Don't discount frozen vegetables. Spinach, for instance, is dirt cheap frozen, even the organic stuff, and you get much bigger bang for your buck considering how much it cooks down.

Organ meats are usually much cheaper than regular meats, and some of them taste similar. I buy livers and chicken hearts a lot. The hearts taste almost exactly the same as regular muscle meat. It is a muscle after all :) As for livers... well I used to hate them, esp. the texture, but I heard them being called "paleo superfood" so I grind them a little, add few eggs, lots of garlic, pepper etc. and fry all of it. It's not only edible for me - it tastes great. The result looks a lot like the spaghetti meat sauce. Add some sautéed onions and that's a dinner for me.

Eggs, fruit, and greens for breakfast (frozen spinach and kale are cheap and saute up well). I go through 2 bags of frozen greens a week and 14 eggs, but you might need more. I usually keep good bacon on hand and I throw in a slice every few days.

Lunch is leftover dinner except a few times a week I'll do a can of sardines or salmon with raw veggies and/or pickled veg (anything I can find w/o sugar), mustard, olives, and cheese (if you do dairy). Canned or jarred fish on a simple salad is great, too.

For dinners: if it's just you, this might work each week: Roast several whole chicken legs (to make 2 dinners and 1-2 lunches), make 2 grass-fed burgers (1 dinner, 1 lunch), Pork shoulder (you could braise a pork shoulder once a month and it would make for 1 dinner and one lunch a week for the whole month!), Lamb in whatever form you like (rack, burgers, kebabs - just cook enough for 1 dinner and 1 lunch), Mussels!!! They make a great dinner and take only 15-20 minutes start to finish. Last dinner: grilled or roasted fish - whatever you like/looks fresh.

For sides: I do 1/2 a plate of veg (whatever veg you can get for cheap) plus a safe starch (spaghetti squash, baked sweet potato, plantains cooked in coconut oil, roasted beets & carrots, I do rice sometimes, too :0

You might think about signing up for a CSA at your farmer's mkt. and you would just get a big ole box of what's seasonal veg/fruit wise. Assuming you're in the N. hemisphere, the timing couldn't be better.

There are many recipes that would work for this plan on my blog, but some of them are a bit labor-intensive. Not sure I can mention it here, but should be link-able from my profile.

My staples are minimal (ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, pickled veg, canned fish, mustard, frozen greens and broccoli, some nuts and cheese for snacks, sea snax brand seaweed :)

rice is a grain. not really paleo choice there. sweet potatoes can be great, but many paleo followers stay away from white potatoes on a regular basis.

i'd say eggs are the way to go, for sure, to cut costs, and green smoothies. i usually justify my slightly higher grocery bill by accounting for all the eating out we no longer do. if you are already not partaking in the occasional meal out or stopping for a coffee regularly then trade can be harder to see.

best wishes! ~L

Asian markets will be your best friend. Sweet potatoes. Depending on where you go to school, making friends with butchers and farmers will also be beneficial.

Can't get much cheaper than potatoes and rice. Meat is expensive. Paleo does not have to be a high meat diet.

Buy suet, bones and offals. Inexpensive source of quality fat and protein (also delicious!)

Primaltoad at Primaltoad.com came up with a 30 day meal plan for $200 a few months ago.

Other ideas -- cheap healthy sources of meat -- ALDI has wild caught fish for very affordable prices and no GMO's.

Every week - I buy 20 eggs and 200g of thinly sliced bacon (smoked and cured only with salt) for my breakfasts - alternate different types of meat, fish and organ and bones depending on what's available and cheap, - enough for 12 meals - a cauliflower or other non leafy green vege, and a couple of leafy green veges. Also either some strawberries or 6 apples and one can of coconut cream.

Every three days or rather if and when I think food is running out I'll buy more of whatever's running out. - I walk past a supermarket everyday - between my car and the office so it's not a hassle.

Every time I run out - I buy extra virgin olive and coconut oil, and ghee. I have almost a tablespoon of each everyday.

I buy these rarely - herbs dried or fresh, sea salt, butter, and a very occasional splurge on duck fat which I can eat off a spoon with delight.

I tend to batch cook on Sundays - I work crazy hours, so I have portions in containers ready to go. I may eat out once a week - and I have a half a day of non paleo foods once a week - which is either out with friends or on grocery shopping day. I typically skip about 2 meals a week because of the crazy hours.

Hope that answers your question!

Invest in a simple slow cooker and freeze the leftovers in small freezer bags. Roasts are usually reasonably priced and so easy, just meat, a couple sliced onions and seasoning. Add a cup or so of water for a nice bit of sauce so your frozen meat is nice and juicy. It's hard to beat! Works with pork or beef. Chicken not so much.

Also I buy a rotisserie chicken and make a huge batch of soup with lots of veggies and seasoning. Finish with a cup of coconut milk and it's very filling! This also freezes well.

Buy what's cheap in bulk, cook and freeze in serving size packs. You will spend less and always have great food at your fingertips! I recommend Melissa Joulwan's cookbook Well Fed for the best info on cooking ahead. Plus her recipes are awesome!

If someone actually shares, let me know too! lol Seriously, people seem to love suggesting "meals" but I've yet to come across what you are looking for on the internet. Heck, even most of the books I've read about Paleo and Primal are like that!

There is a website called Paleo on a Budget which you might find helpful:

http://paleoonabudget.com/

Though I get paid well me and my husband aren't big foodies so we tend to eat the same things all the time, and so I'd also like to get a structured eating plan together & spend less on food...Though I must admit, getting rid of all the junk has helped that greatly! I hate when people don't understand that you spend way less on food when you aren't buying all the processed crap anymore...

First, I think anyone trying to eat paleo on a low budget needs a crock pot (slow cooker) and a vacuum sealer. I got my crock pot for $30 and my vacuum sealer for $20.
With the slow cooker, you can easily make no-fuss paleo meals from cuts of meat that are cheap because they aren't tender unless cooked at low temps for long periods of time- cuts like beef tongue for instance. I recently saw a 2 pound beef tongue at the grocery store for $3.49. Compared to $6 or $7 for one pound of steak, it's a great deal. A slow cooker also makes it easy to make your own stocks from bones which adds nutrients and calories to soups and stews you can also make in your crock pot.

The vacuum sealer is great because like another poster said, often you'll see a great deal on a certain item at the store, and you can only get the amount you can eat in a week. You can use the vacuum sealer in two ways- you can buy more of the foods that are on sale because you can freeze a bunch of it. You can also cook bigger meals (like roasts in your crock pot) and then divide them into individual portions and freeze. This makes it easy to have a variety of food in your freezer that's easy to just pull out and heat up. Having a vacuum sealer also allows you to buy fresh, local produce when it's in season (and the least expensive) and have it all year. I buy local North Carolina strawberries when they're in season and I freeze a couple of bags and dehydrate a bunch with my dehydrator. Not only are you saving money and supporting the local economy, but you're reducing the carbon footprint of the food you eat by choosing to buy local.

Buy canned fish instead of fresh and use in soups to get your Omega3 without spending tons of money. I also buy kippersnacks (they're super cheap at big box stores) and eat them for lunch or as a snack. A can costs around $1.50.

Frozen veggies are generally inexpensive and you don't have to rush to use them before they go bad like fresh ones.

I love buying canned coconut milk and coconut cream. I can find them for cheap at Indian food stores. Coconut cream and milk are really versatile, I find myself using it much more than in just curries.

I think the most important part of staying paleo and on a budget for me is planning ahead. If I know I'll be traveling, I try to make sure I have food for the road with me so I'm not tempted by fast food. If I know I'm headed into a busy week, I can cook a few different meals ahead of time and freeze single portions I can just heat up. This reduces the amount I spend out at fast food or out to eat because I didn't have time to cook or was too tired.

1. Go to the store as often as possible to get your produce. If you buy a bunch at once and toss it in your fridge until next weeks trip to the store, chances are some it will have gone bad over that time and you've lost some money. Personally, I go to WF for produce every day if I have the time.

2. If you are really squeezed for cash, don't buy items not on the dirty dozen organic. for instance, oranges are probably fine to eat conventional.

3. canned tuna and canned salmon are great, cheap, and convenient sources of protein, and omega 3s.

4. A descent stash of frozen veggies are great to have on hand

5. roots and tubers wills save you tons of money if you handle them, as opposed to getting those calories from added protein or a wider variety of non-starchy vegetables.

6. Make friends with the produce (and seafood) department. They are usually very nice and will often hook you up with deals, or even sometimes give you stuff on the house.

Besides messing with the quantity or quality of ingredients, you might also consider how cooking techniques can affect caloric availability for specific foods. For example, boiling or pressure cooking starchy tubers such as sweet potatoes will make them yield more energy than baking or frying them.

Are you simply following the WOD or are you a member of a crossfit gym?

Because a regular gym membership (normally) is about 1/3rd the price of a Crossfit membership.

I'm not telling you to quit your Crossfit membership if so, but personally I'd reevaluate my needs if I needed an extra $75/month on groceries, and my gym membership was $120/month.

Emeals.com offers a paleo meal plan. Emeals is a company that provides several different meal plans for budgeting. Yes, you have to pay, but Groupon often has the subscriptions on sale. The subscription costs $5 per month if you buy the 12-month subscription. But you could buy a 3-month subscription for $21 total just to try it out and see if it helps. We got a year's paid subscription for our wedding, and I use the emeals plans for recipe ideas to make my dollar go further. It's helpful for creativity and budgeting. Hope that helps!

Potaaaaattttooooooes.

Especially if you do Crossfit.

And rice. It's not nutrient dense, but it's tasty cooked in bone broth. Experiment with rice and starches and see how you perform and feel.

I will second and third frozen veggies and meat on sale. Make big batches of food and freeze it. Nuts should be a food used very sparingly. Unless you find a good deal on macadamia nuts, which are perfect in every way.

Buy a little food processor, lightly fry up chicken livers in butter or bacon fat, add some herbs and garlic and transfer to that processor. Blitz that shit up. There. You have nutrient dense, super yummy paté. Eat 1 - 2x a week with carrot and celery sticks.

If you have a good Polish deli around you, see if you can find some good quality kielbasa. Sliced thin and fried in butter with a little mustard and pickles on the side = YUM! A Polish deli may also have goodies imported from elsewhere. For example, I found really tasty sardines in olive oil from Portugal, and cod liver paté from Iceland which was DELICIOUS!

Sardines, tuna, mackerel, wild salmon in cans are also good. Sweet potatoes are also your best friend. Buy coconut oil on sale.