Banting on a budget isn’t easy, which is why we asked Nick Charlie Key, author of Jump On The Bant Wagon, for his top tips:
One of Banting’s biggest barriers is its seeming reliance on increasing your meat intake as well as replacing everyday fruits with their more expensive berry cousins.
With the soaring price of cauliflower (the Banting staple due to its incredible versatility) the price of a Banting lifestyle is a real concern to those on a tight budget.
However, as with a lot of things in life, proper planning will make all the difference when working out an affordable menu plan for the week ahead.
Here are my 5 tips for Banting on a budget:
1. Buy in bulk
Especially when you can find products on sale. Even better than this is to get a group of friends together and form a Food Group that buy in serious bulk from local produce sellers at cheaper rates per kilogram and is then divided up by the group.
This can be done for all manner of vegetables, fruits, nuts and sometimes even meat if you can find the right markets and/or suppliers.
2. Get creative with your cooking!
You don’t have to buy the absolute best cuts of meat to make a delicious meal. Buy the cheaper cuts and slow cook them in a flavourful curry or Osso Buco until the meat is soft. Slow cooking also gives the flavours more time to build so it’s a total win-win.
3. Invest in a spiralizer
A lot of stores sell ready made solutions to make the life of a Banter easier in the form of pre-made Cauli-Rice or Zucchini Noodles.
While these are great, they’re certainly more expensive than making them yourself at home. If you can, find a local veggie market and stock up on cauliflower and zucchini (or buy it when it’s on special at the shops) and when you get home blitz up the cauliflower in your food processor into ready to cook cauli-rice.
You can then divide the cauli-rice up into single serving portions in ziploc bags and freeze them until you’re ready to use them.
For zucchini noodles get yourself a spiralizer (there are many options out there) and make your own noodles in a flash!
4. Properly plan your meals for the week ahead
This may sound like a no-brainer to some, but it’s something that took me a while to start doing myself and my bank balance is thanking me.
Figure out what meals you’ll be making for the week ahead and buy the correct amount of ingredients so that nothing goes to waste. It’s also helpful to cook large meals that can then be spread over 2-3 mealtimes which saves you time AND money!
5. Grow/make your own food!
If you have enough space for a full veggie garden or a balcony that can fit even a few pots onto it, you can begin to grow your own food.
Currently I’m growing chillies, basil, mint, rosemary, tomatoes, spring onions, lettuce, rocket and granadillas which not only saves money on these often used food stuffs, but is also incredibly rewarding to see a little edible garden growing.
Another thing I do is that I make my own biltong which saves me loads of money and satisfies my snack cravings during the day.
Go along to your local butcher, or even the butcheries at Pick n Pay or Checkers, and ask them to cut you biltong sized strips of Topside or Silverside (whichever is cheaper at the time), get yourself some good biltong spice and you’re all set.
Click here to get your copy of Jump On The Bant Wagon (NB Publishers)
Check out our 7 tips for following the Banting Diet plan on a budget here!
DISCLAIMER: Before starting any diet, you should speak to your doctor. You must not rely on the information on this website/newsletter as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.
