Is the Keto Diet Free? Guide to Free Keto Meal Plans and Resources

The ketogenic diet is free in that a simple google search will give you the rules for keto eating. Books or blog posts will teach you about keto macros, give you lists of keto food, and you can easily find thousands of free keto recipes. Because a keto diet doesn’t require a membership fee, like Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers, it is considered a “free” diet. Obviously the high fat, moderate protein, and low carb foods you eat on a keto diet are not free, but there are ways to eat keto on a budget.


For the scoop on how to start the keto diet for free, how to find free keto meal plans, which keto foods are inexpensive, and what are considered keto “free” or unlimited foods, please keep scrolling!

s the Keto Diet Free? Guide to Free Keto Meal Plans and Resources

People often wonder if the keto diet is free, and it is. You don’t have to pay membership fees, attend weekly weigh ins, or buy special packaged “diet” food. You can easily learn the rules of keto online, or with a keto “how to” guide from your local library. You can also find free meal plans and recipes so I’ve compiled a minimalist guide to keto freebies.

In this blog post you’ll find:

  • How to start the ketogenic diet for free.

  • 3 Simple ways to get free keto “how to” how-to resources.

  • How much does the keto diet cost?

  • How to get a free printable keto shopping list.

  • Where to find free keto meal plans.

  • What keto foods are inexpensive.

  • How to save money on a keto diet when grocery shopping.

  • How to track macros for free on a keto diet.

  • What are keto “free” foods?

  • Free keto recipes for beginners.

  • How to organize your keto recipes.

 

How to start the ketogenic diet for free.

To start the keto diet for free first you need to understand the rules of keto. A keto diet is a way of eating that is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbs. A simple rule of thumb is to substitute carbs for fat.

Most keto plans recommend limiting carbs to 20 to 50 grams per day. This keeps your carbs low enough that the body becomes very efficient at burning fat for energy and you enter into a state called ketosis.

That said, knowing you should strictly limit carbs and increase fat is not enough information, in my humble opinion. I really believe you should understand the WHY behind what you’re eating and the foods you choose to eat before starting a keto diet.

 

3 Simple ways to get free keto “how to” how-to resources:

 

How much does the keto diet cost?

The keto diet itself is free since it is not a membership program like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. The only cost associated with a keto diet is a book or guide to eating keto (or use one of the free methods to learn above) and the cost of your groceries. 

Many people assume eating keto is more expensive than a standard American diet, which often feature lots of (inexpensive) carbs like rice, pasta, bread, and potatoes. But keto eating is not just ribeye steaks, aged cheddar, and imported avocados.

A keto diet is moderate in protein so you don’t need large portions of meat or seafood, or expensive cuts.

Non-starchy veggies like spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, and onions are inexpensive and you can purchase fresh, frozen, or canned.

Even though a ketogenic diet is high in fats, you won’t be drinking jars of coconut oil or using slabs of bacon with every meal.

Cooking at home will reduce your food costs significantly versus takeout or grocery store prepared keto meals.

This article compared the cost of a sample daily menu for a keto diet versus a sample daily menu for a “normal” higher carb weight loss diet. The keto daily cost was approximately $10.50 versus $15.00 for the higher carb diet day.

Bottom line, the keto diet can cost as much or as little as you want to invest in learning about eating keto, apps or journals to track macros, and your grocery budget. Keto does not automatically mean spending more on food.


 
Free keto shopping list PDF - s the Keto Diet Free? Guide to Free Keto Meal Plans and Resources

Grab a free keto diet shopping list.

I offer a free printable keto diet shopping list! It is streamlined and, yes, minimalist.  You can download it here, no strings attached!  

Free Printable Keto Shopping List

 
 
s the Keto Diet Free? Guide to Free Keto Meal Plans and Resources

Where to find free keto meal plans?

If you enjoy following meal plans you can find tons of free ones by doing a quick google search.

Here are a few of my favorite free keto meal plans:

 

What keto foods are inexpensive?

When eating keto you could spring for Wagyu beef, imported Parmigiano-Reggiano, or order chef-prepared keto meals. But you don’t have to. It is possible to eat keto on a budget.

Inexpensive keto foods:

  • Eggs

  • Non-starchy veggies (think in season, often frozen are cheaper than fresh)

  • Cheese (buy in bulk, like large bags of shredded cheese or blocks of cheese)

  • Whole chicken or bone-in chicken thighs with skin (use bones to make inexpensive bone broth after roasting) here is my favorite recipe: Crazy Simple Bone Broth Recipe

  • Ground beef, stock up, and freeze when it’s on sale.

  • Full-fat Greek yogurt. Buy in 1-quart tubs and use for berry parfaits, as a base for dips.

  • Pork chops


How to save money on keto when grocery shopping.

This sounds so old school, but always check your local grocery store flyers or look at their sales online. I usually only buy meat, poultry, and seafood when it’s on sale. Stock up if it’s a great deal and store in the freezer.

  • Often salad mixes or leafy greens are buy-one-get-one-free, even organic brands.

  • Buy berries on sale and freeze extra, or purchase frozen berries.

  • Nuts and nut butters can be pricey, but look for sales or buy in bulk.

  • Ordering your groceries online or with your store’s app is a great way to save money. You can see a running total and you’ll avoid impulse purchases.

Keeping a frugal keto budget is also about what you DON’T buy. 

I’d rather spend money on avocados, an on-sale KC Strip Steak, and good quality extra-virgin olive oil than buy pre-packaged keto convenience foods. There is the place for expensive keto snacks - traveling or if you really want them. I usually don’t buy things like packaged cheese crisps, grass-fed beef jerky, keto protein bars, or artificially-sweetened keto desserts.

 
 

How to track macros for free on a keto diet.

Tracking macros is important when you are starting keto and from time-to-time when you need to do a little reality check if you’re not getting the desired results.

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Here are a few free macro-tracking apps:

 

What are keto “free” foods?

Keto “free” foods are a different type of free. 

They are foods you can eat in unlimited quantities without fear of messing up your macros and tumbling out of ketosis. 

Keto “free” or unlimited foods can also be thought of as “zero carb” foods.


Some keto unlimited foods are:

  • Bone broth

  • Unprocessed meats and poultry, like beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and turkey.

  • Eggs 

  • Seafood like cod, salmon, tuna, shrimp, and lobster. (No k-rab or artificial crab though!)

  • Seasonings like salt, black pepper, chili flakes, herbs, and spices. Just don’t use spice blends that may have added sugar.

  • Butter, oils, and lard

  • Beverages like water, unsweetened tea and coffee.

 
s the Keto Diet Free? Guide to Free Keto Meal Plans and Resources

Free keto diet books.

You can find free “how to do keto” guidebooks and keto cookbooks on Amazon. Just download and read them on the Kindle app.

This article lists a bunch of free keto books. The freebies change from time to time, so be sure it is free before downloading. You can also search on Amazon for “free kindle keto books” to see any additional offerings.

Find Amazon keto freebies here: 28 FREE Keto Diet Cookbooks and Recipe EBooks for Kindle in 2020 — The Keto Minimalist

 

Free keto recipes for beginners

You can literally find zillions of free keto recipes on the web with a simple google search. Or search Pinterest if you love drooling over pics of delicious keto meals.

Many of the free keto books in the section up above are keto cookbooks.

If you don’t want to do multiple google searches, this is a yummy collection of keto beginner recipes: 20 Best Keto Recipes for Beginners That Taste Heavenly


Keep your favorite keto recipes organized.

I recommend saving all of your favorite keto recipes in one place. I use software called Plan to Eat to store my recipes.

You just cut-and-paste the recipe’s URL and Plan to Eat does the rest. You can search for recipes or ingredients. It allows you to drag-and-drop onto a meal planner to get your keto meal planning done in just minutes, and generates an organized shopping list. It costs a few dollars a month (well worth it!) but there is a free 30 day, no credit card required, trial.

 

One of the great things about keto (beside weight loss results!) is that keto is a free diet in the sense that you don’t need to pay membership fees, purchase packaged diet food, or buy books to learn how to do keto. There are tons of free resources on the web and at your local library. I hope you enjoyed this quick, minimalist guide to all things keto freebies!

—The Keto Minimalist

 

Struggling with keto?

If you are not losing weight, or can't shake the keto flu, or are not getting the results you want, it might be time for a reset. To take the time to really LEARN not just what foods are keto (we all know bacon and avocados are keto foods), but how to choose foods that work best for you.

If you want to go back to the basics I highly recommend Happy Keto Body. It's a 12 week online course that you can take at your own pace to learn about keto and customize an eating plan that suits your tastes and your health issues. No crazy ass "must do this" rules. No restricting carbs to 20g a day. No jumping into intermittent fasting if you don't want to. It's all about healing your body and eating for good health.

You can check out The Happy Keto Body program here: Happy Keto Body

 

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