5 Tips to Eat Paleo Affordably

 

Almost a year ago it took a six year-old having overhearing a conversation between H & I about how when I ate foods with gluten my ovarian cysts were worse.  The month I ate gluten-free was a whole other fabulous feeling story.  TD looked at me and said, “So why don’t you just not eat gluten…”  Uh, right, kid. Thanks. 

Over the last year I have tried my best to avoid gluten and along the way I started incorporating the Paleo diet into our lives a few times a week.  It makes eating gluten-free a whole lot easier. We haven’t gone straight that way but it is something that seems to agree with all of us.  Who can deny  how fantastically good Garlic brocoli with Bacon smells next to Coconut Shrimp?  Yum.  Except that sometimes eating this way it becomes expensive. It is a real lifestyle change and there are items you have to stock your pantry with that you may have never even heard of.  To help I have a few tips from emeals.com on how to eat Paleo and save some cash. 

Frugal Paleo Tips from emeals.com (www.emeals.com)

Out with the Atkins diet and in with dining caveman-style. The Paleo pallet focuses on meats, vegetables and nuts and avoids items such as sugar, grains and processed foods.

1. Create a budget. Just having a plan can save your hard earned dollars. Each week take stock of what you already have, so you’ll know what you really need and what you really don’t. The same goes for your grocery budget – if you plan ahead of time and use a Paleo shopping guide, you’re more likely to stick to a certain price point. 

2. Plan your meals. Look at your local grocery stores specials, and then create your meal plan and grocery list based on those sale items. Start with focusing on the meats that are on sale since meats will be the highest portion of your grocery spending on a Paleo diet. To take the stress out of the process,eMeals has created an ongoing weekly Paleo Plan with recipes and grocery lists already laid out.  *LOVE THIS!  It really helps take out some of the initial guesswork.

3. Buy in season. Check out Epicurious’ map for what’s in season by state and month. Shopping in season is a great way to save money – especially if you stock up through freezing items. To take advantage of berries when they are on sale, buy in bulk, wash them, pat them dry, lay them out on a cookie sheet and then freeze them. Once frozen, transfer the berries to a freezer bag. 

4. Load up on sales. When a staple item like frozen vegetables, turkey bacon, tuna or canned coconut milk goes on sale; stock up big time! Most stores have their ads available online and will email them to you weekly. It makes it easy to quickly check sales before you go shopping. *This is a goal of mine.  To buy more frozen veggies and keep the turkey bacon stocked.

5. Buy in bulk. Many times when you stock up on things like nuts and dried fruits from the bulk bins it is a lot cheaper than buying it in a pre-packaged form. Instead of going for the convenience of throwing a bag of something in your cart, take a few moments to browse the bulk section and watch the savings add up! *I do this all the time with cashews and almonds. 

 

*Image from crossfitclub.com