How to have a Low Carb Breakfast on a Budget


breakfast low carb budget

When starting out on my low carb diet, I had a hard time planning some of my meals on my tight budget. At the time, as a post-secondary student, my money was tight. Through some research and experience, I have been able to master the most frugal ways to plan my meals, especially my first and most important meal of the day: breakfast.

What are the best tips and strategies to have a low carb breakfast on a budget? Remember to plan your low carb breakfast in advance to provide you enough time to find sales on some of the foods to be included. Remember patience is key in this process. Minor behavioral changes, such as not buying on impulse, will help you save big overtime. But the types of foods that you purchase and include in your meal plan matter too. 

So, yes, simple changes to your behaviour, like exercising patience, will help you with your low carb breakfast. However, this is not the only technique that you can try in order to keep your costs of your low carb breakfast at a minimum. Buying the right foods at the right time can help you get closer to this goal as well. I do not mean just buying items that are on sale – although this definitely a smart financial move. Also consider buying fruits and vegetables when they are in-season for your local area. For example, when strawberries are in-season, I usually pick up a larger quantity of strawberries for a much lower cost. Then I add a small amount to my breakfast to get my fruit intake for the day before I head off to work (read on to find out how many carbs are in strawberries and other fruits). Be careful with grapes and bananas though as they tend to contain a high amount of carbs, unfortunately. So, sorry Donkey Kong, if you are reading this post, you will have to switch out your favourite fruit to maintain your low carb breakfast!

Fruits to include in your Low Carb Breakfast

low carb breakfast on a budget

So far I’ve mentioned a few delicious fruits that you could include in your favourite low carb breakfast. We now know fruits like bananas are high in carbs, but which fruits have the lowest amount of carbs? Not only will I tell you which fruits have a low amount of carbs, but I will also give you an approximate amount of carbs in each type of fruit (in the amount of grams), so that you will know which fruits are the best options to add to your morning low carb breakfast. Check some of them out below:

  • Raspberries – did you know that one cup of raspberries contains only 6 grams of carbs? 
  • Blackberries – a cup of blackberries contains only 8 grams of carbs!
  • Strawberries – 100 grams of strawberries contains only 6 grams of carbs
  • Plums – a moderately-sized plum contains 6 grams of carbs
  • Cherries – a cup of cherries contains approximately 9 grams of carbs
  • Cantaloupe – cut up your Cantaloupe into pieces (one cup) and you will have about 11 grams of carbs
  • Peach – a moderately-sized peach contains about 13 grams of carbs
budget keto breakfast peach

Remember, it is very important to buy fruits when they are in-season in your area and be sure to shop around at local food markets and grocery stores for a discount. However, fruits, like the 7 that are listed above, are not the only low carb food options that you can add to your low carb breakfast.

Veggies to include in your Low Carb Breakfast

Another important part of a low carb breakfast is vegetables. But it is important to know that some vegetables are higher in carbs than others. As a general rule of thumb, veggies that are dark and leafy tend to have less carbs. Luckily, I have a few suggestions for you to consider below:

  • Spinach – for every 100 grams of spinach there are about 3.6 grams of carbs
  • Zucchini – for every 100 grams of zucchini there are about 3 grams of carbs 
  • Celery – for every 100 grams of celery there are about 3 grams of carbs
  • Tomato – for every 100 grams of tomatoes there are about 3.9 grams of carbs
low carb budget breakfast egg

These are just a few examples of the many veggies that you could add to your low carb breakfast. Again, to ensure you have a low carb breakfast on a budget, make sure to pick up on sales at the local food market. In some cases, the local food market may reduce some of their veggies to 50% off the original sale price if they are starting to bring out and stock fresher veggies. 

What is the best way to incorporate protein into your low carb breakfast on a budget? Fruits and veggies are great to have for your low carb breakfast, but it is still very important to include a source of protein as well.I have a number of favourite foods that are high in protein that I enjoy including in my breakfast, but when I am being conscious of my spending, I like to include eggs in my breakfast. Eggs are great if you are looking to get your protein in. When eggs are on sale, it works out to about only 15 to 20 cents an egg! You may have to beat your eggs to make them, but you certainly can’t beat that price! 

What does a low carb breakfast look like? So, I have given you some food options to consider for your low carb breakfast, but we haven’t really put it all together just yet. I don’t expect you to sit down and pull out a raw celery stick out of the fridge and chew on it when you wake up. That doesn’t sound too appetizing to me. Here are some delicious options to consider:

  • Scrambled eggs and your favourite choice of diced up veggies (fried in coconut oil) AND some raspberries on the side for desert!
  • Crustless Quiche (with Spinach) 
  • Egg burrito with diced up tomato and celery with some salsa sprinkled on top

So there you have it! I have provided you with plenty of low carb breakfast ideas that can be put together on a tight budget. Generally, veggies and fruits are great to include in your breakfast due to being low in carbs and low in price. But, remember that timing your purchase is good practice if you want to purchase food for a great price. Buy fruits and veggies when they are in-season. Of course, you can’t simply live on fruits and veggies everyday, so as I suggested include a source of protein. Although this can be accomplished in so many ways, eggs are my go-to source of protein for breakfast due to their low cost. Follow some of tips that I have outlined in this post to not only reduce the size of your waistline, but your monthly grocery expenses as well. Trust me, you wont regret it! Bon-appetite! 

What are some of the tips and strategies that you use to have a delicious low carb breakfast on a budget? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Ahmed Matar

Not just food lover, I also like to write about foods and diets, especially keto! Finding low-carb food is fun for me regardless of how others find it difficult. Besides having an interest in foods & diets I also like exercising and walking long distance regularly :)

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