Bulk markets such as Costco or Sams clubs for vegetables and tubers. Another option is the Asian markets. Ranch 99 and H-Mart are some good ones. Also get some good fats such as avocado and coconut at these places.

For inexpensive protein I feel that one could be okay adding in non-allergen supplements. This means rich and/or pea protein (30 servings/330 grams for $7-$9 on vitacost.com) Robb Wolf said on one of his podcast that rice protein powder was fairly harmless (compare this to whey (dairy) and soy (estrogen promoting).

To supplement the vitamins from real meat and to get more protein Id recommend Now Foods Liver Powder. It's $8ish for 34 servings/340 grams of protein on Swanson http://www.swansonvitamins.com/NWF898/ItemDetail?n=0

Buying offal Ive been told is also cheap but I worry about non-organic sources. The Now Foods powder is grass fed/hormone free cattle from Argentina.

Im allergic to eggs but if youre not then stock up on stacks of eggs at Costco/Sams Club.

For a "cheap" meal on the go, hit up Chipotle, ask for two sides (sides only) of meat and one side of groc. If you go steak this is around $6.50 and filling. Chicken would probably be around $5.75. In N Out double single (keeping dairy to minimum) is also another good option.

I have autoimmune issues so I cant buy cheap meat, it messes me up (but even when I went to supps I still ate about a pound of hormone free meat a day..down from 2-3 lbs). I supplemented with these foods when I was laid off. I am now working for a solar start-up (so back to full paleo) but still its only part time. As someone who graduated from a top university with honors and has a solid resume but still looking for work I feel your potential pain. It can be tough at there...

frozen veggies are usually less expensive. for example: I can get 1 kilo of green beens for 1,50 euros! don't know how it is in the US though.

if you introduce more heavy carbs like rice and potatoes to your diet, don't forget about the fact that their nutritional profile is practicially non-existent. I mean, you still want to eat this way because you want to be healthy and feel good, right?

Start buying HERBS! they are often overlooked. so small, so tasty and such powerhouses of vitamins and minerals; things a caveman needs. parsley! e.g. chop it up, put it in mashed potatoes with butter = heaven. sage! rosemary! or oregano. you can easily grow these in your kitchen. cheap and awesome!

and of course, as some already suggested it: offals. seriously. shovel it down your kids' throats. don't tell them what it is if they are such cowards; they will thank you one day. cubes of beef tongue in an easy stir fry with some hash browns/veggies? say it's beef. you're not even lying. puree liver and mix it into ground beef (another cheaper protein source).

IMO it is important to stick with good fats. ghee (make it yourself), EVOO, lard and tallow. the latter two are quite cheap if you ask your farmer for suet and then render it yourself.

eating "paleo" is not a law. don't label the way you eat. don't think: omg, actually, potatoes are not "paleo". stick to WHOLE foods! don't despair, stick with making things from scratch!
GO, birdman ;)

Tough situation. Eat opportunistically to survive. Sacrifice expensive grass-fed meat and all dietary supplements as "90% cost - 10% benefit" frills. Buy the best carbs and fat you can get, with as much meat as you can afford. Fatty bone-in beef and pork cuts and whole chickens. In stews of beans and rice, cooked to extract the fat and marrow.

FWIW- my local grass-fed butcher here in the Hudson Valley just started participating with the New York State equivalent of food stamps. Some of the local farmer's markets participate as well. Don't know if this will be an option for you, but may be something to keep in mind...

Do not forget that sitting down to a home cooked meal is time together as a family. Quality time... Spend the time together to shop, cook, and eat. It will prepare your kids for a healthy life, and give them memories that money can't buy.

Top quality pastured meat vs. ramen is a ridiculous false dichotomy. This type of thing is turning into my pet peeve, because it gives the impression that if you can't afford to eat ideally, you may as well eat the worst possible options.

("Pay for food or pay with your health" type comments are my other paleo pet peeve. While I agree that a lot of people could cut back in other areas to make more room for food, if you don't have the budget for top quality food, you don't have it, and such comments only make those in that situation feel bad without providing any solution to the problem.)

Nutrition is a continuum, not black or white. Conventional eggs aren't as ideal as pastured eggs, but they're still pretty inexpensive per serving, and nutritionally superior to ramen, hamburger helper (plus you still need to take the cost of the protein source into account when looking at that price), and other carb-based processed foods. Figure out where you're willing to compromise on quality.

Look at your overall budget for areas that can be cut to make room for better food. Most US households have cable packages, for instance - that's something that can be cut and will most likely improve your health. If you need or want to buy consumer goods, look for them secondhand at thrift stores, craigslist, ebay, and so forth first. Would it be reasonable to get rid of one or more cars and bicycle/walk/public transportation more (again, this would probably be beneficial to your health)?

Experiment with properly prepared legumes and grains while you still have a reasonable food budget. Figure out what works for you and what you'd rather avoid when you can afford to use them on only an occasional basis. Properly prepared navy beans and lentils are allowed on GAPS/SCD (anti-inflammatory diets), and might be good starting points.

Start making these changes now - don't wait until you're forced to. If you can start buying secondhand and put more money into savings, you'll have more of a cushion when your income drops. And right now is prime time for produce - buy a lot and preserve it now (freezing, drying, fermenting, canning, whatever), rather than paying for more expensive, lower-quality produce in December on a more limited budget.

Having been below the poverty line, I can say that ethnic markets were the best thing in the world. If you stick with a Asiatic-style diet you will be healthier than most people and since I actually experienced health benefits from rice, I stuck with it even though I have a job now. It's interesting...at what point are you not paleo? Considering Don Mastesz and his wife are calling their macrobiotic diet (with soy milk!) primal, I figure I can fit under the umbrella too.

Some staples from the lean years

• unground buckwheat and then grind it in a coffee grinder to make flour
• rice
• rice noodles
• skinless urad dal, soaked for 24-hours, which I think is the least toxic legume you can get
• potatoes
• coconut cream, which often costs the same as a can of coconut milk and is the equivalent, calorie-wise, to several cans of milk
• bartering with local farmers and growing my own garden of vegetables and herbs. If I had lived in a suburban area I might have tried to keep chickens myself.
• when I did get meat, I hoarded the bones and made stock to cook the rice in

I am new here but just wanted to add my condolences. We have been struggling for some years since my husband's career went overseas without him and our family business tanked at the same time. It's hard and it's scary. But I have hope because I see so many other families hunkering down and figuring out and there are great homesteading resources online that illustrate this. Living well doesn't have to take money although it does take time. (I'm in grad school now so we don't have much of either!) this site seems like a great place for discovering alternative ways to get the healthful things done as this thread testifies. Hang in there and TAKE CARE!

Sorry you are in this mess, as others are. Have you thought about increasing your own food production with chickens or a veggie garden or maybe even helping an elderly nieghbor with their garden in exchange for some extras? Do you have some local farmers who can trade a bit of work for some extra meat? A bag of brown rice or a sack of potatoes can go pretty far, and you'll still be 80/20.

You don't say where you live, but I wonder if you can look into farmer coops or that sort of thing where you would go in with a bunch of friends to buy a cow, or get the Box delivered (fresh veg and quite cheap). Also, what about hunting? It is legal (even encouraged) to hunt deer many places and one or two deer ought last a family of four quite awhile. And of course, your own garden -- even on a porch in planters there are a lot of veggies you can grow.

I would also add that you can stretch that chicken by making big batches of bone broth. With an organic chicken backs and a neck or two (about $2 for the whole batch at my health food store, ask the meat department) I made 330 ounces of bone broth:

I am in a very similar position. Money is tight but I still want to stay fairly Paleo. At the same time I can't bring myself to eat cheap bulk meat products because of the chemicals hormones and other additives in industrial meat. I also can't forget that I would be eating second hand the horrid stew of cheap grains, rendered animal fat, chicken litter and other waste products that factory farmed animals are fed.

Here's what I do stay fairly paleo on a budget while avoiding factory farmed meat. I eat inexpensive fish from the ocean like sardines, salmon and herring. I stay away from dairy products and factory farmed meats. I avoid grains but will eat beans. Bulk dry beans are very cheap and filling and if they are soaked and activated before cooking they are very nutritious.

What it boils down to is inexpensive fish from the ocean (not from fish farms), beans, fruit, vegetables, tubers, nuts and seeds. It's the healthiest diet on a budget that I know.

(Conventional) chicken, eggs, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, porc fat and meat, offal of any origin, butter, apples, carrots, coconuts are quite inexpensive.

The least problematic legume is lentils (soaked and cooked) as far as I know... White rice may do not much harm, if a person is not sensitiv.

Resorting to crap in a bag is no good idea on a budget – what you safe in the grocery store you’ll perhaps have to pay your doctors…

What about gardening and growing your own food? Raising your own chickens?

I am on a budget also and eat beans prepared from scratch, vegetables from the garden, fruit from wild trees and cultivated ones. I live out in the country. Just no way I'd pay that much for a fresh chicken when I can go out and shoot a rabbit or deer LOL. I'm not hardcore paleo since most of my recent ancestors are from the Caribbean, Meditteranean, Africa. It's all good my friend. The stress of money will override whatever gains in health you are making if you worry about being perfect paleo.

Hang in there. You are still family no matter what your circumstances.

Eggs and butter (even just normal ones) Some meat here and there...

Paleo is more than just eating expensive food. I like the 12 steps listed here. Even if you can do a handful it is better than none.

http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

Hang in and stay here on PaleoHacks.

Best Wishes - Eric

I'm sorry you are struggling financially or about to be. During times of financial struggle I try to look at it as an adventure of sorts. You can try out some new things and have some fun with it. It's only temporary so just know there will be a time you can return to your paleo ways. Nothing lasts forever included unemployment and lack of money.

I have always thought that if I were to be challenged in such a way I would turn to WAPF and include traditionally prepared grains and legumes in my diet. At least that way you are lessening the toxic load on the body and can enjoy some cheaper grain/legume options. They are very close to paleo in thought otherwise so it's not a huge leap. You can eat what meat you can afford but also things like soaked oatmeal, lentils and rice or beans and rice, which are really inexpensive. Not perfect per paleo but a heck of a lot better than Ramen and mac and cheese in the dreaded blue box. You might want to check them out.

Keep the faith. It's just part of the journey and you will come out on the other end all the better for it. Change is hard. Humbling change is really hard. But these are the moments where you get to show your stuff. So take it a day at a time and just do the best you can for you and your family. Whatever that is will be enough.