How To Keto On A Budget

When you first start a keto diet, it can seem like your food budget goes through the roof! 

Read on for our tips and tricks for how to follow a keto diet on a budget!

We’ll start this post with some of the grocers that best cater to keto-friendly foods. If you don’t reside in the Alberta or BC areas, these stores will likely not apply to you. But worry not! The remainder of the post will show you cost-saving measures to make keto more affordable!

Budget-friendly & keto-friendly neighborhood grocers

Save-On-Foods

Save on Foods has an excellent range of gluten-free, lactose-free, organic, and keto-friendly foods. Below are my pro-tips on how to follow a keto diet on a budget at Save-On-Foods:

• Ensure you sign up for a More Rewards card. The sign up with card is free and ensures you pay the sale price on items within the store. It also supplies you with points to use towards their rewards program (travel, kitchen appliances, etc.).
• The produce and most products are local or BC based. If organic is too costly for you then utilize and purchase the local or BC products which ensures that transit times of sitting on a truck between products being picked and sold is minimal compared to a product from Mexico or New Zealand.
• Best time to shop is the first Tuesday of every month. This gives you 15% off of the sale price of food, pantry and toiletry items (IE natural toothpaste, deodorant and even some essential oils) If the item is not on sale this still gives you 15% off the regular priced item.
  • Following this one tip will shave 15% off your keto budget!
• Save-On-Foods also has an excellent range of organic spices, keto flours, and quite a bit in the bulk section for organic nuts, seeds, and keto-friendly snacks.
• Flyers are delivered on Thursdays and their prices are then effective the next day (Friday).

No Frills & Superstore

Local No Frills grocers have recently added an aisle dedicated to gluten-free, dairy-free, keto-friendly, and organic options. This aisle has already existed at many Superstores. As well there is a smattering of organic produce within the produce sections. Although not as extensive as Save-On-Foods, No Frills and/or Superstore still an excellent place to hit if you need something for the next couple of days (produce specifically).

Below are my pro-tips on how to follow a keto diet on a budget at No Frills & Superstore:

• Their store reward system works a bit differently. They are in affiliation to Shoppers Drug Mart. Therefore ensure you sign up for the PC Optimum card and app on your phone.
• This card is free and gives you points based on your history of purchases.
• Before you head into the store make sure you add and load all of the Offers that are listed on your app and if possible (in order to receive points) purchase based on this.
  • That is how you accumulate points towards future purchases and then can be used for money taken off of your bill. The more you shop and use your card the more offers that load to your card of products you actually utilize besides the random stuff they send you for offers.
• This is an excellent place to purchase keto foods like:
  • gluten-free rice,
  • cashew milk,
  • dairy-free chocolate chips and
  • butter alternatives.
  • The cost is sometimes up to $2 to $3 in difference compared to other stores.
• Flyers come out Thursday with their sales starting Friday. The keto-friendly products listed for sale are usually minimal but as I said above on average everyday prices for the above are usually quite a bit less. So if you have time check there first before you head to the others.

Two Pharmacy

If you don’t live in or around the town of Cochrane, you’re missing out! Two Pharmacy is our local pharmacy, natural health, and now keto-friendly grocer. They have recently extended the size of their store and is an excellent place for supplements, vitamins, probiotics as well as gluten-free, dairy-free and keto-friendly pantry items (snacks, spices etc). They do also offer some drink options like teas and fresh kombucha!

Costco Canada or Costco USA (for our American readers)

Oh, Costco… I have such a love-hate relationship with going to this grocer. I love the cost savings (they make going keto on a budget a breeze!) but I loathe going into their warehouses. They’re an introvert’s nightmare.

Annual memberships in Canada are $60 for Gold Star Member or $120 for the Executive Membership. With the Executive Membership,  you receive more coupons and a 2% return up to $1000 maximum per year on your purchases. So, if you’re feeding a family of keto dieters, this is an incredible way to do keto on a budget!

Crowds aside, Costco is amazing for saving money on keto-friendly items like:

• Almond flour
• Frozen organic berries
• Organic eggs
• Coconut oil
• Olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Macadamia nuts

Costco also has a pretty stellar organic fresh produce section. Personally, I love their avocados. Costco also offers organic ground beef, roasting chickens, and wild-caught seafood. They also offer plenty of farmed seafood – which you’ll want to avoid – so, be sure to read labels!

On its website, Costco also offers organic products like maple syrup, coffee, and gluten-free snacks like macadamia nuts, mixed nuts, and beef jerky. All of which are keto-friendly. Purchasing snacks at Costco is a stellar way to do keto on a budget.

For those of you residing in Western Canada, check out CocoWest.  This website is done by a blogger who goes to select Costco’s within BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba and lists the deals within the warehouse that ARE NOT listed on their weekly warehouse deals. There are no guarantees that what is listed on the website is exactly what is for sale within the warehouse but 90% of the time, I’ve found it to be incredibly accurate.

Budget-friendly & keto-friendly online grocers

The chore of going to a physical location for your food is likely to become obsolete in the very near future. Replacing neighborhood grocers will be online grocers. By having much lower overhead, online grocers will be able to pass on incredible savings.

Utilizing online grocers is the easiest way to keto on a budget. If you factor in your time savings, the minimal delivery fee charged by most online grocers is negated. I’ve found that when I do my grocery shopping online, I save money by only purchasing the exact ingredients I need. Random, delicious-looking foods don’t make their way into your cart when you shop online!

Some of my favorite online grocers include:

Spud

Spud offers quite a range of organic meats, organic produce, and gluten-free, dairy-free, organic pantry and natural/organic toiletry products. Most items are local, with a specific local badge that notes how close the product is from your house. Sometimes they do bring in produce from the US but it is noted within the descriptions of your food.

• Spud offers free delivery on orders over $35.
• Currently, Spud is available in the following cities:
  • Calgary
  • Edmonton
  • Vancouver
  • Victoria
• Spud offers a first-time order discount of $10. Sign up for their newsletter and receive the coupon in your email to use towards your order.
• Spud also has a blog on its website that offers tips, recipes, and the impacts your grocery habits have on the world.
• Pantry items and toiletry items are also available through this site. Limited brands but excellent quality and gives the option of one-stop shopping instead of going to four different stores.
• Spud also offers a Wellness Club membership. It’s a $30 fee per year, which offers you 15% off regular priced items (that they choose and note on the product) throughout the year. As per their website, eligible purchases are the following;
  • Vitamins & Supplements
  • Skin Care, Hair Care, Cosmetics, Bath & Shower Products
  • Protein Powders & Herbal Powders
  • Body Care
  • Cold Remedies
  • Babies’ and Children’s Health Product

The Organic Box

The Organic Box offers Alberta and BC’s finest organic, and artisanal products delivered right to your door. They have quite a range of organic meats and produce. There are plenty of keto-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and vegan options. All items are noted as local with the shape of the province it comes from beside the product (Alberta or BC) or Canadian (noted with a maple leaf) as well as the distance from the warehouse. Sometimes they source beyond the Canadian borders to as far as California. Look to the website for more info.

• Currently, the Organic Box delivers to just about everywhere in Alberta. More info on their delivery locations here.
• The Organic Box also offers a Share and Save deal. You sign up a friend and with their first order you get $20 off and your friend also gets $20 off (all orders must be over $50 to apply).
• Listed on their websites is an introduction to the farmers whom the products you are purchasing actually come from.
• To help you keto on a budget, on the top of their website is the deal page. This page lists any products on sale, specifying the delivery week it goes with.

Budget-friendly keto supplements and pantry items

Groceries aside, a lot of keto dieters like to purchase supplements that make the keto lifestyle easier. And there’s no reason why your keto supplements shouldn’t be friendly on your wallet. Read on to learn where to purchase supplements so you can continue to keto on a budget!

Kiss My Keto

The folks at Kiss My Keto make some stellar keto supplements. Their C8 MCT oil ships in a glass bottle with a pump – which makes accurate dosing a breeze. I’ve found that the Kiss My Keto MCT oil doesn’t cause the gut pain and nausea that can occur with other MCT oils.

Keto snacks can be one of the more challenging foods to always have on hand. At Kiss My Keto, they’ve created a delcious tasting keto bar. And truth be told, it’s quite delicious. We keep these on hand at the clinic for whenever Ali or I need a quick snack/energy boost.

While most keto supplements are not very budget-friendly, the Kiss My Keto team has provided readers of my blog a discount code. Click here to claim your discount at Kiss My Keto!

Amazon

Amazon has some great deals and excellent ways to save big on keto, organic, gluten-free, and dairy-free products. In Canada, there is currently no fresh produce or meats available. But with their recent purchase of Whole Foods, I suspect Amazon will be supplying groceries in the very near future.

One of the best ways to use Amazon to keto on a budget is through their subscribe and save option. This option is for the specified products that you can set on a scheduled, repeat delivery time frame every month. You can schedule and set time of the month to receive these products and end up saving anywhere between 5% and 15%. Cancel at anytime and no need to order as it’s reoccurring every month and shows up at your door.

Vitamart

Vitamart is one of my favorite Canadian supplement retailers. They have a ton of options for different kinds of supplements, probiotics, vitamins, pantry items, baby supplies and toiletries. And the prices are some of the best I’ve found!

Vitamart offers free shipping over $49 and for your first order and will send you a $5 coupon if you sign up for their email notifications. Side note, Vitamart sells the best tasting and best-priced cod liver oil made by Nordic Naturals. Cod liver oil is one of my favorite supplements due to its high vitamin A and vitamin D levels.

Vitasave

Vitasave has a ton of options for different kinds of supplements, probiotics, and vitamins and categorizes their products into different groups like fitness, family health, diet type etc. While they don’t yet have a keto diet section, they do offer a lot of sugar-free options; which are, of course, keto-friendly!

Vitasave offers free delivery on every purchase over $69. To better assist you in following a keto on a budget, Vitasave offers a reward system that gives you points based on your purchase and once you meet a certain amount you can use toward your future purchases. Additionally, there’s a referral bonus! If you send your friends and family the referral link, you can both earn $10 towards your purchases.