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I would wager, too, that if you were just purchasing for yourself and used a place like costco, trader joes, etc, you'd probably be able to get the food that you need for about $100-150/wk -- that's just for one person. We are buying for three. DH eats 2900 calories per day, I'm at 1500, and DS is about 1500-1800.
This is in US dollars and what I remember of US prices -- here in NZ we feed our family of three on $350/wk this way. In the US, DH and I were eating "similarly" (not yet paleo) on about $300 USD a week and that was *100%* organic. If we bought regular (non-organics -- as this was the pre-costco organics time), then I'm sure we would have spent about 2/3 that (about $200/wk) -- and that would be with grass fed/wild caught meats. Trader Joes has really good prices on those (but I think their produce isn't great -- but frozen stuff is decent).
A friend of mine just went paleo in the states, and he buys entirely at costco for himself and his wife at about $200/wk. So, I would wager that if you were just feeding yourself, you could do it on about $100/wk -- maybe $150 if you wanted to splash out.
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Sweet potatoes I have a 50/50 chance of after cooking it having to throw it away because it's moldy (would be fine for anyone else, but smells foul to me). Banana isn't an option which makes any sort of baking difficult (think I have the beginnings of a latex allergy because it's cross reactive with banana). Can only cook fish on days I work from home because the smell makes the SO sick (shellfish allergy, most fish are contaminated).
I think it's more work for me because I can't eat nearly as much fruit as you do. All that sugar would make my stomach hurt. Lots of leafy greens, but those get old after a while and some are hard to find organic. I'll try making the liver pate, worst case I use it as cat food if I don't like it. Finally found a quality strainer so I can try making ghee. Right now I spend about $70 a week to buy food for both of us, so I guess I'm just going to have to take out student loans to pay for food and figure out how to make frozen lunches for myself (this might be key, since some days my stomach hurts and I just want soup instead of what I have in the fridge). Since my stomach is so fickle because I haven't figured out how to get rid of all the yeast, I keep pretty much all ingredients frozen so they don't go bad waiting for me to feel like eating them.
The SO's family includes some dietitians, so I might be able to get some help figuring out where I'm still getting yeast and mold in my diet. Doubt my insurance would pay for it, so this is great.
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I feel like you really do not want to succeed here. This is not that difficult.
First, for my own part, the maximum amount of fruit I have per day is 1/2 lemon (juiced), 1/2 apple (juiced), and one piece of fruit otherwise (if that). Some days, I do splash out and eat two pieces of fruit (one is usually a serving of berries). I can't imagine that half a lemon and half an apple equals "too much fruit." The other foods are listed because this is what my husband and son eat -- and my son also has to take fruit to share at the kindy. This is why we buy so much fruit.
Second, there's no requirement that you eat the meats that I eat. You could just choose beef, chicken, lamb, venison and pork, and alternate your days. It's not that difficult either. All of these can be cooked in a skillet in about 15 minutes (pork) with a simple spice rub and no excessive difficulty.
Third, I only eat kumara once a week -- and one kumara at that. There's no requirement to eat it. If you can't, then don't. it's not necessary.
Finally, if you need to shop for fresh produce every day, then do. It is likely that you have a grocery store between where you work/study and where you live. Just stop in and grab the produce that you need for that night and the next day (breakfast/lunch). This way, you can get the freshest produce and get the best prices day-by-day. IT makes it even less expensive.
In all truth, the only thing that is holding you back is the perceived notion of difficulty.
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Do you guys pre-assemble your veggies/fruit for the juice? I find that juicing and cleaning the juicer takes too much time in the morning/makes too much noise. I have to wash and cut up celery, an apple (quater and core), kale or cabbage (wash and chop), cucumber (wash and cut) and peel 3 or so oranges (for my folks). Plus cleaning the juicer is a big chore (stuff sticks in every crease). Wholist told me I can do it in the evenings, but I am not an evening person. So, do you guys pre-cut to meet your 2 min limit? I really want to juice daily, but I have to admit I struggle b/c of time it takes.
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Also, I love making soups -- but it is an undertaking of it's own.
Making your own bone broth will help, and then from there, you just have to find soup recipes that you like. It certainly freezes easily.
I love making veggie soups with bone broth bases, and usually we serve meat on the side (or put the meat in it sort of like a garnish) rather than cooking meat-in. I've just never done that, though -- so it's out of my comfort zone. :) But I know it can be done. :)
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[QUOTE=Leida;1091659]Do you guys pre-assemble your veggies/fruit for the juice? I find that juicing and cleaning the juicer takes too much time in the morning/makes too much noise. I have to wash and cut up celery, an apple (quater and core), kale or cabbage (wash and chop), cucumber (wash and cut) and peel 3 or so oranges (for my folks). Plus cleaning the juicer is a big chore (stuff sticks in every crease). Wholist told me I can do it in the evenings, but I am not an evening person. So, do you guys pre-cut to meet your 2 min limit? I really want to juice daily, but I have to admit I struggle b/c of time it takes.[/QUOTE]
All that I do to prepare the veg/fruit for the juicer is wash it. I do not peel, chop, or core anything. The juicer that I have can handle things whole, so I don't have to. The whole thing takes me about 5 minutes to juice and then I immediately rinse the machine. I use water and a microfiber cloth (instead of soap), and then quickly dry it and put it back together.
Yes, it is noisy.
For our lunch veggies, we sometimes cut ahead of time and sometimes just chuck a cucumber and bell pepper into the bag and cut it at work (we have a kitchen in our offices; I brought an inexpensive knife for this purpose). But, usually we just chop it in the morning.
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Have you tries lara bars. They do not contain any gluten, soy, or dairy.