Primal/paleo/LC on budget for family of 5 (two are teens)

[Holly IN]

Here we go again another thread on paleo/primal:

 

We are trying to cut back on grocery bill. It is so hard to do when prices are going up by the week on food.

 

I have seen on the web that paleo people can eat paleo for two for $100 a week. I am just not sure how they do that. Our grocery bill is around 350 to 400 a week. We get so little for what we buy. Unbelieveable. Walmart prices are not reasonable but in comparision though they are cheaper beside Aldi's. I do not shop at Aldis. We shop at so many places so to add one more store....would make me pull my hairs out.

 

So I need some meal ideas for family of 5 with two teen boys and a preteen girl. My oldest teen eats like a horse. sigh....He is also a heavy duty workout child as he wants to do Warrior Dash this summer and Tough Mudder next summer.

I know I did a thread on summer meals. Right now its cold so we are back on cold menu.

 

Help!!

 

Holly

[Amanda's Mommy]

:bigear:

 

I'd like to know too. There are three of us and I can't do $100/week.

[happypamama]

No way can I feed our family of five (#6 doesn't eat solid foods yet, and I don't see an increase in my own caloric needs while breastfeeding) on $100 a week, especially paleo. It's not a super high COL area, but to go completely without grains and legumes, I'd need close to $200 a week, more if I went all grass-fed/organic/pastured. There's no question -- pound for pound, if we need more food at a meal, I can add another pound of veggies for a whole lot less than I can add another pound of meat. We still limit grains, especially for the adults, but we also do bean-based meals a few times a week too, with lots of veggies (skipping the rice/pasta/potatoes). When I know I'm serving something with beans for dinner, I try to make those the days when I don't decide to eat oatmeal for breakfast or a sandwich for lunch.

[eternalknot]

It might cost extra on the front end - buying meat in bulk and freezing, e.g.

 

Or it might mean learning the cycle of your local stores and butchers - then purchasing reduced-priced meat and freezing or cooking in batches (to freeze). My grocery store always has half-price (or less) meats that are within a day or so of their sell-by date. My friend eats Primal and negotiates with the in-store butcher to get an even better deal. She offers to buy the entire stock and usually gets an extra 20% off the entire selection. It's not always her favorite cuts, but it's priced right to fill in the gaps :)

[TammyinTN]

Would it be possible to buy your meats at Costco?

[regentrude]

I do not shop at Aldis.

Why not?

I buy as much as possible at Aldi's (except for meat). It has the lowest cost and among the best produce in town. Their selection is limited to maybe only 20 different fruits and veggies (instead of 50), but because of the high turnover everything is very fresh. I also choose based on what is on sale in a given week.

[flobee76]

Is there any way that you can buy your meats in bulk? For instance, buying your beef by the quarter of a cow? We do that and pay about $3.29/lb for grass-fed beef. 1/4 lasts us about 4-6 months. If you can find a pasture-based poultry farm, that would save you a bundle as well. We also own chickens for pastured eggs, but I know that isn't an option for a lot of people.

 

We are a family of 5, but none of my kids are teens yet. However, when they go through growth spurts, I find that we are buying double or triple food for the week. I try to keep our food budget around $650/month. That is ONLY food and supplements, not paper or household products.

 

I save a lot of money by purchasing produce in season at our farmer's market. We buy raw milk which is SO expensive out here, but I have to make room in our budget.

 

Do you have time to grow your own produce? That has helped us as well. :)

 

Costco saves us as well. I also buy a lot of our food thru Azure Standard. If you have a drop near you, maybe you could join that?

[KirstenH]

We eat primal. When I need to cut grocery costs, here's what I do:

 

MEAT: Switch to ground meat and sausages (still organic and grass fed) or buy whatever is on sale in the organics section. I will say that the single thing we eat most often is chicken thighs (both regular and boneless/skinless). Even the organic ones are cheap, and they are very versatile. Also, when the more expensive cuts we like to eat go on sale, I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer and save it for a later date.

 

PRODUCE: Frozen, obviously, but as far as fresh goes, I'll buy organic cabbage and cauliflower if I want cheap veggies that will go further. I'll also buy whatever berries are on sale instead of our favorites.

 

FAVORITE TIPS AND TRICKS: Keep canned organic pumpkin and canned organic butternut squash on hand at all times. Stretch ground beef dishes (usually chili) with pumpkin, and ground turkey dishes (usually curry) with butternut squash. Also, EGGS! Scrambled, hard-boiled, frittatas, baked eggs, fried eggs, eggs in stir-fry ... eggs are cheap and very nutritious. We eat them a lot, especially when our chickens are laying. :)

 

OTHER: We're all thin here (thanks to two years of primal eating), so we do allow white rice, oats and tubers in our diets -- in limited quantities for the adults and unlimited quantities for the kids. This helps with my oldest son's bottomless pit complex. I would do the same for any kid who isn't overweight. They just eat so much food that to keep them very-low-carb would indeed cost a fortune.

Edited April 7, 2012 by KirstenH

[PiCO]

I have seen on the web that paleo people can eat paleo for two for $100 a week.

 

I would imagine you could do that by hunting and having a garden, and a large freezer.

 

I feed 3 people on pretty much paleo, and I spend a lot more than $100 / wk.

[Holly IN]

Is there any way that you can buy your meats in bulk? For instance, buying your beef by the quarter of a cow? We do that and pay about $3.29/lb for grass-fed beef.

We are a family of 5, but none of my kids are teens yet. However, when they go through growth spurts, I find that we are buying double or triple food for the week. I try to keep our food budget around $650/month. That is ONLY food and supplements, not paper or household products.

 

I save a lot of money by purchasing produce in season at our farmer's market. We buy raw milk which is SO expensive out here, but I have to make room in our budget.

 

Do you have time to grow your own produce? That has helped us as well. :)

 

Costco saves us as well. I also buy a lot of our food thru Azure Standard. If you have a drop near you, maybe you could join that?

 

We used to do chickens. We had to stop when I went back to work full time. I had no time to take care of them, homeschool, cook, homemaker and work...I really do want them back. I have talked to hubby many times about buying cow or half a cow for bulk meat. He doesn't see the savings, (yet)...I am still working on him.

 

We are starting a green house this year. However hubby is debating whether doing just a cold veggie greenhouse or warm green house...Much cheaper to do a cold greenhouse. Jury is still out on that. We are doing a garden this year for sure. Lots of different veggies.

 

We buy organic milk. It is the only kind of milk that do not hurt hubby's kidneys. So we do splurge on milk. (We are primal not paleo but I do value input from paleo people....we are drinking less milk than we used to. )

 

We can't do beans. Too many issues with IBS and it is a no no on primal/paleo. We do buy roasts at Sams. Steaks are a bit harder at Sams. They cut them way too thick and you can't have them cut it for you like Kroger does. We do buy filet mignon roast at Trader Joes (they are CHEAPER than Kroger and this is only a once a month splurge for the whole family...one package of this runs us around $28 and it feeds all of us well....each of us can get 3-4 pieces)

 

For this coming week: hubby wants chicken soup. Well the stock is PRICEY!!!!! $18 for the whole chicken stock. ....OUCH and I buy chicken rotissieri at Walmart. However I got a deal from them. I took all they had in the freezer for $4.00 each. So I got a little over a dollar off of each. Still its a very expensive soup. I am accumulating chicken carcasss to make stock. I have enough right now to make stock but no time to deal with it this weekend. I do know if I didn't have a full time job our food bill will drop not because we eat out....we bring our lunches with us. It would cut areas such as convenience foods like stock, rotisserie chicken and so on.

 

What are the examples of meals that is a hit but makes a plate of 1/2 veggies/salad and 1/2 meat/protien (no beans)?

 

TIA

 

Holly

[Holly IN]

We eat primal. When I need to cut grocery costs, here's what I do:

 

MEAT: Switch to ground meat and sausages (still organic and grass fed) or buy whatever is on sale in the organics section. I will say that the single thing we eat most often is chicken thighs (both regular and boneless/skinless). Even the organic ones are cheap, and they are very versatile. Also, when the more expensive cuts we like to eat go on sale, I buy as much as I can fit in the freezer and save it for a later date.

 

PRODUCE: Frozen, obviously, but as far as fresh goes, I'll buy organic cabbage and cauliflower if I want cheap veggies that will go further. I'll also buy whatever berries are on sale instead of our favorites.

 

FAVORITE TIPS AND TRICKS: Keep canned organic pumpkin and canned organic butternut squash on hand at all times. Stretch ground beef dishes (usually chili) with pumpkin, and ground turkey dishes (usually curry) with butternut squash. Also, EGGS! Scrambled, hard-boiled, frittatas, baked eggs, fried eggs, eggs in stir-fry ... eggs are cheap and very nutritious. We eat them a lot, especially when our chickens are laying. :)

 

OTHER: We're all thin here (thanks to two years of primal eating), so we do allow white rice, oats and tubers in our diets -- in limited quantities for the adults and unlimited quantities for the kids. This helps with my oldest son's bottomless pit complex. I would do the same for any kid who isn't overweight. They just eat so much food that to keep them very-low-carb would indeed cost a fortune.

 

Meat: We eat mostly ground beef. Our ground beef is high in my opinion. $6.00 a pound. We do meatballs, meatloaf (Everyday paleo), hamburgers...Eggs are not cheap...grassfed from butcher same place as ground beef $4.29 dozen. We use 4 doz a week.

 

Produce: Need to buy inseason only...sigh

 

Canned butternut??Where do you get this?

 

Holly

[KirstenH]

Meat: We eat mostly ground beef. Our ground beef is high in my opinion. $6.00 a pound. We do meatballs, meatloaf (Everyday paleo), hamburgers...Eggs are not cheap...grassfed from butcher same place as ground beef $4.29 dozen. We use 4 doz a week.

 

Produce: Need to buy inseason only...sigh

 

Canned butternut??Where do you get this?

 

Holly

 

I also pay $6/lb. for grassfed. Yes, that's high if you're used to cheap ground beef, but it's a lot less expensive than steaks and whatnot. With primal, "cheap" is obviously going to be relative. There's no way around it costing more than a conventional American diet. The least expensive option for ground beef I've found is Costco -- but it's organic, not grassfed. I don't live close enough to Costco to make it worth my while to maintain a membership, but if you're close to one, they have good prices on organic chicken, too.

 

The canned butternut squash, I buy at Whole Foods, Wegmans or Harris Teeter. Sometimes Target has it, too. This is the kind I buy: http://www.amazon.com/Farmers-Market-Foods-Butternut-15-Ounce/dp/B000HDCSTG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333837859&sr=8-1

 

I'm just sharing what I do when I need to reduce costs. It sounds as if you're probably doing most of what I do as a matter of course already. I know it can be frustrating to feel like the food bills are out of control. On average, we spend about $1000 a month for our family of 4 at the grocery store. I expect it will only get worse as food prices rise and my boys grow bigger.

 

Is there anyone in your life who would go in on a group order of a cow or pig? A few times, we've split an animal with guys from DH's work. It's cheaper per pound than grocery shopping, but you get less choice in what cuts you end up with. Another option is game. If you have friends who hunt, that can be a great source of meat. Likewise fish from friends who fish.

 

Another thought: organ meat. Chicken livers are cheap. I like them, but I have to be in the mood. I wouldn't want to eat that every night, you know?

[ElizaG]

A pound of lard should be less than $5 (even if you get the really good stuff), and it has about 3800 calories. If you render your own, you can get some pork rinds into the bargain.

 

Though I dare say if you want to be really primal/paleo, the teenagers should be out hunting their own dinner. ;)

[Holly IN]

Hubby did say it is what it is with food prices. Just thought there might be a much cheaper way to do it. ;) I really need to learn what produce are in season. Right now its hard because we are in between cold and warm. We had a week of really hot weather and now we are heading into a cold snap again. sigh!

 

I know the filet mignon steaks we buy at Trader Joes is a STEAL since it is sold as a roast (one long piece that I have to cut up) so it is worth getting. Kroger only gives you 3 pieces for $25 and that doesn't even feed us. I know with the SAD way of eating they use a lot fillers to make the meat go longer. You can't do that with primal or paleo. I do like the idea of butternut and pumkin fillers. We can do that. I have paleo and primal cookbooks but wish there was one on frugal primal or paleo cookbook. :)

 

Thanks guys~ It seems we are in the same ballpark on budget.

 

Holly

[Holly IN]

A pound of lard should be less than $5 (even if you get the really good stuff), and it has about 3800 calories. If you render your own, you can get some pork rinds into the bargain.

 

Though I dare say if you want to be really primal/paleo, the teenagers should be out hunting their own dinner. ;)

 

They would love to hunt!!!! :) LOL!! We do not have good hunting rifiles though.

 

The butcher shop I buy ground beef from sells lard. So I will check with them.

 

Holly

[bbmom]

You could try more unusual cuts of meat since they are less expensive. Things like lamb neck or shank, pork shoulder, etc. are cheaper cuts that can feed a lot of people. Just cook in the slowcooker or dutch oven.

[Stayseeliz]

We buy our pastured meat from a farm for about $5 a lb. We don't buy expensive cuts like steak, etc since I can make a pound of ground beef go a lot farther than a steak. Eggs and beans go a long way. Shop sales and keep a price book for foods. Costco is your friend!! We eat traditional foods (nourishing traditions) for about $800 a month for a family of 6. It's not possible to go cheaper for us.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I cut up yellow squash, zucchini, or green cabbage into tiny pieces and use them as "inert filler" in my meat dishes. They taste like whatever spices I use, and it makes the food go farther without using grains or beans.

 

I buy most of our beef directly from the farmer. I can get grass-fed beef delivered to my door for about $4 per lb, if I buy it by the quarter or half. My parents live in the northeast and can get it even cheaper.

 

My garden is producing all the lettuce we can eat, so that saves us about $4/day on organic lettuce.

 

The grocery store has meat and produce on clearance after 7pm or so.

 

Still, our food bill is now about $800-900 per month. Food prices have gone up a lot. I can't wait until the garden starts producing squash, peppers, and tomatoes. Until then, I'd rather pay extra for food now than medical bills later.

[Holly IN]

Thank you guys!! I know we add more veggies to our diet and more sweet potatoes for the boys. My daughter needs to hold off for awhile till her gut problems go away.

 

It seems we are right on the mark with food cost like you guys are. Still wished I can reduce it...probably can if we can do a 1/2 cow. Still have to convince hubby. ;)

 

Anyway wanted to say thank you!!

 

Holly

[AdventureMoms]

Well there's no way that we do $100/wk. I'm closer to $150 and I have 5 people, but two are babies and one is a 3.5yo. They all eat a lot for their ages, but it's still nothing compared to a couple of teens.

 

Definitely make stock. I do this in the crockpot, it's super easy. Chuck carcass in crockpot (two chickens or one turkey), fill with water, run for 24hrs on low, strain out bones. Then I reduce it on the stove to bullion strength and freeze it in an ice cube tray so i can throw it in recipes. But if you're making soup, you can just use it full strength. Add your salt, veggies, seasonings, etc to the soup.

 

We do a lot of crockpot roasts. When I can get a roast on sale (beef or pork) I buy a bunch and freeze them. To cook them I stick them in the crockpot with some seasonings and cook for 8-10hrs on low, then shred the whole thing with a fork. The bones will come right out, and bone-in roasts are usually cheaper. This is a really good use for a cheap cut of any kind of meat. I also do this with chicken pieces (usually thighs). We use this for all kinds of stuff, mostly very easy - tacos (lettuce wraps), salads with meat, bbq pork, in a frittata, in soup, etc.

 

Don't forget eggs. Good quality eggs are still pretty reasonable, we love breakfast for dinner and the extra protein helps stretch your meat.

 

My current favorite is asian-style soup. I cut up a bunch of bok choi (usually pretty cheap here) and put it in a bowl. Add some shredded meat on top, and chopped green onions if you have them. Cilantro is good too. Make a good broth with nice flavor to it (I use my frozen stock and add a little onion, some salt, a little cayenne, some herbs, usually some paprika - the whole thing takes like 10 mins. Then pour the boiling broth over the meat and veggies. The veggies will cook a bit and the meat will heat up, and you have yummy soup. Very filling!!

 

When I'm really rushed for time I will just do half a plate of a seasoned, shredded meat, and half a plate of a fresh or frozen veggie (whatever is cheap or whatever I had a coupon for), and that's what we eat. I try to shop by what's on sale rather than what we're wishing for on grocery day. If DW decides that she really wants chicken, and I have one in the freezer, I'll do it, but otherwise she gets to wait for the next chicken sale.