How to Eat Paleo on a Budget

I think a lot of people believe that they need to just pick one grocery store and stick to it. Well I’m here to tell you that while that may be the most efficient, it’s not necessarily the most cost-friendly, especially if you are buying higher quality ingredients. Personally, I shop between 3-4 grocery stores each week, depending on what’s on the list and where is having sales on what I need. I know which grocery stores to go for which items because I’ve done my research and I pay attention to each store’s availability and selection. To give you an idea of how I manage this, here’s an example:

• I know that every Tuesday my local Whole Foods has fresh, wild-caught salmon filets 2 for $10. So, I always make sure to hit up that deal (even if it means making a separate trip out after work on Tuesday evenings). Whole Foods also tends to have the best deals on fresh fruit (often times only $6 for two pints of berries), organic frozen veggies ($1.99 for a 1-lb bag of organic California blend), and bulk bin items, so I’ll get that stuff there.
• I also know that my local Trader Joe’s has the type of coconut milk I like($0.99 per can), bagged avocados (4 for $4), sweet potatoes (2 lbs for $1.99), organic, virgin, unrefined coconut oil ($5.99 per jar), and free-range, organic chicken for much cheaper than any other store in my area.
• I know that Target (yes, Target) sells a 2-lb bag of organic green apples for just $5.99 per bag, so I always make sure to pick up a bag there when I’m out.
• And finally, I know that my local Natural Grocers (a specific health-food store) has great deals on natural “beauty” products, supplements, tea and bulk herbs/spices, so I always stock up on those things there.

Of course I buy many other items each week and often times will pick up items from the farmer’s market, as well, but those are some typical pantry staples for me and that is an example of how I typically map out my shopping. While this may sound excessive and like a lot of work, it really isn’t that bad! Just grab a snack and a nice beverage and spend about an hour and a half of a Saturday or Sunday afternoon making your rounds – trust me, your wallet will thank you.

I really cannot speak enough to the value of meal planning while you’re trying to follow paleo (or really any whole foods regimen at all). Without meal planning, you’re going to find yourself either excessively over- or under-buying for your week, having your fresh food spoil before you can get to it, or – like I used to do – accidentally buying a bunch of “ingredients” and nothing to truly make a cohesive meal out of. All of this can lead to headaches, stomach aches, and pocket-book aches, none of which are fun to deal with. So my advice is to spend a little time before the start of each week, look through cookbooks, blogs, Pinterest, Instagram or your own mind, and come up with 3-5 dishes you’re going to make each week. Then, accounting for leftovers, you should have enough food to last you through the week without food going bad. Knowing exactly what ingredients you require will also allow you to be focused when you go to the grocery and not wandering into the ice cream aisle or buying random items that just inflate your bill.

Again, building off the meal planning, do not go to the store empty-handed. Go with a list and a budget already in mind. My other *bonus* tip is to do your best to calculate things as you go so that you don’t get up to the register only to find out you are accidentally $50 over budget (that’s happened to me approximately 100 zillion times). Not good at mental math? Grab a calculator or start a Google Doc on your phone so you can enter in the price next to each grocery list item as you throw it in the cart and then just digitally mathmetize (word?) that stuff. This may sound silly, but if you think about it . . . if you accidentally overspend your grocery budget by an average of $30 per week, that’s more than $120 extra per month and nearly $6,250 per year. Wowza! So I encourage you to risk looking a little dorky with your calculator or phone out, and estimate your running total as you shop.

When I first started paleo, I was very interested in cooking “sexy” food. I bought all sorts of fancy ingredients, add-ins and toppings, just to impress…well… I guess myself, mainly? But anyways. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong about buying some “fancy” ingredients like lobster, crab legs, fine oils and vinegars, expensive mixed nuts, or fine cooking wines once in a while, but my advice to you is don’t make this a habit. Learn which foods give you the biggest nutrient-dense bang for your buck and stick with those for your average work week. For instance, understand that even though they aren’t necessarily super sexy, chicken thighs and drumsticks are still a fantastic source of protein and are super inexpensive (even the free-range chicken!). Or know that if you’re looking for a vegetable to go with your meal, nutritious vegetables and greens like kale or broccoli are typically going to be way less expensive than say, asparagus, for instance. So if you’re trying to stick to a really tight budget, keep learning about these foods that give you the best value nutrient-wise and financially, and forgo the lobster for now.

I’ll be the first to say that I am the worst at buying in bulk (even after my girlfriend nags and nags at me to do so), so I can appreciate that sometimes it isn’t feasible to drop $60 all at once on coconut oil for the next year. But honestly, I’ve realized that my girlfriend is right (God help me for publishing that statement) when she says buying in bulk saves you money in the long-run. Plus, it’s so nice to know that once you pay for it, you don’t have to worry about picking it up or factoring it into your weekly budget for months to come – it’s really a great way to live-hassle free and also free up some budget moving forward. So, I’d suggest trying this with a couple of non-perishable items that you know you use regularly (for me, that’s things like coconut oil and even things like ground beef), and stock up on it – especially if there’s a sale! I bet you’ll really start to enjoy buying in bulk.

I cannot stress this enough. I have friends who go paleo and immediately run to the store and drop $400 on all-organic, random produce that really don’t truly even need to be bought organic in the first place. Now please hear me when I say that in an ideal world, if you had more-than-enough money to spend on groceries each week, go all organic! Of course it’s always going to be the healthiest to eat foods with no (or very little) exposure to pesticides and other weird things. But as this is an article about eating paleo on a budget, that’s what we’re going to focus on. With that in mind, I recommend you follow the “Clean 15, Dirty Dozen” list to help you figure out which produce needs to be bought organic and which produce is probably OK to buy conventionally. This list is put out annually and is a result of a yearly study performed by the Environmental Working Group that examines the amount of pesticide residue found on 48 popular produce items. They then break it down into the top 15 produce items with the least residue (Clean 15), and the top 12 items with the most residue (you guessed it . . . the Dirty Dozen). Here is the list – print it off, memorize it, sleep with it under your pillow . . . whatever you prefer, but use it!

Farmers’ markets not only provide great, local produce, but at usually a fraction of the cost of grocery stores! So get your butts out of bed on Saturday or Sunday morning and get down there to score some great deals on fantastic produce. Also, making friends with your local farmers is a great way to score even more deals and also great deals on bulk items, like eggs and meats. So ask questions, make friends, save money and have fun!

You may have noticed in my #1 tip that I mentioned buying frozen organic vegetables. That’s because I find that buying frozen fruits and vegetables can not only be efficient when you’re pressed for time, but super cost-effective, as well. Frozen vegetables are usually just flash-frozen when they’re at peak ripeness and this preserves their nutrients and flavor, so don’t be afraid to incorporate some frozen veggies into your diet (although I would recommend buying organic if possible). Another great item to buy frozen is winter squash, because I can almost guarantee you that their frozen counterparts are going to save you money and the hassle of having to cook them, which can be challenging for some people who don’t have time or are intimidated by cooking squash.

I <3 SALES. Seriously. Keep an eye out for your local stores’ weekly deals flyers, pay attention to in-store deals (at my local Whole Foods they now have signs saying “On Wednesdays get $2 off rotisserie chickens” or “2 for $10 on fresh salmon on Tuesdays!”), or get online and scout out deals before you embark up on your budget-friendly paleo shopping trip. And as I mentioned earlier, if you find a great sale on something you use regularly, STOCK UP! My local store was having a massive sale on free-range, grass-fed ground beef the other week (like $3 off per lb), so I bought about 6-lbs worth. GREAT SUCCESS!

This kind of goes with meal planning, but it’s still a good one to offset. When you’re meal planning, think about how you can double-down and re-use your ingredients that you buy for the week. Buying 2 lbs of ground beef? Make tacos and chili this week. Making a dish with 1 cup of spinach in it? Plan to use the rest of the bag to make salads or green smoothies for breakfast. Reusing ingredients is both cost-effective and is a great way to ensure that none of your food will spoil before you can use it (can you tell that’s one of my biggest pet peeves? I think I’ve mentioned it about 100 times throughout this article).