After being a vegan for five years, and seeing my health suffer disastrously because of it, a year ago, I changed my diet to the polar opposite — carnivore.
Since then, I have seen my health rebound, the kilos I had surprisingly gained on a whole foods vegan diet fall away and, even more surprisingly, the money I spend on food fall by about by 30 percent.
Even though I am living off nothing more than pork, beef, cheese, eggs, milk and the occasional piece of fish or chicken.
Eating carnivore in Austria is also dead easy and, once I figured out the foods I would need weekly, has cut the time I spend shopping for groceries by more than half. And I’m lugging back far less food to my apartment than I was before.
My poor back also thanks me.
Here then is how to easily eat carnivore in Austria, and to do it cheaper than you may be able to do in your own country.
Where to shop for carnivore food in Austria
I’ll start off with supermarkets, as that is where 95 percent of my food comes from. (I rarely eat out as, to me, it’s a waste of money when I can make a great meal at home for 1/4 of the price).
Penny Markt and Hofer
I do pretty much all my grocery shopping at branches of Penny Markt and Hofer (aka Aldi).
They are the “budget supermarkets”, but still have excellent quality meat, cheese, fish, milk and eggs. Hofer especially also has a solid organic line of any carnivore food you would want to eat.
But every Austrian supermarket has an excellent selection of carnivore food, just at varying prices.
Weekly carnivore shopping list in Austria
I generally buy 2 kilos of ground pork per week (usually pork for me, as I am not a huge beef fan), 15-30 eggs (eggs come in 10s or 15s in Austria, and not in dozens), 1/4 of a kilo of some type of hard cheese, a block of butter, and a liter of milk for my morning cup of coffee.
That haul costs me around 25-30 euros, so around 100-120 euros a month — and allows me to eat eggs for breakfast, a pork burger and eggs for lunch, and the same for dinner.
Throw in a jar of coffee every six weeks, and a bottle of mayonnaise or a jar of Italian herbs, and that is pretty much my total food budget. If I occasionally buy ground beef instead of pork, it adds 10 euros to the total, but that is rare.
The cost for carnivore in Austria is that low too as Penny Markt generally has their 6.99 euros a kilo ground pork on sale at 4.99 every couple of weeks. When the sale hits, I load up the freezer and can eat for a few weeks until it goes on sale again.
And, yes, that is much cheaper than you will find meat in a country like the U.S.
Especially considering most Austrian meat is also grass-fed, and it’s generally higher quality as well.
Of course, you can easily buy steaks or much more expensive cuts of meat at Penny Markt, Hofer or any other Austrian supermarket if you prefer. I am just a big fan of ground pork, and enjoy every bite of it I take.
Also, I am not as strict a carnivore as some people, as I do drink coffee with milk (not heavy cream but, should you want cream, you can easily find it), and I do usually add mayonnaise and Italian herbs to my ground pork burgers and eggs.
Being carnivore in Vienna, Austria outside the home
Outside the home, eating carnivore, or at least “lax carnivore” is also incredibly easy. And, I say “lax” as, unfortunately, even if you eat meat at restaurants, food stalls, wurstel stands etc, you cannot always be sure it is 100% meat, and does not include any fillers.
If you only eat outside a couple of times a month, though, it shouldn’t be a huge deal for most.
That being said, there are plenty of places where you can buy excellent meat easily, and for affordable prices.
Wurstel stands
Vienna, Austria has “Wurstel stands’ or sausage stands all over the city, and a huge sausage, which is plenty of meat for a meal, can be bought for just a few euros. They are also piping hot, and delicious.
You will find many of these Wurstel stands outside underground train stations, near tram stops, and close to tourist attractions, as well as in many of the city’s popular shopping areas.
Burger restaurants
Vienna also has plenty of decent burger restaurants, which aren’t any more expensive than a typical burger joint in the U.S or the UK.
Order a burger (or two) and discard the bun, and it’s an easy lunch or dinner — although much pricier than if you just made the burger at home.
One of my favorite Vienna burger restaurants is Beaver Brewing Company in Vienna’s 9th District, on Liechtensteinstraße, although they have another location as well.
McDonald’s has much cheaper burgers, however, if you don’t mind fast food, and they are 100 percent beef. My current favorite is their Greek Style burgers, which are tasty, and also comes with bacon and cheese.
Breakfast buffets in Vienna hotels
If you are up early and looking for carnivore food in Vienna, Austria, there are many Vienna hotels that offer superb breakfast buffets that are heavy on the meat, cheese and eggs.
One of my favorites is the breakfast buffet at Flemings Hotel Wien-Stadthalle, which is loaded with sliced meats, egg dishes of various styles, cheese, bacon etc.
Their breakfast buffet opens at 6am and runs through until 10am and, if you want all-you-can-eat carnivore for a reasonable price, this would be one of my first choices. (I’ve stayed at the hotel too — twice — and it’s excellent).
You can easily eat so much, it will tide you over until dinner.
Supermarkets
Of course, if you are out and about in Vienna, you can also grab cooked, sliced meats (many of which are 100 percent meat), cheese, full-fat yoghurts (if you eat them) and various other carnivore foods at just about any Vienna supermarket. (And they are practically on every block in the city).
Grab your favorite foods and head to a bench in a city park to enjoy the often nice weather. It can be a fun spot to people watch as well.
So far, I am heading into my second year of being a carnivore in Vienna and, after following all these ideas to ensure I don’t cheat, I haven’t found it difficult at all.
