Healthy budget diet?

[aieetromeet]

Where I live meat is not safe to eat raw and I cannot afford higher quality meats and butter. Grass-fed raw meats and grass-fed raw butter are sadly out of the question.

So I have to choose what is least unhealthy but I'm not sure what to choose.

For proteins I have the option of pork and chicken. I don't know which one is healthier, or if it matters?

For fats there is lard, which is cheap and has nice saturated animal fats but disgusting taste (to me) and very high calorie. Then there is low-fat margarine, a bit more expensive but tastes good and has a pretty nice amount of saturated fats actually (35 out of 60) and no trans fats, but it plant oils which I hear isn't good.

It may not be ideal, but I don't think it's as bad as grains, starches, processed meats, sugars and other crap I used to eat.

For carbohydrates there is no problem, I occasionally eat fruits or honey and such but I am mostly keto.

And which liver is best?

[TylerDurden]

For various reasons, pork is always better than chicken. However, I strongly disagree with your observations. I view anywhere on the planet as having access to high quality RPD foods. Granted, one has to try all sorts of different methods, depending on location, but it is always possible. Where do you live?

[aieetromeet]

I live in Europe. Unless I intend to be on a 500 calories a day diet, there's no way for me to get my hands on quality raw food currently.

So I have to pick between lesser evils.

[TylerDurden]

I live in Europe. Unless I intend to be on a 500 calories a day diet, there's no way for me to get my hands on quality raw food currently.

So I have to pick between lesser evils.

Err, Europe is a rather large area. Please give details re country and county and local towns so that we can search online and find what you may need..

[thehadezb]

Better you go on a moderate carb diet with plenty of lean meats and some healthy fats. You are not gonna die if you don't go keto. I recommend you white rice or  boiled roots as sources of carbohydrates. Raw cheap cuts of meat and Raw fat trimmings or suet.

[aieetromeet]

TY for replies, I will consider white rice but if I only had to pick between lard and low-fat margarine what would be the less bad option? Is margarine even acceptable, even if it contains high saturated fats, no transfats etc?

Also is frying meats better in vegetable oils like sunflower oil or lard?

[TylerDurden]

Frying in lard would be better.

[surfsteve]

Living on 500 calories a day is insane. I consume 3 or 4 pounds of meat a day, mostly raw. My diet is 90% carnivore. I eat powdered wheatgrass juice and I like a raw pineapple now and then and canned beets as my junk food. When you are near zero carb they taste like candy!

This is just my opinion but if you're going to eat raw pork and chicken you are out of your mind.

If you want the equivalent of grass fed buy wild caught frozen fish. Salmon is my favorite but anything wild caught is good and frozen fish is cheap!

Calves liver is a step up from regular liver because calves are often slaughtered younger. Another organ meat to eat while young is sweetbreads because older cows have thymus glands that are shrunk down to nothing.

I eat feed lot beef with no hesitation but I buy grass fed and stock up my freezer whenever it goes on sale.

I would invest in a deep freeze and not worry as much as everyone else on this forum about grass fed. I've never had the pleasure of eating grass fed butter. Regular butter is expensive enough and is a huge step up from margarine. I buy it on sale and stock up my freezer with it.

I am nearly 61 and the healthiest person I know of any age.

[dariorpl]

I suggest not using lard, it's usually refined and toxic. Margarine is even worse.

If you must cook, render your own liquid fats from meat fat, you can often get them very cheaply or even for free from a butcher.

I'd also add that I think just about any meat is better raw than cooked.

[madnomad]

I think you should be able to source more than chicken/pork in Europe, but if you are needing a fat source I would suggest going to local butchers and looking for bone marrow/suet/backfat as a fat source. Also cheaper cuts of meat tend to be organ meats for saving money. Tongues and marrow are great sources of fat though marrow can be a bit on the expensive side depending on your locality.

Eggs are also quite inexpensive but I would source pastured eggs from a local farmer rather than store bought/ commercial egg producers. Other than that raw milk products can be found possibly cheap depending on where you live though many here don't condone raw dairy such as butter and cream but for some it can be a useful source of raw fat and nutrition.

[surfsteve]

Good luck finding raw marrow. That stuff rivals the price of gold around here!

I been eating butter for a while now with good luck but I did notice I have a zit on my neck that I'm blaming it on though it could be unrelated. My new way to eat butter is to put a few slices on my plate and eat a tiny chunk with every mouth full of meat. I been searing my meat on the outside and been doing it less and less. I'm now to the point that I like it still cold in the middle and not cooked on the outside enough to melt butter when placed underneath it. Who knew cold butter tasted so good as a side dish? That zit is just about gone already this morning. My complexion is getting pretty darn good!