I have a lot of friends and clients who have told me that could never go “Paleo” because it is extremely expensive. It can be totally true. If you are extremely strict, meaning you need to not eat dairy, not eat grain-fed meat, and not eat eggs unless they are from pastured chickens. I do have a list for that, but the one below is one of my “Super Cheap” lists. I have several in the book that show how a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 teens) can get by on around $50 a week.
It’s not easy and the menu is not varied. The food is satisfying and nutritious and acceptable to most people. You could do it even cheaper if your family is cool with organ meats. Chicken and beef liver, hearts, gizzards, etc are great nutrition for cheap money. Lard rendered from extremely cheap beef fat (I got grass fed beef fat for $1.50 per pound, not sure if this is just my supplier though). The lard added to soups and other cooked foods is satisfying!
BUDGET ONE: For When My Kids Play Sports (The Potato Plan)
| Food | Amount | Cost | Total | Day | Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner | ||
| Ground beef | 3 | $2.68 | $8.04 | Sun | Eggs & Homemade Sausage | ||
| Heavy Cream | 1 | $3.49 | $3.49 | Chili & Potato | |||
| Onions | 2 | $1.50 | $3.00 | Chicken Thighs & Potato | |||
| Butter | 2 | $2.99 | $5.98 | ||||
| Chicken Thighs | 2 | $3.98 | $7.96 | Mon | Eggs & Homemade Sausage | ||
| Tuna | 2 | $0.99 | $1.98 | Chicken Thighs & Potato | |||
| Tomato Sauce | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | Chili | |||
| Potato – 5lb bag | 1 | $2.50 | $2.50 | ||||
| Eggs – dozen | 3 | $1.89 | $5.67 | Tues | Eggs & Homemade Sausage | ||
| Tea bags | 1 | $1.50 | $1.50 | Chili & Potato | |||
| Ground Pork (lbs) | 1.5 | $1.80 | $2.70 | Tuna Cakes | |||
| Cheese Block | 1 | $3.99 | $3.99 | ||||
| Beef Bones | 1 | $2.00 | $2.00 | Wed | Omelette | ||
| Taco pie | |||||||
| Potato Soup | |||||||
| Thurs | Frtittata | ||||||
| Potato Soup | |||||||
| Chili | |||||||
| Fri | Eggs & Homemade Sausage | ||||||
| Chili | |||||||
| TOTAL COST | $50.06 | Leftovers of anything | |||||
| Sat | Eggs & Homemade Sausage | ||||||
| Leftovers | |||||||
| Leftovers |
BUDGET 2: Straight Low Carb Paleo (Weight Maintenance or Loss)
| Food | Amount | Cost | Total | Day | Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner | ||
| Ground beef | 4 | $2.68 | $10.72 | Sun | Eggs & Beef-n-Gravy | ||
| Heavy Cream | 1 | $3.49 | $3.49 | Chili & Cauliflower | |||
| Onions | 2 | $1.50 | $3.00 | Meatloaf & Broccoli | |||
| Butter | 3 | $2.99 | $8.97 | ||||
| Frozen Spinach | 4 | $0.99 | $3.96 | Mon | Eggs & Beef-n-Gravy | ||
| Tuna | 4 | $0.89 | $3.56 | Spinach Pie | |||
| Tomato Sauce | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | Chili | |||
| Frozen Cauliflower | 4 | $0.99 | $3.96 | ||||
| Eggs – dozen | 3 | $1.89 | $5.67 | Tues | Eggs & Homemade Sausage | ||
| Tea bags | 1 | $1.50 | $1.50 | Spinach Pie | |||
| Ground Pork | 3 | $1.80 | $5.40 | Tuna Cakes | |||
| Cheese Block | 1 | $3.99 | $3.99 | ||||
| Beef Bones | 1 | $2.00 | $2.00 | Wed | Omelette | ||
| Bag o Salad | 1 | $4.99 | $4.99 | Tuna Cakes | |||
| Meatball Soup | |||||||
| Thurs | Frittata | ||||||
| Meatball Soup | |||||||
| Chili | |||||||
| Fri | Eggs & Homemade Sausage | ||||||
| Chili | |||||||
| TOTAL COST | $62.46 | Leftovers of anything | |||||
| Sat | Eggs &Homemade Sausage | ||||||
| Leftovers | |||||||
| Leftovers |