The Atkins Diet on a Budget: Planning Your Grocery List

Changing your way of eating doesn’t have to cost a lot. The Atkins diet on a budget is more affordable than many other low-carb plans, and shopping is easy once you have the “Lists,” the detailed lists of Allowed Foods and Those to Avoid.

What to Shop For

People find that the Atkins diet menu plan is so specific that they are astonished at all the food permitted during the Induction Phase, as well as Phase 2. The list of foods that will be on your Atkins Diet budget grocery list will include perishables such as meat, dairy, and fresh produce:

• All unprocessed meats – beef, chicken, turkey, pork, veal, and game meat, as well as sugar-free bacon.
• All unprocessed fin fish and shell fish.
• Eggs, cheese, and dairy but only if full fat and low carb, as noted on the Acceptable Foods list. Sour cream, heavy cream, and butter are also allowed.
• Fats such as mayonnaise, olive oil, seed oils, and vegetable oils.
• Salad vegetables including any lettuce, herbs (dill, cilantro, parsley, thyme, basil, and oregano), cucumbers, bok choy, celery, radishes, peppers, sprouts, mushroom, jicama, olives, and chives.
• Non-salad vegetables such as avocados, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, zucchini, squash, asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, kale, kohlrabi, onions, okra, turnips, collard greens, and artichokes. (This is not a full list of veggies allowed on the Atkins Diet. The budget grocery list must exclude all sweet and starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, and peas.)

Once you have met your goal weight, you will also be permitted to eat whole grain complex carbs, nuts, seeds, and fruits. Later on, you can even eat carbs such as bread and cake, as long as you do so in moderation.

Plan Your List to Save Money

During Induction, you are restricted to 20 grams of carbohydrates a day (about 2 cups of salad and 1 cup of other vegetables), so don’t buy more fresh produce than you can consume in a few days. You can also buy meats in bulk and freeze what you won’t be eating right away.

Since you aren’t buying soda, coffee, cereals, bread, pasta, nuts, beans, frozen dinners, junk foods, and sugary sweets, the meat, fish, cheeses, and vegetables, which are normally the most expensive items on a grocery list, are affordable since they will comprise the bulk of your purchase. Plan the week’s menus in advance so that you don’t buy more than you need. With a little thoughtful planning, the Atkins Diet on a budget will save you money and you will find a whole new and delicious way to eat.