We’ve heard it a million times – how can I afford to eat like this? (“Like this” meaning “Whole30®” or a general Paleo diet.) We can’t argue the fact that it’s cheaper to eat a McDonald’s value meal than to craft your own healthy healthy dish by hand… but then again, diabetes medication is pretty expensive too. We’re not here to argue for all of the reasons you should eat better. If you’re reading our site, you already know that, and are trying to do something about it. We’re also not going to get on one of our favorite soapboxes, called, “You just spent $5 on a latte, and that’s not even food.” Ultimately, it all comes down to making healthy eating a top financial priority, but there are plenty of ways you can make your current food budget work a little harder.
Whole9’s Guide to the Gro-Sto
For those of you who are on a budget (all of us), and trying to eat better (all of you reading), let’s talk about some really specific strategies for making your healthy eating dollar stretch just a bit further. No, we’re not just going to say, “Buy on sale, buy in bulk!” We’re about to walk you through our specific grocery store strategy – what we do, step by step, every time we hit the Whole Foods, Liberty Heights market or our local downtown Farmer’s Market. Because while we make food our top financial priority, right behind rent and electricity… we aren’t made of money either, and need to make our Paleo pennies work as hard as possible. One caveat, however. If you are truly committed to eating as healthy as possible, you may have to sacrifice some of your selfish food desires. I may want grapes in March, but at $8 a pound (and coming all the way from Chile), I just can’t afford them. The same goes for any of your food choices – we’re going to encourage you to buy for quality first and foremost, even if you have to compromise on taste and preference.
Stop One: Meat, Fish and Eggs
The first thing we do – and where the majority of your food budget should be spent – is on high quality animal protein sources, so head straight to the meat section (and check our still-evolving Conscientious Omnivore series for tips on buying high quality protein). Dollar for dollar, your health-money works hardest when you buy grass-fed or pastured and organic meat as often as possible. If there’s no grass-fed ground beef, but you’ve got grass-fed lamb available, buy it and find a recipe later. If there’s plenty of pastured chicken but no beef or pork, plan on eating chicken all week. If there’s nothing fresh in your local food market, ask for frozen – often, that’s where you’ll find the largest supply of high quality, locally farmed meat. And if you’ve got a few extra bucks this week, buy more and freeze it for later.
If you simply can’t afford “best choice” meat, then follow this strategy. First, stick to meat from ruminants (beef, lamb, elk, bison/buffalo, goat or venison), as they tend to have access to their natural diets for at least a portion of their lives, and have a better omega-6 to omega-3 ratio than either chicken or pork. Second, buy the leanest cuts available, and trim or drain all visible fat before eating. Our main concern with lower quality meat comes from the unhealthy things (antibiotics, hormones, environmental toxins and pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids) that “live” in the fat content. Omit most of the fat and you mitigate some of those concerns. Third, consume chicken only without the skin, for the same reason. And finally, avoid ALL pork products, as commercially raised pork has the worst N6:N3 ratio of any animal protein source. (And yes, that means no bacon. Since when is bacon health food, anyway?)
Head to the fish counter next. Despite the common mantra, “wild-caught” is NOT always a good option, so read our Conscientious Omnivore seafood post, and use our guide to help you make the best fish and shellfish choices. Some “best choices” are expensive (like wild-caught Pacific halibut, which usually runs upwards of $20 a pound). Skip it and find a less expensive but similar substitute, like cod or scallops. Fish won’t keep for more than a day at home, so don’t over-buy here, unless you plan to freeze it for later. And speaking of, frozen is often a good (and less expensive) option for fish and seafood. We buy flash-frozen sea scallops for $16 a pound, compared to $20 a pound fresh.
Make one last stop at the dairy case for pastured, organic eggs. (See our Conscientious Omnivore: Eggs post for more guidelines.) They’re more expensive than their “cage free” counterparts, but where else can you get four meals’ worth of protein for just $5? Stock up and start loving eggs, because these are one of the cheapest high quality protein sources available.
Stop Two: Produce
Now that you’ve got your protein in order, your next priorities are vegetables and fruit… in that order. Shop with the understanding that we’d much rather you put your money into “clean” protein sources than organic fruits and vegetables. While pesticides aren’t delicious, eating high quality meat, fish and eggs is far more important to your health.
On to the vegetables. First, use our Seasonal Produce Guide to help you figure out what’s fresh (or close to it) this time of year. These choices will be the most nutritious and the least expensive. Next, review our bolded recommendations – you’ll get more nutrition for your dollar with things like kale, spinach and cauliflower. Finally, determine whether you can – and should – go organic. Use the “Clean” or “Dirty” designations in our Produce Guide to help you figure out when that’s important, and when it’s not. (Note, there are more fruits than vegetables labeled as “dirty” – yet another reason to load up on greens.)
Your most nutritious, least expensive option? A seasonal, clean, nutrient dense choice – but ultimately, we just want you to eat your veggies, any way you can afford them. So if you’re strapped, don’t worry about organic or local – just buy as much of the dark, leafy stuff (think “nutrient density”) as you can afford and don’t waste money on the nutritionally-sparse veggies like celery, iceberg lettuce and cucumbers. Frozen vegetables are also a good option, and tend to be cheaper. There are nutritional up sides and down sides to buying frozen, but in our view, the tiny amounts of nutrients lost (or gained) isn’t worth the worry – if frozen is easier or less expensive, go for it. You can also find some vegetables canned – things like pumpkin, butternut squash or sweet potato. These are a cheap and easy source of post-workout carbs, just make sure the only ingredient is the vegetable itself.
As for fruit, that only gets a brief mention here. If it’s summer, buy local, buy organic when you can, buy what’s on sale and enjoy! If not, then it’s not in season and probably comes from a far-away place, which means it’s going to be expensive, not so fresh, and less than delicious. If it’s in your budget, use the Seasonal Produce Guide to help you make good fruit choices off-season, but remember, vegetables are always your top priority.
Stop Three: The fats
You’ve all been told to “shop the perimeter” and stay away from the aisles, but here’s where you’re going to find a lot of your healthy fat sources, so dive on in and ignore all the brightly colored boxes. While adequate dietary fat is an important part of your healthy eating plan, fat can also be one of the more expensive items in the grocery stores – especially if you’re relying on the CrossFit dietary prescription of “nuts and seeds”. (We’ve been explaining in workshops for the last year why those aren’t your best option for health – never mind the price!) Here’s where you triage the rest of your money, and buy fat in the form you can afford with what’s left in your wallet. Luckily, some of your best sources are going to be the least expensive.
Coconut milk (even the organic stuff) is about $1.50 a can, and provides a full 72 grams of fat. Cheap, delicious and at the top of our go-to list for fats, so stock up and shake well. Next, check out the rest of the coconut products – coconut butter is going to be wickedly expensive, but shredded coconut (sulfite-free) is more reasonably priced per serving, and totally portable. Don’t forget to check out the avocado in the produce section – they’re a year-round item, and not important to buy organic. (Looking to mix up your avocado? Skip the pre-made guac – pricey! – and make your own.) Finally, canned olives (black or green) in water and salt are cheap, portable, don’t need to be refrigerated and a delicious source of fat.
If it’s in your budget, check out the nuts and seeds last, letting health and price be your determining factors. (Refer to your Success Guide, Gym Guide or workshop materials for guidance here.) You may want pecans, but if almonds are on sale, that’s what you buy. (See the theme, here?) Beware, as cheaper nuts will be roasted in low quality oil like soybean or peanut. Those make you less healthy, so make sure you invest in raw or dry-roasted. And the actual nuts are probably cheaper per serving – and more satiating – than their nut butter counterparts, so put the almond butter back on the shelf if you’re tight on cash.
Finally, got some extra money left over? When you’re a little more flush (or find a good sale), stock up on things like cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), organic, pastured butter, and unrefined coconut oil. These are all bigger ticket items, but will last you a few months and are all excellent fat sources. And last but not least, consider slowly adding to your herb and spice collection, with either fresh or dried (depending on the season). Seasonings can make chicken five nights a week taste exciting and different with each meal, and while they’re expensive, we’d spend an extra $5 not to be bored with our food.
The final bill
If you’ve shopped smart, you should have a cart full of things that maximize your health and minimize your expenses. We certainly don’t expect everyone to always buy organic this or grass-fed that, but do the best you can, keeping these guidelines in mind. Got a Paleo Poor tip for our readers? Share it in comments.
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I have a loaded question. I an brand new to Paleo. I have read a book, looked at many websites, listened to podcasts and I am attending a seminar tomorrow. I have a dilemma with 3 kids. They all are SOOO used to pop tarts (Ick!) and my oldest son drinks at least 3 huge glasses of milk a day! What can I give him in place of the milk!!!! My husband says to keep letting him drink it, but I also want to see if it is the cause of his acne. His sister and I are lactose intolerant. Also, they pack their lunch every day, What is a good source to find grab and go lunches for kids at school that don’t have to be heated. They are so used to sandwiches and brand name fruit snacks!! This is a huge change for my family and they are willing to try as long as what I am replacing everything with tastes good and is easy.
Also, I have access to cows with out hormones and injections, but they are corn fed starting between 6-9 months and get a protein supplement. DOes this change the meat? I keep thinking since corn is genetically modified the meat is not high quality.
Thank you soo much!
Danielle
@Danielle, you may want to check out our blog post from today as it answers several of your questions (http://whole9life.com/2013/03/raising-good-food-kids-faq/).
As for your question about the corn-fed beef, grass-fed is always going to be your healthiest option, but you can only do the best with what you have. Check out our Good Meat Guide for more info: http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Good-Meat.pdf
Sorry if this is a silly question, but can you continue with the whole30 for an extended time?
@Anna, sure! Although we do say it’s Whole30, not Whole365, there’s nothing wrong with taking a little more time on the program if that’s what you need. People do Whole45’s, Whole60’s, and even Whole100’s. Here’s a link to one woman’s experience extending her Whole30: http://whole9life.com/2012/10/lisas-whole100/
Why have you only designated some things as clean or dirty? If the rest are assumed clean, why bother labeling any as such? It seems you’ve tried to split up the lists between vegetable and fruit but I see a few fruits mixed in with the vegetables.
I have already tried posting 3 notes elsewhere but I am getting nowhere. I hope someone reads this because I am tired of writing. I tried to start your program today but am having problems already because I can’t eat spicy foods of any type, not even pepper. I will gag on any type of oils if I try to take them straight. I stir fry my veggies and cook my meats 3 weeks in advance, except for fish. Eggs will not cut it for bkfst every day, and no other meat sound like I could eat them for bkfst. Also, the veggies for bkfst I can’t figure out what to eat, nor the oils. I don’t mix my foods, so I’m not left with much to eat from your list. I also can’t have vinegar. What do I need to do?
@Linda F. Cullum, first, we apologize that we’ve not seen your message until now. I’m not sure where else you posted it, but this is the first I’ve seen it. I would say avoid the food that don’t work for you and eat the ones that do. If you can’t eat spicy food, don’t eat it. Same with vinegar. Same with mixing foods. If you don’t want to take oil straight, don’t take it (I assume you mean fish oil?) If it’s cooking oils you’re talking about, try ghee instead. For breakfast options, there are tons of posts out there (like this one: http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/1834-breakfast-ideas-without-eggs/) that gives egg-less options. You’ll just need to do some research and find something that works for you. If that means you don’t start the Whole30 today, or tomorrow, or next week that’s fine. Being prepared is uber important, and even more so for you.
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Hi,
I had a question about the no bacon? On most other paleo sites they rave about bacon and have some great recipes using bacon. I purchased applegate farms bacon which is uncured and humanely raised portk. Is this brand not good?
I’m slowly starting to incorporate a paleo diet into my lifestyle. If one can’t always find grass fed or pastured is organic a better choice than non? I can’t find grass fed in my grocery store but they do have organic chicken and beef.
Thanks.
Chris Henning
I started the Whole30 in late November. Since then, I’ve lost 73 pounds and I feel great. Last June (before changing my diet) I picked up staph infection when my husband was in the hospital. I went on a round of antibiotics, but it came back about a month later. Since then, I’ve had recurring staph infection every few months, and have a boil right now on my lower leg. I am 30 years old and have always been extremely healthy even though overweight (I’ve never had the flu, pneumonia, etc. in my life). I thought that changing my diet, cleaning myself up from the inside out, would solve my staph issue, but it hasn’t. Do you have any ideas? I have tried everything – antibiotics, bleach baths, antibiotic ointments, ichtamol, manuka honey, teatree oil, etc. – with no success.
@Chris H., you can read all about our stance on bacon here: http://whole9life.com/2012/03/bacon/ and our Good Meat Guide here: http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Good-Meat.pdf
Those should be able to answer your questions :)
Lucy,
Thanks for your query, and I’m sorry that you continue to struggle with health issues. I’ll respond in a gentle but straightforward manner: if you’ve considerably overweight and have recurring staph infections, I’m going to push back against your statement about being extremely healthy”. Individuals with robust and balanced immune systems (and balanced colonization of mucus membranes and the gut by microbes) are pretty resistant to colonization by pathogens like staph (MRSA). In my experience as a functional medicine practitioner, recurring infections like you’ve experienced are indicative of gut dysfunction, especially bacterial imbalances (dysbiosis) and pathogen colonization (H. pylori, amoebas, yeast, etc.). If you’re interested in pursuing this course of treatment, email me at dallas@whole9life.com. Best,
Dallas
Thank you, Erin. I appreciate your reply.
Any suggestions for a meat alternative to bacon in the mornings? I’ve been giving my daughter an egg or two in morning with bacon and some fruit for breakfast. I recently purchased applegate farms uncured bacon thinking it was a better alternative. I don’t know of anyone in NorCal that sells US Wellness meats.
Thanks again!
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One tip (especially if you live in a metro area) is that often times the regular grocery store is more expensive for organic products than the actual natural/organic grocery stores! So I always recommend that people check out both, and price compare what you buy most often…then decide where is best to buy.
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I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or
if it’s the blog. Any feed-back would be greatly appreciated.
I thought of an idea that I’m sure will save me a lot of money. And that is, simply cooking with oil less often! Instead of frying or scrambling eggs, I’m going to hard boil or poach them. Veggies can be steamed, boiled, or eaten raw in salads. Since I’m already getting plenty of good fats from eggs, coconut, meats, nuts, etc I’m not worried about eating too little fat. Olive oil and coconut oil are always the most expensive items on my grocery list, so I’ll buy them less often and stretch my dollar =) There’s also big blocks of lard I can get for a pretty reasonable amount but I haven’t done that yet!
Look around and see about getting involved in an Organic Co-op , if you are allowed -raise your own chickens for eggs ( non GMO feed is way less expensive than buying eggs), ask at your local farmers market and I bet you can find a farm to table source of meat – you can buy into a steer or heritage hog and also get fowl for a reasonable price if you have a freezer and a few friends willing to go in with you.
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Help. My husband does not believe in organic, grass-fed, pastured meat and eggs. His grandfather just celebrated his 100th birthday and is still going strong. My husbands point is that his grandfather doesn’t eat this way, and he is still healthy, why do we need to eat this way? Can you help me explain to him why I want to spend more money on better meat/eggs and fruits/veggies? Can you point me to some research that shows the difference between grass-fed and commercial meat/chicken/eggs and the short-term – long-term effects?
Jamee,
Ninety years ago, your grandfather would have just called them “meat and eggs.” Factory farming didn’t exist that long ago, which means animals that your grandparents ate were fed a healthy diet comprised of their natural foods–grass for cows, bugs and grubs for chickens, whatever they could get their snouts on for pigs. These animals were also raised in a natural environment, spending time outdoors as animals are meant to do. So yes, your grandfather is healthy because he ate the things that we are encouraging you to eat–animals raised and fed naturally!
There is a ton of information available about the benefits of grass-fed, humanely raised meat. SustainableTable.org is a great place to start–it outlines the differences between factory farming and more natural practices as it pertains to the health of the animal, the health of our environment, and the nutritional content of the meat these animals provide.
Best,
Melissa
I just started my first Whole30. My working theory on budget is I’m spending my “good beer” money on “good beef”. Only a letter different, no?
Hi I’m curious if you could do paleo on 350 a month. Prior to this I spent 800 a month and on whole 30 it’s 1200-1300 a month for a family of four. Our eating out bill is down by about 200 a month though. I’d love to be back to 800 a month. Oh and the 800 included toilet paper, paper towels, dish detergent, any hygiene stuff we needed from target.
Laurs
@Laura – I believe if you shop around and buy during sales, this is possible. I feed my family of 3 a paleo diet on $250 a month.
http://paleoonabudget.com/ is very helpful in that aspect.
Ohhh boy wouldn’t I love to live in USA…..my weekly paleo whole 30 spend for 2 is $300 a week….our organic eggs are $12 a dozen here n 100% grass feed lamb mince is $20 per pound….our local farmers market don’t do organic and our “local” organic markets are only monthly and 3 times the price of conventional produce….and no we can’t get pumpkin, sweet potatoe etc in a can….organic coconut milk is double what you guys pay…australian paleo requires lots of money….but worth it
Sardines are one way to eat fish without breaking the bank!
Court, and they’re delicious.