Shopping on a Paleo Budget

I thought I would share some of my shopping tips for paleo on a budget. If you are trying to do this with a very limited budget, like me ($70 per week for 2). The first thing you need to do is let go of the guilt. There are always people saying "think of grassfed meat as an investment in your health" and while they have a point, it doesn't do any good to add guilt to the list of things you have to worry about if you are trying to make ends meet and simply can't afford it.

I shop at Costco for meat because buying in bulk saves money. If you have a small freezer and can afford it, I recommend it. You can get lots of meat cuts for under $3, several under $2, and chicken is usually .99 cents a pound. They have excellent deals on sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, avocados, tomatoes, eggs, spinach, salad greens, mushrooms, and nuts. And coconut milk when they have it.


If you are unable to buy in bulk due to income restraints, try to look at your shopping list in terms of protein sources, carbohydrate sources, and fat sources.

Rule of thumb: For protein eat the cheapest meats and fish you can afford. If you can only afford chicken for .99 cents a pound, then eat that rather than beans and cheese. Chicken is almost always cheaper if you buy the whole bird rather than parts. (learn to cut up a chicken--it is worth the time if you want to re-package it and freeze it). Hamburger is sometimes on sale for .99 cents a pound. Pork is almost always available for under $2 a pound. Eat canned tuna, salmon, or sardines a couple of times a week. Make sure they are canned in water or olive oil. Avoid soybean oil.

For vegetables and fruits, eat whatever is on sale that week. Right now, we have zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, grapes, apples, and oranges on sale in this area. If you can't shop at Costco, I recommend Safeway, and Fred Meyer. Both have very good weekly deals. Also, don't forget to check frozen vegetables. Frozen spinach is often cheaper than fresh, same goes for many other veggies--compare when you can, and buy frozen if it is cheaper. Bags of apples and oranges are cheaper than single apples and oranges--so when they have 5 pounds of clementines on sale for $4.99, stock up and store them in the refrigerator so they last longer. If you have a little money to spare, or can afford it, I recommend using the Environmental Working Groups list of Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen vegetables. They update this list every year to verify which are the safest vegetables and fruits, and which have the most pesticides. If you can't afford to do this, invest in a good vegetable wash, or make your own to wash your fruits and vegetables well before eating them.

Fats are easy. Buy bacon. Save the drippings from your ground beef. Buy a jar of refined (or unrefined) coconut oil, and if you do dairy, buy grassfed butter. (Kerry Gold is pretty cheap at Trader Joe's). For salad dressing use olive oil and vinegar. Avoid all other refined oils. Eat nuts in moderation. If you can afford it, take a cod liver oil supplement. If you can't make sure you eat your fish a couple of times a week.

This is what we do. I'm sure there are gaps in our nutrition, but we are doing the best we can, and most importantly, making ends meet. :)