LCHF / PALEO {and similar folks} - Grocery budgets & tips?

[frugalmamatx]

DD & I are 2 weeks into a whole house paleo diet. I feel better than I have in a while {no joint pain} and dd has has less behavioral issues so I am committed to staying on Paleo for both of us. That being said - How the heck do y'all manage eating like this without spending a TON on groceries??? I did my big shopping trips for the month on Thursday and Friday. My grocery budget is $360 for the month - non negotiable. After just the two trips I've left with $60 to last the rest of December, and I'm slightly freaking out over that. And I didn't even buy anything very expensive IMO - produce, honey & meat were the bulk of the items. I shopped sale items for everything too, so it's not like I bought expensive cuts of meat or anything. And I still have a few items on my list I need to go back & get since they were out yesterday. 

 

Surely there must be some tricks to spending less on produce & meat? PLEASE share them if you know any. 

 

We are putting in a garden bed next week so that will help some eventually, and do have chickens for eggs {if they ever start laying!}. Buying things like side of beef / etc are out for us as I am limited to where I can get with public transportation AND how much I can haul in a trip. Farmers markets here are both not easy to get to AND when I have gone, the prices tend to be higher than the grocery stores. 

[JumpyTheFrog]

Potatoes and sweet potatoes help keep down the cost.

 

The last few months I have been eating a lot of frozen veggies. DH has now joined me. If we each eat 1-2 lb of frozen veggies per day, it cuts our food costs a lot. A 12 oz bag of frozen peas and carrots is pretty filling as the first part of my meal. We are doing it for weight loss, but it has helped our food budget significantly.

[JumpyTheFrog]

$360 per month? Wow, that is going to take some work.

 

I would eat lots of potatoes if that doesn't aggravate your symptoms. They are often pretty cheap this time of year ($3.50 for 10 lbs). When frozen veggies are on sale for about $1.30/lb, stock up. Also, you may be okay with small amounts of beans as long as you avoid grains. Make stock with any leftover carcasses and use that to flavor stuff.

[kiana]

If you read sale flyers religiously, you may be able to find some good deals. Look for frozen veg on sale and buy as much as you can fit. Eat more chicken, less beef. Chicken leg quarters are much cheaper than other cuts and frequently a good bargain even if not on sale. And potatoes. All the potatoes. They're usually on sale at this time of year too. 

[ktgrok]

and cut back on the honey, sweeteners, etc. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

That's a very tight budget.  Honey?  Didn't know honey was a LC thing.  I'm not totally familiar with Paleo though so maybe it's a Paleo thing. 

 

The obvious things are less expensive proteins like tuna, sugar free peanut butter, eggs, cheaper cuts of meat/poultry like bone in chicken.  You can use the bones to make broth/stock for soups and sauces.  Ground turkey isn't too bad. 

 

One of my local stores does a 37 pound box of meat for $99.  It includes various cuts of chicken, beef, and pork.  You could look around to see if any of the stores do any sort of bulk meat box.  Yes, I know this isn't grass fed highly special special stuff, but on that budget that's probably not going to make sense anyway.

 

For veg also consider some frozen and maybe even canned (canned French cut green beans I think aren't too bad taste wise).  Thing with that stuff is it doesn't go bad before you get to it so you won't waste it. 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh another one.  For meat and produce, many stores mark stuff down to clear it out.  It's not bad it's just near the sell by date.  I find a lot of deals that way. 

 

 

[JumpyTheFrog]

I think honey is just going to be too expensive. I would use sugar instead and just not use much sweeteners.

 

The only way I see this is possible is to eat mostly potatoes, onions, cabbage, frozen veggies, fresh produce that is $1/lb at most, and meat as a condiment. How many people do you need to fed for that price?

[SparklyUnicorn]

There will be no difference between the sugar and the honey if we are talking about how it effects your body.  I know I know people say honey is more natural.  Sure, but it's not exactly a health food.  It's sugar.  It'll raise your blood sugar just the same.  With a tight budget I wouldn't bother with it. 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think honey is just going to be too expensive. I would use sugar instead and just not use much sweeteners.

 

The only way I see this is possible is to eat mostly potatoes, onions, cabbage, frozen veggies, fresh produce that is $1/lb at most, and meat as a condiment. How many people do you need to fed for that price?

 

See I think with careful shopping it can be more than that.  If you can get chicken drums, for example, for $1.00 pp (I've seen them for even less than this sometimes) you could get 10 pounds of them for $10.  That's a good amount of meat!  And you could boil the bones and use the broth which is good for you too.  And that's just one example.  I sometimes get whole boneless pork loin for $1.69 pp.  Those are quite large, but for this huge hunk of meat it's cheap.  A lot of stores will even cut that up for you if you want.  I grind some of it and cut up some of it for various types of dishes.

 

But I do know prices vary wildly so who knows maybe those prices don't exist where you are or where she is.  Your price on 10 pound of potatoes, on sale I could get that for about 2x the price.  Produce where I am is very very expensive.  And the range of prices is crazy from one week to the next so I really do need to think about sales.  For example, last week I got a cucumber for 99 cents.  This week the same cucumbers are $2.50!  It's nuts. 

[foxbridgeacademy]

We feed 5-6 people (2 adults 3-4 teens) on 700-800 per month. I'm diabetic, DD is gluten free/dairy free (sometimes egg and meat free too), DS wants to get in better shape (so low carb too). We're not "paleo" but I do cook a lot from recipes found on their websites. I do a lot of sales shopping.  Where we live now I have 2 walmarts, 2 krogers, 2 publix, and 1 aldi's within about 1-3 miles.  There's also a sprouts I go to about 6 miles away.  I hit them all with a list that has the cheapest items on it.  

 

Sprouts always has some veggies and fruit for $.98 per pound., one of the stores will often have boneless/skinless chicken for $1.70 or less per pound, if not then the regular price is $1.99 at walmart.  I buy the 5 or 10 pound package of 80/20 ground beef from walmart for $2.06 per pound.  I rarely buy beef roasts/steaks  that aren't marked down for quick sale.  I take them home and freeze them for later.  At aldi's I buy frozen veggies. the quality is usually better than birds eye and the cost is less.  We don't eat most canned veggies, that's what I grew up eating and I can't stomach the flavor.  I will buy tomatoes and beans canned from aldi's for around $.60 per can.  We eat a lot of potatoes this time of year and I try to buy the more expensive ones.... they seem to last longer so I don't end up throwing whole bags away due to age or rot.  Aldi's has a good proce on cheese or it often goes on sale at kroger.  As for publix they have sone great BOGO's every week and I get Prego for $1.00 (no one likes my homemade sauce).  They have a lot of other prepackaged stuff that we use some.  So when it goes on sale I stock up. If you can one of the best things is to invest in a freezer.  I used to have one but gave it to my sister when we moved and I miss it terribly. I bought about 70 red peppers, sliced, bagged, and froze them(20 early in the season then 50 more later) for an average of $.60 each.  They will last us all winter (just started using them) but if I could have bought more then we could save even more over spring/summer too. 

[idnib]

Use an online calculator to figure out exactly how much protein each of you needs. Make sure you're not overshooting.

 

Fill up on cheap in-season veggies. Freeze them when they're cheap for later.

 

Don't try to eat too much variety. The same few things over and over may be boring, but worth it if the diet addresses your other issues.

 

See if you can find a place that will sell you an entire flat of eggs instead of a carton. Bring old empty cartons for transit.

 

For frozen veggies, broccoli and cauliflower are usually cheapest.

 

Buy fattier meat so you can use the drippings for the veggies.

 

Canned fish with mayo.

 

Make bone broth from your own chicken bones if you're not yet.

 

Always buy the whole chicken, not the parts.

 

Forget about dessert for now.

 

Don't try to replicate high-carb recipes with low carb ingredients. (I'm pretty sure you're not, but just wanted to mention it.)

[Pegasus]

Eggs. Very cheap and just about the perfect LCHF whole food. They aren't just for breakfast!

 

I prefer fresh produce so end up eating a lot of cabbage. Cheap. And tasty either oven roasted or made into slaw.