then, chill. mmm. burger.

(Tom) #17

My unsolicited advice, based on stuff and things. Probably repetitive.

  1. Keep it basic. While keto-fied spaghetti made by Peruvian low-carb monks and grass-fed andaslusian horse meatballs sounds awesome, the amount of effort needed to get all that stuff is exponentially higher than obtaining bacon, sausage, eggs, steak, and some spinach. Master some basic keto meals before getting fancy.

  2. One. One meal at a time. One snack at a time. There are no past meals, and no future meals. This serves several purposes. It relieves the worry over what you’ll have for dinner next Tuesday. It eliminates anxiety over repetition of the same keto foods (it’s ok, really). And should you find yourself eating non-keto foods, it will enable you to leave that in the past and focus on the meal/snack at hand.

  3. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. This is as much a learning process as it is a way of eating and lifestyle. Your application of Keto principles to your own body and life will vary as you make progress and observations, and that’s actually normal. Good, even! We are dynamic beings, and if the same thing worked for ever, it probably means we aren’t alive.

(Newbie in Kansas. ) #18

@xparis001 I love the way you think.

(Newbie in Kansas. ) #19

@crunchyfrog Your remark “Dont let perfect be the enemy of good.” Wow I will paste that one on my fridge…thanks.

(Jennifer) #20

Here are a couple things - Hamburger, just make a patty and fry it with a little oil. Add cheese. Or take it and make taco meat (brown hamburger add taco seasoning) and make taco bowls. Lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado. Boom! Hamburger can be used a thousand different ways.

Get those frozen steamer bags of good veggies. steam - add butter. Get a rotisserie chicken - that will last a couple days. It really is easy and does not have to cost a lot.

Once you get the hang of easy, then you can make something complicated when you are ready.

#21

I think you’re on to something here!

(Dustin Cade) #22

On one hand we do spend more on groceries, spend more time cooking… on the other I have the energy and new found love of cooking my way to delicious healthiness… we don’t go out to eat, we don’t stop at dairy queen, or fast food… our family of 4 go through like 6 dozen eggs a week, that’s like 4 bucks… we don’t buy grass fed, organic, free range stuff, we buy what’s fatty and on sale, we’ve collected all the ketofied ingredients like almond flour and coconut flour, bags of pork rinds… we just buy meat, cheese, eggs, oil, I buy coconut oil in bulk, just bought 3 gallons of Nutivia organic refined on Amazon for less than 60$, just gotta find it on sale… find butter on sale, buy a bunch and freeze it, but bacon on sale and freeze it… the theme of most of these posts is keep calm and keto on and most importantly, KEEP IT SIMPLE! so stop and eat the bacon!

#23

Lots of great advice and I’d like all the previous posts, but sadly @discourse member levels limit likes too much IMHO. :wink:

I’ll add, “How do you eat an elephant?”.

Cut it up, turn it into bacon :bacon: and eat 1 slice at a time! :joy:

Take some basic recipes and mix is up.

For example, I like eggs, so I vary the ingredients I add quite a bit over time and check out @Fiorella’s posts for cooking ideas - simple changes to the same basic ingredients can make big differences in the tastes and textures. Of course Maria’s cookbooks are also great and there’s also plenty of information available from Carrie Brown online who deliberately makes an attempt to keep preparation simple and affordable.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #24

See @richard, @carolT, @carl, @devhammer??!!??

Since when did Discourse impose a “like” limit on this forum? Hasn’t happened to me yet…

And I “like” dozens of times a day.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #25

But what you’re saying is overall you spend less cuz you don’t buy fast food too?

I’m curious, I don’t have kids to feed.

I spend way less on groceries now that I’m ketogenic. Though I do buy McDicks bunless McDoubles, only every few weeks. It’s amazing how often I’d stop at convenience stores, gas stations, drug stores and go thru a myriad of fast food drive through to buy a “snack” when I was a carb burner. Now I don’t eat till after 4 pm most days and then, only one meal!