$125 a week? page 2

[teach2183]

Where does she live? Prices vary widely accross the country. The prices listed above would be impossible to find near me. The only meat we can find <$2/lb is bone-in chicken. And eggs are rarely under $1/dozen. That being said, we are making it work for ~$450/m for a family of 4 with 2 young kids (nearly 2 and 4). We eat a lot of chicken and other meat as we can afford when it's on sale. The big thing will be that she needs to shop sales and stock up when there are good sales. We shop at 3 different stores and pick the best deals at each and make out menu from there. Does she have room to garden? That could be an easy way to get organic produce without buying it. And it would be a great way to get her kids involved. We do not buy grass-fed or organic, it's just not possible. And for those that say it's about priorities, just keep your opinion to yourself. We spend >10% of our monthly budget on food. Sometimes people just really can't afford it. We figure that removing wheat, sugar, and vegetable oils is better than not, so that's where we're starting. Of course I do dream about having a larger budget to buy the better stuff some day.

[Catharsis]

Wow, I feel like a punk for thinking that my own $125/week grocery budget isn't all that bad. I can't imagine a family of 4 on it. I'd evaluate the budget again and re-prioritize things. In my budget, Food is #4. The first 3 are lumped together and none negotiable:

1-3) Roof/Lights, Insurance, Gas
4) Food
5-XX) Blah Blah

If I do those 4 things, everything else is peaches'n creme. I have zero debt of any form though so that makes it easier for me to prioritize whole foods.

[lssanjose]

My mom spent 150/week on a family of six, when I was still living with her; but, she isn't a Primal/Paleo, very very very FAR from it. Speaking of mothers, happy Mother's Day, to all you mothers! The day's yours, enjoy!

[primalswan]

I used to spend around 100/week on our family of 4 plus our veggie box which is $20/week and it seems we tripled that when we went primal, but I am reigning it in. I found a local lady that sells her eggs for about $2 less a dozen than the free range eggs at the grocery, but if it comes down to it I will buy the 2 dozen package at Costco. I check the dates on the grass fed meat and pastured pork at the store and I go back on the day they are "sell buy". This almost always scores me good quality meat at 1/2 off or more and I am building a nice little freezer supply. We ordered 1/2 a grassfed cow and are splitting it with friends. This will help tremendously. I try to not get to tied up in a specific menu and instead go to the chain store first and find what produce is a good deal and build our menus around that. Also, we do a produce box that is $20/week for local organic produce. We eat all of it before I buy anything additional. It requires some creativity! Ultimately though, I have just decided that beyond our home and health insurance, this is priority #1. I will shop thrift stores for my kids clothes ,we will drive our older cars until they no longer run, we will shut off cable if needed, etc. in order to make this work.

[tfarny]

If you go with the rice and potatoes, non organic, non grassfed version of primal, it's no more expensive than SAD, probably cheaper. Mark definitely emphasizes the more expensive foods but you can make it work cheaply. I could get by easily on $60 per week if I needed to, that's one hungry guy living alone in New York, the most expensive food city in the country. I have also talked to many people whose "food budget" is whatever they have left after making two car payments, Iphones for the whole family, cable tv, etc. - the last priority. Food should be right up there with shelter in your budget line.

Chicken rice and kale soup, meatloaf with sweet potato, that kind of thing. Lots of eggs. Seafood and nicer cuts of meat will be rare.

[magnolia1973]

The thing is that now many employers expect you to have 1. a smart phone and 2. internet service at home, so it is a required item to stay employed. The easiest thing to cut on a budget is food.... it sucks. I feed 2 people really well on $125 a week. I can't imagine adding in 2 kids.

She probably knows how to stretch her budget... but the best idea is meal planning and not wasting any food. Beyond that, Latino markets are often super cheap on veggies- everything always looks a little day old but if you eat it in a day or two. Also, I use frozen veggies a lot.

[oxide]

I strongly second the Frozen Vegetables. Unless you have hours to wash and fresh veggies, frozen is much better.
I don't go to Costco, but I bet they have 5 lb bags of frozen veggies for $1 a pound.

regular ground beef 85%
canned tomatoes -- don't buy regular tomato sauce it's loaded with sugar
chicken thighs
Canned tuna
Eggs -- but unfortunately, industrial eggs are nearly worthless and the good ones are too expensive
No coke or pepsi, that stuff is expensive. Iced tea mix?

I think the real issue is going to be fat. Butter, coconut oil, olive oil are very expensive. Are there any cheap fats?

[jammies]

It really depends on where she lives.

I would have no problems feeding my family soaked beans, lentils, rice, potatoes, and frozen veggies if the budget was tight. If she spends a bit more on good quality fats (coconut oil and grass-fed butter) and eggs, then I think the rest should be fine. If she can make bone stocks and sneak in a little organ meat that would be great.

There is a whole spectrum of eating between SAD and Organic, grass-fed primal. If she avoids wheat, high fructose corn syrup, processed oils and just focuses on whole un-processed foods that family should still do quite well.

[lssanjose]

It really depends on where she lives.

I would have no problems feeding my family soaked beans, lentils, rice, potatoes, and frozen veggies if the budget was tight. If she spends a bit more on good quality fats (coconut oil and grass-fed butter) and eggs, then I think the rest should be fine. If she can make bone stocks and sneak in a little organ meat that would be great.

There is a whole spectrum of eating between SAD and Organic, grass-fed primal. If she avoids wheat, high fructose corn syrup, processed oils and just focuses on whole un-processed foods that family should still do quite well.

+1.

[orielwen]

I think the real issue is going to be fat. Butter, coconut oil, olive oil are very expensive. Are there any cheap fats?

I don't know about where you are, but here in the UK lard (pig fat) can be had easily and very cheaply, as it is used as a cheap substitute for butter in baking. Goose fat is available but expensive. Suet is cheap but tends to come in little pellets coated in wheat flour.