10 Ways To Reduce Costs On Paleo Diets!

Here are 10 ways to reduce costs on paleo diets, specifically, protein and vegetable based diets. Check it out! 

 
Save money on paleo
 

1. Choose Affordable Proteins

  • Buy in bulk and freeze your favorite proteins when they are on sale

  • Affordable options:

    • Organic chicken thighs – Moist, delicious & affordable.

    • Ground organic lamb, bison, turkey, chicken, elk, ostrich

      • These ground meats each create a simple canvas for flavors to penetrate in to create easy protein bases for meals!

      • Try a North African blend such as black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, cayenne, cumin, and paprika!

    • Canned wild salmon, or fresh in bulk, or on sale.

    • Mussels and clams

    • Specific less expensive cuts of meat (see below)


2. Purchase Less Expensive Cuts of Meat

  • Organ Meats are incredibly nutritious and affordable. Check out my Organ Meat Blog Entry

  • Shoulder cuts, stew meat, and ground meat of grass-fed lamb, bison, and elk is often quite affordable

  • Talk to your butcher about specific cooking techniques or look online.


3. Prepare Large Quantities for Leftovers, and Reduce Dining Out Expenses

  • Purchase simple suitable containers and package up leftovers immediately for meal-sized to-gos

  • Pack snacks, to discourage spending money on unhealthy treats out.

  • Prepare a meal and eat it for more than 1 dinner per week to save time and money

  • In practicing preparing large quantities, you will find that you are cooking quite a bit more than you are used to! Grilling 5 pounds of boneless skinless


4. Purchase High-Yield Vegetables

  • High yield vegetables = Vegetables that produce a LOT of food to eat!

  • Cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collards, chard, summer and winter squashes, spaghetti squash, eggplant (if you can tolerate nightshades)


5. Join a CSA

  • Check out my post on community supported agriculture, and get great deals on produce by buying shares of meat or produce from a local farm if that is offered near you!


6. Grow your own herbs

  • Herbs are pricy at the store and they are packed with flavor!!

  • Grow herbs during spring and summer, dry them in late fall, make herb pestos and freeze, or bring pots of herbs inside to a sunny window to get extended lives out of them.


7. Make your own stocks and/bone broth, rather than purchasing them

  • Chicken, lamb, vegetable stocks


8. Ignite your soup passion!

  • Soup is so affordable to prepare and a fun way to play with creativity in the kitchen, using whatever is leftover in your fridge.

  • Penny Pinching Onion Soup

    • Caramelize 5 sliced onions in a large pot slowly.

    • Add a cup of red or white wine, 1 tablespoon of chopped thyme (or 1 teaspoon dry), and 2 grated carrots until wine is almost reduced completely.

    • Add 2 quarts of stock or bone broth (any variety)

    • Season with salt and pepper to taste.


9. Buy large quantities of vegetables in season

  • Can or freeze purchased or gardened in-season vegetables. Alternatively, prepare and freeze dishes containing these vegetables.


10. Cook, cook, cook!

  • Do your best to prepare your meals, and eat out as little as possible, as that’s where you can really save the bucks.

  • Prepare a picnic and take it out with you, when you get the urge to dine out.

Find more organizational and shopping tips for a nourished life in my new cookbook, Heartful Kitchen: A Cookbook For Every Body!