Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Alrighty, so just as a disclaimer, before I started making my switch over to start becoming more of a strict primal eater (def more primal than paleo), the majority of my fridge already made up of mostly nearly paleo/primal foods (meat, fish, eggs, fruits, veggies), with very, very few processed foods in house.

I'm well aware that at the end of the day the processed foods are going to cost you more than making your own delicious foods... but we weren't much of that at home anyway.

Living in Los Angeles is pricey. The gas, distances, and rent is higher than anywhere in the country, and the employment rate is low. We're in our 20's and just building up our lives.

Now I'd like to know if you guys have tips/tricks on how to get as primal/paleo as possible, whether it's with grocers such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods or local farmers markets, but doing it on a budget without spending much more than I already am. For some reason I feel like this is impossible, but some of the changes are feasable and I've been able to make those changes (like grass-fed butter for example) but others have been more difficult (like grass-fed steak).

It helps that we fast here and there, but we still have to eat.

Any solutions? Should we just stick to the general market fare until we're better off?

flag	asked Mar 26 2012 at 17:00 MenaceDenis 293●2●7

I live in LA too and live 5 minutes away from Whole Foods and Trader Joe's so I shop there often unfortunately. But I really don't know where else is a better place to get good quality food. Vons, Ralphs, Albertsons, etc. are just out of the question most of the time in regards to meat/seafood. And those high-end farmer's markets like in Santa Monica can also boast ridiculously overpriced items. Unless you catch a really good sale somewhere, I think we're pretty much stuck with what we got :\ – April S.♦ Mar 26 2012 at 19:43

Jen · Answer 1 · 2012-03-26 17:08:02Z UTC

It sounds like you are on the right track!

Some advice: -Hit up farmers markets, watch sales, buy what is in season -Buy in bulk (while only buying what you know you will use) -Consider sharing a large purchase of grass fed meat with a friend (or several friends) to make the initial investment less expensive -Make a large volume of chilis, stews, soups and stocks which can be frozen and kept for later. I always make about 4x more than I need for a week so that I have some ready to go for the next few weeks.

Korion · Answer 2 · 2012-03-26 17:44:20Z UTC

I'm a student and try to eat as cheap as possible. This is what I buy most of the time :

bones (I get those for free because my butcher is friendly)
what my butcher calls 'waste meat', though for me that's the nutrient-dense meat like grass-fed liver and grass-fed heart.
gelatin from iHerb.
ground grass-fed beef
vegetables from under the ground : beets, carrots, celeriac, ...
cheap fruit : apples (though I buy expensive fruit too)

With the rest of my money I buy coconut oil, some supplements and spices.
I believe iHerb also has oysters. If you like fish, you can buy small fish too.

Have fun, I love playing around with this. Today I got kilos of fruit for only 7 bucks, enough for a week :).

Kitzu · Answer 3 · 2012-03-26 23:16:34Z UTC

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My big tip is to check out smaller ethnic grocery stores for good deals on produce, fish, spices, fruit, coconut milk, cheap meat and bones etc. In the LA area you have a huge variety of small stores to explore- Asian, middle eastern, Latin American and more.

answered Mar 26 2012 at 23:16

Kitzu
1,425●2●9

True! I've checked it out, and I'm actually very good at finding meat at great prices, but not grass-fed meat. Those stores do have other fantastic options, however. – MenaceDenis Mar 28 2012 at 16:34

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I can get shitaki mushrooms at the Asian market for a fraction of the price I'd pay at chic healthfood stores. And they have real African yams, too. – Diane Jun 6 at 22:43

Denis · Answer 4 · 2012-06-06 23:13:44Z UTC

Many many resources are available for this. Just google Paleo on a budget or click the budget tag on your post. Many people had the same questions as you.

Here is just one of many great references:

http://robbwolf.com/2011/09/21/paleo-is-expensive

Eric makes a good point as well. Remember that eating this way is worlds better than the SAD. Don't kill yourself about going Grassfed/Organic if its not in the cards. Rice/Potatoes are cheap and paleoish (rice is generally considered a safe starch).

I also recommend checking your nearest Asian market. They have great cheap wild caught fish and pretty much everything is cheaper than normal grocery stores.

My personal favorite:

Wild Canned Salmon at Trader Joes $3 for 15oz. Healthy, tasty and cheap.

If you are deadset on Grassfed buy a freezer and find a farm that sells cows by the quarter/half. They will be cheaper than any other source.

CaveDad · Answer 5 · 2012-03-26 17:50:23Z UTC

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I keep thinking about trying boar/deer hunting here in Florida, but I haven't done it yet. Might be a little tricky in LA though.

answered Mar 26 2012 at 17:50

CaveDad
2,041●2●9

Good luck - in the last 3 years of hunting in Central/West Florida (Brooksville/Croom) I've bagged 2 whole 50lbs pigs. If you can find someone with land that has nuisance pigs, you'll score better than at the Wildlife Management Areas. It's worth it though, at the very least you are in nature all day. – Joshua Jun 6 at 23:14

Elisha · Answer 6 · 2012-03-26 23:25:27Z UTC

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Get a CSA produce box. You will be eating local,organic and seasonal. I get one delivered every other week for about $31 in San Francisco. I'm sure LA has similar options.

answered Mar 26 2012 at 23:25

Elisha
21●2

I actually thought about this for quite some time, but $31 is (believe it or not) a ton of money for me to spend on vegetables when I have my grocery stores peddling close to the same amount of fare (right, not the same quality, but I digress) for much less. – MenaceDenis Mar 28 2012 at 16:33

Kasra · Answer 7 · 2012-06-07 02:19:27Z UTC

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Offal, eggs, and milk.

answered Jun 7 at 2:19

Kasra
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These are stupidly cheap. – Kasra Jun 7 at 2:21

Kelly · Answer 8 · 2012-03-26 20:19:26Z UTC

I'm on the East coast, but I find that most supermarkets have a fair selection of wild caught fish. And if you watch, you can get it at good prices ($4 a lb for fillets). You can also get mussels super cheap, and if you look in the freezer case you can often find small fish with bones for really good prices. That and Trader Joe's grass fed ground beef are what I eat when I run out of CSA meat.

I so wish I could find a local butcher that would give me grass-fed meat offal. Or even sell grass-fed meat.

Natureman · Answer 9 · 2012-03-27 09:16:31Z UTC

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Yea being on a true PALEO diet is kinda hard because all of the healthy stuff is so expensive. Try to search for paleo on a budget and you will find some good tips.

answered Mar 27 2012 at 9:16

Natureman
79●2●6

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You realize that this answer is the equivalent of saying "Go ask elsewhere." – Kasra Jun 7 at 2:20

Sal · Answer 10 · 2012-03-28 17:58:14Z UTC

Costco...if you don't have a membership find someone that does, they can purchase a gift card for you, and you can pay the difference of what you buy with cash, all this without being a member. find meats on say, cauliflower rice fills me for days. where in l.a. do you live?

EricAmz · Answer 11 · 2012-06-06 22:35:26Z UTC

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You do what you can until your budget catches up with your plans. Mark Sisson advocates this knowing that eating this way can be difficult (and time consuming if you are searching for deals).

answered Jun 6 at 22:35

EricAmz
315●9

Crabbycakes · Answer 12 · 2012-06-07 02:44:30Z UTC

I buy a lot of grass feed ground beef, it usually comes in handy when my supply of other meat runs low. I add it to all sorts of stuff.

Also, I buy a lot of house brand frozen veggies. Fred Meyer/Kroger usually has their frozen veggies 10 for $10. Sure, I'd prefer fresh but frozen cauliflower does make a decent side dish.

And Costco. Decent prices on veggies and eggs. And meat if you're willing to buy a bunch at once.

Paleo/Primal on a Money Diet

12 Answers